Help choosing versatile distortion! (for drums, synths etc)

[wrentema]

Hello there.
I have a question. I’m thinking about building two of the same distortion pedals for a stereo unit.
I‘m not a guitar player. So I would mainly use it for synths, drums and lots of other fun stuff from my DAW.
The options for distortions are pretty overwhelming. So I need some help.

I‘m looking for a distortion pedal that’s preferable versatile (lots of pots is great). Not too extreme and harsch.. I‘m more into tube kinda sounds.. or tape like distortion.. Warm subtle kinda crunch to warm up static sounds. Vintage over modern.

Can you guys lead me to a few options maybe?

I’ve build a bunch of pedal and other stuff. So I can deal with some complexity.

Thanks!

 

[derevaun]

My kiddo tried a few dirt boxes for the Boss DR5, and settled on... the DOD250. At low gain it really improves the bass, and at high gain it gives a familiar gated sound that fits pretty well with an industrial metal vibe. I would expected a circuit with a tone control to be the right choice, and maybe those pedals are essential pedalboard citizens. But I suspect it's the 250's simplicity. It pretty much leaves cymbals alone unless it's cranked, and it fills out the DR5's anemic bass drums.

 

[wrentema]

Thanks for the advise. Sound wise this is in the right direction yes! I wonder if there are some DOD250 kinda pedals with a few more sound options.

The EQD White Light looks pretty cool for example. I‘m using it on so many sources that options are good

 

[gonzo]

I love running my clav, organ and synths through a silicone tone bender I made. It cleans up well and adds character. But I think if you're just recording there are great free tape distortion vst plugins. I love my dod 250 as well. I've used bullet mics for distorted drums and have reamped takes into guitar amps before. But post distortion in a daw is always the easiest.

 

[Sturdag Lagernathy]

A klone is a must for drums!

 

[Feral Feline]

Beyond disrtortion, is FUZZ.

The MUFF is actually quite versatile.

There are the PedalPCB offerings, lots to choose from and some are Muff derived but not advertised as such — ex the Glyph, which is based on Black Arts Toneworks Pharaoh Fuzz, which is MUFF-based but you'd have to know that apart from the PPCB-description.
The Shika is another MUFF variant, based on the EQD Hizumitas.

I would choose something that's good on bass, 'cause most bass stuff is good for guitar, synths, and other instruments.
(Both the aforementioned Glyph and Shika are good on bass, btw.)


There's also this dang-fool durned cool DIY thanger I want to build as a pedal:

Meth Amp – Frequency Central

frequencycentral.co.uk

Meth Amp is based around the fuzz core of the EH Big Muff pedal.

Lovely fuzz and distortion based on the classic Big Muff pedal! It’ll do wooly warm fuzz, subtle tone shaping with a soft saturation/colour, feedback madness and work as a great output VCA (LPG style tones possibly too). The clipping diodes have been replaced by red LEDs to take account of the change in power supply from 9V in the original Big Muff to +/-12V in Meth Amp.

To the fuzz core has been added a bunch of OTAs, each controlling a different aspect of audio processing: gain, regen (a new feature – not present in Big Muff), tone and volume. Thereby, each feature is fully voltage controllable.

Additionally, there is a separate x100 preamp which can be used to boost external audio for further processing by Meth Amp.

 

[wrentema]

Thanks for all the info. Very helpful stuff. I’ve also been scrolling through the options. And I think the Mofeta Preamp might be the right candidate actually..