@@SpectreSoundStudios Erik's run-down of how he builds his tone is worth a watch for any bass player. Hopefully his recent features on your channel will get people to go sub to his!
@@SpectreSoundStudios Ola just got a DeathMetal pedal in the mail from USA, can't wait to hear him test it... Yes, once I owned that pedal... fell for it :P
One of the best metal pedals. Had Boss Metal Zone and this one, very comparable and both pretty amazing. Some EQing may be required to get the best tone but that's part of the deal for any serious player.
Yeah but none of this "just the tip" shit..... you have to sink the whole shaft in there to push the signal through and make her scream..... we're still talking amps... right!!?
So I own the line of Digitech pedals that includes the Bad Monkey, the Hot Head, Screamin' Blues, Death Metal, and that version of the Grunge. I got them because I actually liked the look and because they all have Mixer Outs, and I thought they'd be interesting to try and record that way. I take the Death Metal into a very metal-centric studio. I wasn't using it for metal. I was using it for solos in a 90's rock-style song a la Veruca Salt. I wentin direct using the mixer out. The engineer loved how it landed in the mix and ended up buying one himself. The pedal has all active EQs including one dedicated to mids. You can get a lot of different sounds out of it. Your milage may vary. I have 2 and they each sound different. The Screamin' Blues is one of the best standard rock pedals I've ever used. I've used the Hot Head for solos quite effectively. The Bad Monkey is a helluiva great TS. Do they sound great for everything? No. What does? But they're good tools.
Bad Monkey is great, and dirt cheap. I've had one for 13 to 15 years now and have used it on guitar as well as on bass (works great because the low end you might lose, you can dial back in). Though I just might have a shitty amp (Laney TF200), but since it's the only amp I've had to this day, I've grown to love its sound. With and without the Bad Monkey.
Dm is fuckin horrible and would be better if it just had a low and high frequency like the metal master and boss heavy metal does. It’s good for a paper weight and that’s about it
I can't imagine going into a professional studio with access to 5150s, rectos, amazing cabs with amazing speakers and being like 'Nah, Ill use the digitech multi'
I gotta say, in the "In the mix" section, while there are things I didn't like about in front of the amp, it did have better mids than when it's in the fx return which sounded pretty hollow to me.
This pedal doesn't have a mids option you need to juggle the bass and treble.. knobs. This pedal also is very mid and treble heavy when up front. Probably didn't change the settings when it was in the loop.
Plugging stuff in the FX loop can make wonders. My old Roland GP16 roared like a lion when connected that way and that thing was built in the late '80s
The key to those digitech pedals is to use the "mixer" output, i had the grundge pedal also by digitech and using the mixer output brought that pedal to life
@Claudia Solomon I did indeed watch the video. And he's right. It's not 'good' by most standards, but it serves its purpose for certain guitar parts. Tone is all subjective, brother!
This is so true to life. I was an aspiring metal player in the late 80's and could only afford a used Kramer guitar, a gorilla amp and a few DOD pedals. I had friends who could already shred and thought they would make fun of my gorilla amp. Nope. Almost all of them laughed at my DOD pedals. Slowly but surely I replaced them with Boss an other brands and haven't owned one since.
I own this pedal, hated the tone until I brought it to a school talent show. They told me I wasn't allowed to use an amp because the AV crew didn't want to deal with it so I plugged this into a DI box. The tone was actually amazing for lead stuff. A couple weeks later I tried the effects loop thing as well and it was pretty sick!
Back in the late 90's and early 2000's when we didn't have amp sims so readily available with a few mouse clicks we tried everything we could think of with whatever we had available, so it's pretty incredible to think that here we are in 2020 and some people are just now discovering that plugging some of these pedals into the effects loop is the right way to go.
My first pedal!! Man wish I still had it honestly had that going into a behringer 1x12 combo and a harmony strat and pure Metallica riffs only man good times..
Sup Glenn!! Thanks for covering this! I think a practical use for the direct digi distortion would be for a quick muddy intro then bring in the better distortion for the main riffage. I also think half the quality from the digi petal thru the loop is from the mic & cab tone. I've used super digital distortion for live gigs and studio wise is ok, but gets drowned out because a lack of dynamics when combined with live drums and such... so many variables to this crap LOL
This was a really good review. I was using one of these back in the day with a Peavey Stereo Chorus 400 2x12 combo into a Randall R125CX cab. It definitely got us through a lot of shows. You really had to know what you were doing to get a good sound out of it. Luckily, the Stereo Chorus 400 is a weird amp with a lot of weird features.
We used one of these back in the day for recording. We would plug it into a digitech RP7 to use the tube cab emulator it had, and then that went into the line in on a sound blaster pro. We had no idea what we were doing but recorded loads of stuff this way, got signed to a wee small label and did an album and EP using that method.
The reason so many distortion pedals sound bad into the front of a clean channel is to do with the way that distortion pedals compress the front end of an amp. This results in a flattening the intended eq curve so you hear extraneous frequencies that are brought out by the sheer input level clipping the preamp combined with a stupid amount of compression from said dirtbox which is what adds the fizzy top end. In addition most clean channels modeled after fender amps tend to bring even more high end fizz to the table because its a fairly scooped amp design to begin with. None of this is present when running through an effects return and is why in many cases it sounds better to run through the loop with a distortion pedal.
Not all of them are bad. The Bad Monkey might be one of the best cheap-ass tubescreamer clones (check out some reviews, I think Colin Scott also did a demo on this one) and the Multi-Chorus isn't half bad either if you're into that kind of clean sound. But yeah a lot of the high gain stuff and especially the early digital multiFX units are absolutely horrible.
