Good overdrive/distortion pedal for Artisan 15

[joeobrien]

Hi there

I just got an Artisan 15 and so far so good. But needless to say although it's great on clean, I do need to be able to play with heavy distortion at times to get a rich sustain going for solos. Any suggestions for a really good distortion pedal that goes from blues/crunch right through to full on metal?

I'm currently using a Boss GE7 Equaliser into a Marshall Bluesbreaker 2 followed by a Boss Metal Zone that I've modded. It sounds good but needs all three pedals! Perhaps there's just one out there that can do the same job...

Thanks.

[gypsyblues73]

I just got a Boss Power Stack a few weeks ago, and it's incredible (hence, why I bought it ). It does a really good job of replicating a half-stack tube sound, and doesn't have any of that "tinny" sound normally associated with Boss (and many others) when playing lead. It's very punchy and ballsy without being overly warm or bass-y too, got a lotta crunch. It beats the everliving hell out of my Metal Zone and DS-1. The best distortion pedal Boss has ever made, imho. I have a Stage 60 and it's a great counterpart to it, as the PS has a sound that compliments it real well. I can go from the OD1 channel to the OD2 channel, and then go to the clean channel and turn on the PS, and it almost sounds like the amp has an OD3 channel. Goes very well with it. Check them out on youtube or just try one out at a local store.

[joeobrien]

I just got a Boss Power Stack a few weeks ago, and it's incredible (hence, why I bought it ). It does a really good job of replicating a half-stack tube sound, and doesn't have any of that "tinny" sound normally associated with Boss (and many others) when playing lead. It's very punchy and ballsy without being overly warm or bass-y too, got a lotta crunch. It beats the everliving hell out of my Metal Zone and DS-1. The best distortion pedal Boss has ever made, imho. I have a Stage 60 and it's a great counterpart to it, as the PS has a sound that compliments it real well. I can go from the OD1 channel to the OD2 channel, and then go to the clean channel and turn on the PS, and it almost sounds like the amp has an OD3 channel. Goes very well with it. Check them out on youtube or just try one out at a local store.

Well thanks for this gypsy! I was kind of going off Boss in general but this Power Stack sounds great. I have a Boss pedal board affair and hate the thought of having to use a different power supply like some of the newer pedals out there. I also thought the Power Stack was just a marketing trick but obviously not. Will definitely try it out and let you know what I end up with.

[gypsyblues73]

I was searching for an OD pedal to add some boost to my Blackstar when I spotted it and figured I'd try it out since I had never even heard of it. It totally blew me away. It's more of a distortion pedal than a strict OD pedal, and while it wasn't really what I was looking for, I just had to have it after hearing it. I like Boss pedals for the most part but hate the harsh shrillness that seems inherent in so many of their pedals. The PS has none. I read somewhere where someone said it sounds similar to the Digitech Bad Monkey but better, but I don't know if that guy knows what he's talking about, since I've never played a BM myself, so take that with a grain of salt. The sound may be hard to judge by some of the youtube vids out there; some capture the sound pretty well, while some of the vids are terrible sound quality. Just try one out yourself. Let us know what you wind up going with!

[joeobrien]

I was searching for an OD pedal to add some boost to my Blackstar when I spotted it and figured I'd try it out since I had never even heard of it. It totally blew me away. It's more of a distortion pedal than a strict OD pedal, and while it wasn't really what I was looking for, I just had to have it after hearing it. I like Boss pedals for the most part but hate the harsh shrillness that seems inherent in so many of their pedals. The PS has none. I read somewhere where someone said it sounds similar to the Digitech Bad Monkey but better, but I don't know if that guy knows what he's talking about, since I've never played a BM myself, so take that with a grain of salt. The sound may be hard to judge by some of the youtube vids out there; some capture the sound pretty well, while some of the vids are terrible sound quality. Just try one out yourself. Let us know what you wind up going with!

Cheers again, I just spent about an hour on youtube listening to various demos of it and it sounds great. The Sweetwater and Pete Thorn reviews were very good. Yeah, i think it's much more involved than a bad monkey - that's fairly basic. It's the range in one pedal that I'm looking for. I guess i should try some Blackstar kit too but it's pricey really.

Thanks again.

Oh my avatar is WAY too big - WTH?? i must fix that...

[Toon]

Well thanks for this gypsy! I was kind of going off Boss in general but this Power Stack sounds great. I have a Boss pedal board affair and hate the thought of having to use a different power supply like some of the newer pedals out there. I also thought the Power Stack was just a marketing trick but obviously not. Will definitely try it out and let you know what I end up with.



I have a 2 month old Boss Power Stack in mint condiiton for sale if you're interested? They are £100 new. Selling for £60. Let me know if you want it.

[joeobrien]

I got to try the Boss Power Stack and frankly I found it too noisy once past 12 o'clock on the drive. Its great up to that point. One thing I'm looking for is a quality overdrive/distortion but it must be pretty quiet. Anyways, maybe I'm better off with the Boss OD-3. I've not tried it yet but it seems highly rated for driving a classic amp.

Will let you know. Cheers.

[sizzlingbadger]

Try a Boss OD-3, I think you will be pleasantly surprised for the money.... you can use it purely for boost too.

[joeobrien]

Try a Boss OD-3, I think you will be pleasantly surprised for the money.... you can use it purely for boost too.

Yes, thanks badger - I'm going to give it a try this week . I think it will do the trick.

Cheers.

[joeobrien]

Well I bought the OD-3 today and so far it sounds great. Probably just what I needed although I will give it a bit longer before finally concluding on that. I also tried the Blues Driver BD-2 and it is a really nice pedal for blues, but went with the OD-3.

It's funny, I was trying to avoid Boss stuff and thought I would go with something more up market but actually for the money Boss delivers and you can do so many mods too. Maybe next time...