Pedals versus amp for mid to high gain distortion

[dtmike07]

I'm never satisfied with my distortion sound. If I could afford it, I would get an Axe-FX 2 or a boutique amp combined with attenuator. I've experimented a lot with amp modelling - I like s-gear the best, but I don't think it has the responsiveness of a real amp. The rest of the modellers I've tried pretty much suck.

My current plan is to get an AC15c1 and a good distortion pedal. I love the AC15's clean sound, and if I could find a distortion pedal that works well with it and sounds good to my ears, I'd be set. I was looking at the Catalinbread Dirty Little Secret MkII and Suhr Riot - they seem to have a good reputation around here.

However, I'm a little worried that I'm wasting my time with distortion pedals. Can they ever sound nearly as good as the distortion on a real amp? I've heard the sound clips, but I'm skeptical. I have an OCD, for example, and I think it sounds like crap.

Should I just forget about distortion until I can afford an expensive amp and/or axe-fx?

[DualRectifier]

If you think an OCD sounds like crap, I wouldn't know what to tell you. I have a two channel amp and I play the OCD into the clean channel as often as I do the lead channel.

You keep saying "distortion", but do you mean "overdrive"? The OCD is an overdrive, not a distortion.

[bshields]

idk, i get great heavy tone with a rat stacked into a pharaoh with JB Humbuckers in the bridge of a strat. Through a properly voiced clean amp I can pull killswitch engage tones no problem.

[Frankenstrat86]

Try a dr. Scientist the elements. Works great in both a clean and dirty amp

[justnick]

Personally I think it's a weird myth that "amp distortion is better than pedal distortion."

With regard to fairly saturated distortion of the kind generated through pre-amp clipping, usually with master volume circuits, I personally prefer pedals for most applications and I have some nice amps that do that as well.

I also like both pedals and some master volume circuits on amps for lower gain distortion/overdrive.

A cranked tube amp that is getting some clipping in the output tubes is a very cool thing and has somewhat different dynamics than most pedals, but it is neither "better" nor worse. A preamp section overdriven by a hot signal is cool too. But there are also pedals that get those types of sounds in conjunction with the right amps and right settings.

Pedals sound friggin' awesome and offer some advantages. Amps sound awesome too. Together they sound awesome. It's silly to generalize about these things. I say grab and/or tweak some gear that gets you a sound you like and go play. If you have an amp with a good clean sound, there's a million pedals that will get you a cool overdriven tone and they can do it in conjunction with clipping in the amp or on their own into a clean amp. The CB 30 should work wonders with an AC15.

n

[Jet Age Eric]

I've never played an OCD with a Vox, but I think they sound like crap w/Fenders. I love my Solidgold Superdrive with my Fender (and Fender-based amps), and it kills with ACs, too. I made a quickie demo for this band and somehow the demo turned into an album. The guitar stabs on the left and at the end--and the lead bit over the bridge--is a Superdrive into a Vox.-E

XEqzD1cZWjo

[smallbutmighty]

most of my favorite "distorted" tones are via an amp/pedal combo.

[voorhiessa]

amp is better, but not by a whole lot. particularly these days.

Mostly for simiplicity, I'd love to have a sweet amp where and I just crank for dirt tones and clean up with guitar volume knob. They make em in my price range, but they have other limitations.

So, i'm just gonna grab a Vox Pathfinder 15R* and use a couple of dirt pedals and that will have to do.

*looking for one!

[dulcetpine]

In a practice situation, you simply cannot get a better distortion tone (in my extremely subjective and biased opinion) than a Mesa Boogie F-Series amp. I personally have the F-100 and holy sheet that thing is menacing... it sounds so big and so open... Also, of all the Mesa amplifiers it has the finest clean channel that has a push/pull on the gain stage. When I use my OD/fuzz pedals it handles them very very well, it is a tone machine.