Do you generally use pedals besides WAH for studio recording or do you leave effects for the amp and DAW plugins? I know some people use a TS808 to "boost" but that's about I hear about.
I remember drooling over this when I was 12 or 13 first starting out, another customer saw me messing with it and suggested a $20 used DS-1 instead and I've had that baby ever since. This whole effects loop trick has me wondering if these metal pedals would react better with a preamp or some sort before it. Say you have a light overdrive or amp based pedal you leave always on for your cleaner tones but also kick on the Metal Master after it for heavy tones, would the first pedal "preamp" the metal pedal like the effects loop does? Asking for those without amp effects loops.
I don't own one of these so I can't say for certain, but I know that my DS-1 loves a little push with a preamp or some other lighter overdrive in front. Of course, that might not apply as I've yet to get my Metal Zone to do anything other than to sound like a Metal Zone even with a preamp. Metal Master might do the same thing. *shrug*
@@bravotronalpha3787 The DS-1 Can sound pretty awesome on it's own, a little TS in front can get it sounding really beefy, However, it's still a very old circuit design, it has a very classic distortion character to it, like mid to late 80s, or certain power metal styles, it just sits bang on for the sound. It isn't a very chuggy or Djenty pedal, it wasn't meant to be. I'll say it does what it does, exceptionally well, I have no gripes, and use it all the time, Other times I opt for a nice HM2 dimed out, other times, I opt for a more modern distortion. At the end of the day the old orange DS-1 is a very early hard clip distortion circuit, that held up well, sounds respectable, and has seen a lot of pedal boards and stages. You can get a nice push in front of it, or leave it to it's own, most amps respond well with it in the front, it sounds nice and tight. So no complaints :)
A buddy of mine had the Digitech Distortion Factory when we were kids rocking out in his basement. We both loved it back in the day, wonder if it stacks up at all today.
I would like to see a video of you giving tips or a guide on how to dial a decent distorted tone in general like how to set the eq of the amp, pedal, and the daw sound edition, i think it would really be helpful
Yes yes and yes. I've been waiting for an eternity for a pedal review like this, love it. I'd love to see your take on a BOSS HM-2, or a Decibelics Angry Swede (clone pedal of the hm2). That stuff has a real cult following and I'd love to see your thoughts on one.
The HM-2 is a lot of fun. I like to use mine as a boost. Or as a gnarly fuzz, which is basically what the HM-2 is. I'd like to see a video of different applications for the HM-2 where it's not dimed out on a dirty channel.
My first pedal ever!!! Bought it because it had the MIX OUT option which allowed to record directly through line-in into the PC without using any external sound card.
I'd be curious to hear Glenn do a fearless gear review on the Digitech gsp1101 rack pre-amp. I know a lot of people were grabbing them up about 5 years ago as a cheap Axe-FX alternative. In particular with a third party unofficial firmware installed.
The original GSP 21 rack unit was THE SHIT back when it came out. I knew a guy that had one and I was floored by the tones coming out of it. Of course, back then my only amp was a Peavey Backstage 30 1x12 combo. Lol. Simpler times.
It sounds better in the power section because when you bypass the preamp channel, you start the signal chain with less HIGH END. So a pedal that is super Treble-y (such as a preamp pedal by the way, not a distortion) would sound like crap plugged in to a clean preamp channel (doubling the treble amount needed for a normal tone). Since the super treble-y pedal got connected to the "dull" power section, they mached and sounded good. This logic technically means that this and the metal-zone are preamp pedals.. mislabeled by the manufacturer as a distortion pedal. To conclude- a preamp pedal would have lots of high-end, way more than a regular distortion pedal, as it's meant to be connected to a "dull" poweramp (which they all are). Glenn, about your playing. man, you play for more than 20 years, no? learn some cool riffs for your videos! I believe in you! (and fuck you Glenn)
So they're pre amp pedals mislabeled by the manufacturer . Very informative and interesting. Everyone's a moron here. Manufactures for not labeling them correctly and the users for not figuring it out that they're pre amp pedals.
Well I assume (which is a dangerous thing) that productspecialists and in-house musicians has good ears too to develop and testdrive a drive/metal pedal before it's hitting the stores. So i guess they'll have the knowhow how to hookup their product to an amp to benefit it's features. Those things should be documented and be noted in the product usermanual :-)
Every time I hear those "lets try it on a mix" guys I wanna hear more - can we get an EP of original songs from them? Maybe throw in the guy who did vocals on that Danger zone cover you did a while back?
One of the neater things about some of that series of pedals is how you can use it to split the signal path rather than using the the 'mixer' output with whatever IR it applies to the signal. Not going to say it redeems some of them but if you've got one collecting dust it can be fun to play with, just need to track down your manual. On mine you have to unplug the power, hold down the pedal switch and plug it back in and wait for a series of flashing lights to switch modes; there are 3 different ones on mine, the default is what is written on the pedal.
The Metal Master was my first distortion pedal. I loved it back in the day, and with the Line 6 Spider 100 combo as my amplifier at the time could you blame me? When I upgraded to a Marshall DSL100H I found the pedal to be severely lacking. Then my T.Rex brain discovered the amp distortion was a shit ton better. I’ve gone back to it a couple times for Nostalgia’s sake and found myself bored within a few minutes of use . I never thought to put distortion pedals in the FX loop, I’ll have to try that sometime and see what I get. Do you think using a boost or an Overdrive would get similar results?
