# Lookin for grindiest/aggressive OD to boost front of amps



## Gmork (Mar 23, 2020)

Tubescreamers are classic and work wonders but my airis smg protodrive is noticeably more grindy and aggressive when boosting an amp, and it sounds so chunky and mean!! im talking classic no gain full volume type boosting of course.

What are the absolutely most grindy aggressive ODs out there? Lesser known replies are welcome as well!


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## Necky379 (Mar 23, 2020)

Not an OD but an MT-2 set up as a boost. An OCD in hp mode adds some grind for sure. The grindiest options I’m aware of are stacks, Tube Screamer —> MT-2 and Tube Screamer —> OCD in particular.


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## D-Nasty (Mar 23, 2020)

Boss SD-1, Boss MT-2, Airis Savage Drive, VFE Focus, Pro Tone Dead Horse. All of those are pretty gnarly.


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## D-Nasty (Mar 23, 2020)

Oh... I forgot! Try a Revv G3 or G4 as a boost!


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## c7spheres (Mar 23, 2020)

V twin pedal, though a preamp, can drive inputs on amps. You could use the clean channel, the blues or heavy channel and eq to taste with whatever gain amount you want. Tickle the amp, or kill it, on demand.


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## KnightBrolaire (Mar 23, 2020)

swollen pickle
mxr cbmod
maxon od808x
metalzone
hm2 (the trick is to not dime them lol)


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## Chebax (Mar 23, 2020)

VHT V-Drive. Ridiculously cheap second-hand and they can be tweaked from classic tubescreamer to extremely aggressive boost. I specially like the option to disable diode clipping, for a completely clean boost.

Also Fortin Grind/33, but this is hardly one of the "lesser known" ones.


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## Bentaycanada (Mar 23, 2020)




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## DrakkarTyrannis (Mar 23, 2020)

The metalzone is a personal fav


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## efiltsohg (Mar 23, 2020)

Rat

most of the old DOD distortion pedal, when used as a boost, work well for this too


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## Cynicanal (Mar 23, 2020)

Airis TS Pre with the treble up will go far grindier than you could ever desire.


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## budda (Mar 23, 2020)

Ask fuzzrocious to build you something.


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## migstopheles (Mar 23, 2020)

the swollen pickle sounds wild here. not a fan of the band per se but their tones are delicious. skip to 15 minutes


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## ATRguitar91 (Mar 23, 2020)

Savage Drive is the one for me. Tons of output and it can get super grindy as you roll the tight knob back and the bite up.


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## Vostre Roy (Mar 23, 2020)

https://skreddypedals.com/skreddy_pedals_screw_driver_mini_dlx.php

I have a clone of that pedal made by Grind FX. Kind of an overdrive mixed with a fuzz, you can set it on low gain just for a slight boost or as a dirty, fuzzy overdrive. Works well with both low and high gain amplifier.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Mar 23, 2020)

Anything based on the Boss SD-1. 

And if the Fulltone OCD V1.4 is anything like the one in the Helix, I thought that thing could get really fucking aggressive as well.


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## gunch (Mar 23, 2020)

I don't know how different the savage drive v4 and your smg are but the savage drive is tuned super aggressive

also Maxon 808x


Necky379 said:


> Not an OD but an MT-2 set up as a boost. An OCD in hp mode adds some grind for sure. The grindiest options I’m aware of are stacks, Tube Screamer —> MT-2 and Tube Screamer —> OCD in particular.



settings for the TS -> OCD stack?


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## Bentaycanada (Mar 23, 2020)

Ok, I’m going to have to pick up an MT-2, I’ve never ran it as a boost.


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## TheWarAgainstTime (Mar 23, 2020)

Of those I've owned or tried in person, my favorite "nastier than an 808" pedals have been the Fortin Grind/33, Maxon OD-808X, Mesa Grid Slammer, and a Wampler Tumnus Deluxe. Other Klon clones are good for boosting as well, but I like the extra EQ options on the Tumnus.


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## Necky379 (Mar 23, 2020)

@gunch
TS: Level 1 o’clock Drive none Tone 1 o’clock
OCD: LP mode Volume 3-4 o’clock depending on what I’m going into Drive nada Tone 12 o’clock
I’m using a V1 Reaper Pandemonium, it’s just an OCD clone, sounds like an OCD and behaves the same way. I use the Volume knob on the Reaper to set the boost level, the Screamer settings I’m using in this configuration don’t change.

guitar—>TS—>OCD—>amp


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## Bearitone (Mar 23, 2020)

Grindiest is going to be a Swollen Pickle or an HM-2 in my opinion. You won't be getting any "tighter" from either of them though lol. 

In my experience tightness comes from cutting lows, and aggression comes from boosting treble.
You might have some luck with the EHX Screaming Bird


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## LCW (Mar 23, 2020)

Fortin HexDrive


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## KailM (Mar 23, 2020)

MXR M77 (Custom Modified Badass OD). Or an SD-1.

They have more grind/aggression than the typical TS circuit.

The M77 has been my go-to OD to boost my 6505 for a lot of years. Lately I’ve been practically diming the bass and resonance on the amp, but using the pedal’s 100 hz knob to cut a lot of bass up front. It sounds absolutely massive and crushing, but the mids just have a merciless , cutting grind to them...


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## ATRguitar91 (Mar 24, 2020)

KailM said:


> MXR M77 (Custom Modified Badass OD). Or an SD-1.
> 
> They have more grind/aggression than the typical TS circuit.
> 
> The M77 has been my go-to OD to boost my 6505 for a lot of years. Lately I’ve been practically diming the bass and resonance on the amp, but using the pedal’s 100 hz knob to cut a lot of bass up front. It sounds absolutely massive and crushing, but the mids just have a merciless , cutting grind to them...


