Your best/favorite high gain pedal combo's of today

[DeadAirMD]

Lately I have been using my MBP Archibald as a boost and I love it, don’t think I will ever go back to a TS, but I have to agree on the VH4 that’s a great pedal, the Revv G3 is pretty good as well the Bogner uberschall is pretty cool (although I never look for a pedal project, for the modern metal high gain sound, but I like a rat and a muff just as much depends on what I’m trying to do,

Totally agree about the VH4. Got a recommendation to build that from here and I was totally surprised when I plugged into it. It's now one of my favorite circuits. Also run it into an Archibald which I also love. I added a GPCB Stage 3 boost to the Archibald and between the VH4, Archi, and Stage 3, you can get nearly every tone you're looking for.

 

[Paradox916]

Totally agree about the VH4. Got a recommendation to build that from here and I was totally surprised when I plugged into it. It's now one of my favorite circuits. Also run it into an Archibald which I also love. I added a GPCB Stage 3 boost to the Archibald and between the VH4, Archi, and Stage 3, you can get nearly every tone you're looking for.

I got an Aion ember pcb (amp tweaker tight metal) supposedly it sound 6505-ish so that should be interesting. I’m pretty curious to see how sushi box( @vigilante398 ) supersonic/ Uberschall preamp turns out.

 

[mdc]

Nice and thanks I'll check it out

Fun Fact™ in addition to being pretty good at the chug chug, it's also featured prominently on the last Low record, Hey What.

 

[jwin615]

I got an Aion ember pcb (amp tweaker tight metal) supposedly it sound 6505-ish so that should be interesting. I’m pretty curious to see how sushi box( @vigilante398 ) supersonic/ Uberschall preamp turns out.

I have to get around to one of those.
Before James started(and sold) amp tweaker, he was at Peavey. They had a pedal called the Dirty Dog he designed. That was the precursor to the tight metal. The circuit , or a variation, was also in the MAX100 multi FX/preamp pedal that had footswitchable clean/dirty preamps. I have 2 of those. I bought the first one 20 years ago and the 2nd 18 years ago when I thought the first one fried(it was the PSU). I still have them and have one ripped apart under my workbench in hopes to rebox just the preamp section but, in normal Peavey fashion, the schematics were lost to a Meridian Mississippi landfill long ago. I'll have to put in some serious probing and time to make it happen but the analog is on its own board separate from the digital and switching so it should be doable, but not easy. Lots of cables to trace down.
But, my point being, I LOVE that sound. There's something very unique about it. The clarity even at shred levels is amazing. The dirty dog does it too but the max100 preamp controls are better(amp like with BMT).

 

[Paradox916]

I have to get around to one of those.
Before James started(and sold) amp tweaker, he was at Peavey. They had a pedal called the Dirty Dog he designed. That was the precursor to the tight metal. The circuit , or a variation, was also in the MAX100 multi FX/preamp pedal that had footswitchable clean/dirty preamps. I have 2 of those. I bought the first one 20 years ago and the 2nd 18 years ago when I thought the first one fried(it was the PSU). I still have them and have one ripped apart under my workbench in hopes to rebox just the preamp section but, in normal Peavey fashion, the schematics were lost to a Meridian Mississippi landfill long ago. I'll have to put in some serious probing and time to make it happen but the analog is on its own board separate from the digital and switching so it should be doable, but not easy. Lots of cables to trace down.
But, my point being, I LOVE that sound. There's something very unique about it. The clarity even at shred levels is amazing. The dirty dog does it too but the max100 preamp controls are better(amp like with BMT).

I have high hopes for this one and, I have the same experience as you with it.

 

[djmiyta]

I have to get around to one of those.
Before James started(and sold) amp tweaker, he was at Peavey. They had a pedal called the Dirty Dog he designed. That was the precursor to the tight metal. The circuit , or a variation, was also in the MAX100 multi FX/preamp pedal that had footswitchable clean/dirty preamps. I have 2 of those. I bought the first one 20 years ago and the 2nd 18 years ago when I thought the first one fried(it was the PSU). I still have them and have one ripped apart under my workbench in hopes to rebox just the preamp section but, in normal Peavey fashion, the schematics were lost to a Meridian Mississippi landfill long ago. I'll have to put in some serious probing and time to make it happen but the analog is on its own board separate from the digital and switching so it should be doable, but not easy. Lots of cables to trace down.
But, my point being, I LOVE that sound. There's something very unique about it. The clarity even at shred levels is amazing. The dirty dog does it too but the max100 preamp controls are better(amp like with BMT).