The passive EQ on a Guitar amp normally have very scooped mids, thus the difference between the input and the return. You can get better results putting the pedal at noon, adjusting the eq of the amp to suit the pedal first, and then adjust the pedal
Good twist in the story, Glenn. BTW, Phil X used to use a DigiTech Bad Monkey for some extra push, when he was doing the Fretted Americana videos, so not all DigiTech stuff is crap.
The digitech pedals have built in cab modeling as well. If memory serves, you're supposed to hold down the button until the light blinks. Then the mixer out Jack has speaker sims on it. I don't believe you can change the sim, but there is one there. Oh yeah, Dan from Disturbed has used those in the past. I think the first couple album were made with that pedal.
Your #4 and #5 (say it in solfege...Fi Si) references warmed my heart. I haven’t had that much doo doo cake mixed with metal thrown at me since 66 Samus released his Magnum Opus “Fart Metal”. 😂
The pedal is intended to be used as a preamp, not before the preamp. That's what's going on. It'd be like stacking preamps for guitar tone. Might be cool on a mic for a vocal in subtle steps, but not really a good sound for a high gain tone.
Discovering some pedals sound cool in the fx loop opens up the possibility of some not so stellar gear being able to find some use, even if its just for fun and nothing super serious. I loved Olas Metal Zone video back when it dropped
I got this as an impulse purchase years ago. I'm a bassist and have been looking for something to do the occasional OTT/extremely rare use lead tone for bloody ages, nothing so far has quite gotten me where I wanted, so I tried this with my backup rig this morning and was pleasantly surprised... going to swap out the pedal currently doing this job at rehearsal this weekend and see whether it'll take the spot! Could be great, could be an unmitigated disaster; although I'm honestly inclined to believe the former in my present serene mood.
I wonder if the effects loop idea could possibly change your opinion of a line 6 product (like an hx stomp or pod etc.) it could make them a viable option in your mind!
Glenn, you're looking skinny dude! I have a question, I've got a cab that makes my head sound quite compressed and wondering what I should do to "break up" the speakers a bit. I put pink noise through it for about a minute and that seemed to make a difference but wondered if you have any other ideas. Thanks from Sydney, Australia (your videos are always uploaded at like midnight here 😂)
I used to use the Metal Master in a hi pass loop for bass with relatively clean, compressed lowend (you know the drill) and had a little bit of tube drive in front of that, it actually did not sound half bad in that setup. Adjustable gain would have been nice though.
As an amp guy, even though the amp is on "clean" it's overdriving the tubes and leaving you with the compressed mess. Pedals with "hot" output can do this.
Hey Glen, I'm a little embarrassed to ask this, but I want to learn... When you demoed that pedal, I actually didn't think it sounded all that bad. It didn't sound great, but, I wasn't revolted by it or anything. I definitely realize it's my ears that need training. Could you teach us what you're listening for? How can we develop more discerning ears? I would love to hear you go on about that. Thank you!
3 года назад
did you play the opening from Detroit Metal City anime at 3:15?
Hey Glen, I've recently decided to start recording live drums and I was curious, I have a kick Mic that was from a cheapo drum mic kit that I have just sitting around and was wondering if you have any experience recording a Bass cabinet with a kick mic. Would really appreciate any feedback and thanks for your help. Cheers!
Though there is an improvement after plugging it into the effects loop, there is a massive cut on the "fried ass" sound and a bit of a bass boost but it still sounds flat. Might be something interesting and weird for solos but I think there are better options for rhythm tones.
Glenn, loved this. I watched this aware of the terrible reputation of the Metal Master. I thought this was really going to be a "shit on it" type of review, which still is fun, but it turned into something that was pretty thoughtful, and made us realize some things that we all together call shit, can still be useful. Maybe if we just the plug bass player through the effects loop he'll learn his fucking parts??
Glen, you have to test this stuff with a crappy solid state amp like a crate 2/12 combo. In the 90s thats all most of us could afford. We bought those types pedals to get those amps to sound ok.
i got so much shit using this pedal when I was in the metal scene years ago, i even took measures to "disguise" it for gigs. It's been in hiding for many many years and I recently brought it back for my electronic rock project and really started exploring some of the tones you can get from this thing. Using it in the direct input with the "mixer" output, you can actually get some halfway decent recordings. Still has this weird feedback thing when palm muting and the sound is far from "organic" but it works for what I'm trying to do I guess til I can afford a more professional rig.
Great video! I love Digitech stuff personally. I think it is mostly how you use your gear that matters, and how well you play. But what do I know, lol.
This pedal is amazing. It's the classic metal tones almost effortlessly. I used it for years with blackstar HT and then Marshall DSL and it killed with both. It just has a very narrow sweet spot on the x-morph/gain (11-2 o'clock). But in the sweet spot, it sings.
I had one of these when I first started playing guitar. Let's just say my tastes in guitar tone has matured over the years, even if I don't play much nowadays.
Are you going to try this with the odder unit you hated? little experiment… although, if you need the high end gear to get that sound, would you just then buy something not cheap so it at least lasts?
The biggest issue with the Digitech X series stop boxes is the buttons within the foot switch. They tend to intermittently decide whether or not they want to perform their function. I would say that it's likely the foam rubber they use at the end of the post used to press the button. Over time it constricts to the point where it doesn't make contact with the button.
Dude haha please make more videos like this, I'm crying laughing. That pedal is terrible going in the front. Made the amp sound like a crappy solid state.