The M77 is awesome and does have more grind than your standard tube screamer. One thing to keep in mind, it's not as high output as something like a Maxon OD808, especially when you're cutting the 100hz.

In my experience, when A/Bing those 2 the M77 had less output and required a tiny bit of gain to match the Maxon with no gain.


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## Gmork (Mar 24, 2020)

I like the idea of checking out a few of these older ODs, people get very caught up in the newest shiniest products when theres decades worth of older stuff that have a lot of potential still and can save ya a tonne of $$


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## Gmork (Mar 24, 2020)

KailM said:


> MXR M77 (Custom Modified Badass OD). Or an SD-1.
> 
> They have more grind/aggression than the typical TS circuit.
> 
> The M77 has been my go-to OD to boost my 6505 for a lot of years. Lately I’ve been practically diming the bass and resonance on the amp, but using the pedal’s 100 hz knob to cut a lot of bass up front. It sounds absolutely massive and crushing, but the mids just have a merciless , cutting grind to them...


Checking out the m77 and WOW! On paper it looks like its right up my alley as i am all about beefin up lows ie 100hz and love my thick low mids etc ie the bump button.
Damn, i think i HAVE to check this out. If it had a mid sweep and had top mounted jacks this could be my dream od.


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## Spinedriver (Mar 24, 2020)

Another 'sleeper' pedal I just happened upon recently is the Electro Harmonix Hot Wax. It's 2 od pedals in 1 box and the coolest feature is the 'blend' knob on it. Mixing in some of the dry signal can give you some very interesting tone options. Definitely worth a look and they're pretty much the same price as the MXR at L&M.


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## c7spheres (Mar 24, 2020)

Metasonix Scrotum Smasher. Good luck finding one though. : )


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## Shask (Mar 24, 2020)

ATRguitar91 said:


> The M77 is awesome and does have more grind than your standard tube screamer. One thing to keep in mind, it's not as high output as something like a Maxon OD808, especially when you're cutting the 100hz.
> 
> In my experience, when A/Bing those 2 the M77 had less output and required a tiny bit of gain to match the Maxon with no gain.


That is probably because the M77 is based on the Boss SD-1. The SD-1 also lacks output, and sounds best with the gain knob turned up a hair, to like 1 or something.


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## Shask (Mar 24, 2020)

Gmork said:


> Checking out the m77 and WOW! On paper it looks like its right up my alley as i am all about beefin up lows ie 100hz and love my thick low mids etc ie the bump button.
> Damn, i think i HAVE to check this out. If it had a mid sweep and had top mounted jacks this could be my dream od.


Sounds like you might like the Way Huge Green Rhino then, lol. I have both the Green Rhino MkII and the M77. They are sort of similar in ways, but different in ways also. Many of the features are similar, but the Rhino has more of an 808 base, where the M77 has more of a SD-1 base. I think I like the Green Rhino better, but I go back and forth. I like the Rhino better for dialing in that super clanky, Meshuggah type of thing. I think the Rhino has more of a chuggier feel to it than the M77, but not sure why.


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## GoldDragon (Mar 24, 2020)

Boss SD-1. If you haven't tried it, you should get one to keep as a reference. You will come back to it.

It is a tubescreamer with asymetrical clipping. Its a more aggressive tube screamer. You can convert a tube screamer to a SD-1 or vice versa with a few simple component swaps.

All boosts are of two types, symmetrical or asymetrical.


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## budda (Mar 24, 2020)

What about a treble booster?


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## broj15 (Mar 24, 2020)

Spinedriver said:


> Another 'sleeper' pedal I just happened upon recently is the Electro Harmonix Hot Wax. It's 2 od pedals in 1 box and the coolest feature is the 'blend' knob on it. Mixing in some of the dry signal can give you some very interesting tone options. Definitely worth a look and they're pretty much the same price as the MXR at L&M.




The hot wax is very sick. For me it was a bit to hot for guitar, but it's definitely my favorite OD/distortion for bass. Especially the blend knob. Absolutely crucial for retaining the low end, and can be equally helpful on low tuned guitar.


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## KailM (Mar 24, 2020)

Shask said:


> That is probably because the M77 is based on the Boss SD-1. The SD-1 also lacks output, and sounds best with the gain knob turned up a hair, to like 1 or something.



I think that depends on the amp though. I’ve always used ODs as a “clean” boost for their EQ-shaping properties, rather than getting more gain. My amps have an obscene amount of gain though...


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## Shask (Mar 24, 2020)

KailM said:


> I think that depends on the amp though. I’ve always used ODs as a “clean” boost for their EQ-shaping properties, rather than getting more gain. My amps have an obscene amount of gain though...


We are not talking about adding a ton of gain or anything. Some OD pedals just sound weak until you kick up the gain knob a hair. It is like it kicks on half the circuit or something.


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## lewis (Mar 24, 2020)

budda said:


> What about a treble booster?


THIS!!!!!

And even a 10band EQ infront of the amp. Boost the level for OD style clipping.
Boost whichever grindy frequency you want.


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## Celtic Frosted Flakes (Mar 24, 2020)

TC Electronic BLD


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## Bearitone (Mar 24, 2020)

Shask said:


> We are not talking about adding a ton of gain or anything. Some OD pedals just sound weak until you kick up the gain knob a hair. It is like it kicks on half the circuit or something.


This was very true for my RAT clone


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## Shask (Mar 24, 2020)

Bearitone said:


> This was very true for my RAT clone


Yeah, my Rat clone don't really have any sound until the gain is up around 9 oclock or so. Speaking of Rats, they are a more aggressive alternative to the typical Tubescreamer boosts.

