Guitar distortion pedals question

[Fritzo]

I've gotten into custom made pedals lately, and I have to say my favorite distortion pedal that I've been using for the last two years has been the Prescription Electronics Yardbox.

It's hand made, has good ol' soldered transistors and analog knobs, you can repair it yourself if something breaks (doubtful though because it's built like a tank), and it's such a heavy, thick, rich sound that I haven't found anything else that comes close. It works best with humbuckers, and you may need a noise gate pedal as it's a bit noisy due to the vintage parts it uses.

A good example of what it sounds like is the Led Zep song "Whole Lotta Love". You get the idea from that

 

[Platypus]

Originally posted by: Fritzo
I've gotten into custom made pedals lately, and I have to say my favorite distortion pedal that I've been using for the last two years has been the Prescription Electronics Yardbox.

It's hand made, has good ol' soldered transistors and analog knobs, you can repair it yourself if something breaks (doubtful though because it's built like a tank), and it's such a heavy, thick, rich sound that I haven't found anything else that comes close. It works best with humbuckers, and you may need a noise gate pedal as it's a bit noisy due to the vintage parts it uses.

A good example of what it sounds like is the Led Zep song "Whole Lotta Love". You get the idea from that

http://fuzzcentral.tripod.com/benderII.html

Build this one if you're bored, his 'Mindbender' version. It has a lot less noise than the Sola Sound that your link copies. I'm going to start working on it when I get some free time.

 

[Fritzo]

Originally posted by: mitchafi
Anyone ever used Dan Electro pedals? I was thinking about getting a few but I'd like to hear some opinions first.

Yeah. I've played with a few. They're cute and cheap and all, but they're not all that great. Most of the Dannos are plastic cases, they're not well put together, and their output is a bit weak. Their tape echo pedal is GAWD awful. Nothing like a crackling echo to back your notes up.

They used to make good stuff 30-40 years ago, but now they're more marketing than product.

 

[Fritzo]

Originally posted by: CorporateRecreation

Originally posted by: Fritzo
I've gotten into custom made pedals lately, and I have to say my favorite distortion pedal that I've been using for the last two years has been the Prescription Electronics Yardbox.

It's hand made, has good ol' soldered transistors and analog knobs, you can repair it yourself if something breaks (doubtful though because it's built like a tank), and it's such a heavy, thick, rich sound that I haven't found anything else that comes close. It works best with humbuckers, and you may need a noise gate pedal as it's a bit noisy due to the vintage parts it uses.

A good example of what it sounds like is the Led Zep song "Whole Lotta Love". You get the idea from that

http://fuzzcentral.tripod.com/benderII.html

Build this one if you're bored, his 'Mindbender' version. It has a lot less noise than the Sola Sound that your link copies. I'm going to start working on it when I get some free time.

Heheh...that's pretty cool! I'm not much of a builder when it comes to things like that though. I'd rather have someone do it and I can tell them if they got it right or not

 

[Platypus]

Originally posted by: Fritzo

Originally posted by: CorporateRecreation

Originally posted by: Fritzo
I've gotten into custom made pedals lately, and I have to say my favorite distortion pedal that I've been using for the last two years has been the Prescription Electronics Yardbox.

It's hand made, has good ol' soldered transistors and analog knobs, you can repair it yourself if something breaks (doubtful though because it's built like a tank), and it's such a heavy, thick, rich sound that I haven't found anything else that comes close. It works best with humbuckers, and you may need a noise gate pedal as it's a bit noisy due to the vintage parts it uses.

A good example of what it sounds like is the Led Zep song "Whole Lotta Love". You get the idea from that

http://fuzzcentral.tripod.com/benderII.html

Build this one if you're bored, his 'Mindbender' version. It has a lot less noise than the Sola Sound that your link copies. I'm going to start working on it when I get some free time.

Heheh...that's pretty cool! I'm not much of a builder when it comes to things like that though. I'd rather have someone do it and I can tell them if they got it right or not

Yeah, the problem is that a place would charge like >100 - 150 dollars for something that I priced at about 30 dollars to make. Most of that cost is the pedal case too. Most of those components are like 30 cents. Half the fun is building it and making it yourself

 

Boss SD-1 or Tubescreamer on a tube amp.

Originally posted by: Special K
Oh and one more thing, what exactly is the difference between overdrive and distortion?

Overdrive is the point where the signal starts to break up. Distortion is way beyond that where the signal becomes, well, distorted.

 

[Al Neri]

Boss DS-2 - all that's needed

 

[Saint Nick]

dude get a digitech metal master. its amazing