All of that said, it didn't work very well in a bedroom setting, but there aren't many tube amps that will. I personally have a 1/2 watt tube amp that was hand build by a guy on eBay who puts them into PC power supply cases and that sounds really amazing but I need to lean on my pedals for a dirty sound unless I change the tubes. Great buy.

http://thumbp12-ne1.thumb.mail.yahoo.com/tn?sid=1433337838&mid=AO8Iw0MAALISThOPUAzW6HE4HTs&midoffset=1_0&partid=3&f=1213&fid=Inbox&w=637&h=480&httperr=1

The perfect tone is always one piece of equipment away isn't it? But in my case and my preferences, my distortion sound is locked down tight.

[dtmike07]

If you think an OCD sounds like crap, I wouldn't know what to tell you. I have a two channel amp and I play the OCD into the clean channel as often as I do the lead channel.

You keep saying "distortion", but do you mean "overdrive"? The OCD is an overdrive, not a distortion.

I know, but its made me skeptical of OD/distortion pedals in general, since it has such good reviews. Maybe its just the combination with the amp that didn't work. Currently I have a Vox Night Train.

Personally I think it's a weird myth that "amp distortion is better than pedal distortion."

With regard to fairly saturated distortion of the kind generated through pre-amp clipping, usually with master volume circuits, I personally prefer pedals for most applications and I have some nice amps that do that as well.

I also like both pedals and some master volume circuits on amps for lower gain distortion/overdrive.

A cranked tube amp that is getting some clipping in the output tubes is a very cool thing and has somewhat different dynamics than most pedals, but it is neither "better" nor worse. A preamp section overdriven by a hot signal is cool too. But there are also pedals that get those types of sounds in conjunction with the right amps and right settings.

Pedals sound friggin' awesome and offer some advantages. Amps sound awesome too. Together they sound awesome. It's silly to generalize about these things. I say grab and/or tweak some gear that gets you a sound you like and go play. If you have an amp with a good clean sound, there's a million pedals that will get you a cool overdriven tone and they can do it in conjunction with clipping in the amp or on their own into a clean amp. The CB 30 should work wonders with an AC15.


Thanks for your response, very well thought out! I guess I really just have to experiment. I had an AC15 before selling it and getting a Night Train (not the best move - which is why I'm going back to AC15). I absolutely loved the overdriven sound when I cranked it up really loud (both the preamp and master). Henceforth that's been my standard that everything else has to live up to. Most of the time I'm just recording and practicing in my bedroom though, so I can't turn it up that loud. I researched attenuators a lot and ended up getting a Rivera Rockcrusher - I couldn't hook it up to the AC15 though, which is why I got the Night Train. The results were less than satisfactory.

If I could get that same kind of overdriven AC15 sound from a pedal though, that would be amazing. I'll look into this CB 30 pedal.

So, i'm just gonna grab a Vox Pathfinder 15R* and use a couple of dirt pedals and that will have to do.

I thought about getting one of those too, but I figured, might as well go with AC15 since its tried and true. And also I could use it in a band practice situation or live.

In a practice situation, you simply cannot get a better distortion tone (in my extremely subjective and biased opinion) than a Mesa Boogie F-Series amp. I personally have the F-100 and holy sheet that thing is menacing... it sounds so big and so open... Also, of all the Mesa amplifiers it has the finest clean channel that has a push/pull on the gain stage. When I use my OD/fuzz pedals it handles them very very well, it is a tone machine.

All of that said, it didn't work very well in a bedroom setting, but there aren't many tube amps that will. I personally have a 1/2 watt tube amp that was hand build by a guy on eBay who puts them into PC power supply cases and that sounds really amazing but I need to lean on my pedals for a dirty sound unless I change the tubes. Great buy.

http://thumbp12-ne1.thumb.mail.yahoo.com/tn?sid=1433337838&mid=AO8Iw0MAALISThOPUAzW6HE4HTs&midoffset=1_0&partid=3&f=1213&fid=Inbox&w=637&h=480&httperr=1

The perfect tone is always one piece of equipment away isn't it? But in my case and my preferences, my distortion sound is locked down tight.

I know right, just need that one piece of gear and everything will be perfect.

Never heard of the Mesa F-series. I didn't see it on Mesa's website.

I wonder if there's any super low watt amplifers that are good for distortion?

[justnick]

I was pretty impressed with it. In this demo I was using a silverface Princeton Reverb which is a finicky amp with OD pedals, especially bright ones.