Since the Tight metal was my 1st high gain build Ive really loved the pedal so much I built another both built several years ago when my skills were shoddy and I was just happy I could play through it. It is an awesome circuit but miy 1st one built with the FX loops I used the wrong jacks and the only way it would work is if I used patch cables to jump both send and returns found out through trial and error so Im thinking about building it one more time with correct jacks for the fx loops and slightly better skills because I have’nt found it to stack well with other drive pedals from pedals I have and. the noise gate is pretty good
Hoping I can add a bit more to it using the loops
Kinda lame question but does the noise gate only affect the Tight Metal pedal or / and whatever is in the fx loops ? Not really sure how that works when built into the pedal
Thanks everyone for chiming in on this thread I really dig on hearing what others are trying these days especially for high gain screaming guitars
Concerning the Dirty Dog don’t suppose there is any DIY info on it you know of or how to DIY one for myself? Possibly?

 

[djmiyta]

Maybe try the Arkaim (Megalith) and End-All Red OD (Randall).

Hmmm sounds like a good combo and 2 new builds in my future Thank you

 

[djmiyta]

The Yamaha G-100 is a great amp…

I really love it especially with the killer Altec Lansing speaker Im using Ive had it for a few years now but havent figured out how to use the Record out jack also the built in fx are really nice all except the distortion which I think sucks picked the head up dirt cheap. Its a heavy monster of a head but it never goes anywhere so not a big deal

 

[jwin615]

Since the Tight metal was my 1st high gain build Ive really loved the pedal so much I built another both built several years ago when my skills were shoddy and I was just happy I could play through it. It is an awesome circuit but miy 1st one built with the FX loops I used the wrong jacks and the only way it would work is if I used patch cables to jump both send and returns found out through trial and error so Im thinking about building it one more time with correct jacks for the fx loops and slightly better skills because I have’nt found it to stack well with other drive pedals from pedals I have and. the noise gate is pretty good
Hoping I can add a bit more to it using the loops
Kinda lame question but does the noise gate only affect the Tight Metal pedal or / and whatever is in the fx loops ? Not really sure how that works when built into the pedal
Thanks everyone for chiming in on this thread I really dig on hearing what others are trying these days especially for high gain screaming guitars
Concerning the Dirty Dog don’t suppose there is any DIY info on it you know of or how to DIY one for myself? Possibly?

No boards that I've seen but here's the schematic

Peavey pedals schematics

on my cellar, round and round dsc-4 dual clock stereo chorus

www.freestompboxes.org

I think the dirty dog and DSC-4 would be great candidates for PCBs if anyone cared to. I love my DSC-4. It does the subtle chorus better than anything else I've tried. Wonderful on either side of a reverb. Interestingly enough, despite coming out around 89-90, it's 98% SMD and US made. Pretty impressive for the boys in Meridian in those days.
But if you ever pick one up, open it up and replace the filter cap. They put a 9v rated cap in it.
I'm sure most of them have been lost to landfills now due to that one cap

 

[jwin615]

Here's my max 100 project.
It has a preamp out so the preamp is hopefully separate but I'm not sure how much of the circuitry on the I/O board plays into it.
I'm saving if for winter when I can find a few straight hours to dig into it.
A schematic would make this so much easier but I've never been able to find one and gotten zero response from Peavey on it.
They also had two other products named Max 100 so that doesn't make it easier.

 

[djmiyta]

No boards that I've seen but here's the schematic

Peavey pedals schematics

on my cellar, round and round dsc-4 dual clock stereo chorus

www.freestompboxes.org

I think the dirty dog and DSC-4 would be great candidates for PCBs if anyone cared to. I love my DSC-4. It does the subtle chorus better than anything else I've tried. Wonderful on either side of a reverb. Interestingly enough, despite coming out around 89-90, it's 98% SMD and US made. Pretty impressive for the boys in Meridian in those days.
But if you ever pick one up, open it up and replace the filter cap. They put a 9v rated cap in it.
I'm sure most of them have been lost to landfills now due to that one cap

Very cool thank it just so happens that Ive been working on doing my own layouts from schematics but I got a ways to go working on low parts count ones to work up to bigger ones definitely going into my archive thanks again Probably be some time before I get to it since my to do next list is huge and continually growing next to playing guitar this is the best damn addiction I could ever wish on myself

 

[djmiyta]

Here's my max 100 project.
It has a preamp out so the preamp is hopefully separate but I'm not sure how much of the circuitry on the I/O board plays into it.
I'm saving if for winter when I can find a few straight hours to dig into it.
A schematic would make this so much easier but I've never been able to find one and gotten zero response from Peavey on it.
They also had two other products named Max 100 so that doesn't make it easier.