A possible interesting video to make: distortion pedal and amp on clean channel vs. no pedal and high gain amp? Pros and cons of both methods? I used to have a metal zone on a JCM 800 clean channel in the 90s (not using FX loop)... I just want to have an idea of what I could have missed in getting a better sound. I just sold my Digitech GNX3 :(
Try the Digitech Hot Rod. It’s pretty good. Or Hot Head is another one. Mykola MrHardGuitar - Guitar Reviews And Lessons has a video: Eight Digitech Distortion / Overdrive Pedals DEMO I wouldn’t mind your take on any or all of the ones in that video? Would you do that, if you could, please? Their video is too brief on each one. They had Digitech Death Metal on there. And yes, I have seen many videos of dudes ripping on them. But each personal take is different. And I am interested in hearing your thoughts, Glenn? Thank you, sir.
I would be really interested to see your honest opinion on the digitech RP360XP with the additional FS3X foot switch. I'm not a huge fan of digitech but in this price range for this type of multiFX unit I've found it quite capable, and yes. Definitely recommended right into the FX loop. I use it with a jet city soldano 100 watt head into an orange 2x12 cab and find it to be very good for clean or crunch sounds with FX. If you try it, another key callout is the switchable output for mixer vs amp makes a huge difference and works how it should. As an interface it comes with decent software that does the things you would expect. And with the looper/drummer and your choice of patch or stompbox mode it's versatile enough to cover a lot of ground in my opinion. It will give you a decent chug but for good metal sounds still just plug straight into the Jet City usually. (Or go into the front with it and use it as a boost) or at least throw a tube screamer in front of it to tighten it up... great video BTW 👍😃 all very fair points
Still needs SOMETHING to control the amount of gain, because it's full Nu Metal all gain no mids schlock, but it definitely seems to be better as a preamp than a distortion pedal
Just stumbled across this video while looking up signal chain ideas (including my very old Metal Master!) so I might try it in the loop as suggested :)
![Summer Walker - Heart Of A Woman [Official Lyric Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/SFddctbZzw8/mqdefault.jpg)
"Deep fried diarrhea." I'm using that.
Gems all over the place in this vid 😂
I am gonna name an EP that.
ShagStars Productions Deep Fried Diarrhea by the Sheep Rapists . Catchy !!!!!!
RENAME this thing ""the Parent Punisher" it will sell millions!!!
Sounds like something avgn would say
Dude, if you want to convince us that a pedal is shit, maybe try not to do such a good mix. That sounded awesome.
Thanks man! Goes to show how important a great bass line is to a mix!
🤝
That's was not only me then .. I was thinking "I does not sound that bad in the mix"...
@@SpectreSoundStudios Erik's run-down of how he builds his tone is worth a watch for any bass player. Hopefully his recent features on your channel will get people to go sub to his!
@@SpectreSoundStudios That's the truth, right there. AMEN!
Somewhere in Scotland, Collin is screaming for mids to be haired
And MORE GAIN
Tchunairs
ALL THE GAIN!
That picture of ola XD
Ola Rocks!
@@SpectreSoundStudios Ola just got a DeathMetal pedal in the mail from USA, can't wait to hear him test it... Yes, once I owned that pedal... fell for it :P
I want that t-shirt. it speaks to me, deeply
It hates anyone that isn't a blue checkmark corporate prostitute...
One of the best metal pedals. Had Boss Metal Zone and this one, very comparable and both pretty amazing. Some EQing may be required to get the best tone but that's part of the deal for any serious player.
When I plug my hello kitty guitar into a line 6 with this pedal my results varied !!!!!!!
Cause you dont have a guitar rig. You got a buncha toys! Try the avengers guitar. 😂😂
@@doknox first act seriously gives gibson and fender a run for the money for less than a hello kitty squier.
@@musek5048 ok
RDE Lutherie Hey RDE I have my Yamaha Portastudio warmed up with fresh C-cells !!!!!!!
The hello kitty guitar deserves better than a line 6...
Life lesson: if she don't take it well from the front, give it to her from the back.
Buttsechs innuendo much? Lol
That's what she..-oh
Liquor in the front, poker in the rear
@Robbi Rose she certainly taught -me- that. said she learned it from your mum
Yeah but none of this "just the tip" shit..... you have to sink the whole shaft in there to push the signal through and make her scream..... we're still talking amps... right!!?
So I own the line of Digitech pedals that includes the Bad Monkey, the Hot Head, Screamin' Blues, Death Metal, and that version of the Grunge. I got them because I actually liked the look and because they all have Mixer Outs, and I thought they'd be interesting to try and record that way.
I take the Death Metal into a very metal-centric studio. I wasn't using it for metal. I was using it for solos in a 90's rock-style song a la Veruca Salt. I wentin direct using the mixer out. The engineer loved how it landed in the mix and ended up buying one himself. The pedal has all active EQs including one dedicated to mids. You can get a lot of different sounds out of it. Your milage may vary. I have 2 and they each sound different.
The Screamin' Blues is one of the best standard rock pedals I've ever used. I've used the Hot Head for solos quite effectively. The Bad Monkey is a helluiva great TS.
Do they sound great for everything? No. What does? But they're good tools.
Bad Monkey is great, and dirt cheap. I've had one for 13 to 15 years now and have used it on guitar as well as on bass (works great because the low end you might lose, you can dial back in).
Though I just might have a shitty amp (Laney TF200), but since it's the only amp I've had to this day, I've grown to love its sound. With and without the Bad Monkey.
