# Most agressive sounding OD pedal for metal?



## Stijnson (Nov 27, 2014)

I'm wondering what you guys might think is the most agressive sounding OD pedal to run in front of a high gain amp? 
Im currently using a Bad Monkey, my amp is a Laney IRT Studio, so it has a slight 'british' character. The tone sounds good but I would really like to get even more agression out of my tone. So more pick attack, more tightness and an agressive angry tone. 

Ofcourse the maxon Od808 is a classic, but I read that the OD 808X is even more agressive sounding. Ofcourse Bulb is also very good advertising his pedals as an agressive OD, especially with the attack switch.

Any other pedals I should look into? Or should I invest in an EQ pedal in the loop?


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## Lifestalker (Nov 27, 2014)

Seymour Duncan 805 is KILLER! I also recommend the Green Rhino.

I currently have a ProTone Bulb OD with no plans of changing it. If I do, I'll purchase an SD 805 very quickly.


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## Devyn Eclipse Nav (Nov 27, 2014)

The Reaper Pandemonium sounds pretty crazy, it's definitely something I want to get my hands on one day.


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## wakjob (Nov 27, 2014)

Boss SD-1. 

Why? I'll tell you.

The clipping is asymmetrical, which means it's less smooth and more gritty & textured.

And even when the gain control is at zero, there's still a bit of clipping coming through.
There's no way a stock SD-1 can do a completely distortion-free clean boost.

This makes the SD-1 a nasty sounding OD to boost the front of an already overdriven amp with.


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## Shask (Nov 27, 2014)

SD-1, Green Rhino for OD's....

Of course, the most aggressive are distortion pedals.... the most aggressive boost I have used is the Metal Zone....


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## metaljohn (Nov 27, 2014)

Boss Metal Zone or Black Arts Toneworks Black Forest.


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## WestOfSeven (Nov 28, 2014)

Sd1 with c6 clipped


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## TheWarAgainstTime (Nov 28, 2014)

808 or 808x


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## sevenstringj (Nov 28, 2014)

I tried an Arteffect Zenith once some years ago. Pretty fu_c_kin mean.


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## Fretless (Nov 28, 2014)

My protodrive from airis effects is pretty crazy, and rick has a more brutal version that he makes as well.


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## Bearitone (Nov 28, 2014)

personally i think the OCD is the best if you want to get crazy aggressive


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## Stijnson (Nov 28, 2014)

Some good recomendations there guys. Although I think a MetalZone might be overkill 

But Misha's new video demo of the attack OD seems to do what I want pretty well. I'm just not really into buying signature model gear usually, maybe I'll just have to overcome that...


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## Abaddon9112 (Nov 28, 2014)

I think the stock Metal Zone used as an OD is hands-down the most aggressive sound any boost can generate. It's like taking your amp and adding some of that oldschool thrashy vibe the MT-2 has to it, only much better and beefier than the pedal on it's own. But it's an unusual tone that probably wouldn't work great in every context. 

The SD-1 is a little closer to a standard OD but has this bite and grind to it that Tubescreamers lack. Definitely can't hurt having one of those in your arsenal.


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## TRENCHLORD (Nov 29, 2014)

It's great to have a few boost options for various guitar/pickup and amp/cab combinations.
The best one is the one that sounds best with whatever combination of gear you're running ATM.


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## Sean Richardson (Nov 29, 2014)

OD805

Bulb deluxe/attack

Maxon ST9+


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## Shimme (Nov 29, 2014)

I'm using a modded SD-1 and it's mean as FVCK. There are tons of great OD's out there, but SDs are some of the nastiest.

Never tried the metal one as a boost though, doesnt cannibal corpse use them with rectos?

Green Rhino's are really cool, I don't know if they're super aggressive though... Nice pedals though.


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## Grindspine (Nov 29, 2014)

I like my SD 805 overdrive for boosting the mids, taming the highs, and retaining the bass as a boost.

I use my DOD FX70C Corrosion for molten, aggressive, corrosive, abrasive, industrial noisy sounds.

Any boost you use will still retain some of the Laney head's character though.


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## Leuchty (Nov 29, 2014)

BATW Black Forest is a good suggestion.


