Finding a cheap awesome distortion pedal

[Slobrain]

Well, I run my Marshall 1987 clean and use a Boss ME-50 in the DS-1 distortion mode for a good distortion and it works well for that rig or even using an old Peavey SS I have but I want to go back to stomp boxes for the distortion and looking for a hi gain pedal that nails the Jake E lee Ozzy sound... or at least get that same sounding distortion from my ME-50. you know, the hi gain 80s sound. Any way I see these new Joyo pedals and wondering if anyone has tried the crunch pedal, US dream or the deluxe crunch pedal and your thoughts on them. I want to get a Wampler Pinnacle but at $200.00 its too expensive right now.

Slo

[soundguruman]

Well, I run my Marshall 1987 clean and use a Boss ME-50 in the DS-1 distortion mode for a good distortion and it works well for that rig or even using an old Peavey SS I have but I want to go back to stomp boxes for the distortion and looking for a hi gain pedal that nails the Jake E lee Ozzy sound... or at least get that same sounding distortion from my ME-50. you know, the hi gain 80s sound. Any way I see these new Joyo pedals and wondering if anyone has tried the crunch pedal, US dream or the deluxe crunch pedal and your thoughts on them. I want to get a Wampler Pinnacle but at $200.00 its too expensive right now.

Slo

There is no distortion pedal that equals the sound of your Marshall.
Dump the pedal and crank up the real sound.

[JoeM]

The joyo pedals are cheap enough to get and try. You can get a bunch for less than the cost of one the boutique pedals.

[Mick Bailey]

The Joyo pedals are pretty good value for what you're getting, but I've found that many of my customers have eventually moved on to more established pedals. I've listened to a few, and also Behringer distortions. My main observation would be that note separation suffers when the gain is turned up and they can sound harsh with certain amps. The best sounds I've had from these pedals is to get the gain just on the edge of where you want it and then push it with a pedal.

I'm surprised by the number of guitarists who run hi-gain amps on the clean channel and use pedals to get the sound. That's not a criticism and I've done it myself at times, so that I could match my recorded sound when performing live - too many stomps when switching channels as well as switching patches. That's where midi comes in handy.

A much-maligned (and therefore cheap) pedal which may give you what you need is the Boss Metal Zone MT-2. There are also some popular mods for this pedal, but I quite like it the way it is. Nailing anyone's sound depends on volume levels; what sounds great in a rehearsal room or studio can sound over-saturated, noisy and muddy at live levels.

You may also want to try a Proco Rat, but again these sound best (to me) where the amp is already breaking up and they give that extra push - more like using an overdrive than a distortion box outright. You do get a lot more emphasized upper harmonic content this way and pinched harmonics become really easy to pull off in 'difficult' positions. Same goes for the Boss OD-1 or SD-1.

[olddawg]

The 80s high gain sound is usually an old Rat pushing a dimed jcm800 frequently with a phase 90. Jake is using a 5150 now in Red Dragon Cartel.

[Mark Hammer]

I don't know if it nails the tone you want, but people have generally had nice things to say about the Danelectro FAB Metal pedal. And it's hard to get cheaper than that.

[GregS]

If I remember correctly Randy Rhoads used an MXR Distortion + in his rig when he was playing with Ozzy. I don't know how that would compare with Jake E. Lee though.

[Slobrain]

Thanks for the info guys. I seen Jake playing a new 5150 on YouTube vid today. His guitar tone is pretty good. I think its not exactly what I want after re-listening to (The Ultimate Ozzy) concert 1986 today. The BATM vid tones are much better. I guess I'll have to keep listening to all the YouTube videos till I can find something maybe good. Not sure why the DS-1 setting on my ME-50 sounds good over the real deal pedal. Cosm versus analog??? I remember trying a Rat II years back and liking it but it lacked low end. Right now I use an old Ibanez Distortion Charger with a Boss GE7 to get the frequencies I want. It work but the Ibanez is a bit lacking in gain but not a bad pedal.

There are so many distortion boxes out there, the Boss Metal zone I just cannot stomach as it sounds too fake. I bought a used Boss mega distortion and its way too woofy... Not sure I'll go the boss route for dirt boxes. I do like the Carl Martin Plexitone but never got to try one in person, only heard them on YT. The Wampler pinnacle sounds good too. But in saying all that the You Tube vids are deceiving from what something sounds like in person. I never liked going into GC to try pedals as that is a waste of time... and the search continues...

Cheers

[HTH]

Back in the Ozzy days, Jake E Lee's tone was plexis with a Boss OD-1. I've used the same rig myself and it certainly gets you in that ballpark - now you just need to practice, practice, practice to sound like Jake.

[Slobrain]

The Joyo pedals are pretty good value for what you're getting, but I've found that many of my customers have eventually moved on to more established pedals. I've listened to a few, and also Behringer distortions. My main observation would be that note separation suffers when the gain is turned up and they can sound harsh with certain amps. The best sounds I've had from these pedals is to get the gain just on the edge of where you want it and then push it with a pedal.

I'm surprised by the number of guitarists who run hi-gain amps on the clean channel and use pedals to get the sound. That's not a criticism and I've done it myself at times, so that I could match my recorded sound when performing live - too many stomps when switching channels as well as switching patches. That's where midi comes in handy.

A much-maligned (and therefore cheap) pedal which may give you what you need is the Boss Metal Zone MT-2. There are also some popular mods for this pedal, but I quite like it the way it is. Nailing anyone's sound depends on volume levels; what sounds great in a rehearsal room or studio can sound over-saturated, noisy and muddy at live levels.

You may also want to try a Proco Rat, but again these sound best (to me) where the amp is already breaking up and they give that extra push - more like using an overdrive than a distortion box outright. You do get a lot more emphasized upper harmonic content this way and pinched harmonics become really easy to pull off in 'difficult' positions. Same goes for the Boss OD-1 or SD-1.

Actually I used to run an old Marshall 50 watt head with a late 60s Marshall 4x12 with the original 30 watters loud and clean and run a Ibanez Sonic distortion thru that. It sounded good but I needed just a tad bit more gain. When I got married in 1987 I sold that rig and have been kicking myself ever since... I have a Marshall non master 50 watt head now that I run thru a Marshall slant 4x12 with vintage 30s and I run it clean somewhat loud. Cant do the real loud since damaging my hearing years ago... But I like the Marshall tone and I really like using pedals for the distortion.
I do like a cranked Marshall but cant hang with that volume any more and don't want to piss off my wife either...lol...

when I played the club circuit many years ago I used the same type setup and it always worked well for me. Got my tone and not at ear splitting levels...

Its hard to beat a good Marshall 50 watt thru a old Marshall 4x12 and the natural overdrive with the compression that goes with it is the SOUND we all love.