To be honest Ive never heard of this and this is why I dig this forum and thread
I guess tracing that out yourself would be a huge undertaking and another skill Ive yet to try myself. No I take that back I did try the Openhaus from a picture of an original and then realized it was a 2 sided board and I got stuck couldnt go any further with sucked cause I put a bit of time into it with no finished results good thing there are way more skilled people to do them than me

 

[bechbox]

My favorite for that kind of hi gain was always the original MI Audio Crunchbox. JHS Angry Charlie is a clone of that and Angry Charles is a clone of the Angry Charlie. Never heard either the clone or the clone of the clone, but I tell you that Chrunchbox V1 nailed that screaming lead tone!

 

[eh là bas ma]

I like the MI Audio Crunch box too, but rather for light to medium gain sounds. As well as Boss OD-3, a modded BD-2, Ibanez MT-10 (PPCB Oxyde distortion). GCI Bass Brutalist sounds really good too.

For high gain sounds, i keep coming back to the DOD punkifier (PPCB Pacifier) before a Boss GE-7 EQ, or some preamp circuit (Aion's Beta preamp = Sunn Beta Bass/Lead, or Catalinbread 5F6 = PPCB tweedman overdrive).

With the Punkifier, I really like the possibility to dial a bit of fuzziness into the distorted sounds. I think the distortion section is based on the DOD 250, I don't know about the Fuzz section, Trying many transistors for the fuzz section is worthwhile in this circuit, it's the only way to find the "perfect" fuzz texture to mix with the distortion. The stock transistor didn't suit my tastes, it was too strong and too synthetic. I use a 2N2369A instead, with lower hfe, perfect to add some dirt to the dirt.

When i want even more gain and compression, going into the crazy fuzz zone, i often use Zvex Fuzz Factory, with or without some noisegate after it. It's the most brutal and yet still musical fuzz i know. Arkaim was one of my first PPCB build, it's great but i don't like the gain texture so much. It's a bit raw and lo-fi, not as much usable and musical as the Fuzz Factory, in my opinion. There isn't any PPCB project for the Zvex fuzz factory, but Aion and musikding did it.

Frantone Cream Puff and Big Muff op-amp are a bit similar to each other, and are very impressive too. Both are great, just a little bit less interesting than the fuzz Factory in my opinion, but they have their own creamy character. The Fuzz Factory can't easily do the same thing.

For cold high gain tones with lots of sharpness, Wampler Abasi Pathos is the most suited circuit I built. It's an emulation of Mesa triple rectifier, known as Pathogen at PPCB.
For warmer and fatter high gain tones, i often use the BE-OD (PPCB thermionic distortion) or Wampler Velvet Fuzz with some mods (PPCB Corduroy). An Orange/Matamp amp head emulation would be fine for this job too, it's available at GCI, it's called Apostle.

For people looking for something more singular and original, i can recommend Guyatone Distortion H, with 5-bands EQ and a very interesting gain texture : https://dirtboxlayouts.blogspot.com/2021/10/guyatone-ps-024-distortion-h.html
I was just curious about the Graphic EQ chip, but the stompbox itself sounds amazing, EQ is really good. I was disappointed at first, but something was wrong on my build. Once everything was fixed, I finally understood what a great circuit this is.

As a booster, i use a guyatone PS-20 bass compressor clone (Aion's Meridian) because it allows me to shape the bass, the attack presence, and dial the odd/even order harmonics to my taste, even with guitars. If I need more boost, a modded boss BD-2 (Aion's Sapphire with the extra bass control) will do better than everything else i tried. Hudson Broadcast (PPCB Simulcast) is also interesting as a booster, but not as tweakable as Aion's BD-2 modded clone.

 

[djmiyta]

I like the MI Audio Crunch box too, but rather for light to medium gain sounds. As well as Boss OD-3, a modded BD-2, Ibanez MT-10 (PPCB Oxyde distortion). GCI Bass Brutalist sounds really good too.

For high gain sounds, i keep coming back to the DOD punkifier (PPCB Pacifier) before a Boss GE-7 EQ, or some preamp circuit (Aion's Beta preamp = Sunn Beta Bass/Lead, or Catalinbread 5F6 = PPCB tweedman overdrive).

