I play in a Stoner Rock band that veers in the direction of psychedelic/grunge type stuff. Like a mixture of Cavity and Tad with early Pink Floyd psych freak out sections. I use a Boss DS-1 into a Marshall JCM600 with the pedal always on. It cleans up fairly well (as clean as I would ever use…a gritty “clean”) with a volume pedal. It sounds fucking great in my opinion. Occasionally with the volume rocked back to get that gritty clean, I’ll use a custom Super Fuzz for really over the top Electric Wizard style tones, but it’s the DS1, always on that is the basis for my sound. The thing with the DS1 is you MUST keep the tone knob below 12 o’clock. Right around 10 o’clock, with the gain all the way up is gnarly and thick.
The Acapulco Gold is really for combining for other pedals, I think. Given it's supposed to sound like a Sunn Model T I think it was kinda designed for the doom kids who are trying to do the whole Sunn o))) thing where you're running a Rat into a Model T, which isn't usually a doable proposition for most people given Model Ts are so absurdly expensive.
Awesome video man, not sure if you’ve done this but it would be pretty cool to see a tier list video for boost/overdrive pedals like the TS9, Fortin33, Dirty tree etc. keep up the good work dude!
Hey thanks so much for watching! I’ve thought about that video, but I’m not sure if I’ll make it happen due to the fact there are manyyyyy green overdrives out there ya know?! But maybe if I just stick to unique pedals maybe it’ll be more engaging. Anywho, I appreciate you!
Yea! The Revv is top tier for sure ! I have the Revv Gen 120 MKII & it's a beast of an Amp.. ! Have you tried AMT Electronics Legend 2 series or Bricks pedal ?
We each have our own opinions and that’s great. Over the years, I have bought and sold/returned a number of those pedals, and several others looking for a great high gain distortion pedal. They were all highly lauded, and several of them were super expensive (see: Revv and Walrus) but I ultimately have stuck with a beat-up Metal Zone I got for $35. Sometimes I stick an HM2 clone in front of it. Other times a EQD Plumes in front. But if you have the knobs set up right, it sounds great on its own
The Revv is a great modern pedal but it can also do literally anything classic like Thrash or OSDM as well with the right pickups and overdrive/boost with some tweaking to the 3 band EQ, all while delivering more clarity than a traditional classic setup. Definitely S tier if not above
i thought the same thing but after seeing Glen Fricker's testing on Specter Sound Studio's channel and then recently here I see why they haven't. The difference in pickups is so minimal that many would be tough to tell apart let alone be better or worse than the next one.
Whenever I see a Pedal List I always have to mention the Boss OD-200, if you're thinking of getting yourself a couple of boss pedals, go ahead and get one of these instead, it has so much to offer in the way of tone possibilities.
One of the pedals I've been the most impressed with for the last, I dunno, 15 years is the JHS Angry Charlie distortion. Now, I'm not the heaviest of heavy metal player, nor is that pedal aimed at that but damn it sounds good. It's in range of super modded Marshall/Friedman type of sound, I'd guess in the same realm as the EVH pedal. It does sound like it has lots of gain on tap, maybe not in the death metal range but I'd argue what it lacks in raw distortion level it makes up with awesome sound and clarity.
Love my 5150 pedal, I have 6 drive pedals on my pedalboard for different combinations. Have an original Japanese version of the HM2, I also love stacking my Ibanez Nu-tube screamer with the Boss 40th anniversary SD1. One pedal I'm waiting for release is the Ibanez pentatone. I think that will be a pedal that should meet that top tier mark with flexibility, drive and a Noise gate and eq all in one !
Pretty good list, but would love to see thoughts on the keeley filaments.... it's one of the highest reviewed pedals I've seen, and I'm really curious how it would do with your specific style
I'm trying to find a great pedal to buy as a gift for my father. He loves older rock like acdc and kiss. Any recommendations? Would greatly appreciate the help :D
I bought a JOYO " Dark Flame" distortion pedal off of amazon, 50$. It kicks ass. Has a light and dark switch to change texture. I think it is a real good solid choice.
i have the revv g3 my favorite . i have try the friedman be od and i dont like this pedals. i have check almost all disto/overdrive pedals. and wath do you recommand me for buy at any budget for playing any metal genre the best of the best pedals ?