I also have a BYOC Green Pony, which is a clone of the Maxon 820, and when the gain is zero to 9 oclock, it is a flat clean boost, and then about 9 oclock it starts mixing in the Tubescreamer circuit, where you start getting the bass cut and crunchy upper mids.


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## MetalHead40 (Mar 24, 2020)

SD 805. I've been through a dozen or so and it's king for me. I Had a VFE Dragon that was super aggressive aand had grind for day too, but it was just to much for the amps I have. I can see it being awesome in front of something like a JMP 2204/2203 or JCM 800 though. The next pedal will be a Wampler Tumnus deluxe. I won't buy another OD without a 3 band eq.


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## ricky bobby (Mar 24, 2020)

I've been using a Paul Cochrane Timmy with some gnarly results. Keeps the amps natural tone but can use the eq to cut bass or treble to your liking. Really suprising with my high gain amps.

Got that Protone Dead Horse Deluxe as well. It definitely tightens amps up and brings the grind. Just feel it's almost too much for my needs. Probably sounds great with an extended range guitar if I still had one.


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## DudeManBrother (Mar 25, 2020)

I think @KnightBrolaire nailed the reasonably available pedals for grindy boosting. My question though: why are you against using the drive from an OD circuit? You’d be surprised how versatile those pedals are when you experiment with the levels. Drive all the way up, tone way down, and Volume around noon can create a crushing tone when dialing in your amp appropriately.


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## Gmork (Mar 26, 2020)

KailM said:


> MXR M77 (Custom Modified Badass OD). Or an SD-1.
> 
> They have more grind/aggression than the typical TS circuit.
> 
> The M77 has been my go-to OD to boost my 6505 for a lot of years. Lately I’ve been practically diming the bass and resonance on the amp, but using the pedal’s 100 hz knob to cut a lot of bass up front. It sounds absolutely massive and crushing, but the mids just have a merciless , cutting grind to them...


Well i ordered an m77! It looks awesome. Ill still be on the lookout for a really nasty OD as well but the m77 just seems perfect for my (most of the time playing)


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## 0rimus (Mar 26, 2020)

I've been waiting to pick up an M77 on a Stupid Deal of the Day for awhile now. Keep missing them.

Musiciansfriend had an open box special edition one (it's like a gold flake finish, as opposed to the gold lines)

So after following this thread I picked one up too lol.

My friend used an SD-1 as a boost and it was pretty vicious. Trying to stay away from boss style boxes for conformity.


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## V1adimir (Nov 30, 2021)

Seymour Duncan 805 vs Fortin Hexdrive. Which one you prefer for high gain tones?


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## Alex79 (Nov 30, 2021)

Why does no one mention the lowly Digitech Bad Monkey?
Just cut treble and bass as much as you need and you‘ll get any amount of „grind“ out of it.

I also like to run it below unity gain, I.e. quieter than the pickup without the effect on. Turns every hot high gain pickup instantly into a lower gain pickup and opens up a whole new world of options.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Nov 30, 2021)

Ancient thread.  I can say since this thread was started, I finally tried the Maxon OD808X and I loved it. Probably one of my favorite boosts in terms of aggression and tightness without getting something like the Airis Savage Drive or a TC Integrated Preamp clone.


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## Alex79 (Nov 30, 2021)

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> Ancient thread.  I can say since this thread was started, I finally tried the Maxon OD808X and I loved it. Probably one of my favorite boosts in terms of aggression and tightness without getting something like the Airis Savage Drive or a TC Integrated Preamp clone.



I didn’t notice it was an old thread!
That said, we can always talk about overdrives and boost pedals on this forum!

Or noise gates.
Or pickups.


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## USMarine75 (Nov 30, 2021)

KnightBrolaire said:


> swollen pickle
> mxr cbmod
> maxon od808x
> metalzone
> hm2 (the trick is to not dime them lol)



I just got an HM300 for $18 new lol. Figured I'd cave in and try the HM2 tone finally. I couldn't figure out how to make it work with all knobs dimed at all. Was just noise and filth. But everything around noon and the bass at 9 o'clock sounded killer in front of my Splawn already at a medium gain. 

Even better was when I rolled the guitar volume back because it was overdriving the pedal and amp too much. Had an absolutely killer sound... more like 2002-2004 In Flames IMO.

How else are people using their HM2 style pedals?



Necky379 said:


> @gunch
> TS: Level 1 o’clock Drive none Tone 1 o’clock
> OCD: LP mode Volume 3-4 o’clock depending on what I’m going into Drive nada Tone 12 o’clock
> I’m using a V1 Reaper Pandemonium, it’s just an OCD clone, sounds like an OCD and behaves the same way. I use the Volume knob on the Reaper to set the boost level, the Screamer settings I’m using in this configuration don’t change.
> ...



What are you amp settings? Clean or already dirty?


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## Gmork (Nov 30, 2021)

@USMarine75 im not big on the whole dime the hm2 thing but its my fav boost of everything ive had. On the HM2 try Volume and Treble both at 3 o'clock, Bass around 12 noon, but possibly as far down as 9 o'clock, depends what youre boosting, and gain basically off (turn it off and slowly turn it up until you just start to hear it affect your tone with a bit of grit.

Use the hm2 infront of any fuzz, distortion pedal, dirty amp etc and let us know how ya like it. I wonder how close the behringer is?


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## USMarine75 (Nov 30, 2021)

Gmork said:


> @USMarine75 im not big on the whole dime the hm2 thing but its my fav boost of everything ive had. On the HM2 try Volume and Treble both at 3 o'clock, Bass around 12 noon, but possibly as far down as 9 o'clock, depends what youre boosting, and gain basically off (turn it off and slowly turn it up until you just start to hear it affect your tone with a bit of grit.
> 
> Use the hm2 infront of any fuzz, distortion pedal, dirty amp etc and let us know how ya like it. I wonder how close the behringer is?