Dm is fuckin horrible and would be better if it just had a low and high frequency like the metal master and boss heavy metal does. It’s good for a paper weight and that’s about it
If bad monkey was in Gary Moore pedal board is enough for me.
I can't imagine going into a professional studio with access to 5150s, rectos, amazing cabs with amazing speakers and being like 'Nah, Ill use the digitech multi'
I can.
Look at my man, slimming down while still laying on the fat tonez.
Thanks, man!
SpectreSoundStudios yeah man looking really good lately
Wow, you've lost a lot of weight and look great Glenn!
Ty!
First thing I noticed,
I gotta say, in the "In the mix" section, while there are things I didn't like about in front of the amp, it did have better mids than when it's in the fx return which sounded pretty hollow to me.
Yeah, I was hearing the same thing. Sounded scooped or like it was getting buried under everything else.
This pedal doesn't have a mids option you need to juggle the bass and treble.. knobs. This pedal also is very mid and treble heavy when up front. Probably didn't change the settings when it was in the loop.
Plugging stuff in the FX loop can make wonders. My old Roland GP16 roared like a lion when connected that way and that thing was built in the late '80s
The key to those digitech pedals is to use the "mixer" output, i had the grundge pedal also by digitech and using the mixer output brought that pedal to life
I have a Metal Master, and I don't hate it. It has a certain sound that is sometimes (but not often) useful. I still prefer the Digi Death Metal tho.
I used a Metal Master into a Peavey Envoy 110 for years.
The death metal is just as bad, if not worse! lol. Fuckin straight garbage if ya wanna play death metal type tones
@Claudia Solomon I did indeed watch the video. And he's right. It's not 'good' by most standards, but it serves its purpose for certain guitar parts. Tone is all subjective, brother!
Robby Ray What the hell, Robby? You think you can just run around forming your own opinions? Glenn said it's bad! End of story!
DAVID ASSIMIL8 hahahaha, I like your cynical type answer but it really is shit anyway! Shit for trying to play death metal like tones with it anyway
Honestly, in a mix, it sounded great both ways.
This is so true to life. I was an aspiring metal player in the late 80's and could only afford a used Kramer guitar, a gorilla amp and a few DOD pedals. I had friends who could already shred and thought they would make fun of my gorilla amp. Nope. Almost all of them laughed at my DOD pedals. Slowly but surely I replaced them with Boss an other brands and haven't owned one since.
I own this pedal, hated the tone until I brought it to a school talent show. They told me I wasn't allowed to use an amp because the AV crew didn't want to deal with it so I plugged this into a DI box. The tone was actually amazing for lead stuff. A couple weeks later I tried the effects loop thing as well and it was pretty sick!
whats a DI box?
Back in the late 90's and early 2000's when we didn't have amp sims so readily available with a few mouse clicks we tried everything we could think of with whatever we had available, so it's pretty incredible to think that here we are in 2020 and some people are just now discovering that plugging some of these pedals into the effects loop is the right way to go.
"Four knobs to adjust the sonic sewage."
I spit out my coffee on that one...
My first pedal!! Man wish I still had it honestly had that going into a behringer 1x12 combo and a harmony strat and pure Metallica riffs only man good times..
Same pedal here too. The innocent and naïve days 😂
My first was a Boss MD-2 Mega Distortion, not a bad pedal but doesn't do the stuff I like very well.
In all fairness, I think most of us were using this through the front of a crate combo amp... so, it's not like we were to versed in tone back then.
I feel attacked lol. Legit had one in front of a Crate Flexwave as my second amp and first pedal haha
@@ericrussell2378 We've all been there! I remember the built in chorus sounding pretty nice on mine.
3:47 - interesting technique, plugging distortion into your amps SEND)
lol I was hoping someone noticed that
Sup Glenn!! Thanks for covering this!
I think a practical use for the direct digi distortion would be for a quick muddy intro then bring in the better distortion for the main riffage. I also think half the quality from the digi petal thru the loop is from the mic & cab tone. I've used super digital distortion for live gigs and studio wise is ok, but gets drowned out because a lack of dynamics when combined with live drums and such... so many variables to this crap LOL
This was a really good review. I was using one of these back in the day with a Peavey Stereo Chorus 400 2x12 combo into a Randall R125CX cab. It definitely got us through a lot of shows. You really had to know what you were doing to get a good sound out of it. Luckily, the Stereo Chorus 400 is a weird amp with a lot of weird features.
We used one of these back in the day for recording. We would plug it into a digitech RP7 to use the tube cab emulator it had, and then that went into the line in on a sound blaster pro. We had no idea what we were doing but recorded loads of stuff this way, got signed to a wee small label and did an album and EP using that method.
The reason so many distortion pedals sound bad into the front of a clean channel is to do with the way that distortion pedals compress the front end of an amp. This results in a flattening the intended eq curve so you hear extraneous frequencies that are brought out by the sheer input level clipping the preamp combined with a stupid amount of compression from said dirtbox which is what adds the fizzy top end. In addition most clean channels modeled after fender amps tend to bring even more high end fizz to the table because its a fairly scooped amp design to begin with. None of this is present when running through an effects return and is why in many cases it sounds better to run through the loop with a distortion pedal.
Sometimes I wonder what DigiTech was thinking when they cranked out all these pedals! Who was their intended audience?
Broke kids with no taste.
@SpectreSoundStudios So... 95% of us when we were teens then? Sounds about right.
Not all of them are bad. The Bad Monkey might be one of the best cheap-ass tubescreamer clones (check out some reviews, I think Colin Scott also did a demo on this one) and the Multi-Chorus isn't half bad either if you're into that kind of clean sound.
