# Overdrive pedals for metal?



## theodore (Jun 20, 2012)

Hey All,

Relatively new to the guitar realm. I've read that overdrive pedals such as the ibanez ts-9 or maxon od808 are very popular among metal musicians. I can't, however, find a conclusive answer as to what makes them great for this genre. Do metal musicians generally use an overdrive pedal to supplement another distortion effect? Can you use an overdrive pedal by itself to get a crunchy metal tone? Thanks very much!!


----------



## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jun 20, 2012)

They're usually used into a low-gain amp to add a bit more gain, or a high-gain amp to cut out and tighten the low end, add some mids, and give a bit more clarity. The usual setting is 

Gain: 0
Volume: 10
Tone: to taste

But on their own, they're not very gainy at all.


----------



## Vostre Roy (Jun 20, 2012)

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/gear-equipment/179243-overdrive-metal.html

This topic has been covered many time already, do some research on the forum. (a good advice, go on google, and write "overdrive pedal site:sevenstring.org". That way, it will make a research on this website only)

To give you a short answer, Overdrive are used most of the time to tightens the sound. The overdrive/distortion knob is usually at minimum, output and tone raised up to give the sound the extra edge needed. Not all amp "needs" an overdrive in front, but lots of metal guitarist does so, its really up to what sound you are after.

Cheers!


----------



## Atomshipped (Jun 20, 2012)

Overdrive pedals on their own don't give a metal sound; they're used in front of an amp to make the amp's distortioned "better" for heavier metal.


----------



## jarnozz (Jun 20, 2012)

I use a boss super od, Gain at 0, tone at 1, volume at 10.
How I think about it. It gives more bite and power out of my sound.


----------



## Preston Holland (Jun 20, 2012)

I would get a tube overdrive like the blackstar ht series. But I have an older digitech death metal pedal that works pretty good. Then there are the boutique effects that sound good but are too much money. I would prefer the digitech death metal.


----------



## Vostre Roy (Jun 20, 2012)

Preston Holland said:


> I would get a tube overdrive like the blackstar ht series. But I have an older digitech death metal pedal that works pretty good. Then there are the boutique effects that sound good but are too much money. I would prefer the digitech death metal.


 
Common mistake. Distortion Pedals =/= Overdrive Pedals. Both can add gain to the sound, but the way OD pedals are used has nothing to compare to a distortion pedal.


----------



## bob123 (Jun 20, 2012)

Ill break this down all the way, to add on what Roy is discussing. 


To get a "metal" sound you can go one of two routes usually. (Just in general, theres infinite ways to tune your sound).


A lot of people get a naturally high gain amplifier. This means it gets a great over driven sound on its own. For some its good, others want that "push over the cliff", so they put an OVER DRIVE in front of the amp. An over drive raises the signal pattern of the guitars input. It basically makes it have "more sound". 


Others use a cleaner amp, and use DISTORTION to get their ideal effect. Distortions actually change the sound frequencies. 

So you can go either route, distortions are more sterile sounding usually, some prefer that sound. Its really up to you what you want.


edit: This is the sesame street version, obviously.


----------



## All_¥our_Bass (Jun 20, 2012)

Some people do both the 'extra gain' and 'near-clean filtering' by running two OD pedals:

Guitar > 'clean' OD > 'dirty' OD* > Dirty Amp

*:
Sometimes this is only on for solos and/or specific 'heavier' parts, IIRC Loomis does this, 'clean' boost for riffing and 'clean'>'dirty' boost for solos.

I set my overdrive withe tone at about 11 o'clock, gain on 0, and volume to be the same, or only very slightly higher when it's on and off.

I also run an eq pedal after the OD so I can tweak the freqs. I destroy everything at and below 100hz, and boost some of the 'zingy' highs before adding my main dirt.


----------



## viesczy (Jun 20, 2012)

The only two ODs I have any longer are the Daddy-O and the YJM, but I rarely used them any longer for anything. 

My "metal" tones come from my amps as they're meant to play both types of music - heavy & metal. If I used an OD to add to a solo, but the base tone comes from my amp.

With the "solo" boost on my Mesa, my Trademark 300, my Laney TT 50 (not the most metal but if you drive the EQ you can get a great molten ton), and using the effects loop button as a boost on my XXX & 333xl, I don't even use an OD pedal with those amps. 

My Genz Benz El Diablo 100 head and 60/30 combo have a classic/moddern button, compression button and an EQ boost button, using the compression for a little more sustain and then the pick attack (EQ Boost) if needed to cut, there's all I need with those. 

As I've aged, the idea of lugging gear isn't fun. 

All that said & really was just a ramble... IMO the Daddy-O is the greatest OD ever!

Derek


----------



## Hyacinth (Jun 20, 2012)

I use a Maxon OD808 in front of a Peavey 5150 II and it sounds great. I highly recommend the OD808.

I'm not going to try to explain what OD pedals do because it's already been answered in this topic. I just wanted to put in my two cents as to which pedal I use.


----------



## TRENCHLORD (Jul 6, 2012)

Here is a good overdrive demo of many of the maxon classics.
He never does the levels on full unfortunately, but he at least runs them with 0 gain and pushes the levels up a bit.


----------



## SPLANCHN0PHILE (Jul 6, 2012)

Try Hardwire CM-2 Tube OD. I use it solely as a boost. Just test or be able to return it cause it's high output sounds incredible on most amps that are meant to break up better than a slutty girlfriend (not Fender-ish amps).


----------



## Gryphon (Jul 6, 2012)

I use a Maxon OD808 in front of all my amps, and none of them are lacking gain (6505, 5150 iii, Dual Rec) but using an overdrive pedal really helps bring out the pick attack and I think makes soloing sound sweeter.


----------



## Sdrizis89 (Jul 6, 2012)

I love my Maxon od808 in front of my marshall. Same setting as mentioned above as well with Gain on 0, volume maxed, and tone to taste. Gave me that extra push i needed.


----------



## VBCheeseGrater (Jul 6, 2012)

A lot's been covered, but if you find your amp distortion is not giving you that "chug" the way you'd like it to, throw an OD in front of it.....then behold "chugerrific"


----------



## Destructionuponusguitar (Jul 6, 2012)

Get a Maxon, Nothing is better. They cost alot (about $150 give or take) but deffinately better than a boss by far. No tone loss just that little extra kick in the ass to get your perfect amount of gain while keeping your clairity.


----------



## VBCheeseGrater (Jul 6, 2012)

Destructionuponusguitar said:


> Get a Maxon, Nothing is better. They cost alot (about $150 give or take) but deffinately better than a boss by far. No tone loss just that little extra kick in the ass to get your perfect amount of gain while keeping your clairity.



yup, definitely avoid the Boss OD-3 for boosting, it just doesn't work well at all as a boost - very different from the Maxon, Tube Screamer, and other models mentioned here.


----------



## Moltar (Jul 6, 2012)

What I do for boosting, is I have made a little 0-20db boost box with an on and off switch. Its a totally clean boost. I actually have one mounted in an RG7421. It comes in handy lol. When I have a different guitar without the built in boost, I just bring the little box with the little switch. (And a NOISE GATE!!)

Obviously with that much gain boosting, you need a good noise gate... but that is a different topic.


----------



## refusetofall87 (Jul 6, 2012)

I use a bbe green screamer through my 5150, it adds more depth to my distortion tone and a bit of mid range. You can't go wrong with a little extra boost in your gain.


----------