I was sold when I saw Josh Scott (JHS) talking about how good the Behringer pedals were for the money. My impression is the circuits are similar/same, it's just the quality of the enclosure (cheap plastic) and no doubt the Chinese solder and workmanship. I expected it to be noisy but not at all. I'd like to A/B against an actual HM2 to see the noise difference. But I'd be willing to bet my house the fail rate on 1000 is probably significantly higher than Boss or other clones like the Angry Swede.


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## KnightBrolaire (Nov 30, 2021)

USMarine75 said:


> I just got an HM300 for $18 new lol. Figured I'd cave in and try the HM2 tone finally. I couldn't figure out how to make it work with all knobs dimed at all. Was just noise and filth. But everything around noon and the bass at 9 o'clock sounded killer in front of my Splawn already at a medium gain.
> 
> Even better was when I rolled the guitar volume back because it was overdriving the pedal and amp too much. Had an absolutely killer sound... more like 2002-2004 In Flames IMO.
> 
> ...


the hm300 is really fun as a boost. I like to keep distortion basically off, dime the level and bass, treble at like 1:30, distortion at zero and rolling off my guitar's volume. I remember @Bearitone mentioning those settings in the HM2 megathread, trying them and liking it a lot.
I have an old clip of it here:
https://app.box.com/s/z4r29o8l384smggon36zxvh4kwj1y0xh

Although I tend to use my Abominable Evil Ned more for the hm2 boost vibe anymore since it has a blend knob.


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## Emperoff (Nov 30, 2021)

USMarine75 said:


> I was sold when I saw Josh Scott (JHS) talking about how good the Behringer pedals were for the money. My impression is the circuits are similar/same, it's just the quality of the enclosure (cheap plastic) and no doubt the Chinese solder and workmanship. I expected it to be noisy but not at all. I'd like to A/B against an actual HM2 to see the noise difference. But I'd be willing to bet my house the fail rate on 1000 is probably significantly higher than Boss or other clones like the Angry Swede.



Quality of components also make a differences in tone and specially noise floor. The catch is that for a pedal with components twice as expensive as those used on Behringer pedals, you pay around 20 times as much.


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## USMarine75 (Nov 30, 2021)

Emperoff said:


> Quality of components also make a differences in tone and specially noise floor. The catch is that for a pedal with components twice as expensive as those used on Behringer pedals, you pay around 20 times as much.



I mean... it was $18 shipped. New.


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## Spaced Out Ace (Nov 30, 2021)

TheWarAgainstTime said:


> Of those I've owned or tried in person, my favorite "nastier than an 808" pedals have been the Fortin Grind/33, Maxon OD-808X, Mesa Grid Slammer, and a Wampler Tumnus Deluxe. Other Klon clones are good for boosting as well, but I like the extra EQ options on the Tumnus.


The Architect from Matthews Effects would work as well.


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## Emperoff (Nov 30, 2021)

USMarine75 said:


> I mean... it was $18 shipped. New.



Then I overcalculated. 14 times as much, then?


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## Spaced Out Ace (Nov 30, 2021)

I would kind of like to get a Green Rhino at some point, but the 3 different version (II, IV, and V) make it a bit difficult to decide which is the most useful. Either to boost a Tech 21 British and Horse AC Tone, or to stack with the CBAMOD to get something in the ballpark of a Criss Oliva tone.


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## wheresthefbomb (Nov 30, 2021)

I haven't tried every pedal in this thread but RAT consistently sounds better to my ear than anything I've tried.

Longsword comes close. I will say nothing I've used cuts like the Longsword, which should be no surprise. Equally unsurprising is that it sounds its best going into the RAT. 

Also, I like my OP07 90s reissue better than any LM308 clones I've tried so don't believe the hype.


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## Emperoff (Nov 30, 2021)

wheresthefbomb said:


> I will say nothing I've used cuts like the Longsword, which should be no surprise.



Makes sense


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## Spaced Out Ace (Nov 30, 2021)

wheresthefbomb said:


> I haven't tried every pedal in this thread but RAT consistently sounds better to my ear than anything I've tried.
> 
> Longsword comes close. I will say nothing I've used cuts like the Longsword, which should be no surprise. Equally unsurprising is that it sounds its best going into the RAT.
> 
> Also, I like my OP07 90s reissue better than any LM308 clones I've tried so don't believe the hype.


What amp did you try the Rat by itself into?


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## USMarine75 (Nov 30, 2021)

I had fun going back and forth between VFE Standout, Pepers Dirty Tree, and Behringer HM300. In front of Splawn QR100 on gear 2 at 50% gain. Each one did its own thing.


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## gclef (Dec 1, 2021)

I use a bogner blue to boost a bogner red pedal. 

With all the eq controls and switches, i get tons of different sounds.

And surprisingly, more than one sounds great. I love these suckers.


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## wheresthefbomb (Dec 1, 2021)

Spaced Out Ace said:


> What amp did you try the Rat by itself into?



Should've listed that too, since my list is probably different from a lot of people's here:

Lots of high headroom tube amps, lots of old SS peaveys, and a sunn beta lead. Obv got a lot more grind out of the PVs and sunn, but it will kick the shit out of high headroom amps too.


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## Bearitone (Dec 1, 2021)

USMarine75 said:


> I had fun going back and forth between VFE Standout, Pepers Dirty Tree, and Behringer HM300. In front of Splawn QR100 on gear 2 at 50% gain. Each one did its own thing.


How did you like the HM-300? It’s my favorite “HM-2” for boosting


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## USMarine75 (Dec 1, 2021)

Bearitone said:


> How did you like the HM-300? It’s my favorite “HM-2” for boosting



Love it. Extremely unique tone unlike my other boost/pre-EQ pedals for sure.