0kmOFX_dlnY

[WoodyStrat]

Don't judge all dirt boxes by the OCD. It is a finicky pedal depending on the rest of the gear. I have owned 3 trying to like it because everyone else does. Wrong answer!!

You have to be like the rest of us and taste at least 20 and buy back the ones you like the best!!! :)

[Progbusters]

I haven't tried high gain distortion on my AC15. I have tried mid gain for a sound like say, 80s Iron Maiden, and it doesn't sound good. pedals I tried are HBE BigD, FMJ, and Doomsday Device, and Barber Dirty Bomb. The mids of the amp don't mix well. Now I have tried my Devi Ever Hyperion to get a fuzzy high gain and that does sound good with the AC15.

[Mr. Limbic]

Without knowing what your distortion "preferences" are it is tough to make a suggestion...however amptweaker effects makes every shade of dirt pedal and they all sound incredible...only one i havent tried is the tight drive...they are highly tweakable so u can make them sound great through anything

[DJ_61]

The best distortion box is imho the overlooked maxon SD9. And cheap too. Just turn the tone knob to zero, and the volume way up... Use your guitar's volume knob for the rest.

[King Rat]

For me,

Fulltone OCD on low gain running into a Keeley Ts-9 mod plus also on low gain gives me a hellova good mid/high overdrive sound that is very dynamic/natural and low noise!

gibson 335 going into a twin...

[nitefly7]

The best distortion box is imho the overlooked maxon SD9. And cheap too. Just turn the tone knob to zero, and the volume way up... Use your guitar's volume knob for the rest.

this, I have my 3rd SD9 coming in next week, after selling the first 2.

That being said, I dug both the OCD and Riot that I had before (used with mostly rented backline, everything from JCM800's/900's on clean, Marshall Valvestates (1st revisions and the newer ones), and nowadays a ZT Lunchbox).

It's just that the Maxon will do what I need, for about half the price.

Although I'm a big fan of pushing 'amps on the edge of breakup' (even the ole' Boss DS-1 will help in these kinds of situations!) with a distortion box, I've always come back to cleaner amps with using pedals for everything mid/high gain.

Some of my favourites:
- OCD
- Tube Zone (tweak-o-rama, but a really great pedal)
- Riot
- Sonic Distortion / SD-9/SD9

[ChorusCrackpot]

A cranked up Mesa/Boogie MarkIV amp kills, eats, chews up and spits out dirt pedals for breakfast.

[guitarz1972]

Plenty of high-level guitarists get nice tone using pedals into clean amp setups.

Actually, I think it's largely a question of volume. When I crank my Genz Benz Black Pearl at 15 watts, I can summon-up some pretty good tone most of the time, and the dynamics are usually just fine for me - and it never seems to matter if I use just the amp's dirt or go clean amp with pedals (OCD or Fulldrive 2 are what I use). OP, you indicated that you do a lot of bedroom playing (that phrase never sounds like I mean it to sound lol); so if you have to have everything turned-down a bit, I think you're automatically compromising on tone just a little bit. No biggie if that's the case, we all have to do it at times, but I believe low overall volume truly does alter the dynamic of how the rig can sound, how stuff reacts, etc.

Some of us I'm sure remember the John Mayer post (evidently his actual post) on another forum from some time ago, talking about overdrive pedals. He said something along the lines of "Good overdrive is supposed to sound like an amp cranked-up, cranked-up is often equated with loud, if we run things quiet, then it's like 'quiet trying to emulate loud,' which is silly." Paraphrased, but that's the gist of it.

OP, if you've not really done this much yet (and I apologize if you have done this plenty of times, not sure how much you've gigged or really blasted your particular rig , etc): Seize an opportunity sometime to really, really turn up your amp (clean or with pedals, doesn't matter - heck do both), and THEN judge how things sound. I bet you'll have a markedly different experience.

Cheers,


C

[dtmike07]

Plenty of high-level guitarists get nice tone using pedals into clean amp setups.

