Who's digging their MXR Distortion+ ?!

[parry]

my favorite setup with this is volume at max, Distortion at min.

^ THIS ^

[LBx]

the early Wipers setting-Max Volume, Minimum Distortion.

Sounds about right... Never made the Wipers connection myself though! Not a SG (p90?) guy at all...

[Mike S]

the early Wipers setting-Max Volume, Minimum Distortion.

Sounds about right... Never made the Wipers connection myself though! Not a SG (p90?) guy at all...

I'm not either. I actually despise P90's but PAF's and high output ceramic humbuckers sound just as well. I would love to try it with JM single coils or a Wide Range Humbucker.

I could be wrong, but I think Greg Sage's sound was some kind of crazy tube amp setup of his own design, an Echoplex he rewired with a footswitch, the Distortion+ and the P90 SG. I think he dumped the Distortion+ around land of the lost or Straight Ahead and just used his overdrive channel from then on.

[shoule79]

I just sold mine this past weekend.

Interestly enough I compared it against a couple of it's competitors from back in the day before I sold it, my old rat and one of the new 40th anniversary Boss DS-1's. I found that the rat and Ds-1 could replicate the Distortion + quite easily. For most tones the ds-1 actually replicated it quite easily and convincingly.

The one place where the d + shined over the other two was low gain. There are better options for that sound though, and the other two killed it with more gain dialed in and had a lot more tonal options.

[Mike S]

I just sold mine this past weekend.

Interestly enough I compared it against a couple of it's competitors from back in the day before I sold it, my old rat and one of the new 40th anniversary Boss DS-1's. I found that the rat and Ds-1 could replicate the Distortion + quite easily. For most tones the ds-1 actually replicated it quite easily and convincingly.

The one place where the d + shined over the other two was low gain. There are better options for that sound though, and the other two killed it with more gain dialed in and had a lot more tonal options.

I'll try it with my Deucetone. It seems to me like only something like a Dirty Rat or the Dirty Rat circuit on the Deuctone would be able to replicate it. I don't see how the Si diodes in the DS-1 and the standard rat would do it.

[shoule79]

^^^

The key word was convincingly. The Rat had its own sound but covered the same ground as the d+. The ds-1 did the same and at some settings on the dial were so close there was no way anyone not doing a side by side shootout would be able to tell the difference.

I sold mine for a few reasons, the lack of tone control doesn't always work for me, and the low output. It's still one of my favourite overdrives, standalone and for stacking. If I ever move away from the amps I'm using at the moment I'll be likely buying another one.

I just thought it was funny that it and its contemporaries have a fair bit of cross over in general tone.

[Mike S]

I decided to try and match it with my other drive pedals for funzies. The closest I got was with the Deucetone Rat, left side, Dirty Rat Circuit with the Distortion and the Filter at about noon, which makes sense since it's my only other Ge pedal that isn't an octave fuzz. The DS-1, DS-2 and other Deucetone circuits just didn't sound right and my fuzz pedals were too intense.

[redchapterjubilee]

If one were making their first foray into the Distortion+ what would you all recommend I pick up? An old one and deal with batteries? The latest MXR version? What about the Whirlwind version?

[elektrovac]

This pair is based on the vintage MXR Dist+, but revoiced for more low-end, has a subtle tone-control added, two clipping diodes in each phase for more output and headroom (the Old Black Shoe is a hybrid Si/Ge configuration, four vintage 1969 germaniums in the Germanium Dirt). The 741 opamp of the original circuit is replaced by a 'tin can' LM308 (of RAT fame):




- Mick Harvey have been using the Old Black Shoe live with PJ Harvey for the past year

[bacongrease]

Mick Harvey's discography is remarkable.


Anyone try the 78 badass version? Does it come close to the original?

[parry]

I know of a few people who like the Badass - but in my case... after an A/B comparison with the script plate D+ I had at the time, I flipped that Badass within a couple of days.

[burntumber]

reading this thread got me thinking about the D+ I had,
so I went trolling craigslist, but what I found instead was

a Whirlwind Gold Box, $80.
http://whirlwindusa.com/catalog/black-b ... distortion" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

came with a free dead battery, velcro on the bottom and a collection of lint and (what I hope is ) cat hair.

Doesn't sound as 'loose" as the Block logo D+ as I remember, still a great sound.

[Mike S]

If I'm playing under a hot light or on a hot summer day, my D+ will start to sound like a smooth, wet fart. Does anyone else cool theirs before use?

[bacongrease]

The Distortion+ is a superb pedal. So too is the DOD 250. Two of the best bang-for-buck drive pedals out there.

I'm still looking for a distortion. I really liked the MXR bass distortion m85 probably get that again (superb for guitar) but must compare the D+ or Badass side by side which means I have to go to a big store and do it--rushed, noisy, & annoying as hell.

For someone who dislikes the DOD 250 & the tubescreamer maybe the D+ ain't for me?

[Mike S]

The Distortion+ is a superb pedal. So too is the DOD 250. Two of the best bang-for-buck drive pedals out there.

I'm still looking for a distortion. I really liked the MXR bass distortion m85 probably get that again (superb for guitar) but must compare the D+ or Badass side by side which means I have to go to a big store and do it--rushed, noisy, & annoying as hell.

For someone who dislikes the DOD 250 & the tubescreamer maybe the D+ ain't for me?

Do the DOD 250 or Tubescreamer use germanium diodes? I feel like that's really what's unique about the D+ sound.