Fusion distortion/overdrive pedals?

**Meggy** · 07-29-2009, 02:19 PM

I have just been sorting out my old pedalboard, and just interested to know if anyone has a favorite distortion/overdrive type pedal to use for jazz fusion type stuff. I have got a ProCo RAT which I know Scofield uses to good effect, although I have never quite got something I liked from it over the years (I will keep trying). I also have an old Tokai "Metaldriver" (I know, I know...) with which I find I can get a not un-Mike Stern-esque sort of sound which I do like a lot. Any tips or comments appreciated.

**Scolohofo** · 07-29-2009, 03:06 PM

Let your ears make the decision what's best!Myself i own a snarling dogs blue doo that i appreciate for the nice growl.

**bluemood** · 07-29-2009, 04:30 PM

I use a Fulltone Fat Boost and a Fulltone Fulldrive II .

**bkdavidson** · 07-30-2009, 04:35 AM

Mike Stern uses a Boss DS-1 distortion pedal, if you're looking for that type of sound. Personally, I like either a Tubescreamer (TS-808 model, of course) or just overdriving the amp. Scolohofo Johnson is right! about letting your ears decide, but if you're looking for input I like the sound of an overdriven tube amp the best. Some of the high-gain amps like older Boogies (Boogie, not Mesa/Boogie) or Soldano sound nice if you keep the gain down a bit. If it's fusion with distorted tones, you could even try Marshalls or a newer Vox w/ master volume.

**mangotango** · 07-30-2009, 05:25 AM

Originally Posted by bkdavidson

Mike Stern uses a Boss DS-1 distortion pedal, if you're looking for that type of sound. Personally, I like either a Tubescreamer (TS-808 model, of course) or just overdriving the amp. Scolohofo Johnson is right! about letting your ears decide, but if you're looking for input I like the sound of an overdriven tube amp the best. Some of the high-gain amps like older Boogies (Boogie, not Mesa/Boogie) or Soldano sound nice if you keep the gain down a bit. If it's fusion with distorted tones, you could even try Marshalls or a newer Vox w/ master volume.

bkdavidson johnson is right about scolohofo johnson being right!

sorry guys, slow morning

actually, what I do is use the amp settings to give me that little "edge" and if I need more, I will use a graphic eq pedal to boost the mids which will give me that fuzzy tone in the range where I want it.

**Meggy** · 07-30-2009, 08:58 AM

Cheers for the interesting thoughts and suggestions guys, I do appreciate that for some there can be no substitute for tubes, but I'm one of those people who likes the simplicity (if that's the word) of just having a chain of pedals in front of a solid state amp, and I do like my Polytone Minibrute. I guess the point about using your ears can't be argued with either, so maybe I should look to changing the Rat if I can't get a sound out of it.

But first I'm going to try using it with only a very small amount of drive, and the filter set to give a less trebly sound (I read on this site that Scofield does this). Maybe I can use the Rat for a good "just on the edge" bluesy sound, and then the Metaldriver (it's not as bad as it sounds honestly

) for a little more sustain/smoother sound. It's been so long since I used this stuff that I have forgotten how I used to set things and what it all sounded like to a large extent! But I'm having fun with it.

**bkdavidson** · 07-30-2009, 03:13 PM

Thanks mangotango! Someone finally got the movie reference!

**bluemood** · 07-30-2009, 03:54 PM

Originally Posted by Meggy

Cheers for the interesting thoughts and suggestions guys, I do appreciate that for some there can be no substitute for tubes, but I'm one of those people who likes the simplicity (if that's the word) of just having a chain of pedals in front of a solid state amp, and I do like my Polytone Minibrute. I guess the point about using your ears can't be argued with either, so maybe I should look to changing the Rat if I can't get a sound out of it.

But first I'm going to try using it with only a very small amount of drive, and the filter set to give a less trebly sound (I read on this site that Scofield does this). Maybe I can use the Rat for a good "just on the edge" bluesy sound, and then the Metaldriver (it's not as bad as it sounds honestly

) for a little more sustain/smoother sound. It's been so long since I used this stuff that I have forgotten how I used to set things and what it all sounded like to a large extent! But I'm having fun with it.