Actually, I think it's largely a question of volume. When I crank my Genz Benz Black Pearl at 15 watts, I can summon-up some pretty good tone most of the time, and the dynamics are usually just fine for me - and it never seems to matter if I use just the amp's dirt or go clean amp with pedals (OCD or Fulldrive 2 are what I use). OP, you indicated that you do a lot of bedroom playing (that phrase never sounds like I mean it to sound lol); so if you have to have everything turned-down a bit, I think you're automatically compromising on tone just a little bit. No biggie if that's the case, we all have to do it at times, but I believe low overall volume truly does alter the dynamic of how the rig can sound, how stuff reacts, etc.

Some of us I'm sure remember the John Mayer post (evidently his actual post) on another forum from some time ago, talking about overdrive pedals. He said something along the lines of "Good overdrive is supposed to sound like an amp cranked-up, cranked-up is often equated with loud, if we run things quiet, then it's like 'quiet trying to emulate loud,' which is silly." Paraphrased, but that's the gist of it.

OP, if you've not really done this much yet (and I apologize if you have done this plenty of times, not sure how much you've gigged or really blasted your particular rig , etc): Seize an opportunity sometime to really, really turn up your amp (clean or with pedals, doesn't matter - heck do both), and THEN judge how things sound. I bet you'll have a markedly different experience.

I agree, maybe this is the source of my frustration: trying to get "loud" distortion at low volumes (and also low budget). I don't often get a chance to turn up my amp very loud - I do remember it sounding good with the OCD then. I'll make a point to experiment with volume levels before judging a pedal. But if it doesn't sound good at low volumes...not very useful in my situation. For me, kinda the whole point of going with pedals is so that I don't have to crank up an amp to get its natural distortion.

I think the major difference between quiet and loud, besides the dynamics of the speakers pushing air and so forth, is EQ. Perhaps I should put an EQ before or after the distortion pedal with scooped mids to compensate for the Fletcher munson effect and make it seem louder. There's probably nothing I can do to emulate the dynamics of a loud amp, I guess.

Without knowing what your distortion "preferences" are it is tough to make a suggestion...however amptweaker effects makes every shade of dirt pedal and they all sound incredible...only one i havent tried is the tight drive...they are highly tweakable so u can make them sound great through anything

If I could get something resembling a cranked up Marshall or Mesa Boogie that would suit my needs pretty well.

I'll take a look at amptweaker.

[ivansardi]

Dude!!! Never heard a better High gain than Rockerverb 50 and an old Laney amp. No pedal can even come close to the destruction of the distortion that those amps do. Doom Doom Doom! :)

[guitarz1972]

I agree, maybe this is the source of my frustration: trying to get "loud" distortion at low volumes (and also low budget). I don't often get a chance to turn up my amp very loud - I do remember it sounding good with the OCD then. I'll make a point to experiment with volume levels before judging a pedal. But if it doesn't sound good at low volumes...not very useful in my situation. For me, kinda the whole point of going with pedals is so that I don't have to crank up an amp to get its natural distortion.

I think the major difference between quiet and loud, besides the dynamics of the speakers pushing air and so forth, is EQ. Perhaps I should put an EQ before or after the distortion pedal with scooped mids to compensate for the Fletcher munson effect and make it seem louder. There's probably nothing I can do to emulate the dynamics of a loud amp, I guess.





Sounds like you're wanting a good bit of gain (just from some of the pedals you referenced in the OP), but unless we're doing metal than you might really look at "gain-down, volume-up" for a while. Don't change the overall volume level of your rig, but trimming back your gain will allow you to raise your noise ceiling (the good kind of noise, of course). Another part of that Mayer post that I forgot about was that sometimes players use more gain than they really need. So there are probably some fine-tuning adjustments you can make (gain, certainly EQ, etc.), as opposed to finding exactly the right pedal if that makes sense.
Good luck, hang in there.

[Improbable Joe]

I was thinking about getting yet another boutique distortion pedal for getting cranked sounds at closer to bedroom levels(my bedroom level is actually quite loud!). At this point, I've decided that it might be my best bet to find a used Marshall Class 5 combo and an ABY switch.

[schrom81]

I am a fan of both amp and pedal dirt. That being said, I prefer pedals for the simple fact that I can get board of a sound no matter how good after a time. If I get tired of the sound of one pedal I can turn another one on instead. Or I can buy a pedal from $30-250 and that is a lot cheaper then spending $800-5000 for a new amp.