I had fun A/B’ing between these three in front of my Splawn.


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## Werecow (Dec 1, 2021)

USMarine75 said:


> Love it. Extremely unique tone unlike my other boost/pre-EQ pedals for sure.
> 
> View attachment 100650
> 
> ...



That's the most professional looking photo i've ever seen posted on a gear forum i think 

I love my Dirty Tree. I wish the sideways controls didn't trigger my OCD.

I have an HM300 as well, but i think it's been superceeded by a Waza HM-2 now.

I've always wanted a Standout, but only found out about them just after they were discontinued, and not seen one for sale in my country. I keep wishing for Guptech or someone to do a clone, but not seen anything on that front either.


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## LCW (Dec 1, 2021)

This one is very agressive… I like it!


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## Blytheryn (Dec 1, 2021)

LCW said:


> This one is very agressive… I like it!
> 
> View attachment 100654



god damnit I want one


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## youngthrasher9 (Dec 3, 2021)

USMarine75 said:


> Love it. Extremely unique tone unlike my other boost/pre-EQ pedals for sure.
> 
> View attachment 100650
> 
> ...


Have you seen this bastard yet? It blends the gyrating EQ effect of an HM-2 into the signal, in the FX loop. Then you’re free to boost the front of the amp with anything else. I really want to try one.
https://www.dunneffects.com/product/death-knob


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## Beheroth (Dec 4, 2021)

kurt ballou make has a similar product with the murdock pcb : https://www.godcityinstruments.com/collections/diy-pcbs/products/murdock-hm-2-eq
also already populated : https://www.godcityinstruments.com/collections/diy-pcbs/products/murdock-jr
also a bunch of chainsaw related pcb and assembled pedals on his site


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## USMarine75 (Dec 4, 2021)

youngthrasher9 said:


> Have you seen this bastard yet? It blends the gyrating EQ effect of an HM-2 into the signal, in the FX loop. Then you’re free to boost the front of the amp with anything else. I really want to try one.
> https://www.dunneffects.com/product/death-knob



Color me interested.


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## lewis (Dec 4, 2021)

Boss sd1 is grindy.

Failing that literally try a treble boost. They sound amazing for modern metal when tuned low.

Edit: the Naga Viper is actually a sweet version of both. It's both normal boost and treble booster in one. Gets grindy as thanks to treble boost


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## youngthrasher9 (Dec 5, 2021)

I’ve been tempted by the MXR micro amp lately, as it’s got a lot more output than my eq, which does the filtering part of the equation fine. I’m thinking running the EQ at unity with the micro after might be a nice ticket in front of the triple rectifier.


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## Spaced Out Ace (Dec 5, 2021)

youngthrasher9 said:


> I’ve been tempted by the MXR micro amp lately, as it’s got a lot more output than my eq, which does the filtering part of the equation fine. I’m thinking running the EQ at unity with the micro in front might be a nice ticket front of the triple rectifier.


I’d probably run the Micro Amp after the EQ.


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## youngthrasher9 (Dec 5, 2021)

Spaced Out Ace said:


> I’d probably run the Micro Amp after the EQ.


Poor wording on my part, that’s what I meant.


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## Spaced Out Ace (Dec 5, 2021)

youngthrasher9 said:


> Poor wording on my part, that’s what I meant.


Ah, okay.


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## Grindspine (Dec 5, 2021)

efiltsohg said:


> Rat
> 
> most of the old DOD distortion pedal, when used as a boost, work well for this too



Just today I was comparing drives with three pedalboards out in front of my Triaxis.

The Duncan 805 od was the smoothest. The Pro Tone Pedals Dead Horse Deluxe with the mid boost switch was more aggressive, but also noisier. The Revv G3 can be used as a boost, but I do not like its treble response. The Horizon Devices Precision Drive is very aggressive, has a built in noise gate, and fine tuning of the bass filter response. The old DOD FX70C Corrosion pedal can be gnarly, though it is a bit noisy as a boost; I still like it better than the Revv G3 though.

MXR 6-band EQ and Dunlop Crybaby Q-zone all make for great boosts too if you can find the right frequencies to push.


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## Ribboz (Dec 5, 2021)

Anyone try the Savage Drive v5?


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Dec 5, 2021)

Ribboz said:


> Anyone try the Savage Drive v5?



I didn't find out about that one until yesterday and jesus fucking christ it has SIX fucking knobs now. 2 of them dedicated to the midrange alone.


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## død (Dec 5, 2021)

As mentioned earlier, RATs are excellent dirty/grindy/gross boosts, and they’re also wildly inexpensive. I’ve got a Maxon ST-9P+ on my board now that gets really grindy and thick when you engage the bassboost and crank the mids.


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## cmpxchg (Dec 5, 2021)

Ribboz said:


> Anyone try the Savage Drive v5?


I preordered v5 and have had it since September or October. It's by far my favorite boost, including Savage v3, 808, KSR Eros, Pepers Dirty Trees, and some others. It sounds a lot like v3, but it's easier to fine-tune than v3, the low-mid/high-mid split works great, and I haven't found a guitar/amp combo where it doesn't work. Highly recommended.


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## gclef (Dec 5, 2021)

I run a tubescreamer > bogner blue > bogner red > clean amp.

I have everything set up in a fine balancing act.

The ts rarely gets used.

The amp channel alone for cleans.
The blue for overdrive (and hairy cleans with volume down)
The blue into the red for high gain. (Blues volume controls the level of the red, so you get a bit more control over the gain
The red by itself for higher high gain.

If i want a more nasty boost type sound, i run the blue into the red with the guitar volume down to between 1 and 3. Treble bleeds work well for this.

So, i get 5 great sounds to work with.
I uses the blue boost for a fattwr bassy sound sometimes.