The Life Pedal is like 3 pedals in one. It is extremely diverse. I personally hate modern gain so most of these pedals I can’t stand especially since they all sound super similar. My favorite distortion pedal is my Black Arts Toneworks Black Forest. I love Rat based pedals.
So , the full bore is my secret weapon . It sounds amazing through the effects loop of my randall rx120 rh . Also to be noted is the speakers , a marshall 4x12 cab( greenbacks for the highs and mids , and a 2x12 custom cab with eminence speakers ( takes all the low end ) . It sounds unreal good . Thunderous lows , tight highs and loose mids . Absolute control over the sounds and squeals . you can hear the full range of sounds and top notch tone even with the gain cranked It all comes from the full bore . Front of amp ,its whack . Back of amp / pre amp ….. ( with the right speakers ) hold on to your @$$ it rules
Hey regardless of what I think, the full ore has probably the most angry and brutal sound out of all them. I believe the cannibal boys use or have used them as well. If you like it that’s all that really matters. I appreciate you taking the time to hang with me today!
The 3 gain pedals on my board are all modded. Does that count? The 1st is a Alchemy modded BD-1. Bought it thinking I liked the Blues driver sound and was happy . Then I started watching UA-cam vids of Keeley and Wasa so I was able to pick 1 of each and did my own comparison. Found I did pick the right one first. The I found a used homebuilt Meat and 3 modded Soul food. Cool , made the board. And finally a bias knob modded older Butler tube driver. That I run at 18v and am using a 12a7u tube. The weakest preamp tube. Between these 3 I get enough noise to really work all of them depending on the song.
My tier list would have been different, but I appreciate the direction you were going. I use 3 separate Fuzz/OD/Distortion pedals to get me everywhere I could need to go. DS-1 (custom modded) for rock, BD-2 for OD, and Walrus Audio EONS for everything fuzz.
Hello thanks for the Video, in pretty new into pedal stuff, i have now a marshall dsl40CR but i want more of a "metal" tone to it. Like PWD, CoB, Slipknot. I heared people are using it in the fx loop? So i need a cable from the send into the pedal and then back in the return? What pedal what you recommend me? Would be really thankfuk for a answer :)
What does the S mean? I have the EVH not super dirty so,,, i just bought a REV hopefully i'll like it? I play alot of classic metal rock, but, i need wicked harmonics and that is hard to get.
I am old school as well, it took a few bad purchases to realize young people like a different kind of distortion than I do. The EVH is great. I like the Friedman be-od as well. The " Chugga chugga" Meshugga thing is not my bag, so I just have to pay attention to descriptions.
I was mad till the end, I love boss pedals, when you trashed the orange one, I was a little upset. However, the compliments on the other two more than redeemed you.
I use a DS-1 into a Marshall JCM600. It is always on and I use a volume pedal to dial it back for dirty “cleans”. Say what you will but I have 5 or 6 different distortion and fuzz pedals (Rams Head Big Muff, a Rat, Superfuzz, G3,…) and the only other one I will use is a Super Fuzz every once in a while. I play Doomy Psychedelic Grunge and it sounds fucking great for it.
Amptweaker Tight Metal were very cool pedals. Can’t argue with something Mr Browne himself made! I had the original Tight Metal ST and it was amazing to be honest!!
I put the Full Bore into the FX return of my Orange amp and it sounds amazing, and removes the jar-of-wasps sound when it's in front. And the Abbasi videos seem to be blah distortion and turned all the way up to get any kind of grind out of it.
The Angry Swede v2 by Decibelics is a great pedal i think youd have fun reviewing. HM 2 clone with a built in blend function. I have one and i think its great. Lots of folks say its better than the waza...
DOD FX86b Death Metal for the win. It was my first distortion and I've had one on my pedal board for 20 years now. I don't know why I love it so, it just makes me happier than any other I have or have had, and I've had more than I like to stop and think about.
