High gain distortion (I've already searched and read a lot!)

[comfortably_numb]

Okay, I've read several posts with suggested high gain pedals, but most of them were very vague and very opinionated without much detailed description.  It seems that Dr. Boogey is held in high regard, but all of the clips I've heard are buzzy and thin (I'll explain what I'm looking for below).  Also the Rat is a classic and any of Joe Davisson's pedals are good. 

Here's what I'm looking for (in narrative form):

When I saw G3 several years ago I was struck dumb by John Petrucci's guitar tone.  Why?  Because it was simultaneously fat and well defined for low end palm muted rhythm AND thick and syrup-y for high pitched leads.  There was no fuzzy, buzzy, harsh nastiness like I've heard in many aggressive guitar tones.  The mids weren't scooped into oblivion, though maybe dipped a bit.  Top end was sparkley without being harsh.  Bottom was TIGHT.

What I'm NOT looking for is Dimebag Darrell buzz saw distortion.  Gross.

I know that Petrucci uses amp distortion, and I've read that he used Mesa Mark IV's on Falling into Infinity (or whatever that album was).  The Uno at runoffgroove doesn't seem to be what I'm looking for. 

Any suggestions? 

[vikingtyty]

buy this!



or



haha


sorry i couldn't be of any real help. his rig is just ridiculous, and i felt like showing the world.

[jeffy]

Does it come with instructions?

[burnt fingers]

I hate to say this but your asking for a lot to try to cram tens of thousands of dollars worth of boogie tone into a stompbox.

That being said, the clips you've heard for the Dr. Boogie may be thin to you bu there may be some tweaking that can be done.  I don't know as I haven't built one yet.

Maybe you could try a Marshall shredmaster,or something alont those lines. build it and try to tweak until it sounds right to you.

Good luck on your quest.

Scott

[aron]

I think Joe Davisson's stuff could be modded close to what you might want.

[RaceDriver205]

Really? I thought the Boogie was pretty good, well I would be if I could stiffle all that noise.
Petrussi is a master though, how good his guitar sounds can't all be in the tone. Im sure he has thousands of dollars worth of guitar gear and his tech crew probably sweaks his distortion till its perfect.

[Alex C]

The recorded clips of various circuits should probably be used for obtaining a general idea of what the circuit is like, rather than its definitive sound.  There are way to many variables to get more than a general idea of what it can and can't do.
When analyzing a clip, consider the following: guitar, pickups, amp (small solid state or big tube head with 4x12 cab?), microphone, recording method (computer soundcard, pro multi-track, etc.?).

Many times the person recording opts to use a solid state amp with a flat EQ to show what the circuit itself sounds like, not necessarily how it could sound.
Other times the recorder is going for a great-sounding, well-mixed example of how sweet it can sound.  Both have their uses.

I think that due to the lack of real recording setups, most clips posted here sound a bit "tinny," and likely buzzier than they really are, although there are exceptions.

If Petrucci's amp was recorded with a $15 mic into a computer soundcard, the playing might still be great, but the tone probably wouldn't sound as thick, syrupy-sweet, and impressive.

[theman]

three pedals get you in the petrucci tone ballpark ... if that is really possible ...

* dr. boogey mesa dual rectifier amp sim (DIY)
* sansamp gt-2 (commercial, but can be DIY thru tonepad.com)
* amt california sound (commercial)

the latter can't be beat for about $100. the latter two have cab/speaker sims, while the dr. boogey does not, and will need a cab sim if recording direct (this is why it might sound too buzzy in many recorded clips). the behringer ultra gi 100 is a great choice here for a cab sim, and pretty cheap at $35.

[tcobretti]

I am by no means a Mesa or Petrucci expert.  I think it's clear from looking at that rig that some kind of Mesa emulator will be in order, and people can't seem to say enough good things about the Dr Boogie, which is a Dual Rectifier emulator.  The Uno copies the older style of Mesa Head that's in the bottom right hand side of the top pic.  I would build one, if not both, and see how they sound thru your rig.  Then, I'd say the next step is to google until your eyes bleed about his signal chain.  And, of course, the way the guitar is recorded changes everything.  Mics greatly color the sounds they record as do the EQing and effects applied in the mix.  The fact is that his guitar rig may sound radically different if you are standing in front of it than it does on his records. 

With any quest to sound like our favorite players, we must all be satisfied with "relatively close" because that is the best we can hope for when all variables are taken into consideration.

[Gilles C]

Did you check this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2uklZ7_C5s&search=petrucci

Which sound do you want?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBKzy4LIVj8&search=petrucci

That's from this list...

Gilles

[tcobretti]

Gilles, that is a cool vid and I don't even like the guy.  I would say his tone is Mesa Dual Rectifier all the way.  C_Numb, Magic 8 Ball says signs point to Dr Boogie as the solution to your query.

[Melanhead]

Hmmm , you could give this a try, but it requires a bit of dirt from the amp as well ...

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=41686.0

It's what I've been using, there's even a Pettrucci shred lick at the end of the mp3

[Mark Hammer]

Does it come with instructions?

Nope, but it does have two receptionists and a shipping-receiving clerk.

I still recommend Joe's "Blackfire" pedal. A serious tone monster.  For your purposes, one of the benefits of the pedal is the huge output.  This lets you stick a wide variety of passive filtering/EQ-ing between the last stage and the output volume pot without sacrificing much level (through passive signal bleed).

Another thing I find about this pedal which is different from a number of more metal-oriented pedals (and which it may share in common with a Dr. Boogey, if I ever get round to making one) is that it responds to guitar tone control changes.  That's not to say that muting the guitar's tone control pumps out a mute tone from the Blackfire, but I find too often that changing the guitar tone control setting only produces a subtley different quality of fizziness in many pedals, whereas this pedal seems to be "revoice-able from the guitar".