Now add in the 36 different switch combos on the blue and 45 different combos on the red for tweaking purposes.

It took quite a while to get to where i am due to that.

Getting the right clean, the right overdrive, and the right high gain all at the same time was tricky, especially to get the majority of my guitars to work well with them.


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## Grindspine (Dec 5, 2021)

død said:


> As mentioned earlier, RATs are excellent dirty/grindy/gross boosts, and they’re also wildly inexpensive. I’ve got a Maxon ST-9P+ on my board now that gets really grindy and thick when you engage the bassboost and crank the mids.



I also threw a Way Huge Russian Pickle out in front, with and without running through the 805 overdrive and into the Triaxis. The sustain and thickness was insane.


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## youngthrasher9 (Dec 6, 2021)

død said:


> As mentioned earlier, RATs are excellent dirty/grindy/gross boosts, and they’re also wildly inexpensive. I’ve got a Maxon ST-9P+ on my board now that gets really grindy and thick when you engage the bassboost and crank the mids.


I really want to try one of those st-9p+ at some point. Both CC and knocked loose are using them now and they seem to be a winning formula with a recto.


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## Gmork (Dec 6, 2021)

youngthrasher9 said:


> I really want to try one of those st-9p+ at some point. Both CC and knocked loose are using them now and they seem to be a winning formula with a recto.


Had one long ago and it was indeed great but i wouldnt say it was vastly different from using a tubescreamer or its many variants. Mine may have just been a lemon but it stopped working for no reason within a year! Was really bummed


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## KailM (Dec 6, 2021)

Apologies if this takes the thread off topic, but does anybody have any boost suggestions to get more of an old-school death metal tone? I have an HM-2 and that definitely does its thing, but that’s not the tone I’m talking about. Mortiferum has the type of tone I’m curious about. There’s this grit in the low end, and a bit of fuzz too I think.
I watched a live video of theirs and they were using 6505s but I know there had to be pedals too. I have a 6505 and it’s certainly brutal but not that tone on its own. Am I looking at some sort of fuzz blended in? A Rat? Here’s their latest album so you can hear that tone:


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## youngthrasher9 (Dec 6, 2021)

KailM said:


> Apologies if this takes the thread off topic, but does anybody have any boost suggestions to get more of an old-school death metal tone? I have an HM-2 and that definitely does its thing, but that’s not the tone I’m talking about. Mortiferum has the type of tone I’m curious about. There’s this grit in the low end, and a bit of fuzz too I think.
> I watched a live video of theirs and they were using 6505s but I know there had to be pedals too. I have a 6505 and it’s certainly brutal but not that tone on its own. Am I looking at some sort of fuzz blended in? A Rat? Here’s their latest album so you can hear that tone:



From my very limited experience, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a RAT. Definitely not an HM-2 imo, the tones in those vids were too smooth for that (almost like the midrange aggression was shifted lower?). I don’t personally think it was fuzz but the guy who could identify that sound if it was fuzz would probably be @steinmetzify


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## Steinmetzify (Dec 7, 2021)

youngthrasher9 said:


> From my very limited experience, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a RAT. Definitely not an HM-2 imo, the tones in those vids were too smooth for that (almost like the midrange aggression was shifted lower?). I don’t personally think it was fuzz but the guy who could identify that sound if it was fuzz would probably be @steinmetzify



Yeah I could see that being a Rat into a fuzz. I could get those tones out of either my Herb or Orange boosting a fuzz too. 

I’ll use a PlxFx Bion boost into a BAT Pharaoh, it’d sound pretty similar @KailM


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## sonoftheoldnorth (Dec 7, 2021)

KailM said:


> Apologies if this takes the thread off topic, but does anybody have any boost suggestions to get more of an old-school death metal tone? I have an HM-2 and that definitely does its thing, but that’s not the tone I’m talking about. Mortiferum has the type of tone I’m curious about. There’s this grit in the low end, and a bit of fuzz too I think.
> I watched a live video of theirs and they were using 6505s but I know there had to be pedals too. I have a 6505 and it’s certainly brutal but not that tone on its own. Am I looking at some sort of fuzz blended in? A Rat? Here’s their latest album so you can hear that tone:



Sounds RAT like to me. The album seems to get a lot of its fuzzy grind from the bass though, I will say.


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## chipchappy (Dec 7, 2021)

I have a Direwolf by Highwind Electronics on the way and could not be more excited to run it through my signal. I've been seeing such good reviews for them online


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## youngthrasher9 (Dec 7, 2021)

As of last night, I’m getting some properly nasty boosted tones with my source audio eq-2. For my low output pickup setting I’m boosting at 500hz, 800hz, 1425hz, 1800hz, slight cut at 3000hz, and another boost at 5.5khz. HPF at 65hz and cuts up 200hz, LPF at 9khz. Sounds absolute awesome into the rectifier, and with a TS behind it with volume at unity and gain at 3/10, it gets a little chainsaw-y. Very fun.


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## DestroyMankind (Dec 7, 2021)

Lately I've been using a sd-1 into a rat with my orange cr120. Sounds pretty aggressive if dialed in properly. Also the fuzzlord hm-6 is fucking sick.


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## Turd Ferguson (Dec 7, 2021)

I've pretty much settled on the EQD Plumes as my favorite, and the last thing I need is another OD/boost...but I'm real tempted to snag one of these from GUP Tech.


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## Spaced Out Ace (Dec 7, 2021)

I think the Plumes sounds good, based on videos, but I will just use a Rat if I need a boost a bit different from the standard.


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## youngthrasher9 (Dec 8, 2021)

Turd Ferguson said:


> I've pretty much settled on the EQD Plumes as my favorite, and the last thing I need is another OD/boost...but I'm real tempted to snag one of these from GUP Tech.