The Fullbore Metal is a great pedal, but it's really hard to use, since its flat sound is strident, it has a parametric mid-frequency eq, two modes, and much, much gain. With some amps, or many settings it can be a disaster. It's not a pedal for everyone. But I think it's amazing
The Soldano rating is fair for this exact use and application. It's not really a "pre-amp" style pedal rather it's designed to be used in front of the amp and not in the loop. It also needs to be dimed for high-gain stuff. It's a fantastic pedal no question, this is just not one of its applications.
Learned to love the mt2w. In standard mode it gets that classic 90s groove/death metal sound with the gain set between 11-1 o’clock and low mids cut a bit. Combined with the hm2w in the custom mode with more subtle settings with the gain down and the precision drive in front is my go to tone. Finding that I prefer the tighter more compressed consistency of solid state sounding distortion compared to more amp like sounding pedals. Perfect blend of modern tightness with old school grime and grind.
For the Diezel, since it’s a preamp, you can go straight into power amp and it’s decent. I wound up getting the Victory Kraken preamp pedal because it sounds a LOT better and it’s tube gainy as hell!!
Right? My family and I are safe and I believe all of my friends are as well. I appreciate you taking the time to write this. I hope you have a great rest of your day
@@xanderraymondcharles agree with what Boris said. Acapulco Gold is essentially the Sunn Model T preamp. It doesn't really do "modern" and will quickly overload a hot amp, but pair it with a hairy distortion like a RAT and plug it into a clean Marshall and it crushes. Great for stoner/doom and d-beat.
I recently installed the Fromel mod in my Metal Zone and it immediately made it an A or S-tier pedal. It made the sound a lot thicker and removed the crazy bee sound.
G3 is unsurpassed for real tube sounding distortion. Also, the Empress Heavy belongs on this list... try one if you haven't yet. Its definitely worth it.
G4 guy here, i agree, Revv deff has some magic in a box, the G4 is best when it comes to getting me that old nu metal tube recto KoRn/90's Slipknot sound i cant let go of.
The Revv G3 in my book ist absolute King, together with the HM-2. The EQD Life Pedal ist great for blending it in with something else in parallel. However, I started to get into modding pedals and being at the start of that journey, I modded the MT-2 and tbh, it replaced the Revv G3 for me. It's easy to do, the sound opens up and gets less off the character people don't like, it was mindblowing. The simple dog mod is already great. Oh and the HM-2 starts with it's known character around 3 o'clockish and somewhere around that, you can get the balance of how much you want from it. Really interesting and fun experimenting with it.
@@YTisGay No, it's not. My favorite Distortion pedal now is a Tritonlab Caravan, which is an absolute beast and way more tube amp-like than any other Distortion pedal I had. There are people who call it Marshall in a box, but it's so much more and also very excellent for modern metal, all the way down to Rock. I liked the MT-2 more after the mod, because you have way more wiggle room towards the lesser gain route, to blend better with any clean channels gain structure. You will still end up with the character of the MT-2 in there, but less of the harsh nature which made it so infamous. You will also end up with a less scooped sound. The exact mod, I don't quite remember it anymore all the things I did, but it started with the "simple dog" mod, which it's based on. I found a good tutorial on a website, you should find it fairly easily. On that tutorial, it says that you can additionally remove 2 other components for a slight different character as well, but I didn't like it and soldered them back in. The part I don't remember, is what I didn't additionally on my own. SC guitars compared the stock MT-2 with the Diezel Mod, which sounds great as well, I think I implemented a few things from that, too. There are more possible mods to it on the internet, whatever you like best :) Hope that helps. It's been a while, so that's all I got. Godspeed to ya!
My Boss DS-1 was the first pedal I ever got alongside my OD-1X and is still one of my go-to pedals on my board for gain (my OD-1X is my current number one but I switch it with my DS-1 whenever I want to change things up a bit), still one of my absolute favourite pedals and definitely a GOATed pedal
I bought a D.O.D. "Death Metal - FX86" (the original FX86 (not the FX86B) from the Jason Lamb series of pedals with the blood red paint splattered on black finish) for less than 25€ in 2001 at my local shop in France, ...... The guy thought it was broken !!!...... It's a HM2 clone. The 4 knobs are: "R.I.P." - "GUTS" - "PAIN" - "SCREAM" ....!!! ....total genius !!! For those who like that unique Chainsaw sound !!!