But yeah a lot of the high gain stuff and especially the early digital multiFX units are absolutely horrible.
MorbidManMusic Again back when there really was only two choices, unless you were into Ibanez pedals early on.
Their intended audience was dumb kids with allowances, and I was one of them.
To be honest, I haven’t watched your channel in a while, damn dude you’ve slimmed down quite a bit since the early days, congrats man you look great.
That doesn't sound half bad though the loop. I need to figure out how to get my chugging dark and powerful, right now it sounds like it has covid.
Do you generally use pedals besides WAH for studio recording or do you leave effects for the amp and DAW plugins?
I know some people use a TS808 to "boost" but that's about I hear about.
I remember drooling over this when I was 12 or 13 first starting out, another customer saw me messing with it and suggested a $20 used DS-1 instead and I've had that baby ever since.
This whole effects loop trick has me wondering if these metal pedals would react better with a preamp or some sort before it. Say you have a light overdrive or amp based pedal you leave always on for your cleaner tones but also kick on the Metal Master after it for heavy tones, would the first pedal "preamp" the metal pedal like the effects loop does? Asking for those without amp effects loops.
Nice I still use my DS-1 it isn't a very modern sounding distortion, but it's pretty great
I don't own one of these so I can't say for certain, but I know that my DS-1 loves a little push with a preamp or some other lighter overdrive in front. Of course, that might not apply as I've yet to get my Metal Zone to do anything other than to sound like a Metal Zone even with a preamp. Metal Master might do the same thing. *shrug*
@@bravotronalpha3787 The DS-1 Can sound pretty awesome on it's own, a little TS in front can get it sounding really beefy, However, it's still a very old circuit design, it has a very classic distortion character to it, like mid to late 80s, or certain power metal styles, it just sits bang on for the sound. It isn't a very chuggy or Djenty pedal, it wasn't meant to be. I'll say it does what it does, exceptionally well, I have no gripes, and use it all the time, Other times I opt for a nice HM2 dimed out, other times, I opt for a more modern distortion.
At the end of the day the old orange DS-1 is a very early hard clip distortion circuit, that held up well, sounds respectable, and has seen a lot of pedal boards and stages. You can get a nice push in front of it, or leave it to it's own, most amps respond well with it in the front, it sounds nice and tight. So no complaints :)
A buddy of mine had the Digitech Distortion Factory when we were kids rocking out in his basement. We both loved it back in the day, wonder if it stacks up at all today.
I would like to see a video of you giving tips or a guide on how to dial a decent distorted tone in general like how to set the eq of the amp, pedal, and the daw sound edition, i think it would really be helpful
Yes yes and yes. I've been waiting for an eternity for a pedal review like this, love it. I'd love to see your take on a BOSS HM-2, or a Decibelics Angry Swede (clone pedal of the hm2). That stuff has a real cult following and I'd love to see your thoughts on one.
The HM-2 is a lot of fun. I like to use mine as a boost. Or as a gnarly fuzz, which is basically what the HM-2 is. I'd like to see a video of different applications for the HM-2 where it's not dimed out on a dirty channel.
Me 10 seconds in: "PLUG IT IN THE FX LOOP" hahaha
My first pedal ever!!! Bought it because it had the MIX OUT option which allowed to record directly through line-in into the PC without using any external sound card.
"Breaking News! Glenn says a Digitech METAL Pedal is 'Pretty Great.'" lol
I'd be curious to hear Glenn do a fearless gear review on the Digitech gsp1101 rack pre-amp. I know a lot of people were grabbing them up about 5 years ago as a cheap Axe-FX alternative.
In particular with a third party unofficial firmware installed.
The original GSP 21 rack unit was THE SHIT back when it came out. I knew a guy that had one and I was floored by the tones coming out of it. Of course, back then my only amp was a Peavey Backstage 30 1x12 combo. Lol. Simpler times.
What bass was that? Looks like a Billy Sheehan Yamaha, but the photos I’ve seen of them seem to be a lighter blue.
What's the signal path when you went through the fx loop? IE did you bypass the pre amp?
Broooooo I still have this pedal! That morph knob scoops so hard I get a headache. It's not metal if you don't get a migraine 😏
It sounds better in the power section because when you bypass the preamp channel, you start the signal chain with less HIGH END.
So a pedal that is super Treble-y (such as a preamp pedal by the way, not a distortion) would sound like crap plugged in to a clean preamp channel (doubling the treble amount needed for a normal tone).
Since the super treble-y pedal got connected to the "dull" power section, they mached and sounded good.
This logic technically means that this and the metal-zone are preamp pedals.. mislabeled by the manufacturer as a distortion pedal.
To conclude- a preamp pedal would have lots of high-end, way more than a regular distortion pedal, as it's meant to be connected to a "dull" poweramp (which they all are).
Glenn, about your playing. man, you play for more than 20 years, no? learn some cool riffs for your videos!
I believe in you!
(and fuck you Glenn)
So they're pre amp pedals mislabeled by the manufacturer . Very informative and interesting. Everyone's a moron here. Manufactures for not labeling them correctly and the users for not figuring it out that they're pre amp pedals.
Well I assume (which is a dangerous thing) that productspecialists and in-house musicians has good ears too to develop and testdrive a drive/metal pedal before it's hitting the stores. So i guess they'll have the knowhow how to hookup their product to an amp to benefit it's features. Those things should be documented and be noted in the product usermanual :-)
Pretty solid explanation to the "metalzone" case
I’ve been playing for 15 years and this is the only distortion pedal I have used and will continue to use.