The guptech looks very cool, but the only thing that kind of killed interest for me is that most TCIP derived clones can whip out 30db+ where this guy is only like 20db iirc. I’m sure for most people that isn’t an issue, but the extra oomph on tap could help a lot for guys with lower output pickups and amps that need more help.


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## Kyle-Vick (Dec 8, 2021)

Evil Ned from Abominable/God City is really good to add aggression to your amp. It has one knob to blend the HM-2 circuit in or out and a boost knob. I built a TCIP/33 clone that works really well if you don't want the HM-2 grind in there.


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## Turd Ferguson (Dec 8, 2021)

youngthrasher9 said:


> The guptech looks very cool, but the only thing that kind of killed interest for me is that most TCIP derived clones can whip out 30db+ where this guy is only like 20db iirc. I’m sure for most people that isn’t an issue, but the extra oomph on tap could help a lot for guys with lower output pickups and amps that need more help.



Good point. Yes it's 20db. Maybe what I want is a Dirty Tree...although I'd mostly be using it with a 5150 so it's not like I need the extra 10db...


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## youngthrasher9 (Dec 8, 2021)

Turd Ferguson said:


> Good point. Yes it's 20db. Maybe what I want is a Dirty Tree...although I'd mostly be using it with a 5150 so it's not like I need the extra 10db...


Definitely wouldn’t need the extra 10db unless you were running like vintage spec PAF style humbuckers or some such nonsense.


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## Electric Wizard (Dec 8, 2021)

KailM said:


> Apologies if this takes the thread off topic, but does anybody have any boost suggestions to get more of an old-school death metal tone? I have an HM-2 and that definitely does its thing, but that’s not the tone I’m talking about. Mortiferum has the type of tone I’m curious about. There’s this grit in the low end, and a bit of fuzz too I think.
> I watched a live video of theirs and they were using 6505s but I know there had to be pedals too. I have a 6505 and it’s certainly brutal but not that tone on its own. Am I looking at some sort of fuzz blended in? A Rat? Here’s their latest album so you can hear that tone:



The Rat suggestions are good, this also reminded me of the way the Knocked Loose dudes use the swollen pickle. See 15:30


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## youngthrasher9 (Dec 9, 2021)

Electric Wizard said:


> The Rat suggestions are good, this also reminded me of the way the Knocked Loose dudes use the swollen pickle. See 15:30



Woa mama. That sounded gnarly.


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## sell2792 (Dec 13, 2021)

youngthrasher9 said:


> I really want to try one of those st-9p+ at some point. Both CC and knocked loose are using them now and they seem to be a winning formula with a recto.



ST9 Pro+ is awesome. I stupidly sold mine only to spend months looking for another. Basically, it’s just a really nice TS with the added mid enhance control, and the ability to run at 9v or 18v. I play almost exclusively metal, and this pedal is never off. I’ll be getting a Dirty Tree soon, so I’ll be curious to compare the two circuits against one another.


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## DECEMBER (Dec 29, 2021)

Grindspine said:


> Just today I was comparing drives with three pedalboards out in front of my Triaxis.
> 
> The Duncan 805 od was the smoothest. The Pro Tone Pedals Dead Horse Deluxe with the mid boost switch was more aggressive, but also noisier. The Revv G3 can be used as a boost, but I do not like its treble response. The Horizon Devices Precision Drive is very aggressive, has a built in noise gate, and fine tuning of the bass filter response. The old DOD FX70C Corrosion pedal can be gnarly, though it is a bit noisy as a boost; I still like it better than the Revv G3 though.
> 
> MXR 6-band EQ and Dunlop Crybaby Q-zone all make for great boosts too if you can find the right frequencies to push.


Is Precision Drive all analog?


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## Necky379 (Dec 29, 2021)

@KailM It doesn’t sound too far off from what Creeping Death sounds like, they use DS-1’s in front of Peaveys, a 6505+. I think if you max out the tone knob it can do something like that but I haven’t tried it yet. Also, Mortiferum is sick.


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## KailM (Dec 30, 2021)

Necky379 said:


> @KailM It doesn’t sound too far off from what Creeping Death sounds like, they use DS-1’s in front of Peaveys, a 6505+. I think if you max out the tone knob it can do something like that but I haven’t tried it yet. Also, Mortiferum is sick.



I didn’t even think about the DS-1! Might pick one of those up and play around. It’s not that I’m trying to get their tone exactly, I just want to get something similar and see where it goes.

That said, as someone else pointed out, their bass is a large part of the overall sound. It blends in perfectly, yet increases that wall of filth tone.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Dec 30, 2021)

KailM said:


> I didn’t even think about the DS-1! Might pick one of those up and play around. It’s not that I’m trying to get their tone exactly, I just want to get something similar and see where it goes.
> 
> That said, as someone else pointed out, their bass is a large part of the overall sound. It blends in perfectly, yet increases that wall of filth tone.



Also look into a Metal Zone with the EQ cranked. It does a Buzzsaw thing. 



If the autotime thing doesn't work, go to 3:15.


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## CanserDYI (Dec 30, 2021)

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> Also look into a Metal Zone with the EQ cranked. It does a Buzzsaw thing.
> 
> 
> 
> If the autotime thing doesn't work, go to 3:15.



Dang yeah definitely got some HM2 magic going on in there.


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## Necky379 (Dec 30, 2021)

KailM said:


> I didn’t even think about the DS-1! Might pick one of those up and play around. It’s not that I’m trying to get their tone exactly, I just want to get something similar and see where it goes.
> 
> That said, as someone else pointed out, their bass is a large part of the overall sound. It blends in perfectly, yet increases that wall of filth tone.