[Sirloin]

Barber Direct Drive and Barber Dirty Bomb. I also can't stand the sound of an OCD pedal. Too gritty/harsh. Anything past noon on the overdrive on an OCD is unusable IMHO.

[Rena Rune]

Been bouncing between amps and pedals for this. A lot of the really truly awesome distorted tones will be an amp boosted with a pedal somehow. I can't think of many amps that really capture this "wild" element of the sound.

Son of Hyde isn't super High-Gain but I've gotten some of the most awesome high gain tones out of running it into a slightly dirty amp. It cleans up completely as well with the gain knob, but the clean up itself is a little ratty rather than smooth. My Dirty Bomb did that a bit better, though didn't go as clean. I like adding a bit of nastiness to my distortion though - the Son of Hyde is a distortion, not an overdrive.

[Tito83]

IMO what I have problems with is the pedals that emulate amp tone... Sorry, it's just not there when you put things side by side. I made peace with pedals once I realized that pedals sound like pedals, I no longer make them more then they actually are. Need a RAT? Get a RAT. Need TS? Get TS. Need Marshall tone? Get a Marshall(y) amp. Today you have so many amp options at great price - a lot of them priced near or even less then some of the pricier pedals. If you need the versatility to make a single amp sound like a dozen different amp tones, maybe you have to set your priorities straight.

OP, if you need this, maybe try a Voxy amp with 2 channels? A Mesa Boogie TA30 comes to mind.

[smallbutmighty]

IMO what I have problems with is the pedals that emulate amp tone... Sorry, it's just not there when you put things side by side. I made peace with pedals once I realized that pedals sound like pedals, I no longer make them more then they actually are. Need a RAT? Get a RAT. Need TS? Get TS. Need Marshall tone? Get a Marshall(y) amp. Today you have so many amp options at great price - a lot of them priced near or even less then some of the pricier pedals. If you need the versatility to make a single amp sound like a dozen different amp tones, maybe you have to set your priorities straight.

OP, if you need this, maybe try a Voxy amp with 2 channels? A Mesa Boogie TA30 comes to mind.


No kidding. I just got a Jet City JCA20H, fully tricked out with Orange Drop and Sozo caps, a choke, and other mods for $200. It's like a mini JCM800. And that's not like some crazy deal...you can find them around that price every day.

I would take that over a pedal any day, and twice on Sunday and holidays.

[nevernamed]

I think this is what makes making music so great. There is no CLEAR right or wrong way to do this. Everything is different based on taste.

Since I picked up a my first tube amp 2 weeks ago, I've been doing alot of distortion tweaking.

Surprisingly, I find my DS-1 to sound quite amazing thru my hotrod. especially if its on the overdriven channel..I also find using my MXR doubleshot works very well too, although sometimes I wonder if it colors the signal slightly too much, even with the gain almost all the way down. but it does sound nice.. gets a real nice metal crunch..

That being said, I too am interested in maybe getting an overdrive and using the MXR more for that extra grit / solos

[acwild]

If you're looking at the Axe2, then the Mark V should be in your price range. Try out Channel 3. I think it'll cover all the gain that you'll ever need. Also, the Output volume control works great so you won't need an attenuator. It sounds great at all volume levels. Most of my drive pedals have been sold since they didn't sound "right" to my ears anymore. The exception being a TS9 as it sounds really cool through Channel 1 with the amp set for some light breakup.

[rotini]

All of that said, it didn't work very well in a bedroom setting, but there aren't many tube amps that will. I personally have a 1/2 watt tube amp that was hand build by a guy on eBay who puts them into PC power supply cases and that sounds really amazing but I need to lean on my pedals for a dirty sound unless I change the tubes. Great buy.


Interesting - do you know where I can get one of these?

[aarondavis]

Barber Direct Drive and Barber Dirty Bomb.

:agree

100% Best distortion/OD boxes I've found, at any price.

[guitarz1972]

100% Best distortion/OD boxes I've found, at any price.

:stir
http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=1074900

[aarondavis]

:stir
http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=1074900

Notice how I said "I've found" - not "in the world" or "better than anything".

