Distortion Pedals That Pair Well With Tube Amps

[StratUp]

I think the Dual Gun wins for sound and value.

Considering the pedals you have, I would think a cleanish boost driving one of them harder would give you all you need. Something like a Klon or Timmy clone.

 

[GAS Face]

Rat.

 

[Handsome McClane]

Mainly a metalhead here. If you're wanting to spend a hundred bucks a Rat is a great choice. If you're willing to go up to above two hundred I'd look into a Revv G3. I got one last year and the Rat ended up leaving the pedalboard. Best distortion pedal I've had by a longshot.

 

[touch of gray]

I currently have a Fender Blues Jr IV. I am looking for a distortion pedal that would do well with it. I currently use a blues driver and tumnus for OD... but sometimes I want a bit more grit. Any suggestions for me to do some research into? Thanks!

I really like my Jetter 45/100. Plenty of gain but warm sounding with great feel and dynamics.

 

[Bladesg]

Line 6 HX Stomp

 

[coolrene]

CMatMods Butah: Chad’s take on the Marshall BluesBreaker. Works very well with the Blues Junior.

 

[Hamerguy]

I usually get the distortion from the amp. I have a Fender Prosonic, but I am not able to dial in a great clean AND distortion sound. So, I have a very nice clean sound and use a Mesa Boogie Flux Five pedal. It sound great, but not cheap. There are other pedals that cost less that also sound fantastic. Now I play a Mesa Mark V35. A Boss Blues Driver or something similar by MXR or so might do the trick for me.

 

[Nate D]

From a distortion pedal perspective, I've always liked the classic DS-1

 

[walter01]

I currently have a Fender Blues Jr IV. I am looking for a distortion pedal that would do well with it. I currently use a blues driver and tumnus for OD... but sometimes I want a bit more grit. Any suggestions for me to do some research into? Thanks!

Pro Co Rats are great.

 

[StratPlayerTPA]

I have several but my main Pedal is a BK Butler Tube Driver and if I want more of a Metal Distortion the Ibanez Tube Screamer or my Vintage Pro Co Rat.
Have other units like a Rack Mount Tom Scholtz Rockman and other Stomp Pedals, MXR, DOD and Boss as well but found the BK and the Ibanez to get the
job done for most anything I do and I first go to a Boss Ge7 then into my Distortion from there to the other Effects or go direct to the Amps from there with
everything else bypassed.

 

[Ebidis]

Pro Co Rats are great.

No offense, but I hate the DS-1.

 

[golfnut]

I mostly use channel 2 of my Mesa Fillmore for mid gain. Its better than any OD pedal. However I've got a few OD pedals on my board that I love. Mainly for use if I take my 67 Pro reverb out but I sometimes use them with the Mesa as well.
I have a Kingsley Page for when I want to add a bit more grit to my Mesa clean channel. I have Waza blues driver that I'll stack on the page for just a bit more grit (I have the gain on the BD set to lowest) And last I have a Kingsley Harlot. I would mainly use it on my 67 pro reverb but occasionally use it stacked with my Mesa mid gain channel when I want more.
In my opinion coming to forums for opinions on which OD to use is fruitless. There are so many pedals out there. Someone elses favorite is probably not mine. I've blown a lot of money on recommendations that haven't worked out. The best way to figure out what works on your board is experimentation. Of course I've blown a lot of money experimenting as well. The pedals I was able to experiment with that I bought from Long and Mcquade or Electric Mojo I was able to return before 30 days if it didn't work out.

 

[PCollen]

I currently have a Fender Blues Jr IV. I am looking for a distortion pedal that would do well with it. I currently use a blues driver and tumnus for OD... but sometimes I want a bit more grit. Any suggestions for me to do some research into? Thanks!

Pro Co Rats are great.

yes, but not into a clean amp. The amp needs to be breaking up already. I had one for many years, but a Barber Direct Drive replaced it. And they are reasonably priced:

Pro Co RAT 2 Distortion / Fuzz / Overdrive Pedal

Distortion/Fuzz/Overdrive Guitar Effects Pedal

www.sweetwater.com

 

[kisschicken]

I don't think it matters. Distortion pedals all sound pretty similar.

 

[Doc538]

That's good to know. I'll eventually get myself a genuine AT+ as I really do like Demons version of it. Just like I like all of my Demon FX pedals lol. They're extremely well made & affordable and they sound great in my experience so far. Until recently, my AT-DS was usually the first pedal I went for as it'll do low gain and distortion just as well.

That's my main reasoning for buying clones of well-known pedals. As a somewhat still new player, it's easier for me to jump into a $30 or $40 pedal and see if that sort of effect is something I'd like vs throwing down $250 for a high end pedal I may end up not liking. Yet I still never sell it so I just basically lost $250 on a pedal Ill never use. I'd much rather spend $25-50 on a pedal to try out before I buy the expensive pedal I actually like and only "lose" whatever I spent on the cheap pedal. Even then, it's not really a loss as I'd likely use it even after buying the high end pedal.

I'm just an old fart who does not use pedals any more, my playing out is now in the garage with a question for ye, If you buy a cheap pedal and you like its sound why bother buying the expensive version ?

 

[Scott Baxendale]

The TS9 never fails.

 

[dasherf17]

Gotta love a Rat. Also, idk what your budget is, but my current favorite distortion is the Friedman BE-OD Deluxe (at least I think it is, based on the clone I built of it lol)

I love my Rat (it glows in the dark...)!
Serious good distortion...

 

[Hanson]

There's many good distortion pedals (vs overdrive) and sounds like that's what you want.

There is the venerable Rat that is proven a timeless classic.

Wampler makes good ones too like the Pinnacle or the Sovereign. Catapult was good too.

JHS AT or Angry Charlie are good , I currently own the AT.

There are just so many out there

I’ve got an AT Plus on my board and it does an overdriven Marshall tone very well. I believe that it is based off an Angry Charley. JHS modified it to Andy Timmons request. The Plus gives an additional boost, when tapped.

On the same board I’ve got a Tumnus which does a very nice transparent OD, but I assume you are looking for more drive when you ask for distortion.

 

[11 hole]

yes, but not into a clean amp. The amp needs to be breaking up already. I had one for many years, but a Barber Direct Drive replaced it. And they are reasonably priced:

Pro Co RAT 2 Distortion / Fuzz / Overdrive Pedal

Distortion/Fuzz/Overdrive Guitar Effects Pedal

www.sweetwater.com

The Barber DD used to be my #1 until I got a Fulltone OCD, sounds great thru a clean Fender amp..got the Barber up for sale now.

 

[funkysoul]

The MXR Badass Distortion is the only one pedal that boosts an already cooked amp for my solos just right where I want it to be