"Best" Metal Pedal?

[skintaster]

Hi folks. I'm looking for opinions on heavy metal distortion pedals. What are your favorites?

Also wondering how many players use a metal pedal for their live rig? I've always relied on my amps distortion and have only used pedals for smaller practice rigs. Do any of them sound particularly good at high volume?

I've only had experience with a handful over the years... I used a Boss Metal Zone briefly. I thought it was ok, but didn't use it much, as it was part of my "backup" rig for a tour. I used my 5150 for most of it, so I didn't really fire the metal zone up at live volumes. Anyway, I'm curious what, and under what conditions, other people prefer to play.

[Grandturk]

I did a thread close to this a little while ago - asking the same question.

http://www.jcfonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=99775&highlight=pedal

Anyway, I ended up buying a Plexitube to go through the clean channel of my Boogie when I wanted Marshall sounds. That does metal pretty well for me - but so does my Boogie or a Distortion +.

re: volume - I've found that if you make extensive use of a distortion or overdrive pedal, and want to use that pedal's sound - you need an amp that stays clean up to the volume you need, otherwise, you're going to color the sound of the pedal with the natural tube overdrive. In some cases, this may be desireable, but in other cases, it is not.

[toejam]

AMT Extreme III was one I loved and used straight into my THD Univalve head.

http://www.pedalspluseffectswarehouse.com/AMT_Electronics_Extreme_III_p/amt-exiii.htm

[Jack Napalm]

AMT Extreme III was one I loved and used straight into my THD Univalve head.
http://www.pedalspluseffectswarehous.../amt-exiii.htm

Dude! That pedal rocks!

[toejam]

It does. Glad you're still enjoying it!

[skintaster]

I did a thread close to this a little while ago - asking the same question.

http://www.jcfonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=99775&highlight=pedal

Anyway, I ended up buying a Plexitube to go through the clean channel of my Boogie when I wanted Marshall sounds. That does metal pretty well for me - but so does my Boogie or a Distortion +.

re: volume - I've found that if you make extensive use of a distortion or overdrive pedal, and want to use that pedal's sound - you need an amp that stays clean up to the volume you need, otherwise, you're going to color the sound of the pedal with the natural tube overdrive. In some cases, this may be desireable, but in other cases, it is not.

Thanks for that link. I missed your thread, and it's a good one.

[Musician78]

I don't know if there ir a "best" one. I se a Boss GT-6 and have for years. I have gigged with it and never once had a problem. Some say that digital effects have a different less than authentic sound compared to analog. My ears simply cannot tell the difference though...

In the end it all comes down to a sound that you like. Whether it comes straight from the amp, or if it is a 20 dollar pedal, or 600 dollar processor.....

[Robbie Dane]

Metal Muff

[Mikey2201]

Hardwire Metal
Humphrey Modded Metal zone
Damage Control Solid Metal

[emperor_black]

Until I got the mark iv, I have tried a bunch of distortion pedals. Uber metal, MT-2, Monte allums' MT-2, Hardwire Metal distortion, Barber dirty bomb and some I dont remember. I tried them with EQ pedals pre and post too. None of them sound as good as an amp's distortion. They sound thin and boxy.

If you like your amp's distortion but want different flavors of the same, try different OD pedals.

[MartyFriedmanIsMaster]

Until I got the mark iv, I have tried a bunch of distortion pedals. Uber metal, MT-2, Monte allums' MT-2, Hardwire Metal distortion, Barber dirty bomb and some I dont remember. I tried them with EQ pedals pre and post too. None of them sound as good as an amp's distortion. They sound thin and boxy.

If you like your amp's distortion but want different flavors of the same, try different OD pedals.

This pedal is basically a beast.

http://www.bossus.com/gear/productdetails.php?ProductId=851&ParentId=254

[toxikdeth]

Its tough to determine the best metal pedal. Personally I like the maxon od808 but I just use that to overdrive my amp. But pedals like those are just meant for more saturation not to color your tone.

[Inazone]

ART Xtreme or Korg HyperDistortion. Both used to be pretty common on eBay but are getting tough to find now. I can usually get good results with anything that has a parametric EQ with midrange sweep, but the ART has the best overall tone and the Korg comes as close as anything I've found to a high-gain tube amp tone.

[roodyrocker]

Its tough to determine the best metal pedal. Personally I like the maxon od808 but I just use that to overdrive my amp. But pedals like those are just meant for more saturation not to color your tone.

I think certain pedals just sond better with certain amps. Its not just the best pedal, its the combination of the two. With my Marshall Rhoads amps I'm liking the Fulltone OCD, the MI Audio Crunch Box and like toxikdeth, the Retro-Sonc Eight O Eight. This last pedal is a high quality tubescreamer pedal like the Maxon. These last two pedals are great for just pushing the amp over the edge without altering the basic tone significantly. Good suggestion on the Maxon od808

[Dreamland_Rebel]

i really love my Keeley SD-1 into my DSL 100 crunch channel.
also the OD-3 makes the crunch channel sound like the ultra channel "should" sound.
both pedals set to clean boost.
-suprizingly both pedal sound best with Level at noon and gain turned off.
the SD-1 adds "sheen" to the sound. like it just makes it "sparkle". very musical.
while the OD-3 adds "balls". gives it a modern edge while adding a little more compression and sustain than it's yellow brother.

bassically, if i want to sound like RATT i'll use the SD-1. if i want to sound like Megadeth i'll use the OD-3.
to me this setup sounds way better than trying to dial that in on the ultra channel.