Hunterlevi

So I'm making the move from digital to analog effects, from my Line 6 Pod, and now I am gathering research and information to start assembling my first pedal board. First off, I play a lot of hard rock and metal, so my first choice I've made is the Boss Metal Zone for my distortion pedal, where most of my distortion is going to come from, as I do not have a budget to afford a high-end high gain amp. Now I am leaning towards a tube screamer for an overdrive pedal, as I am under the impression that it will really increase the warmth and saturation of my tone, for leads, and as long as the level on the tube screamer is high, especially higher than my metal zone, it will really help my tone pop through the mix, in a live band setting. Is this assumption correct? I am also confused as to where a compressor would or would not be needed, for my genre.

Random3

Well what amp are you currently using?

Also, do not get the Metal Zone, it is essentially a box that makes your guitar sound like an angry beehive.

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j777p

From what I know the tube screamer will push your gain more, especially for lead parts. As far as a compressor pedal, it's nice to have and would be put in front of your distortion pedals. I play hard rock and metal also, among other genres, and I use a compressor pedal, and to me it makes my tone more even.
I agree with Random3 the metal zone is not that great for distortion, but it might be helpful as a beginner distortion pedal so you can find out what kind of distortion pedal you want in the future.

coldandhomeless

if you are just starting out, do yourself a favor, go on ebay, get joyo pedals. they are clones of REALLY EXPENSIVE pedals. get the joyo ultimate drive-clone of OCD as your pre gain, get the joyo crunch distortion-clone of mi audio crunchbox, get the joyo 6band eq, and joyo digital delay. you really dont need to spend all kinds of money, but these 44 dollar pedals will give you ENDLESS tone options...trust me. u dont want a metal zone. these pedals are on youtube too. joyo.

Hunterlevi

By angry bee hive you mean buzzing? I plan on getting a noise gate too. I have a randall sc200 and I've read mostly good things on the metal zone, such as the 660 ratings with a 5 star average on musicians friend. and I'm not against used gear at all, thats the only pedal i've already decided on that I've already ordered for 30... worth a try at least

Random3

By angry beehive I mean the tone it gives you is just a fizzy trebly mess.

EDIT: Here

This all depends on what album you are going to use. If the amp is crap then there's not a lot of point buying a bunch of pedals, no matter how good they are.

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TheNameOfNoone

I have had a Metal Zone for 12 months, bought it over all the 5 stars review. Please, don't buy it. It's pure shit.

EDIT: Also, noise gates only eliminate the noise when you are not playing. They don't interfere with the distortion tone, and can't eliminate the "angry bee hive" Dimebaggy sound.

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metalhead983877

I think the guy in the video doesn't know how EQs works... Come one, scooping the mids? The frequencies that a guitar lets out are mids... Might as well turn down your volume if you don't want anyone to hear you...

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Random3

The frequency ranges labelled as low, mid and high are relative. The EQ on that pedal will not be covering 20hz to 20khz, which is the range humans can hear, it will be covering something much smaller. You are correct that guitars are a midrange instrument, but that doesn't mean that by dialling out the mids you may as well just turn the volume down. It doesn't work like that. In a band situation, or when mixing, yes you will generally want plenty of mids, but when playing solo it is entirely personal preference.

Anyway, as with the guy a couple of posts up, I used to own a Metal Zone way back when I had a Marshall MG, and I thought "AMG it makes me sound like B4MV". Looking back I realise it actually sounded horrible.

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pawnluv

Honestly the metal zone isn't that bad.
Its not worth the money and i kinda wish I never bought it, I don't really use it anymore. But with the mids full on both the amp and the pedal and then tweaking the mid freq there were some decent tones.

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Random3

I'll agree that it isn't that bad in the same way that, say, a Line 6 Spider or a Marshall MG isn't that bad. If you are a beginner, need something to play through and manage to find one incredibly cheap then they will do the job, but there are much better alternatives.

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metalhead983877

I was talking about when you play in a band, because you'll get buried in the mix if you scoop your mids. But it isn't better to boost your mids to the max, obviously, since you're going to be too "present", if I may say so, in the mix. Of course, when you are all alone and miserable and playing by yourself, do whatever sounds good to you man!

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Hunterlevi

So what are UG opions on good distortions pedals then?

tas38

Well what kinda sound are you looking for? Based on the metalzone I'm guessing modern ultra high gain metal?

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Dave_Mc

what amp are you using?

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dkunick

IMHO, having built a very comprehensive board over a few years, just get a Line 6 M13 with expression pedal and be done with it. Can't be beat in my opinion. By the time you're done buying pedals, board, power supplies and cables to connect it all and then consider all the time spent determining what order and what pedal to get next...at the end of the day you'll save much money, effort and aggravation and free up more time for playing.

If you're constrained to just starting with a pedal or two for now so be it. A good OD and Wah should be early purchases. Skip the compressor...you'll be underwhelmed by the minor affect it has. And I second the what amp question, especially if your intention is to build a complete rig from scratch.

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Hunterlevi

Right now I'm playing a Randall SC200. I currently have a podhd500, but am just tired of it. I am looking to play hard rock and metal

Hunterlevi

But anyways, I really like everything I've heard online rrom the Metal Zone. Perhaps my opinion of tone is skewed because of my years with spiders and pods, but I really like what I'm hearing in the aforementioned dimebagginess, which I like, obviously since I own a solid state Randall. Regardless of opinions on the metal zone this thread has gotten far away from my question. Will adding and overdrive pedal, such as a tube screamer, and raising the volume of the OD pedal increase my overall volume, warmth and saturation when I turn it on, strictly for soloing purposes

Dave_Mc

using a tubescreamer like that tends to work better with tube amps. That's not to say it definitely won't work with your randall, at least to some extent, but don't buy it assuming it's gonna work, kind of thing.

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