5 Great Distortion Pedals and 1 To Avoid

[@27retrodaze]

Proud owner of an MT-2 3A!! Im also a big fan of the Revv G4 into a tube PS...

[@PBOD]

The black on black looks great!

[@dannyllerenatv8635]

The MT-2 is also a surprisingly good country music box as well with the gain set close to zero. This thing is essentially a parametric EQ with a high gain, hard clipping section tied to it

[@CorbCorbin]

Yeah, I’ve actually seen a guy use a Metal Zone for jazz. He used it like you mention, gain off, with a Tele, and a small amp. He used it when I met him, sitting in with a blues band. He had a nice clean tone, and he had a little gain, with the Metal Zone as a lead boost. He put it in the effects loop. I’ve seen others do that, but he got that 335 type tone, through a Tele, using it.

[@PBOD]

That tone stack is the most powerful BOSS ever put on a drive, they said this themselves. It’s such a versatile pedal

[@JustBcozx84]

anytime I get asked by a friend looking for a first distortion for their kid my answer is always DS-1 or Rat

[@PBOD]

Yeah, we love RATs. That should have been on the list!

[@zanzabar4ky7]

I got a walrus eras for $100 last black Friday at gc. It does everything. Great distortion if you are not sure what you want. It will do the ds1 and it has modes that work only into a cranked amp.

[@PBOD]

I’ve only played a few Walrus pedals, but each one was very good. It would be nice to demo the Eras sometime. Lee

[@SYNTHERROR404]

Meanwhile Distortion+ was literally my 1st pedal, i bought it broken with a smashed in pot learned how to solder on it and mod it, id repaired it ofc and than some, struggled with it and than passed it on to my 10 year old nephew with a chorus so he can chase some nirvana tones.

[@PBOD]

The Distortion + was one of my first too. It did not do what I expected it to do into a solid state amp 😂. Lee

[@robertkorn]

Ok, keyboard warrior here. Minor quibble, the DS-1 in the Keeley Angry Orange is not the Waza DS-1, it's the standard DS-1 from 78 (which sounds literally like almost every other DS-1 made).

[@ScottGailor]

From Robert’s Mouth he said it’s the Waza. So I’m gonna trust him on this one.

[@PBOD]

Interesting, I’ll mention it to RK when we next chat. Scott knows him well too. Thanks for the comment mate :)

[@nickhem12]

What’s the pedal order with just the recommended pedals in the video? I got a hot rod, angry orange, and had a ds 1 and metal zone in my collection. Tone x last as a cab for the hot rod deluxe?

[@PBOD]

I would go angry orange/metal zone (for fine tuning the eq gain)/Hot Rod / ToneX for cab IR This gives you the best of both worlds. Heavy gains, a cocked type wah sound and a traditional hot rodded plexi style sound. Scott.

[@nickhem12]

@ thanks! Really awesome recommendations and tons of fun ways to push tubes.

[@oldmanshreds]

I keep DS-1 on my studio board all the time. Useful option for harmonically rich lead tone or big power chords.

[@PBOD]

It really is a great pedal. Do you have the OG pedal or the Waza?

[@oldmanshreds]

@@PBOD OG. Not keen on expensive pedals or waza right now. I keep equalizer in the loop for tone sculpting.

[@BudgetPedalChap]

There are some great pics there. Great shout on the last one too 👍

[@PBOD]

Very un-distortiony for something called Distortion + 😂

[@erikavery1105]

Loved my old DS-1’s.(I had 3; they were stolen.) Hated the Metal Zone. I use the JHS 3 Series Distortion.

[@Durkhead]

You should retry the metalzone thers a learning curve

[@ScottGailor]

Try using it with less gain, more of an EQ. Ya might like it.

[@PBOD]

Agreed, there are sooooo many tones in that pedal, in fact Boss staff once told me that it has the most powerful tone controls of any Boss pedal ever.

[@PBOD]

It became such a meme to scoop all the kids out and disappear in the mix, but the lower gain tones are some of the best rock tones from any pedal ever, ESPECIALLY on the Waza version.

[@PBOD]

Sorry to hear about pedals being stolen, that truly sucks ass :(

[@michaelgizzi]

Angry orange, you said driver! Also a good pedal, but Angry Orange is awesome!

[@nybyooboy1]

Thanks Bru. LMMFAO!

[@ScottGailor]

It’s funny because I always call it that. But yes its orange 😂

[@PBOD]

100%, the Angry Driver was the BOSS/JHS team up pedal with the BJ mode.

[@michaelgizzi]

@ and that BJ mode did not involve a mic stand

[@ImYourOverlord]

The normal MXR Distortion + is just fine.

[@PBOD]

Into a cooking amp it’s great, don’t try it to create distortion tones at low volumes or with a transistor amp though.

[@BillyTheKidsGhost]

MT-2 Metal Zone my blues driver.

[@PBOD]

People think we’re mad, but it does the job super well

[@danjack-son4871]

Love the shirt!

[@PBOD]

Thanks 🤩

[@davidestes9971]

I’m so distracted by that long hair hanging from your microphone. 😂

[@ScottGailor]

Man I didn’t even see that till you said it 😂. I have a ridiculous amount of hair under that hat.

[@PBOD]

And it looks Awesome Scott :)

[@KeithFine10]

👍🏽

[@PBOD]

Cheers Keith :)

[@BillHeIsRisen]

Avoid the MSR Metal Core, too. Totally sucky pedal.

[@PBOD]

We’ve had some fun with it, but the MT-2w is superior