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## KailM (Nov 29, 2014)

wakjob said:


> Boss SD-1.
> 
> Why? I'll tell you.
> 
> ...



To add to that, the Mxr M77 is basically an sd-1 clone with less noise and greater versatility. It has a 100Hz knob and a "bump" switch that reconfigures the eq to more of a bass and mids curve. Same asymmetrical clipping as an sd-1 though, which comes across as a little more "grindy" and aggressive than a tubescreamer. I have one of them and use it more often than my Ts-9. There's not a huge difference, but it's noticeable.


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## SqWark (Nov 29, 2014)

SD-1 into a Marshall has been responsible for some iconic guitar tones over the years.


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## sylcfh (Nov 29, 2014)

KailM said:


> To add to that, the Mxr M77 is basically an sd-1 clone with less noise and greater versatility. It has a 100Hz knob and a "bump" switch that reconfigures the eq to more of a bass and mids curve. Same asymmetrical clipping as an sd-1 though, which comes across as a little more "grindy" and aggressive than a tubescreamer. I have one of them and use it more often than my Ts-9. There's not a huge difference, but it's noticeable.


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## Carl Kolchak (Nov 30, 2014)

wakjob said:


> Boss SD-1.
> 
> Why? I'll tell you.
> 
> ...




It's a good pedal for taming flubby low ends, but can also sound kind of "icepicky" too.


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## schizoidasylum (Nov 30, 2014)

MXR GT OD


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## MikeSweeney (Nov 30, 2014)

Just gonna put this out there Try a green rhino and keep it. that's all your going to need


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## guitarfan85 (Nov 30, 2014)

I use a bad monkey and Although I haven't tried anything else, I love it and it does what I need with my peavey vk100w head and cab.


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## p0ke (Dec 1, 2014)

guitarfan85 said:


> I use a bad monkey and Although I haven't tried anything else, I love it and it does what I need with my peavey vk100w head and cab.



I had the same setup. The Bad Monkey was all I needed as far as heavy distorted rhytm tones go. If that's not enough for you, I'd advise you to pick harder


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## ke7mix (Dec 1, 2014)

The VFE Focus might be exactly what you are looking for, Its A clean boost pedal made to be put in front of a distorted amp. It has 2x the output of a tubescreamer so it hits your amp hard. It has a high and lowpass control so you can dial in how much treble or bass you want coming out of your guitar, effectively making the tone as tight as you want it to be. It sounds great with my IRT60H


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## Stijnson (Dec 1, 2014)

ke7mix said:


> The VFE Focus might be exactly what you are looking for, Its A clean boost pedal made to be put in front of a distorted amp. It has 2x the output of a tubescreamer so it hits your amp hard. It has a high and lowpass control so you can dial in how much treble or bass you want coming out of your guitar, effectively making the tone as tight as you want it to be. It sounds great with my IRT60H



The VFE has definitley caught my eye, or ear! The Bad Monkey is a very decent pedal, especially for the price, but I feel that it doesnt push the amp hard enough. Like the level knob should really be able to go 11. Or 15!

But will a powerful clean boost like the VFE also give your tone a touch more agression and grainy-ness as a regular OD does?


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## Sean Richardson (Dec 1, 2014)

Stijnson said:


> The VFE has definitley caught my eye, or ear! The Bad Monkey is a very decent pedal, especially for the price, but I feel that it doesnt push the amp hard enough. Like the level knob should really be able to go 11. Or 15!
> 
> But will a powerful clean boost like the VFE also give your tone a touch more agression and grainy-ness as a regular OD does?



Stijnson... I think your OP got lost in a minor thread drift and that even though you asked for an "aggressive" sounding OD, there were lots of replies about people favourite OD's (which is not the same)

I have over 25 varieties of OD pedals (and some with multiples to cater for various mod...last count on SD-1 for example was 6). I Only use them for High Gain amp boosting NOT the boutique crunch style).

To again reply based on more aggression, consider the SD OD805, the Protone Bulb Attack (or Deluxe) or the Maxon STL9. They are all aggressive...

I would not consider the Focus aggressive (but its a tight "focused" OD), however if your interested in the VFE range, look at the ICE SCREAM Sherbet... that thing is aggressive like an African killer bee!