While I hear what you’re saying, the full name is “Acapulco gold power amp distortion” and the first line in the description on the ED website explains the pedal as a “dirt simple distortion device” that’s why I decided to add it to the video. Anywho I appreciate you taking the time to watch and comment! I hope you have a great rest of your day!
Ibanez DS-10. Bought one around 1988. Gave it away when l started playing cleaner jazz stuff. Wish I didn't. Best distortion pedal I've ever used. Blows away the Boss gear.
I’m definitely not a metal guy by any means but I’d like to think I can get some pretty decent metal tones out of my Danelectro Fab Metal (DOD Grunge clone).
Electric eye audio- The Thrasher
MXR 'Super Badass' is an awesome pedal worth looking at.
Try the driftwood amps heavy hatchet pedal. It's wicked!
I play in a Stoner Rock band that veers in the direction of psychedelic/grunge type stuff. Like a mixture of Cavity and Tad with early Pink Floyd psych freak out sections.
I use a Boss DS-1 into a Marshall JCM600 with the pedal always on. It cleans up fairly well (as clean as I would ever use…a gritty “clean”) with a volume pedal. It sounds fucking great in my opinion. Occasionally with the volume rocked back to get that gritty clean, I’ll use a custom Super Fuzz for really over the top Electric Wizard style tones, but it’s the DS1, always on that is the basis for my sound.
The thing with the DS1 is you MUST keep the tone knob below 12 o’clock. Right around 10 o’clock, with the gain all the way up is gnarly and thick.
Best video on distortion pedals I found. Subscribed.
you deserve a bonus from these pedals makers. You sold me at least 1. Subbed
The Acapulco Gold is really for combining for other pedals, I think. Given it's supposed to sound like a Sunn Model T I think it was kinda designed for the doom kids who are trying to do the whole Sunn o))) thing where you're running a Rat into a Model T, which isn't usually a doable proposition for most people given Model Ts are so absurdly expensive.
Awesome video man, not sure if you’ve done this but it would be pretty cool to see a tier list video for boost/overdrive pedals like the TS9, Fortin33, Dirty tree etc. keep up the good work dude!
Hey thanks so much for watching! I’ve thought about that video, but I’m not sure if I’ll make it happen due to the fact there are manyyyyy green overdrives out there ya know?! But maybe if I just stick to unique pedals maybe it’ll be more engaging. Anywho, I appreciate you!
Yea! The Revv is top tier for sure ! I have the Revv Gen 120 MKII & it's a beast of an Amp.. ! Have you tried AMT Electronics Legend 2 series or Bricks pedal ?
Hey dude! No I have not yet. Hopefully soon!
Was hesitant to buy the G3 due to its price but boy it doesnt disappoint.
We each have our own opinions and that’s great. Over the years, I have bought and sold/returned a number of those pedals, and several others looking for a great high gain distortion pedal. They were all highly lauded, and several of them were super expensive (see: Revv and Walrus) but I ultimately have stuck with a beat-up Metal Zone I got for $35. Sometimes I stick an HM2 clone in front of it. Other times a EQD Plumes in front. But if you have the knobs set up right, it sounds great on its own
Wampler Dracarys is pretty awesome!
Dracarys!
Was a blast seeing you run these down man !
The Revv is a great modern pedal but it can also do literally anything classic like Thrash or OSDM as well with the right pickups and overdrive/boost with some tweaking to the 3 band EQ, all while delivering more clarity than a traditional classic setup. Definitely S tier if not above
Go birds and just the video I needed
Hi, cool video uve made!
Also, what would u choose: Revv g3 VS Revv g4?
Joyo Uzi is a Friedman be od for $50 bucks
Love the tier list vids man! Would love to see one for pickups!
i thought the same thing but after seeing Glen Fricker's testing on Specter Sound Studio's channel and then recently here I see why they haven't. The difference in pickups is so minimal that many would be tough to tell apart let alone be better or worse than the next one.
