Guitar players, how to get a crunchy distorted sound?

[Lithium381]

I'm going for a slightly CRUNCHY sound, very slightly distorted, just real edgy, how do i get that? Go with a generic pedal and turn it up a bit?

 

[Tetsuo]

Chew

 

[Evadman]

Smash guitar into head. Repeat as needed.

 

[JetBlack69]

Go to guitar center and pick up a BOSS petal that has the sound you are looking for.

 

[JC]

Don't forget a set of 'heavy bottom' strings, too. Good for the zha-gunk sound

 

[RagingBITCH]

Try different pedals at the guitar shop near you. Ibanez and Boss both make good mid level pedals. You might also look into getting different pickups if your entire playing style is geared towards that type of sound and different strings.

 

[Feanor727]

what kind of guitar do you have? What kind of amp do you have? How much do you want to spend?

 

[thomsbrain]

the Ibenez TS-9 Tube Screamer is what you are looking for. i recommend against boss, but you should try out the pedals yourself to make sure. some people like boss. personally, i think they sound generic, and many of their digital effects sound brittle and metallic. that said, boss makes a killer phaser, the best i've tried. but definetely try out the TS-9. it's a legend, used by tons of pros. it's also great for kicking the jams out of classic tube amps (hence the name). good luck in your search, i hope you find what you're looking for.

i just bought some pedals myself. my signal path is now as follows: guitar, Snarling Dogs volume/backwards swell pedal, Dunlop Crybaby 535Q, Marshall JCM2000 DSL100 full stack. in the effects loop of the marshall are a Boss Phase Shifter and a Guyatone Digital Delay. when i'm at home and marshall-less, i stick a DOD Grunge pedal in after the Crybaby for distortion. next on my list is a Seymore Duncan pickup booster and an MXR Smart Gate.

 

[AmazonRasta]

You need a "wah-wah" pedal.

 

[iotone]

as far as i know, good amps will usually have good distortion built into it, so try checking out some different amps as well...

 

[kliza23]

You dont want a tube screamer if your looking for heavy distortion or crunch.... the only thing you will want is a Boss Metal Zone. It will solve all your problems!

 

[AlienCraft]

Originally posted by: thomsbrain
the Ibenez TS-9 Tube Screamer is what you are looking for. i recommend against boss, but you should try out the pedals yourself to make sure. some people like boss. personally, i think they sound generic, and many of their digital effects sound brittle and metallic. that said, boss makes a killer phaser, the best i've tried. but definetely try out the TS-9. it's a legend, used by tons of pros. it's also great for kicking the jams out of classic tube amps (hence the name). good luck in your search, i hope you find what you're looking for.

As a professional stage technician, I can recommend this as well.
I can also suggest a BOSS DS-1 (it's orange) and the BOSS GT-6 multi effects unit as well.
Have fun.
Buy used.

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

Distortion pedals mostly sound like ass compared to a good amp. If you want great distortion, get a good sounding amp, and maybe replace your pickup(s). When I played guitar, I loved really crisp and crunchy distortion. An EMG 81 pickup (pickups matter A LOT) plus an Marshall Valvestate amp was perfect for me.

edit: I misread your post and didn't notice the "slightly." I recommend the tube screamer as well, then.

 

[faZZter]

Turn the volume up to "11!"

It worked for Spinal Tap......