Trying to find the right distortion/overdrive pedal

[Rev2S]

I am looking for a distortion/overdrive pedal that can get me from pop/rock (Top 40) to hard rock to some palm mute stuff (not crazy 80's metal!). I am used to getting gainy tones from an amp. I use a Bad Cat Hot Cat and it sounds great but would like something all those lines in a pedal. I have tried numerous pedals like Barber Direct Drive, Sparkle Drive, Crunchbox, Rat, Sans Amp GT2 and I cannot seem to find the "right" one. The Sans Amp actually gives me the most compliments surprisingly. I think it sounds a little thin though. Anyways, any sugguestions would be great. Any pedal that can get pretty heavy but clean up pretty well? It seems like whatever pedal I try just doesn't have what I am looking for.

[Mr. Kite]

Xotic bb preamp or fultone ocd. You might check out the demos on you tube for proguitarshop.com

[funkycam]

OCD is a great option imo.
toadworks death rattle, despite the idiotic name has a ton of flexibility.

The bad cat xtreme tone is apprently the front end of a hot cat in pedal form, but I had one & I thought it sounded terrible... YMMV

[electricfactory]

I find the Paul Cochrane TIM pedal to be absolutely perfect in this role and maybe just what you've been searching for. In my humble opinion the TIM is really the best sounding OD/ Distortion available.
The only problem is the long wait time to order one...

[Rev2S]

I had and tried the Timmy and it didn't do anything for me. I am looking into the OCD though. Can it get heavy sounding? I also was looking into the Blackstar Dual pedal...but they are back ordered till October.

[funkycam]

OCD gets pretty gainy, but the way I do what you are looking for (i use an amp set totally clean) on my board is to have 1 or 2 low/medium gainers (short list:murano/OCD/dumbbell/silver kiss)& 1 high gainer: a crunchbox.

Crunchbox is a one trick pony IMO & I use it solely for high gain tones.
It's not very big, not very expensive & has one great high gain tone.

The OCD maxed has about the same gain as the crunchbox on half, but the crunchbox is a lot tighter in the bottom end, which makes it way better for chunky palm muting.

[DaveinLondon]

I can recommend the Foxrox ZIM and its swappable circuits. You could easily put together a combination that would cover your needs.

[XKnight]

Skreddy Screwdriver of course.

[aeonlux]

I can recommend the Foxrox ZIM and its swappable circuits. You could easily put together a combination that would cover your needs.

+1. I have a ZIM with 7 cards. It has been a lifesaver in studio situations when recording guitarists. Clean to mean, with everything in between. Tone, routing, build, all top-notch, and Dave Fox is a good guy to do business with.


cheers,
Ian

[Birddog]

There isn't much love here for them, but my main drive for the last 2 years has been my Marshall Guv'nor 2. (I have one on each board). It can get thick (or thin) crunch and distortion better than any pedal I know. Extremely versatile for playing in my cover-band. Very rich rhythm sound, rounded/fat leads. I really like those pedals.

[auratnik]

Keep coming back to my Analogman DS1.

[popsongsmith]

Sounds like you should look into stacking two distinct pedals. I've been running a Maxon 820 into a MI Blues Pro with great results. The ZIM would essentially accomplish the same thing, with the addition of the voice control.

I used to run a Boss BD-2 into an SD-1, and that worked nicely as well.

Stack 'em up, brother!

[DSmith]

MI Audio Tube Zone

[Rev2S]

I think I might pick up the OCD and stack it with another pedal. I almost pulled the trigger on a Tube Zone awhile back, but didn't. Looking for something a little more Marshall like.

[mr. stanley]

OCD:)

I agree layering could help you get what you want. I use a Mojo Hand Mule a lot for lower gain stuff and layering...it's based on a Red Llama.

[Ricman]

A Juaernig Gristle King. It is essentially his DGTM coupled with his Luxury Drive. You'll love it. You can turn off the overdrive side of it (although it cleans up quite a bit), run just the Luxury Drive side of it cranked and you'll get just a little break up. Nice pedal.