Boss Mega Distortion for strat with tube amp

can you tell me the settings you have on the pedal and amp?

also, what channel do you have it on when it gets muddy? is there something about the drive and overdrive you don't like on the amp itself? And what are similar bands to what you want to play?

The best way to Play Distorto Boxes through Amps are through the clean channel. I have played that pedal and personally i think it sucks. No offense but it doesnt have any BALLS behind it. I think the Digitech death metal pedal has way more balls and depth for crankin distortion but yet hard to get the tone you want. Im looking for some new pedals myself the Digitech Distorion factory and the Metal zone Robert keely modded that simon.co suggested to me. If you like non ballsy crunch then be my guest, why does it get muddy when turned up? because it doesnt have the balls to keep the same tone at high powers. Get a real pedal man. :twisted:

First off i don't play metal..i play hardcore punk with it...the closest to metal i think i'd like to get with it would be a Motorhead type guitar sound ala fast eddie clarke, or even phil campbell...the Traynor has a couple different features but straight forward dials...there is a bright switch...an expander switch...a scoop switch...and boost switch...

dial wise it's the same as most basics, 2 channels with volume on both , gain on one, middle, 1 reverb next to the master vol. dial...2 bass and trebles...

i always use the pedal through my clean channel or else it sounds like crap...i love the super hypertense distortion i get with the pedal for single notes/solos...but for fast bar chording it can turn into a muddy affair...i play with no reverb...the middle (this is the clean channel with the pedal) in the middle, treble and bass 3/4 high...expander button on...sometimes the bright button on other times not...volume at almost half...master volumer just over half

on the pedal i have the tone ( treble & bottom) around middle, the distortion just over half, and the gain at half...the volume i have just under middle .

it gives me a great buzzy single note sound ( i recently heard the album "pinkerton" by weezer (not my music of choice) but i loved the hypertense guitar sound he had on some songs...i guess i just need more pedals, as i do like that option on this one...but as a rythm pedal it sounds muddy...i need a clean heavy loud distortion...
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i think i also need some kind of booster pedal ...when i do a solo with the band i can't hear a thing and the songs are way too fast for me to fumbling around with my hands for a switch or knob...anyone recommend a booster pedal or something along those lines?...

also some one suggested i think it was called permutator pedal?...i can't remember...also i was thinking maybe some sort of equalizer pedal would help...kinda disappointing as i read so many great things about the boss mega distortion pedal...what about the regular boss distortion pedal?...do you also dislike that one (the old orange one, or the newer one with toggle switch)?...i thought the Boss mega distortion would be all i need...maybe it is that you just dislike Boss pedals period i know some people do...

cheers - Sito

thanks fer any help - Otis

what about using this after my distortion pedal?...i mean i'm not gonna throw it away...maybe it would help...looks like it would give me more final say about my sound and give me the option to click up a volume boost for a solo too...

There is nothing wrong with the 'balls' of this pedal: I guess the muddy-sound comes from pushing a tubeamp into overdrive. That's not the pedals fault but part of the amp (and basically a plus). And EQ would help a lot with shaping the sound but I think the key is *lowering* the gain. You only need to boost certain frequencies into overdrive, so lower the gain and use an EQ to shape the sound. Then boost it further with a booster pedal for lead sounds. Don't change pedals, get the most out of it instead. :D

again i use no gain on the channel for the pedal...unless of course you mean the gain on the pedal itself... thanks

and yes i want something i can simply stomp on the makes for a louder lead segment.

the EQ will help only to give your lead a boost.
when a distortion is engaged Im not sure if an EQ could separte or define the sonic blasts.
most distortiion pedals Ive used are mushy and muddy.
(this is being discussed at the Amp and EFX section. check it out)
one thing I found that helps clear up the muddiness is to use less strings. two or three strings sound better than a full on barre.

maybe you should look at a Big Muff pedal. they have nice harmonic distortions that you could punk out. sdont think anyone is doing that. you'r be an original. :)

Yeah, definitely try turning down the gain and up the distortion. The gain is essentially boosting/overloading the amp, so you'll eventually get that muddy sound. You may also want to try switching the settings on the amp, 3/4 3/4 and 1/2 seems a bit much. i find with lots of distortion you really have to balance the settings, maybe just turn both mid and low down by 1 notch (i'd also suggest turning up the treble slightly on the pedal, and down the lows a bit. I don't know, you may have already tinkered with the settings alot and this could be the sound you want, i've never used that amp. Hopefully it works out, it can be a long battle.

In case I was unclear: lower the gain on the pedal and use the clean channel. An EQ is a *big* part in shaping a sharp overdriven sound with clarity and punch: you don't need to overdrive all frequencies, only a few. So keep the drive low and use the EQ to shape the sound for your rhythm overdrive. Use a seperate booster pedal to boost it further for your lead sound. If you go without the EQ and get all your gain from the pedal you will boost your sound over a way too large spectrum. Also note that by adding gain in front of the amp you will still be overdiving your preamp tubes, no matter how low the gain on the amp's channel.