I have been trying to get a nice drive & Distortion tone out of my polytone mini brute IV for sometime now, and have not been able to fine a pedal or anything(line 6 XT live) that I would use for live and practice...I would love to be able ot play my ploytone in a blue or rock setting but for my ear boosted dosen't sound right.

**Meggy** · 07-31-2009, 02:35 PM

Originally Posted by bluemood

I have been trying to get a nice drive & Distortion tone out of my polytone mini brute IV for sometime now, and have not been able to fine a pedal or anything(line 6 XT live) that I would use for live and practice...I would love to be able ot play my ploytone in a blue or rock setting but for my ear boosted dosen't sound right.

Is the mini brute IV the one with a 15 inch speaker? I bet that's a great amp for straight ahead jazz playing with a dark-ish sound. As regards distortion, I find for me it's a case of adding chorus and a touch of delay also (again not unlike Mike Stern) - it's funny how this seems to change the tone as well as making things sound "bigger". It's OK without the chorus/delay, but things sound a bit "hairy" somehow. So I'm either in fusion mode, with loads of effects going, or archtop mode, when I don't use any (except a touch of reverb maybe). Don't know what the mini brute IV is like, but the 2 version sucks (IMHO) as far as both distortion and reverb are concerned lol - but I still love it.

**bluemood** · 07-31-2009, 03:03 PM

Originally Posted by Meggy

Is the mini brute IV the one with a 15 inch speaker? I bet that's a great amp for straight ahead jazz playing with a dark-ish sound. As regards distortion, I find for me it's a case of adding chorus and a touch of delay also (again not unlike Mike Stern) - it's funny how this seems to change the tone as well as making things sound "bigger". It's OK without the chorus/delay, but things sound a bit "hairy" somehow. So I'm either in fusion mode, with loads of effects going, or archtop mode, when I don't use any (except a touch of reverb maybe). Don't know what the mini brute IV is like, but the 2 version sucks (IMHO) as far as both distortion and reverb are concerned lol - but I still love it.

Yes it is the one with the 15" speaker and 2005 model.

**Meggy** · 07-31-2009, 03:28 PM

Originally Posted by bluemood

Yes it is the one with the 15" speaker and 2005 model.

Mine is a 1995 ish model I think. I guess your ears have to be the final judge so if you can't get what you want distortion wise then you have to change something - either the pedals or the amp. But as I'm sure you know, the Poly is pretty good for getting a jazz tone. And I'm sure some would tell us to give up on the distortion anyway!

**Smitty** · 08-03-2009, 09:52 PM

I use a Mesa Lonestar, and its tone is perfect for jazz. The clean breaks up just how you want it to, and the distortion, even when very high, is amazingly smooth and clear and fat...a perfect fusion tone.
But, since you're just looking for a pedal, I recommend the Radial Tonebone Classic or Trimode. Basically a Boogie/Butler Tube Drive tone. Very nice and smooth, and I hear the low gain sounds are great, as are the high gains. I used a TS-808 through a (oddly enough...) Peavey keyboard amp (which is basically a Polytone, if you think about it!) and it was very vey thick and fat, which worked well. The great thing about fusion and jazz is that you can get away with any tone if you do it with enough confidence.
Also, I hear that the Fender Jazzmaster Ultralight amp has a great overdrive channel, as well as an amazing clean. There are a few guys on this board that own one, but haven't put up any soundclips

**mangotango** · 08-04-2009, 05:34 AM

Originally Posted by bkdavidson

Thanks mangotango! Someone finally got the movie reference!

Rerup m7b5! (That's authentic jazz guitar gibberish!!)

**P.J.** · 08-04-2009, 06:41 AM

For fat overdrive sounds I like my Fulldrive 2 (w/ the 3-way switch but no mos-fet), Tonebone Classic and Zoom Powerdrive. I think the Tonebone is the most versatile of the 3 but needs to be tweaked to really work well. Both the Fulltone and Zoom also work well as boosts.

=-) PJ

**garryrenfro** · 08-04-2009, 02:12 PM

I have a Keely modded Boss BD-2 pedal that I like for overdrive. It is very quiet and with the gain set at minimum acts as kind of a clean boost, coloring the sound only slightly. There is a wide, usable range of warm to smoky tones there. It is capable of many times more distortion than I could ever use. I am also extremely fond of my Mesa V-Twin pre-amp, which has been my constant companion for over a dozen years. A versatile item that warms up a solid state amp, heats up a tube amp, can melt your face, records beautifully, and is a high quality headphone amp.