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## JeffKill (Dec 2, 2014)

I agree with others on the SD 805. Picked one last night and I like it more than both the MXR GT-OD and the Green Rhino.


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## Forrest_H (Dec 2, 2014)

If I can make a suggestion:

I know I spam threads with this all of the time, but have you thought about modding your Bad Monkey? It doesn't take a whole lot, just a cheapo soldering iron, a few 25 cent components, and a guide. 

I hated the way my Bad Monkey sounded until i opened it up and swapped out some caps, and now I love the damn thing in front of both my Valveking and 5150. It's much more transparent in the middle range, and all around it just sounds better.


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## warlock7strEMG (Dec 2, 2014)

If you want an overdrive that tightens and does all the wonderful things that an OD pedal is supposed to do but has a more aggressive tone to it, I would go with either a Maxon OD9. It's like an OD808/TS808 that has been slightly modded to sound meaner with more attack and upper mids and does not cut out as much low end. The OD9 is exactly the same as the old sought after Ibanez TS9. 

Another good one is the Krank Krankshaft. It sounds like a OD/TS808 in the sense that it cuts out more low end than the OD9 and has a more even transparent mid boost to it, but it's also much more aggressive than an 808. If I recall correctly, the Krankshaft is the most aggressive OD pedal I have ever used. Can be found for cheap used because not many people know about them and what they actually are. They pop up on guitar centers used gear page all the time.


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## Stijnson (Dec 2, 2014)

Sean Richardson said:


> Stijnson... I think your OP got lost in a minor thread drift and that even though you asked for an "aggressive" sounding OD, there were lots of replies about people favourite OD's (which is not the same)



Haha, I realised that too about 4 posts into the thread. It was just naming random OD pedals basically.  

But the last 4 posts were very useful indeed! I will definately look into all those pedals. Modding it seems unlikely, I'd most likely screw it up and have to get a new pedal anyway. Besides, GAS has to be taken into account too. 

Jeffkill: Is the 805 actually an agressive sounding overdrive or just a very good overdrive? There is unfortunately sometimes a difference.

And luckily Ola Englund realised a nice video with some Maxon OD comparisons, with the OD9 too. although I think the OD808x sounded the most agressive. But I'll do some re-amping! Awesome way to see how it sounds with my amp.


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## Zsharp (Dec 2, 2014)

Dude check out the hardcore xxx, I forget the company but it's a black pedal with red writing, great pedal.


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## Stijnson (Dec 2, 2014)

Sure, I'll just type that in google then...


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## TheWarAgainstTime (Dec 2, 2014)

That OD shootout was awesome! You almost never see those in a metal context. 

I haven't directly compared my OD808 and OD9 in several months, but that video reminded me exactly why the OD9 ended up in my main rig and the 808 on my "B" board  it's definitely meaner and has more attack. The 808X seems like a nice middle ground between the 808 and OD9 as far as attack and eq shaping.


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## sylcfh (Dec 2, 2014)

So the 9 series is more aggressive in general. The ST-9 Pro+ remains at the top of my list for gear to try.


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## sylcfh (Dec 2, 2014)

Zsharp said:


> Dude check out the hardcore xxx, I forget the company but it's a black pedal with red writing, great pedal.





Stijnson said:


> Sure, I'll just type that in google then...





It's a distortion pedal.


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## Shimme (Dec 3, 2014)

Holy crap that ST9 Pro sounds GREAT. I kindof want one now....


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## Sean Richardson (Dec 3, 2014)

Shimme said:


> Holy crap that ST9 Pro sounds GREAT. I kindof want one now....



indeed...


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## mniel8195 (Dec 3, 2014)

I pulled my maxon off my board and replaced it with the koko boost reloaded never looking back unless i buy a really fluby amp. sounds perfect with my 5150 III


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## TRENCHLORD (Dec 3, 2014)

Man I just love the maxons and could happily roll with any one of them.
They all have their own minor character differnces (felt much more than heard like all things really) yet the core tones are very much related.
IMO; To juice up a bright/tight/dry guitar/amp go with the od808 or st9pro.
To keep a juicy well saturated guitar/amp sounding tight and defined go with the od9pro, od820, or od9.
To add more sizzle and thicken the low-end more on a mid-gain or darker amp/amp-channel go with the 808x or the st9pro.