This is just my opinion and obviously I can't disagree more with dogbite. IMHO using an EQ just for a lead boost is a terrible waste of a whole arsenal of soundscaping options. You can't use a distortion pedal properly if you don't shape it properly. That's not the pedal's fault by any means so don't blame your Boss just yet.

As for settings: gain/drive over 50% is insane for rhythm work. You want a tight, compressed, full and clear distortion. 50% is so outrageous much that you will end up with mud always, even more with tube amps. Drop it to 20% *max* and boost the mid frequencies individually with an EQ (definitely do NOT overdrive the lower regions of your sound!). That should get you a whole lot closer.

I had a Mega Distortion Pedal at one time and ran the following: Fender Strat > Boss EQ-7 > Mega Distortion > Fender HRD tube amp.

I found the sound to be muddy and the noise inherent to a strat and a tube amp to be a deal killer. I switched to another boss pedal, the Metal Zone (I know, I know, many of you hate it also) but its a much better fit. Now I must qualify this by saying I was dealing with pretty bad overall noise issues at that time and I seemed to have fixed most of them (thanks to guitarnoise for the assist on that one) but the MD in general was a noisier then usual pedal.

Summary: Not a big fan of that pedal. But it may be my rig....

Arjen wrote :
"As for settings: gain/drive over 50% is insane for rhythm work. You want a tight, compressed, full and clear distortion. 50% is so outrageous much that you will end up with mud always, even more with tube amps. Drop it to 20% *max* and boost the mid frequencies individually with an EQ (definitely do NOT overdrive the lower regions of your sound!). That should get you a whole lot closer."

well this is the channel without the pedal...the pedal channel (clear channel) has no gain...just a vol. / middle,/ treble/ bass...

so while using the pedal i haven't even tried tinkering around with my gain channel as the couple times i tried it sounded like shit...so i only have used the pedal through the aforementioned clear channel.

however if you just mean the amp's own distortion settings (forgoing the pedal all together) i get what you suggest.

a booster is something i think i really need...as the only guitarist in my band, when i go to play lead i canot hear it at all...it is like an empty space guitar wise...

i like this Traynor amp alot and it is their biggest beast but sometimes i wonder while jamming (standing next to my drummer and my bassist with his massive ampeg 300 watts a channelesque amp) that i am really having to push it thus getting too muddy, however we do have access to a pa meaning i can mike or (i haven't tried it yet) plug the amp directly into the pa...

i guess i need a boost for leads, and something that will help me find the right rythm distortion sound...i can't really play at my home and am on a tight schedule with my band's rehearsal space so the guys in the band get impatient with me screwing around yet they complain about the sound , "you got all this fancy gear and it sounds awful"...well i KNOW it IS capable of doing what i want (at least i hope) i mean Traynor's are decnt amps and strats are a common proven electric, lotsa punk/hardcore even metal bands use them and mine's the deluxe with the extra umph of the S1 switch too...

but as someone above said it can be a long road to find it...i am leaning towards a booster but also an equalizer if that will help me with the rythm (and i do bar all my ryhthm chords and never play power chords maybe that IS contributing)...if i could use the equalizer as a booster too that would be a bonus ...but i think i would be making a sacrifice in that the eq would then only become engaged for my solos when i need it for my rythm...guess i would need both...

maybe next time i will try turning the gain almost off on the pedal and just put the distortion on half, turn up the high end on the pedal and see...

it seems i can get cooler sounds at a lower volume than when i have to crank it up to compete with the band....um...i thought i was set with this peadl...turns out last nite at rehearsal i used the Traynor's gain distortion more than the pedal.

thanks - Sito

You can do partial barre chords, it's what I mostly do. Instead of using your index finger to barre across you use it to fret one extra string only. I typically use these three chord shapes.

"E" shapes. |"A" shape
--X-----X-----|--X
--X-----1-----|--3
--2-----2-----|--3
--3-----3-----|--3
--3-----3-----|--1
--1-----X-----|--X

The first one is chunkier and goes better with power chords based off the low E. The 2nd one goes well with the "A" shape chord.

i just realized that my amp has a built in booster switch (i was wondering why one of the two lights on the switch pedal that came with the amp didn't light up), but it doesn't work...even when i don't have the foot switch plugged in , the "boost" button on the amp neither lights up or works...i have talked to long and mcquade and they said bring it in, so hopefully i won't need to buy a boost pedal once it's fixed...

as for an e.q. pedal...are they really worth it?...does it make a pretty big difference?...as for an attentuator, i am not looking for the right overdriven sound at a low practice apt. friendly volume, but more the right sound at a high volume...will the e.q. help a great deal in this way?...also in regards to the strat tube combo and noise, my strat is a deluxe with noiseless pups so even with loads of gain distortion it is comparatively quiet, on clean it is pin drop quiet...

basically i want a clear heavy thick distinct distortion that doesn't muddy up with high vol....i'm leaning toward's the e.q. pedal but would love to know more about them and your experiences with them...also any fans of the Traynor YCV 80Q amp?

thanks - Sito