Just my opinion. But it's based on the versatility, tone and quality of build of these boxes compared to many high end boxes that I've owned/still own.

[jason41224]

i know i'm probably the only one in dissent here, but from my experience, amp>pedals. every stinkin' time. i've tried far too many higher gain overdives (like the OCD for example) and it may have gotten me 85% there, but that remaining 15% drove me crazy. plugging back into my Orange felt like coming home.

and you think i'm the only one who feels this way? just look around TGP. the quest for the "perfect overdrive" never ends (and I mean NEVER). instead of taking off on a long, frustrating, expensive bunny trail like i did, find the main sound you want, get the amp that does that, and then get pedals to cover the rest. that's why i have an AD30 for the thicker distortion, and i use pedals on the clean channel to get a nice voxy overdrive.

[AParrotLooksAt4O]

I own 2(technically 4) Jetter Gear pedals, and they all out perform any amp distortion I have ever tried in terms of versatility, and a lot of times tone as well.

Example: The Jetter Gain Stage Gold.
This pedal has two distinct voices; 1)the "soft" voice which provides low to upper medium gain levels with buttery smooth drive and clarity, and 2) the "hard" voice which is more aggressive in terms of gain, feel and attack.

For $210 you get two excellent, tweakable voices at your fingertips, instead of trying to replicate this with ONE amp.

On the other hand, I LOVE the tones coming from the Mesa TransAtlantic amps, and those have many voices and tones, not to mention levels of headroom.

In conclusion, find what you like and use it, but don't rule anything out based one isolated, or maybe even many experiences with one or two items. I used to be 100% amp, and now I'm 95% pedals.

[dulcetpine]

Interesting - do you know where I can get one of these?

Sent you a private message Rotini.

[Rena Rune]

I have a Dirty Bomb, but I bought a Son of Hyde and prefer that for distortion. For overdrive the Dirty Bomb is better. The Son of Hyde just has more character, IMO. It sounds like a mesh between a Vox and a high gain Diezel or something, really cool.

Can't sell the Dirty Bomb now :(

[semi hollaback]

I find amp overdrive/distortion to be a bit limiting on one channel amps.. where pretty much you have to play loud to get overdrive, and quiet to get clean tone-- either thru picking dynamics or volume guitar control... So.. what if you have to play loud and clean or quiet and overdriven?

[Rena Rune]

^ I Know, that's always my problem with them. The "purity" of such amps often isn't worth it.

[forum_crawler]

While you can run high gain pedals into a vox, I think you would do well to *not* expect rectifier type of sounds out of it, regardless of the pedal.

I would argue that amp "distortion" sounds better than pedals, but that depends on the amp we are talking about. Vox amps have a very unique sound that while not high gain, is still good.

Modelers do a good job of sounding like the real thing, so even if you go with something like the axe, gsp, or hd, you should be fine. However, they are not the real thing. The Kemper might be the closest you can get to the real thing.

[Rena Rune]

I LOVE Voxes, and they can be coaxed into some neat high gain tones, kind of glassier sounding, more like Smashing Pumpkins than Death Metal. But most pedals can sound pretty nasally trough them. You pretty much just have to crank them and hit them with a bassy overdrive. I found this even with my AC4.

[chrismellotron]

A cranked up Mesa/Boogie MarkIV amp kills, eats, chews up and spits out dirt pedals for breakfast.

I know someone who plays that with just a boost and a wah and it KICKS ASS!! Super heavy, super full.

[stratguy23]

Personally, I hate overly compressed, scooped mids, preamp gain tones, so I really have never liked most Mesas I have played through (even if I boost the mids a lot). Most high gain amps are too many watts I think to get a good tone at reasonable volume. I use very low wattage amps and try to get them to the edge of break up then use different pedals depending on how much gain I need. A cranked 100 watt Marshall would blow away any Marshall style pedal, but it is way too loud for most applications, so for me, I just think you can get as good or pedal distortion tones from pedals at low volumes than from amps.

[Rena Rune]

Doesn't a "good" power amp sound technically compress more than a preamp though? I mean through sag & bloom etc. It's just because "preamp" heavy amps tend to be very high gain, so of course that'll be more compressed overall.