Good list, thanks for presenting this. Would love to hear about your opinion of the Empress pedals, either the Heavy or Heavy Menace.
My first pedal was the rev g3 it’s definitely worth the price for how great it sounds
100 percent agree
Me too
now you just need the G4, if you need a recto tube tone in a box, i love mine
THATS your FIRST pedal???? its like saying yeah i got a Les Paul custom as my first guitar but i can only play "Your Call" by Secondhand Serenade.
Thanks for the love Ray! 🖤🖤🖤
Whenever I see a Pedal List I always have to mention the Boss OD-200, if you're thinking of getting yourself a couple of boss pedals, go ahead and get one of these instead, it has so much to offer in the way of tone possibilities.
Ray, I’d love to hear your take on the Pigtronics Disnortion pedal… it’s the current favorite on my board.
Cool vid! Where would you place the Lichtlaerm Audio Gehenna?
One of the pedals I've been the most impressed with for the last, I dunno, 15 years is the JHS Angry Charlie distortion. Now, I'm not the heaviest of heavy metal player, nor is that pedal aimed at that but damn it sounds good. It's in range of super modded Marshall/Friedman type of sound, I'd guess in the same realm as the EVH pedal. It does sound like it has lots of gain on tap, maybe not in the death metal range but I'd argue what it lacks in raw distortion level it makes up with awesome sound and clarity.
Love my 5150 pedal, I have 6 drive pedals on my pedalboard for different combinations. Have an original Japanese version of the HM2, I also love stacking my Ibanez Nu-tube screamer with the Boss 40th anniversary SD1. One pedal I'm waiting for release is the Ibanez pentatone. I think that will be a pedal that should meet that top tier mark with flexibility, drive and a Noise gate and eq all in one !
The fullbore Metal MXR pedal sounds great on the acoustic channel on my Boss Katana, especially with the scoop on.
Sinvertek N5+, Friedman Smallbox, KSR, many great articulate and good feel in these pedals - I still want the REVV G3 an the MXR 5150.
Pretty good list, but would love to see thoughts on the keeley filaments.... it's one of the highest reviewed pedals I've seen, and I'm really curious how it would do with your specific style
I'm trying to find a great pedal to buy as a gift for my father. He loves older rock like acdc and kiss. Any recommendations? Would greatly appreciate the help :D
I bought a JOYO " Dark Flame" distortion pedal off of amazon, 50$. It kicks ass. Has a light and dark switch to change texture. I think it is a real good solid choice.
Revv G3 pedal is by far the best guitar pedal I’ve owned to this day. I will get one more to complete my set but I’m very happy with the Revv G3.
i have the revv g3 my favorite . i have try the friedman be od and i dont like this pedals. i have check almost all disto/overdrive pedals. and wath do you recommand me for buy at any budget for playing any metal genre the best of the best pedals ?
The Life Pedal is like 3 pedals in one. It is extremely diverse. I personally hate modern gain so most of these pedals I can’t stand especially since they all sound super similar. My favorite distortion pedal is my Black Arts Toneworks Black Forest. I love Rat based pedals.
So , the full bore is my secret weapon .
It sounds amazing through the effects loop of my randall rx120 rh . Also to be noted is the speakers , a marshall 4x12 cab( greenbacks for the highs and mids , and a 2x12 custom cab with eminence speakers ( takes all the low end ) .
It sounds unreal good . Thunderous lows , tight highs and loose mids . Absolute control over the sounds and squeals . you can hear the full range of sounds and top notch tone even with the gain cranked
It all comes from the full bore
. Front of amp ,its whack .
Back of amp / pre amp ….. ( with the right speakers ) hold on to your @$$ it rules
Hey regardless of what I think, the full ore has probably the most angry and brutal sound out of all them. I believe the cannibal boys use or have used them as well. If you like it that’s all that really matters. I appreciate you taking the time to hang with me today!
