I'm really fed up with using Boss pedals. Their distortions are complete shit. I'm thinking about buying some Electro-Harmonix stuff, but I'm wondering about what else is out there. Any thoughts?

Electro Harmonix stuff is great and a lot of fun.

The Ibanez Phase Modulator pedal is fun lots of variety for wacked out stuff.

XXL is great distortion pedal

Yamaha Magic Stomp - Now on Close out at GC - My pick Best $75 pedal - if just for the echo / reverbs and tuner you get your moneys worth (the boss tuner is this expensive although you can also get slide tunings with it), I like the distortions and the oscolating Ring Modulation to me it all sounds great. If you like SPX series sounds you'll like this box. Nice to be able to edit via USB and create libraries for set list stomping. The distortions have arround 40 tweakable settings. They have a fuzz Face and maestro fuzz settings in the pre sets which give you a idea of what it is capable of. It is very deep - good sounding and most importantly as cheap as a Small Clone. I know its digital but for what it does which is a lot at $75 it is hard to beat.

Lots of the boutique pedals are very nice but sometimes painfuly expensive. I am sure lots of people here will have good advice about that. I tried out the truly beautiful disaster pedal in Tuson reciently and thought it was amazing. But I am ok for distortion right now but the 13 is on my next christmas list.

I also like the Build a clone stuff - for some basic distortions / Fuzz Face in as much as you end up learning some electronics as you build your own box.

I like the fulltone stuff. The OCD is pretty hip. The Zvex stuff is weird and cool. Cool and weird.

No one's kerbled this post yet?!?

http://www.electrical.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=14953

http://www.electrical.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3412

I use a bbe sonic maximizer, a mr echo, and a budda phatman distortion, through a twin. Sounds good. I do need another amp that has distortion in it though. I have been playing through just a twin for 10 years. Its time for a change.

in terms of non- boutique, non-shockingly-expensive, I really like 2 of the DOD reissue pedals. the 250 overdrive and the modified version of the 250 with Yngwie J Malmsteen crap all over it. They both sound really good, and i think were going for $40 at musiciansfriend. I got the YJM thrown in with a trade, it sat in a box for a year. My voodoo labs od flaked on me, so i plugged it in so i could finish practice. I've been using it for 2+ years now, into a traynor yba-1a, later a '70 bassman...I'm using it inthe studio right now. It seems to add a little brightness, but doesn't get as brittle as some, and doesn't get dark like the ts9s.

now really..you're crazy and wrong.

boss pedals can be amazing..

don't be a dick

Boss is great stuff for the money. It does what it does, well, and is incredibly reliable. Long after all that cheap plastic shit they make these days is in the trash heap, Boss stuff will be working. I have 20+ year old gear of theirs that has been through utter hell, and it still works. Perfect for the road.

That said, I hardly use it anymore, but that's because I sold a TON of gear to buy some high end effects (Fulltone, Menatone, Keely). When I use Boss stuff, it's for things that are not usually made by "boutique" companies - digital reverbs, versatile delays, etc. Had these high end things never been made, I would have happily used Boss gear forever.

Other things to consider are Electro Harmonix and MXR. The problem with E-H traditionally has been the HUGE footprint. Fine if you're only using one thing, but that's it. The new Nano stuff is fantastic, and the size of MXR boxes. I use a Nano Small Stone and Big Muff right along side my high end gear. So check all that stuff out for the things that are bumming you out about Boss. Meaning, *all* Boss stuff shouldn't be off the table, but if you hate the distortions, try an MXR distortion +, or a Rat. If you want insane fuzz, not much beats a Big Muff.

Most of the Guyatone pedals, the really little ones, are super nice and very affordable. The Compressor is one of my favorites. It trounces things 5 times it's price. It will squash anything (literally). The fuzz is nice. The delay sounds really good. The Tremolo is great unless you want super choppy stuff. The reverb is one of the best around, but you can't find it due to a lawsuit.

Last of all, the new Digitech boxes that look sort of like Boss pedals are really well built and sound nice.

Line 6 stuff sound great and does a lot, but the MM6, DD6, FM6 (etc) series can't take a slamming, just a semi-slamming.

-A

basically random things besides boss sound good.

seriously, any brand...

but zoom.

wire even uses line 6's and i like how wire makes them sound. everyone else generally sounds shitty.