With the Punkifier, I really like the possibility to dial a bit of fuzziness into the distorted sounds. I think the distortion section is based on the DOD 250, I don't know about the Fuzz section, Trying many transistors for the fuzz section is worthwhile in this circuit, it's the only way to find the "perfect" fuzz texture to mix with the distortion. The stock transistor didn't suit my tastes, it was too strong and too synthetic. I use a 2N2369A instead, with lower hfe, perfect to add some dirt to the dirt.

When i want even more gain and compression, going into the crazy fuzz zone, i often use Zvex Fuzz Factory, with or without some noisegate after it. It's the most brutal and yet still musical fuzz i know. Arkaim was one of my first PPCB build, it's great but i don't like the gain texture so much. It's a bit raw and lo-fi, not as much usable and musical as the Fuzz Factory, in my opinion. There isn't any PPCB project for the Zvex fuzz factory, but Aion and musikding did it.

Frantone Cream Puff and Big Muff op-amp are a bit similar to each other, and are very impressive too. Both are great, just a little bit less interesting than the fuzz Factory in my opinion, but they have their own creamy character. The Fuzz Factory can't easily do the same thing.

For cold high gain tones with lots of sharpness, Wampler Abasi Pathos is the most suited circuit I built. It's an emulation of Mesa triple rectifier, known as Pathogen at PPCB.
For warmer and fatter high gain tones, i often use the BE-OD (PPCB thermionic distortion) or Wampler Velvet Fuzz with some mods (PPCB Corduroy). An Orange/Matamp amp head emulation would be fine for this job too, it's available at GCI, it's called Apostle.

For people looking for something more singular and original, i can recommend Guyatone Distotion H, with 5-bands EQ and a very interesting gain texture : https://dirtboxlayouts.blogspot.com/2021/10/guyatone-ps-024-distortion-h.html
I was just curious about the Graphic EQ chip, but the stompbox itself sounds amazing, EQ is really good. I was disappointed at first, but something was wrong on my build. Once everything was fixed, I finally understood what a great circuit this is.

As a booster, i use a guyatone PS-20 bass compressor clone (Aion's Meridian) because it allows me to shape the bass, the attack presence, and dial the odd/even order harmonics to my taste, even with guitars. If I need more boost, a modded boss BD-2 (Aion's Sapphire with the extra bass control) will do better than everything else i tried. Hudson Broadcast (PPCB Simulcast) is also interesting as a booster, but not as tweakable as Aion's BD-2 modded clone.

I've been eyeballing some of guyatone circuits and actually that Distortion H in particular because of the 5 band EQ. I've got a couple of BE-OD's but mine don't seem to stack very well The Abasi Pathos is a killer pedal but I wasn't impressed with the the Velvet Fuzz (maybe mines got some issues)

 

[Robert]

No boards that I've seen ...

There will be.

 

[eh là bas ma]

I wasn't impressed with the the Velvet Fuzz (maybe mines got some issues)

It was a bit dark for me at first, not enough treble. I just increased the Bright pot value from B25k to B50k and it is much better.

Corduroy Fuzz (Velvet fuzz) : How to get a bit more highs in the signal ?

Corduroy Fuzz (Velvet fuzz) : How to get a bit more highs in the signal ?

www.diystompboxes.com

I also recommend this mod : https://forum.pedalpcb.com/threads/bypassing-fuzz-part-in-corduroy-fuzz.2951/#post-54081

This doesn't change the fuzz sound, but it gives the stompbox a wider range of sounds. It does everything from a light and medium gain effect, to a fat fuzz.

For the J201 biasing, let me quote Robert :

"Generally you're shooting for around 4.5V on the Drain of each J201."

Corduroy Fuzz Trimpots

Is there a "correct" way to adjust them? What voltage at what test point?

forum.pedalpcb.com

But that's just a starting point. You'll have to fine-tune the J201 biasing to find the sound that suits you.

 

[spi]

Fun Fact™ in addition to being pretty good at the chug chug, it's also featured prominently on the last Low record, Hey What.

I haven't listened to Low in a while, but saw them live more than a decade ago. I'll check out their latest. Bummer that Mimi passed away.

 

[mdc]

The last three - maybe the ones that came out since you last saw them? - are all excellent. Quite different from the early stuff, Double Negative is a fave.

 

[maertz13]

i've got the PPCB cetus being pushed by a frost drive (kraken and ice scream) and it's downright vicious