They have several more models that are just minor tweaks to the same basic design, like the vop9/820 and the ood9(organic-od).
Haven't tried them all (yet lol) but so far the basic od9 seems to be the closest to the middle of the pack tone-wise (also the current ts808).


edit; Not sure if Ola was using the 9pro at 18 or 9v, but it does make a differnce, 9v being thicker and 18v being clearer w/ less inductance.
18v eats batteries alive though, but IMO 18v sounds better anyways when plugged-in. Using 18v unplugged results in quickly changing tone/feel.
Noticed Ola had the gain at 9o  on the 9pro at the end of the video, compared to 0-gain on the others. This is how I usually run it as well since it's dryer and less compressed than the others in the typical clean-boost or neutral setting.
9pro is also a very transparent clean-boost in it's "normal" mode, great for adding just a hint of compression to cleans or boosting amps that are already very high gain.


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## GizmoGardens (Dec 3, 2014)

mniel8195 said:


> I pulled my maxon off my board and replaced it with the koko boost reloaded never looking back unless i buy a really fluby amp. sounds perfect with my 5150 III



I agree that the KokoBoost is great with high gain amps (that's my main boost/OD right now), but I definitely wouldn't call it 'aggressive' like the OP is looking for.

+1 for the SD-1. Really gritty and raw sounding OD, probably right up your alley. Plus they're dirt cheap. I love mine with my MicroTerror, turns it into a thrashy dream/nightmare come true.


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## VBCheeseGrater (Dec 3, 2014)

wakjob said:


> Boss SD-1.
> 
> Why? I'll tell you.
> 
> ...



I always thought the SD-1 had a certain nastiness to it that sounded great - always reminded me of "No more tears" riff.


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## sylcfh (Dec 4, 2014)

For those of you running out of space, this is about to be released. It alsohas two modes...


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## Dusty Chalk (Dec 4, 2014)

I love that brushed metal look.


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## sylcfh (Dec 4, 2014)

One Control also has a mid boost pedal, for those interested. I saw some threads asking about mid boost pedals a while back, but don't want to necro anything. 

Can't find it online in English (One Control is Japanese), except for some Australian sites.

One Control Purple Humper Mid Boost Pedal


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## Shimme (Dec 4, 2014)

Sean Richardson said:


> indeed...


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## gay4ass (Dec 8, 2014)

+1 on the SD-1.

My amp goes totally gnarly when i push the gain stages with it. Very gritty and has a nice harmonic overtone from the asymmetrical clipping. My settings are [email protected], [email protected] and [email protected] Drive is just enough to clip the guitar signal slightly and compress it.

However, it is definitely not as nice as the typical tubescreamer when it comes to leads. For smoother tones, I have the Seymour Duncan 805 which is essentially a lower noise ts with active eq. Very versatile pedal.

SD-1 still stays just for the crushing rhythm tones.


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## Stijnson (Dec 8, 2014)

I will definitly try out the SD-1, I have heard a few of you guys mention its gritty. Which for me is a good thing, my Laney IRT studio has plenty of gain and saturation but its kind of warm sounding. Far from gritty, and not so agressive unfortunately. The SD-1 sounds like it should give me a slightly more agressive tone.


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## neurosis (Dec 8, 2014)

Stijnson said:


> I will definitly try out the SD-1, I have heard a few of you guys mention its gritty. Which for me is a good thing, my Laney IRT studio has plenty of gain and saturation but its kind of warm sounding. Far from gritty, and not so agressive unfortunately. The SD-1 sounds like it should give me a slightly more agressive tone.



I could´t dial in the IRT in the beginning cause I thought if sounded like a damn icepick, which I liked but got tired of after a while. I think the gain on this really does´t saturate past +1 in a way gain past that setting makes too big of a difference, it just muds things up. But that also depends on the volume you are putting it at. 

I play mine with a Zack Wylde OD in front. Maybe it´s because I have used the same pedal in front of every other amp for years so I am used to tweaking it to taste. 

Recently I have been combining it with the Philosopher Tone to both tighten up my pick attack and boost the amp. 