The Keeley Filaments is excellent 🤘very versatile
Would love to hear your thoughts on the boss metal core, thinking on picking one up and value your opinion
mad decent for 100 bucks.
The first time I played the REVV, I was blown away. Personal suggestion I show people.
The 3 gain pedals on my board are all modded. Does that count? The 1st is a Alchemy modded BD-1. Bought it thinking I liked the Blues driver sound and was happy . Then I started watching UA-cam vids of Keeley and Wasa so I was able to pick 1 of each and did my own comparison. Found I did pick the right one first. The I found a used homebuilt Meat and 3 modded Soul food. Cool , made the board. And finally a bias knob modded older Butler tube driver. That I run at 18v and am using a 12a7u tube. The weakest preamp tube. Between these 3 I get enough noise to really work all of them depending on the song.
My tier list would have been different, but I appreciate the direction you were going. I use 3 separate Fuzz/OD/Distortion pedals to get me everywhere I could need to go. DS-1 (custom modded) for rock, BD-2 for OD, and Walrus Audio EONS for everything fuzz.
Hello thanks for the Video, in pretty new into pedal stuff, i have now a marshall dsl40CR but i want more of a "metal" tone to it. Like PWD, CoB, Slipknot. I heared people are using it in the fx loop? So i need a cable from the send into the pedal and then back in the return? What pedal what you recommend me?
Would be really thankfuk for a answer :)
I bought the Walrus Eras on a whim and I enjoy it alot. Blend knob is very cool
You're telling me that the MXR Fullbore Metal is D Tier!?! You don't like the sound of angry scooped bees!?!
What does the S mean? I have the EVH not super dirty so,,, i just bought a REV hopefully i'll like it? I play alot of classic metal rock, but, i need wicked harmonics and that is hard to get.
Absolute top, one better than A tier 😃
I am old school as well, it took a few bad purchases to realize young people like a different kind of distortion than I do. The EVH is great. I like the Friedman be-od as well.
The " Chugga chugga" Meshugga thing is not my bag, so I just have to pay attention to descriptions.
The soldano is A for me... very good
Interesting Video, i just don't get the metal muff hate. Great pedal, but hard to dial in
I was mad till the end, I love boss pedals, when you trashed the orange one, I was a little upset. However, the compliments on the other two more than redeemed you.
You should definitely try out Lichtlaerm audio pedals, they are very unique with lots of options and sonic possibilities for modern players.
I think you've been quite generous with the boss DS-1. I don't understand why people use and have never seen a good tone coming out of it.
I use a DS-1 into a Marshall JCM600. It is always on and I use a volume pedal to dial it back for dirty “cleans”. Say what you will but I have 5 or 6 different distortion and fuzz pedals (Rams Head Big Muff, a Rat, Superfuzz, G3,…) and the only other one I will use is a Super Fuzz every once in a while.
I play Doomy Psychedelic Grunge and it sounds fucking great for it.
Where would you put Blackstar Distortion: LT DIST?
What about the amptweaker series...?
Anyone...?
Amptweaker Tight Metal were very cool pedals. Can’t argue with something Mr Browne himself made! I had the original Tight Metal ST and it was amazing to be honest!!
Great video man! I've been looking for a new pedal and im gonna do more research before i decide but this video was a good start. Fly eagles fly 🦅
BOSS METALCORE ALL DAY
metal.. core?
@@dallucyes metal core
Im playing one right now thru an old Peavey Transtube clean channel, its absolutly amazing
@chosenone2964 I used to through the newer 212 transtube chorus, ran with it for years until I got an Axe FX.
I put the Full Bore into the FX return of my Orange amp and it sounds amazing, and removes the jar-of-wasps sound when it's in front. And the Abbasi videos seem to be blah distortion and turned all the way up to get any kind of grind out of it.
What is your opinion on the Blackstar LT Metal?
Got my PHATHOS 4 years ago and is still great !!!
What should I get out of the s tier. Going for pantera, face melting gain
The Angry Swede v2 by Decibelics is a great pedal i think youd have fun reviewing. HM 2 clone with a built in blend function. I have one and i think its great. Lots of folks say its better than the waza...