I tried it out today, I used a 5150 but I’ll run it through a 6505+ next time. It’s pretty cool, I definitely hear the same character I get from Mortiferum and Creeping Death. It’s got the chainsaw thing going with the tone knob maxed out and that can be dialed down a ways before it’s gone. The low end sounds less prominent but I guess that’s not bad in front of these amps because they already have plenty of low end on tap. Worth checking out if you can borrow a DS-1.


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## DestroyMankind (Dec 30, 2021)

The ds-1 running with volume and tone at max and distortion on zero reminds me of the hm-2 tone, but without the massive low end the hm-2 delivers. I tried em back to back into my orange cr120.


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## KailM (Dec 30, 2021)

Necky379 said:


> I tried it out today, I used a 5150 but I’ll run it through a 6505+ next time. It’s pretty cool, I definitely hear the same character I get from Mortiferum and Creeping Death. It’s got the chainsaw thing going with the tone knob maxed out and that can be dialed down a ways before it’s gone. The low end sounds less prominent but I guess that’s not bad in front of these amps because they already have plenty of low end on tap. Worth checking out if you can borrow a DS-1.



I have a regular 6505 as well. I think I’ll just buy a DS-1 and try since they’re so cheap.


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## Shask (Dec 30, 2021)

Electric Wizard said:


> The Rat suggestions are good, this also reminded me of the way the Knocked Loose dudes use the swollen pickle. See 15:30



I built a clone of one of these. I gotta try his settings!


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## Hollowway (Dec 31, 2021)

Pardon my ignorance, but what is the difference between a smooth and grindy/aggressive OD? Is it where the mid hump is, or is it adding some gain, or…? I’m not sure what it means.


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## KailM (Jan 8, 2022)

^^^Where the mid hump is and also the type of clipping it has (symmetric or asymmetric— the latter having a little more grit).

On another note, I was in the local store last week, itching to spend gift cards and money, and noticed a Mini Rat pedal. After my gift card it was easy to walk away with for $35 bucks.

Today I finally had a chance to run it into my 6505 cranked nice and proper.

Wow. It is exactly what I was looking for. I’m running it into the red channel, with its level dimed, and distortion knob at about 1 o’clock and filter at about 2 o’clock (it just barely starts to add a fuzz sound at that setting).

The tone is incredible. I’ve always liked my 6505’s natural unboosted tone, but it’s a little loose like that. With my MXR M77, it definitely gets tight enough but can be a little “clanky” and metallic at times. The Rat preserves the massiveness of palm mutes but still tightens it a bit. It adds a ruthless grind to the lower mids, maybe even the lows a bit too. When I switched back to my M77 it sounded grating and weak, lol.

The only unfortunate thing is the Rat sucks a lot of tone/gain when it is bypassed. I have to disconnect it if I want to play without it. I’ve got my settings for the 6505 nailed, but typically don’t boost my EVH. Maybe that will change too.

Edit: Nevermind about the tone suck — something else wrong in my chain.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jan 8, 2022)

Hollowway said:


> Pardon my ignorance, but what is the difference between a smooth and grindy/aggressive OD? Is it where the mid hump is, or is it adding some gain, or…? I’m not sure what it means.



IMO
A smooth OD is like a TS808. Less treble content, more focused on the center mids (~700hz) may not cut as much bass. symmetrical clipping which doesn't sound as peaky?
An aggressive OD is like the SD-1. Has more treble content, mid peak is shifted more upward (~1khz). IMO they also cut a lot more bass. Asymmetrical clipping makes things a bit more crunchy as well.


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## BigViolin (Jan 8, 2022)

Stopped buying boosts when I received the Dirty Tree. Between that and SD 805, I'm covered.


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## CanserDYI (Jan 8, 2022)

I really just use the precision drive from my helix and its become my favorite drive ever personally, I like the gate on it, not as intrusive as the actual gates or the input gate imho, and you can add in brightness that really helps for downtuned stuff. No idea how the actual pedal is.


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## BabUShka (Jan 8, 2022)

Anyone tried to boost a high gain amp with the Boss BD2? Probably not what your looking for. But it actually adds a nice grind to the tone.


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## TheWarAgainstTime (Jan 8, 2022)

BabUShka said:


> Anyone tried to boost a high gain amp with the Boss BD2? Probably not what your looking for. But it actually adds a nice grind to the tone.



I've tried using my BD-2 as a boost, but I couldn't find the right balance on the tone control for my taste. It's definitely a nice change of pace, though, and it's had me curious to try the Waza version too


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jan 8, 2022)

TheWarAgainstTime said:


> I've tried using my BD-2 as a boost, but I couldn't find the right balance on the tone control for my taste. It's definitely a nice change of pace, though, and it's had me curious to try the Waza version too



I wonder how the BD-2 sounds boosting something like a VHT/Fryette? Seems like it retains the low end unlike most boosts.


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## Gmork (Jan 8, 2022)

Ive wanted to try a BD for years


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## Shask (Jan 8, 2022)

I have a BD-2, and have tried it to boost, but it is usually too muddy/fuzzy, and I switch it out for something else pretty quickly.


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## profwoot (Jan 9, 2022)

I've been using [plugin versions of] a Rat and a Precision Drive quite a bit lately, the latter for my 7 and the former for my sixes. The Rat is cool because it doesn't cut all the low end like a TS, and has a squishier/hairier feel. The Precision Drive is seemingly just a TS with more range on the usual knobs plus an extra high pass filter knob and I like having more options.


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## Gmork (Jan 9, 2022)

This thread has taken on a life of its own but just wanted to pop in and say that from all the ODs/boosts ive tried nothing beats the hm2 for an aggressive grindy nasty boost to any amp or distortion or fuzz pedal. It just makes everything awesome! Vol & treble at 3oclock, bass at noon/1, gain off or just a hair.


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