Every time I hear those "lets try it on a mix" guys I wanna hear more - can we get an EP of original songs from them? Maybe throw in the guy who did vocals on that Danger zone cover you did a while back?
One of the neater things about some of that series of pedals is how you can use it to split the signal path rather than using the the 'mixer' output with whatever IR it applies to the signal. Not going to say it redeems some of them but if you've got one collecting dust it can be fun to play with, just need to track down your manual. On mine you have to unplug the power, hold down the pedal switch and plug it back in and wait for a series of flashing lights to switch modes; there are 3 different ones on mine, the default is what is written on the pedal.
This is off topic but have you ever tried using the metalzone as a boost? I know that crowbar have been doing that for years and it sounds pretty good
The Metal Master was my first distortion pedal. I loved it back in the day, and with the Line 6 Spider 100 combo as my amplifier at the time could you blame me? When I upgraded to a Marshall DSL100H I found the pedal to be severely lacking. Then my T.Rex brain discovered the amp distortion was a shit ton better. I’ve gone back to it a couple times for Nostalgia’s sake and found myself bored within a few minutes of use . I never thought to put distortion pedals in the FX loop, I’ll have to try that sometime and see what I get. Do you think using a boost or an Overdrive would get similar results?
Ive got a digitech chorus pedal and i love it. Is there any other digitech pedals that are not useless?
I have a vintage Boss DS-1 here (from the 80s or something). Do you guys think it's any good?
did you try the rp200 through the fx loop? I was just curious.
The passive EQ on a Guitar amp normally have very scooped mids, thus the difference between the input and the return. You can get better results putting the pedal at noon, adjusting the eq of the amp to suit the pedal first, and then adjust the pedal
I didnt get -what was the channel setting in the amp before u plug the pedal in the loop?
hey Glenn, which ampsim did you use for the bass tone ?
Good twist in the story, Glenn. BTW, Phil X used to use a DigiTech Bad Monkey for some extra push, when he was doing the Fretted Americana videos, so not all DigiTech stuff is crap.
Plugging into the fx return has no negative effect on the amp? It'd be very appreciated if someone could possibly answer that for me.
The digitech pedals have built in cab modeling as well. If memory serves, you're supposed to hold down the button until the light blinks. Then the mixer out Jack has speaker sims on it. I don't believe you can change the sim, but there is one there. Oh yeah, Dan from Disturbed has used those in the past. I think the first couple album were made with that pedal.
Your #4 and #5 (say it in solfege...Fi Si) references warmed my heart. I haven’t had that much doo doo cake mixed with metal thrown at me since 66 Samus released his Magnum Opus “Fart Metal”. 😂
Have you ever tried the Digitech GSP1101, that Glenn Tipton used for quite some time?
The pedal is intended to be used as a preamp, not before the preamp. That's what's going on. It'd be like stacking preamps for guitar tone. Might be cool on a mic for a vocal in subtle steps, but not really a good sound for a high gain tone.
Discovering some pedals sound cool in the fx loop opens up the possibility of some not so stellar gear being able to find some use, even if its just for fun and nothing super serious. I loved Olas Metal Zone video back when it dropped
I got this as an impulse purchase years ago. I'm a bassist and have been looking for something to do the occasional OTT/extremely rare use lead tone for bloody ages, nothing so far has quite gotten me where I wanted, so I tried this with my backup rig this morning and was pleasantly surprised... going to swap out the pedal currently doing this job at rehearsal this weekend and see whether it'll take the spot! Could be great, could be an unmitigated disaster; although I'm honestly inclined to believe the former in my present serene mood.
I wonder if the effects loop idea could possibly change your opinion of a line 6 product (like an hx stomp or pod etc.) it could make them a viable option in your mind!
Does this mean you should try the Line 6 spider in the fx loop of a much better amp?
would you ever be down to do a review of the digitech grunge? I was my first pedal and i have tons of nostalgia for it.
Glenn, you're looking skinny dude!
I have a question, I've got a cab that makes my head sound quite compressed and wondering what I should do to "break up" the speakers a bit.
I put pink noise through it for about a minute and that seemed to make a difference but wondered if you have any other ideas.
Thanks from Sydney, Australia (your videos are always uploaded at like midnight here 😂)
Dig the track with Eric and Jackson on this video, that’s some tasty riffage. Any chance of releasing the multitracks?
It's weird that these pedals weren't marketed as needing to go in the FX loop. Seems like they were designed that way?
If you can afford a decent amp with an effects loop, you probably dont really need the pedal to be fair
@@joemayers1961 Yeah, fair point. Just seems like a lost opportunity, given how notorious these sorts of pedals because with that thin tinny sound!
I used to use the Metal Master in a hi pass loop for bass with relatively clean, compressed lowend (you know the drill) and had a little bit of tube drive in front of that, it actually did not sound half bad in that setup. Adjustable gain would have been nice though.
I remember playing this on a friend's pedal, i thought it sounded better than my line 6 spider 4 lol I know you're having a chuckle there Glenn.
As an amp guy, even though the amp is on "clean" it's overdriving the tubes and leaving you with the compressed mess. Pedals with "hot" output can do this.
Holy shit Glenn, you look awesome these days, congrats!