**monkmiles** · 08-04-2009, 02:45 PM

How about a fuzz pedal? One whose fuzz distortion amount can be controlled with your guitars volume knob. Perhaps a germanium fuzz, as opposed to silicon, as they tend to clean up better. That way you can get cleanish tones with the volume knob lower and turn it up to get dirtier tones.

**derek** · 08-04-2009, 03:35 PM

Originally Posted by martinopass

How about a fuzz pedal? One whose fuzz distortion amount can be controlled with your guitars volume knob. Perhaps a germanium fuzz, as opposed to silicon, as they tend to clean up better. That way you can get cleanish tones with the volume knob lower and turn it up to get dirtier tones.

Though I only play clean for jazz, I have a Keeley Fuzzhead that I absolutely love for the rock/pop stuff I do. It has a germanium/silicone switch on it but I keep it on ge. As you say, a slight volume roll off smooths it up nicely.

**Meggy** · 08-04-2009, 03:51 PM

Cheers for all the suggestions folks, I will do my best to check out all the kit mentioned. I'm starting to warm to my RAT now, having followed the "Scofield" approach of turning the filter to max thus rolling off all the hairy highs! It gives a fuller, less "scooped" tone than my other pedal, although I think they both have their place for me. Also I am finding I want less drive/distortion than I used to, so I have a pretty subtle amount on the RAT, a little more obvious on the Tokai, and can have both together for a more sustained sound. It seems quite nice to me, but of course you do wonder if it is a case of not missing what you don't know about!

**TSP** · 02-04-2012, 12:17 PM

I just started using a Plush Valve Job by Fuchs. Excellent for natural overdrive in front of a clean jazz amp. makes my JazzKat TwinKat really come alive.

**Cobra** · 02-04-2012, 12:28 PM

I'm a big fan of BJFE dirtboxes...
I use a Dyna Red Distortion set for lower gain, sometimes stacked with a Little Green Wonder pushing it.
Jetter makes some really nice dirtboxes as well, & I also have a Gain Stage Black on my board. It's the most dynamic & touch sensitive pedal I've ever had.
I have tried several Dumble in a box type pedals, but I could never get any satisfying tones out of any of them. They all sounded muddy & dark to me.

**mooncef** · 11-05-2016, 10:16 AM

Originally Posted by Cobra

I'm a big fan of BJFE dirtboxes...
I use a Dyna Red Distortion set for lower gain, sometimes stacked with a Little Green Wonder pushing it.
Jetter makes some really nice dirtboxes as well, & I also have a Gain Stage Black on my board. It's the most dynamic & touch sensitive pedal I've ever had.
I have tried several Dumble in a box type pedals, but I could never get any satisfying tones out of any of them. They all sounded muddy & dark to me.

wow those are pretty expensive !
is the little green wonder same as the regular mad pro one ?

**55bar** · 11-05-2016, 04:21 PM

I like this

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

**franks wild years** · 11-06-2016, 06:01 AM

For my experience the wampler ecstasy/euphoria overdrive is one of the best pedal i've ever tried, it works so good with both telecaster and 335, give it a try.

**Frank67** · 11-06-2016, 06:15 AM

A winning combo is a bluesdriver and a tubescreamer in front of it. The bd gives a crisp crunch that the ts turns into a smooth, creamy tone.

for jazzy stuff, i like zendrive typee too that are of the dumble-y variety.

i like the rat a lot but i find it too brutal for jazz. Edge of breakup is not its thing. It is a distrotion more on the verge of a fuzz, but thankfully without farting out in the bass. I like that.

the mooer versions of all of these pedals are cheap, small and good sounding.

**newsense** · 11-06-2016, 06:20 AM

^+1

I have owned a Rat and did the Reutz mod to it, but I now have the Mooer Black Secret, which actually sounds a lot more transparent and to my ears sounds better than the Rat did. However, I rarely set the gain above 10 o'clock. It sounds good running into a chorus pedal for a Stern type fusion sound.