[dtmike07]

to the OP:
it would be good if you could tell us what you mean by "high-gain",
as it's a pretty relative term.
could you make a few musical comparisons, or offer references to high-gain tones/players that you enjoy?

I appreciate quite a wide variety of music - I'm not really going after a particular sound. As long as its good. If I could just get one good distortion sound, I'd be happy. Metallica - Black album, Iron Maiden, Opeth, Dream Theater, Rage Against the Machine - those are all distortion sounds I really dig. I think those are all Marshall and Mesa Boogie, besides Mikael Akerfeldt who uses Laney I believe.

However I also appreciate more overdriven, thick sounds like the sound of an overdriven AC15 or AC30. I'd be happy if I could achieve that too.

But for the purposes of this thread, lets say I want a Marshally or Mesa Boogie type heavy metal distortion. Can pedals get me there (or close)? If so, what kind of amp would I need to pair with the pedal? If not, are there any amps that can do that kind of distortion that are under $1000, and are playable at bedroom levels?

While you can run high gain pedals into a vox, I think you would do well to *not* expect rectifier type of sounds out of it, regardless of the pedal.

I would argue that amp "distortion" sounds better than pedals, but that depends on the amp we are talking about. Vox amps have a very unique sound that while not high gain, is still good.

Modelers do a good job of sounding like the real thing, so even if you go with something like the axe, gsp, or hd, you should be fine. However, they are not the real thing. The Kemper might be the closest you can get to the real thing.

That sounds reasonable. If I had the money, I would definitely get the Axe-fx or Kemper in a heartbeat, and I'd compare it with the real thing using my own two ears.

[tapehead]

Both. My signal chain can be seen below. Neither the pedals nor the amp are suited for getting high gain sounds by themselves, but put them together and the resulting synergy is greater than the sum of parts involved.
A silverface [basically a twin, but half-stack] w/master volume: Vibrato Ch input 1, Volume 7-8, Treble 4, Mids 5, Bass 3, and Master at 5-6 is the best pedal playmate I've experienced, taking them like an extension of the amp & my guitar. I've found that putting fuzz first, into transparent od and hitting the clean fender with cranked sustain settings yields the best sounding kind of breakup to my ears. Sounds great through the quad of stock Fender 'special' 12s...It reminds me of clapton's tone for the solo in "All Your Love" w/Bluesbreakers & John Mayall....which was apparently done using an early 60s Marshall with KT88s. Dat tone.

[Balok]

Pedals can certainly give some great tones, especially at lower volumes and lower gain settings.
But for higher stage volumes and more substantial gain, pedals always leave me gear swapping and tweaking. There's something I'm not hearing. I grew up with cranked Marshalls and Fenders and just got a certain sound planted in my mind by them, as well as from concerts in the 70's.
A pedal is typically trying to clip the signal with a 9 volt battery circuit running at a few millivolts traveling down a guitar cable.
That's whats trying to compete with a cranked amp circuit running at hundreds of volts and far, far greater current.
Now I'm using cranked Marshalls and Mesas and I never think about going back to pedals.
Of course this is just my personal experience (so far). Whatever makes your fingers move keeps your ears smiling is all that really matters.

[MRCHILL4]

Step up to a KOT , you will love it. I found the OCD to be too compressed and muddy. And buzzy. A lovepedal kanji work extremely well with my boogies, either stacked with the amps dirt or through the clean. It has a great black crowes thing ( shake your money maker) going on. The KOT is just sweet drippiness. The boiling point is from sweet plexiness to full on assault. My OCD is packed away.once in a while I get all my drives together to have a shoot out:
KOT
Boiling point
Kanji
OCD
Brownie
Slostortion
Screwdriver
Lunar module
Pigmine
Out of these the, KOT, bp, kanji, SD, LM rise above, each for their own reasons. The others are carefully packed away. I hang on to them because they are good drives. Never know how ones tastes change.
Now I love cranked amp tone above all. These few pedals plays real nice with a clean or cranked amp. The ones in storage don't play nice with cranked amps and sound okay with clean amps. To my ears. But different drive pedals offer different shades. I love them.