guitar distortion

[Swafe]

looking at getting a guitar...my mates got a cool thing - not quite sure what it is, an fx pedal maybe ? well simply, it adds distortion on one channel, clean sound on another and something else on the others

just wondering what it actually is, and where i could get one ? thanks guys

[LeeumH]

It could be a Marshall channel changer used on stacks/ combos, simply changes the channel VIA footpedal unit. You can also get distortion pedals, a few off the top of my head would be a Marshall Jackhammer and the legendary Boss DS1. There'll also be FX units that do so many different sounds, prefer more than one pedal than one of them tbh.

[Knoxville]

Its either a footswitch on an amp with 3 channels (not many of those below 50 watt's) or a straight forward distortion pedal/multi fx unit what you wanna sound like and your price range depend on where you need to go and what you need to buy

[Swafe]

fair do's, i aint got a clue what sound my mates was, just changed it from a clean sound of a normal guitar to a more metal sound....i really aint got a clue what im looking for tho

a fx pedal will do i imagine, what sort of price would one set me back ?

[Knoxville]

I'd reccomend either the boss MT-2 for around £70or the Digitech Death Metal (got one on order meself, sound bites availdable here -http://www.digitech.com/flash/DeathMetal.htm) for around the £50 mark, http://www.stringsdirect.co.uk does both and are reliable and fast

[Theo]

DOD Deathmetal - Black/Death/Grind
Ibanez Tubescreamer - Rock/Heavy Rock
Boss Distortion - Heavy Rock/Metal
Big Muff - Everything in the world.

[Swafe]

cheers knox....ill have a look into the second one, 50 quid is alrite for me to spend....now to find a cheap enuff guitar and amp....i take it, itll work with all sorts of guitar and amp ?

[RVF500]

Go into any decent music shop and you should find what you want. But decide what it is you really want first and also a budget. Then wander up to the friendly shop assistant and tell them what you are trying to achieve.

[Knoxville]

yup it'll work with any guitar/guitar amp/v-amp/line6 pod and having used it imo its the best all rounder as I find big muff's to be a bit of an aqquired taste (theres a quote for someones sig :-/)

[Swafe]

As I find big muff's to be a bit of an aqquired taste (theres a quote for someones sig :-/)

[Theo]

If I'm honest, Swafeman, you're better off just getting a guitar and a cheap little 2 channel practice amp. When you actually have a foothold on how to play the guitar, you'll be able to find EXACTLY what you want.

Recommendations are all well and good, but to find something that suits your needs you'll need to try out a selection of them.

Saying that though... a big muff is an acquired taste. If you can't set it right it'll just sound like your runofthemill average fuzz pedal. At the right settings, a bit of BOSS Delay, and you've got all you'll ever need.

IMO, of course.

[Knoxville]

Depends on what your playing, for rock/hard rock the overdrive channel on a practice amp is fine but if you want a serious amount of gain for what your playing you need either a pedal or a better amp imo, the best overdrive i've encountered on a practice amp is on the Randall 40watt dimebag signature thing and at £220 its a tad more expensive than a decent pedal.

Gotta say I found it much easier and enjoyable to learn once I'd got a decent set-up, it cost a fair few notes but I find it more enjoyable to play and learn on the set-up I have now than the one I started out with.

As for big muffs I spent about half an hour trying one with a whole combination of different settings and pedals added to it and It just didn't do it for me, although some people do swear by em.

[Spud1]

Sounds like he has a line-6 amp - they have 3 or more channels on them even for the low wattage ones, i think the 50wt one i played with in the shop had 3 chans - clean, distorted and insane :S

so sounds like that with a footswitch

[Swafe]

cool - i still havnt got my guitar yet (poor, saving some cash) but im looking at this beginners pack for 179 i think ? might have been from sound control, but i cant remember

it was a fender squire one, nu metal pack in black for 179, then probably a boss distorion unit for 40/50 ?

[Tomahawk]

cool - i still havnt got my guitar yet (poor, saving some cash) but im looking at this beginners pack for 179 i think ? might have been from sound control, but i cant remember

it was a fender squire one, nu metal pack in black for 179, then probably a boss distorion unit for 40/50 ?

Sounds cool would be good for a starter guitar. Although I wouldn't recommend Sound Control at all. More like a Supermarket than a friendly music store.

Have had troubles with them in the past and haven't found them to be all that helpful they just seem like they want your money. Just my opinion of course but there will be better smaller shops out there which will talk you through everything explain things to you show you whats what. Let you try various guitars/amps out and recommend ones etc etc.

[Knoxville]

Disagree about soundcontrol tbh, they've always been helpful for me if slightly pushy, they've fixed my amp twice now and its out of warranty and did a free set-up on my sg about a month ago. Just go in knowing what you want to achieve and you'll have no trouble.