DOD FX86b Death Metal for the win. It was my first distortion and I've had one on my pedal board for 20 years now. I don't know why I love it so, it just makes me happier than any other I have or have had, and I've had more than I like to stop and think about.
The Fullbore Metal is a great pedal, but it's really hard to use, since its flat sound is strident, it has a parametric mid-frequency eq, two modes, and much, much gain. With some amps, or many settings it can be a disaster. It's not a pedal for everyone. But I think it's amazing
I took me years to understand this pedal, but yeah, mixed with a good tube amp and letting the amp take care of the equalization it is a beast.
The Soldano rating is fair for this exact use and application. It's not really a "pre-amp" style pedal rather it's designed to be used in front of the amp and not in the loop. It also needs to be dimed for high-gain stuff. It's a fantastic pedal no question, this is just not one of its applications.
You didn't mention the Metal Zone was a Waza Craft. That new Custom mode is an entirely new pedal. It's got a huge range of useable high gain tones.
I just ordered one I cant wait to play with it.
I wish i could somehow hook a volume or wah pedal to the mid sweep knob on a metalzone
Metal muff w/boost is great if you know how to dial in the mids
Agree to disagree 🙌🙌🙌
Oh my goat! - pedal 🤘 cheers
I actually really like the sound of a ds-1 as an overdrive for an amp, it sounds pretty good into an orange micro dark.
Empress Heavy Metal or Lichtlaerm Gehenna are worthy mentions
Learned to love the mt2w. In standard mode it gets that classic 90s groove/death metal sound with the gain set between 11-1 o’clock and low mids cut a bit.
Combined with the hm2w in the custom mode with more subtle settings with the gain down and the precision drive in front is my go to tone.
Finding that I prefer the tighter more compressed consistency of solid state sounding distortion compared to more amp like sounding pedals.
Perfect blend of modern tightness with old school grime and grind.
I take it the Horizon Devices Apex Preamp is the same as the EVH?
I got the g3, absolutely crushing, and it‘s not that noisy too.
For the Diezel, since it’s a preamp, you can go straight into power amp and it’s decent. I wound up getting the Victory Kraken preamp pedal because it sounds a LOT better and it’s tube gainy as hell!!
Speaking of staying safe...don't know if you're actually in Philly but that was a crazy shooting that happened last night.
Right? My family and I are safe and I believe all of my friends are as well. I appreciate you taking the time to write this. I hope you have a great rest of your day
You’re supposed to use the Acapulco gold + another distortion. AG + Ray = instant Sunn 0))) but not muddy
Ahhh ok so maybe I’ll have to try and revisit it down the road
@@xanderraymondcharles agree with what Boris said. Acapulco Gold is essentially the Sunn Model T preamp. It doesn't really do "modern" and will quickly overload a hot amp, but pair it with a hairy distortion like a RAT and plug it into a clean Marshall and it crushes. Great for stoner/doom and d-beat.
I recently installed the Fromel mod in my Metal Zone and it immediately made it an A or S-tier pedal. It made the sound a lot thicker and removed the crazy bee sound.
G3 is unsurpassed for real tube sounding distortion. Also, the Empress Heavy belongs on this list... try one if you haven't yet. Its definitely worth it.
G4 guy here, i agree, Revv deff has some magic in a box, the G4 is best when it comes to getting me that old nu metal tube recto KoRn/90's Slipknot sound i cant let go of.
I tried it, it was pretty sick....just couldn't dig with it. That's just me though. Everyone should try it !
The Revv G3 in my book ist absolute King, together with the HM-2. The EQD Life Pedal ist great for blending it in with something else in parallel.
However, I started to get into modding pedals and being at the start of that journey, I modded the MT-2 and tbh, it replaced the Revv G3 for me. It's easy to do, the sound opens up and gets less off the character people don't like, it was mindblowing.
The simple dog mod is already great.
Oh and the HM-2 starts with it's known character around 3 o'clockish and somewhere around that, you can get the balance of how much you want from it. Really interesting and fun experimenting with it.
Is the modded MT2 still your go to pedal? If so, which mod?
@@YTisGay No, it's not.