Hey Glen, I'm a little embarrassed to ask this, but I want to learn... When you demoed that pedal, I actually didn't think it sounded all that bad. It didn't sound great, but, I wasn't revolted by it or anything. I definitely realize it's my ears that need training. Could you teach us what you're listening for? How can we develop more discerning ears? I would love to hear you go on about that. Thank you!
did you play the opening from Detroit Metal City anime at 3:15?
Hey Glen, I've recently decided to start recording live drums and I was curious, I have a kick Mic that was from a cheapo drum mic kit that I have just sitting around and was wondering if you have any experience recording a Bass cabinet with a kick mic. Would really appreciate any feedback and thanks for your help. Cheers!
hows the neck on the 7 string schecter? i been eyeballin one for a bit and am paranoid about the neck feeling like a bat.
It’s pretty huge!
Glenn, what's the track playing in the background at 0:33 sounds amazing!
Though there is an improvement after plugging it into the effects loop, there is a massive cut on the "fried ass" sound and a bit of a bass boost but it still sounds flat. Might be something interesting and weird for solos but I think there are better options for rhythm tones.
Glenn, loved this. I watched this aware of the terrible reputation of the Metal Master. I thought this was really going to be a "shit on it" type of review, which still is fun, but it turned into something that was pretty thoughtful, and made us realize some things that we all together call shit, can still be useful. Maybe if we just the plug bass player through the effects loop he'll learn his fucking parts??
Glen, you have to test this stuff with a crappy solid state amp like a crate 2/12 combo. In the 90s thats all most of us could afford. We bought those types pedals to get those amps to sound ok.
i got so much shit using this pedal when I was in the metal scene years ago, i even took measures to "disguise" it for gigs. It's been in hiding for many many years and I recently brought it back for my electronic rock project and really started exploring some of the tones you can get from this thing. Using it in the direct input with the "mixer" output, you can actually get some halfway decent recordings. Still has this weird feedback thing when palm muting and the sound is far from "organic" but it works for what I'm trying to do I guess til I can afford a more professional rig.
did you try the mixer out directly into your pre amp?
Great video! I love Digitech stuff personally. I think it is mostly how you use your gear that matters, and how well you play. But what do I know, lol.
This pedal is amazing. It's the classic metal tones almost effortlessly. I used it for years with blackstar HT and then Marshall DSL and it killed with both. It just has a very narrow sweet spot on the x-morph/gain (11-2 o'clock). But in the sweet spot, it sings.
Love the channel and love it how you do drums, vox, and guitar videos.
Question do you play the drums even if just for fun?
Great & eye-opening video/life lesson, Glenn & Friends!
I had one of these when I first started playing guitar. Let's just say my tastes in guitar tone has matured over the years, even if I don't play much nowadays.
Are you going to try this with the odder unit you hated? little experiment… although, if you need the high end gear to get that sound, would you just then buy something not cheap so it at least lasts?
The biggest issue with the Digitech X series stop boxes is the buttons within the foot switch. They tend to intermittently decide whether or not they want to perform their function. I would say that it's likely the foam rubber they use at the end of the post used to press the button. Over time it constricts to the point where it doesn't make contact with the button.
*At the **3:46** mark, why in the hell are you plugging it into the Send jack instead of the Return jack?*
Because I’m still plugging the guitar into the amp
Dude haha please make more videos like this, I'm crying laughing. That pedal is terrible going in the front. Made the amp sound like a crappy solid state.
I haven't seen a surprise ending like this one since The Sixth Sense. Well done, Shamalama Dingdong!
A possible interesting video to make: distortion pedal and amp on clean channel vs. no pedal and high gain amp? Pros and cons of both methods? I used to have a metal zone on a JCM 800 clean channel in the 90s (not using FX loop)... I just want to have an idea of what I could have missed in getting a better sound. I just sold my Digitech GNX3 :(
Try the Digitech Hot Rod. It’s pretty good. Or Hot Head is another one.
Mykola MrHardGuitar - Guitar Reviews And Lessons
has a video: Eight Digitech Distortion / Overdrive Pedals DEMO
I wouldn’t mind your take on any or all of the ones in that video? Would you do that, if you could, please? Their video is too brief on each one. They had Digitech Death Metal on there. And yes, I have seen many videos of dudes ripping on them. But each personal take is different. And I am interested in hearing your thoughts, Glenn? Thank you, sir.
I would be really interested to see your honest opinion on the digitech RP360XP with the additional FS3X foot switch. I'm not a huge fan of digitech but in this price range for this type of multiFX unit I've found it quite capable, and yes. Definitely recommended right into the FX loop. I use it with a jet city soldano 100 watt head into an orange 2x12 cab and find it to be very good for clean or crunch sounds with FX. If you try it, another key callout is the switchable output for mixer vs amp makes a huge difference and works how it should. As an interface it comes with decent software that does the things you would expect. And with the looper/drummer and your choice of patch or stompbox mode it's versatile enough to cover a lot of ground in my opinion. It will give you a decent chug but for good metal sounds still just plug straight into the Jet City usually. (Or go into the front with it and use it as a boost) or at least throw a tube screamer in front of it to tighten it up...
great video BTW 👍😃 all very fair points
Still needs SOMETHING to control the amount of gain, because it's full Nu Metal all gain no mids schlock, but it definitely seems to be better as a preamp than a distortion pedal
what are you going to do the DigiTech death metal pedal?
Just stumbled across this video while looking up signal chain ideas (including my very old Metal Master!) so I might try it in the loop as suggested :)
How does out 2 sound when plugged straight to the mixer? It has “cabinet modeling technology”
I tried this with the BAD MONKEY. Seems fine into the desk.