DISTORTION needed for Bright, Clean, NOT cranked vintage Super Reverb

[fenderjapan]

So, I know variations on this topic have been done to death and I have read the threads and tried a lot of the pedals, but I wanted some specific input.

I have a pedalboard that I use with my 67 Super Reverb. I use it clean a lot, so it is rather bright and I can't compensate by rolling back the treble or anything like that without killing my clean tone.

I have a tuner, MXR DynaComp, Nocturne Brain (for my Gretsch), KOT (for more "cranked classic fender" sounds), a Chorus, and a Delay.

What I am missing is a Distortion.

These are the important factors
-Plenty of gain and sustain (I'm not looking for a heavy metal sound, but definitely the ability to do leads that are TONALLY reminiscent of Santana, Journey, EJ, Carlton, and other rock stuff.)
-Ability to NOT sound super bright despite my bright amp (simply rolling back the tone on other pedals doesn't always sound good)
-Ideally good sounds with a variety of guitars

Pedals I've tried:
-Fulltone OCD (too bright, not enough sustain with this particular amp)
-TS9 variants (just not enough drive)
-JHS Angry Charlie (more in the MIAB vein and jives better with less bright amps, I couldn't tame it)
-Pedal Pal 800 (same as Angry Charlie)
-MXR Super Badass Distortion (I could EQ this one reasonably well but it doesn't sound great unless you are running it full distortion and that was a little overkill for my purposes)
-Big Muff (just not the right EQ fit, either too bright or muffled)
-Tube Driver (too bright with this amp)

So, ideas?

EDIT: I bought a Red Dot Zendrive and it scratched the itch. Thanks!

 

[truckin]

The Benson Preamp, the regular/old one, is great with my vintage SR at low volumes

 

[Stratofuzz]

Analogman Astro Tone Fuzz - made for Fender amps

 

[NorCal_Val]

Bogner red “Ecstasy” pedal.
I’ve run mine into a Hot Rod Deluxe, a Super Reverb, and a Blues Jr, all with great results.

 

[Norrin Radd 1966]

JHS Dude might do the trick.

 

[3waytie4last]

Rat

 

[LikeAMotherF]

Have you looked at the Dover Drive or the Zendrive? Both Hermida pedals, and they're supposed to excel at that "singing sustain yet smooth" thing that I think you're describing?

 

[btjguitarman]

Suhr eclipse. It’s what I wanted the ecstasy red to be, and you get basically a two in one with it. plus the global voice knob can change the gain structure a bit and tailor to your amp's tone really well.

 

[TL;DR]

TWE-1
It has some of the most powerful tone-shaping controls you’ll find in a pedal

 

[Bluesful]

-Plenty of gain and sustain (I'm not looking for a heavy metal sound, but definitely the ability to do leads that are TONALLY reminiscent of Santana, Journey, EJ, Carlton, and other rock stuff.)

Zendrive.

Here's mine with a '67 Vibrolux Reverb, so not worlds away from your Super Reverb.

 

[GenoVox]

I used to use my RAT thru a drip-edge Twin… it worked well as long as the Filter knob was somewhere between 3 o’clock and fully clockwise

A Suhr Riot (or clone) would probably work too… or maybe a Dumble-style pedal at higher gain levels

DOD Gunslinger too, with the highs turned down some (also has a bass control to keep from getting mushy)

With a Silverface circuit - especially set clean and bright - it’s important a dirt pedal has good mids as part of its inherent tone

 

[Chronic Fatigue]

I was going to say JHS AT+, but that's just an Angry Charlie. It does have the headroom wattage switch, so maybe that might tame it to your liking. If not, how about a distortion you like with an EQ pedal behind it?

 

[drbob1]

I'd second the Zendrive, except it's more of an overdrive than a distortion. For that you need it's cousin the Mosferatu! A little darker, a lot more sustaining and capable of some rough edges if needed.

 

[NelDGT]

Yeah I find most dist pedals can be a bit on the shrill side for leads but I’m having good luck with Dover drive set on low gain and a Jan ray after it as a boost.

 

[Big in Japan]

I’ll often use a SIB Cuda through a clean Princeton. It’s kind of like an OCD, but warmer, and with more sustain available.

 

[Mattyc]

Bogner Burnley distortion might work. The most common gripe,after the funky footswitch, was that it was too dark for all but the brightest setups. Another vote for the SIB Cuda also. $99 well spent!

 

[juxtapolice]

Zen drive is good or some dumble style overdrive/distortion. Low mids

 

[AcceptableNorm]

DS-1

 

[fenderjapan]

DS-1

Could work. Used to have one.

 

[plan-x]

Bogner Burnley has the rep of being dark. It's got gain and sustain. Love mine!