With my mahogany guitars I take out some of the treble for riffing and put a little push on the bass. Mids are at noon with the eq shift pulled.

With my basswood guitars I take out some of the bass and kids and leave the treble at noon. The treble is pulled. 

Of all that has been said I will second the SD and the Maxon. I haven´t heard the rest. And maybe the OCD is a good choice if you dial in it right. 

But I want to make a non overdrive recommendation. The Hardwire Distortion brings awesome juice if you want to consider grit in a box instead of an overdrive to tighten things up. 

You could use it pretty saturated in front and use the crunch on the Laney to add a little on top. But that would be more of the hardwire working as opposed to the lane doing the big job. But I don´t see why that would´t bring you lots of dirty fun considering you mentioned you want an aggressive riffing tone. 

I wonder if you have a particular sound in mind that you want to recreate. You could get many things that will get you there. it might even be possible with what you already have.

Also... the tried and true RAT might be up your ally. It´s a really dirty piece of junk depending on how much you want to push it really. But again... it´s more of a distortion pedal.


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## sylcfh (Dec 26, 2014)

Xotic SL Drive?


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## xiwiwix (Dec 26, 2014)

VFE Focus and the Maxon ST 9 Pro+ are on my short to get list. I love the idea of the VFE hpf, but I prefer the St9Pro+ sound. Such cream thickness...


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## Sean Richardson (Dec 27, 2014)

Bear in mind though that the OD pedal will only be having an "effect" on the amp your using it with. You won't make a recto sound like a 5153 or either sound like a marshal. 

It will sharpen the attack, add frequency usually your mids and upper mids, think nominal 700Hz or thereabouts and reduce low end "flub"...

It won't however make a amp you think sounds like bollocks without it, sound like the best amp in the world with it... 

What I am saying is the amp will make the biggest difference. The OD that you use is only seasoning.


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## ChickenNoodleSoup (Dec 27, 2014)

If you haven't pulled the trigger on a pedal already, then I'd definitely recommend checking out Airis Effects. I have a ProtoDrive, and it's real versatile. It seems to have a little less gain than a normal 808-style pedal when the Drive knob is set to zero, and a bit more tone when the Tone knob is cranked. It has a clipping switch for silicon diode clipping, LED clipping, and no clipping. There's also a "Bass Cut" switch. It doesn't high-pass your entire signal, but effects the character of the pedal's Drive section. It gives it more of a "mid-hump" sound, and helps tighten things up. All of that, and it only cost me $150. You can get a discount if you do a comparison demo with another OD pedal. 

Rick is also great to work with. He's very responsive, and he's willing to make any little tweaks that he can. Like if you wanted a different op-amp for instance. 

He also makes custom pedals. You could spec out all the features that you want: Clipping switch, Bass Cut switch, Bright Switch, Output switch, etc. I'm pretty sure that you can also get most of those switches in a stomp button, but it'd just cost a little extra.


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## noUser01 (Dec 28, 2014)

wakjob said:


> Boss SD-1.
> 
> Why? I'll tell you.
> 
> ...



This x1000. I will always love the SD-1. It can definitely make it easier to tell when you're out of tune, but the distortion has such a unique sound to it. Especially when you play octaves, there's just this sound to it I haven't heard in anything else before. It's something I've loved about the three main bands I grew up on, I could just tell they had "that tone", and I later found out they were always using an SD-1.


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## metaljohn (Dec 28, 2014)

xiwiwix said:


> Maxon ST 9 Pro+



I was actually about to come back and suggest this haha. These are what Cannibal Corpse use now over the modded Metalzones.


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## iron blast (Dec 28, 2014)

Green rhino is a monster or a metal zone


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## guitarfan85 (Dec 29, 2014)

How does one use a metal zone as a boost? Do you use it on the dirty channel with the distortion already on? Do you use it alongside an OD? Because isn't just a distortion pedal and not an OD so I don't understand how you use it as a boost?


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## GizmoGardens (Dec 29, 2014)

Just use it like you would an OD: Turn the gain all the way down, volume all the way up. It's raunchier than an OD will be, but the flexible EQ is nice. I tried it out with my Micro Terror and it's an interesting sound.


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## FRETPICK (Dec 29, 2014)

Deucetone RAT.


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