My favorite Distortion pedal now is a Tritonlab Caravan, which is an absolute beast and way more tube amp-like than any other Distortion pedal I had. There are people who call it Marshall in a box, but it's so much more and also very excellent for modern metal, all the way down to Rock.
I liked the MT-2 more after the mod, because you have way more wiggle room towards the lesser gain route, to blend better with any clean channels gain structure. You will still end up with the character of the MT-2 in there, but less of the harsh nature which made it so infamous. You will also end up with a less scooped sound.
The exact mod, I don't quite remember it anymore all the things I did, but it started with the "simple dog" mod, which it's based on. I found a good tutorial on a website, you should find it fairly easily. On that tutorial, it says that you can additionally remove 2 other components for a slight different character as well, but I didn't like it and soldered them back in.
The part I don't remember, is what I didn't additionally on my own. SC guitars compared the stock MT-2 with the Diezel Mod, which sounds great as well, I think I implemented a few things from that, too. There are more possible mods to it on the internet, whatever you like best :)
Hope that helps. It's been a while, so that's all I got. Godspeed to ya!
Friedman BE-OD is like a better evh 5150 OD so that should also be in S-tier, check it out
My Boss DS-1 was the first pedal I ever got alongside my OD-1X and is still one of my go-to pedals on my board for gain (my OD-1X is my current number one but I switch it with my DS-1 whenever I want to change things up a bit), still one of my absolute favourite pedals and definitely a GOATed pedal
I bought a D.O.D. "Death Metal - FX86" (the original FX86 (not the FX86B) from the Jason Lamb series of pedals with the blood red paint splattered on black finish) for less than 25€ in 2001 at my local shop in France, ...... The guy thought it was broken !!!......
It's a HM2 clone. The 4 knobs are: "R.I.P." - "GUTS" - "PAIN" - "SCREAM" ....!!! ....total genius !!!
For those who like that unique Chainsaw sound !!!
the Acapulco Gold isn't a distortion. It's a dimed Sunn Model T preamp in a pedal.
While I hear what you’re saying, the full name is “Acapulco gold power amp distortion” and the first line in the description on the ED website explains the pedal as a “dirt simple distortion device” that’s why I decided to add it to the video. Anywho I appreciate you taking the time to watch and comment! I hope you have a great rest of your day!
@@xanderraymondcharles Yeah, Boss says the same about the Metalzone, lol. Keep making the killer content man and happy 4th!
what would be an extremely loud/heavy distortion pedal that can be used in other genres, other than metal?
Klirrton “Oh My Goat” & Highwind Direwolf have killer tone shaping and would be my S tier that I didn’t see mentioned in the comments or video.
When I saw the Fullbore metal I almost choked laughing. It belongs in Bee 🐝 tier 😂
I understand why you chose the G3, but in my opinion, the G4 is the shiznit... 🤘
I’m gonna get a g4
Ibanez DS-10. Bought one around 1988. Gave it away when l started playing cleaner jazz stuff. Wish I didn't.
Best distortion pedal I've ever used.
Blows away the Boss gear.
I’m definitely not a metal guy by any means but I’d like to think I can get some pretty decent metal tones out of my Danelectro Fab Metal (DOD Grunge clone).
Check out the Westminster Seth Morrison distortion
DOD Gunslinger is my fav of all mine
Now I want to see Rabea plug into a baked potato: New series: "Will It Spud"? 🤣
Dang DS-1 in c tier?
Empress Heavy is also excellent.
Yeah I heard it’s amazing from several of you. I gotta get my hands on one!
Friedman BE-OD or the Wampler Pantheon Deluxe
Blackstar dual distortion?
its like everyone is on a spell not to boost with distortion pedals
why?
Bought the big Kraken, it had zero gain. Sent it back the same day.
All those pedals against my Suhr Riot!!!
Try the Guardian of the Wurm from KMA Audio Machines. You won't be dissapointed. (or the Wurm 2).
How could you not include the Proco Rat?
What about the boss metal core?
TC Electronic Fangs is pretty good, and also around $50
I keep asking ola to make a chug plugin