80s hair metal distortion.

[slickcipher]

does anyone know what kind of distortion bands like ratt, poison, and motley crue used? i know mick mars runs a board through his rig, but i'm looking for a pedal to give me that sort of distortion. i'm running it through a drri. thank you

[Kap'n]

Never did it, but I think most folks used:

• Rat
• Boss HM-2
• ADA MP-1

And a JCM-800 Marshall, either a master volume, or a split channel 2210.

[slickcipher]

Never did it, but I think most folks used:

• Rat
• Boss HM-2
• ADA MP-1

And a JCM-800 Marshall, either a master volume, or a split channel 2210.

would any of those sound good through a fender deluxe reverb, or would it come out muddy?

[TommyJ]

I use a line6 Pod to get that kinda tone.
I also have a jekyll&hyde pedal and a Dano metal zone,the pod does it the best for me..
Ive never had a drri but ive heard that little amp can do it all....

[Kap'n]

would any of those sound good through a fender deluxe reverb, or would it come out muddy?

No, they'd all come out shrill, fizzy and annoying to my ears.

There are other folks here that know/like hair metal better than I do.

You can pick up HM-2's cheap, cheap, cheap at pawnshops or ebay.

[TommyJ]

There is shity distortion and good distortion...
Kap'n dont like it....LOL!!!!!!
Spend the extra money and get the pod set it to modern highgain,
tweak the eq bam,it can also do a very good lane twangy also..
very versitile,set the pod to amp mode set your amp's eq all
at middle then tweak from there..it also has a built in noisegate.
so you can really make it scream if you need to..
Kap'n I wish you lived near me,I would love to have you take a
look at my 86 laney pro tube amp,just to check the bias and do a
general inspection,there are alot of so called tech's in my area I dont trust most of them,they charge to much,doesnt 100 buc's sound high for a bias?

[photoweborama]

Oh, and I think you had do have one of these to make it work right..


I LOVE mine!

[Rickenjangle]

The ADA MP1 was a killer, killer piece of gear at the time. A buddy of mine used to run his straight into the power amps of his Marshall and Randall heads, bypassing the preamps. The MP1 sounds great through a rackmount FX unit into a dedicated power amp and a pair of 2x12 slant cabs. I used to lust after those, but didn't get one until they finally came down in price toward the end of the hair metal boom.

Today's devices like the POD are so much easier to tweak, and more versatile, but the MP1 could be set up to sound like all your favorite modded Marshalls, but with near infinite sustain and (for the time) insane amounts of gain.

Playing one into your DRRI would probably be a mistake. I'd try out the Metal Zone pedal - plus, BOSS makes a pedal that models a bunch of overdrive and distortion stomp boxes. I think it's called the OD 20. That might be a good place to start.

[slickcipher]

The ADA MP1 was a killer, killer piece of gear at the time. A buddy of mine used to run his straight into the power amps of his Marshall and Randall heads, bypassing the preamps. The MP1 sounds great through a rackmount FX unit into a dedicated power amp and a pair of 2x12 slant cabs. I used to lust after those, but didn't get one until they finally came down in price toward the end of the hair metal boom.

Today's devices like the POD are so much easier to tweak, and more versatile, but the MP1 could be set up to sound like all your favorite modded Marshalls, but with near infinite sustain and (for the time) insane amounts of gain.

Playing one into your DRRI would probably be a mistake. I'd try out the Metal Zone pedal - plus, BOSS makes a pedal that models a bunch of overdrive and distortion stomp boxes. I think it's called the OD 20. That might be a good place to start.

so there's very little metal pedals that would sound good through the drri?

[slickcipher]

what about the line6 ubermetal pedal?

[Gravity Jim]

I remember the Guitar Player mag ads....

"I get tone for days from my ADA's!"

Was that Reb Beach, from Dokken? Or Reb Beach, from Winger?

[Rickenjangle]

Did Reb play for Dokken? I knew of him from Winger. George Lynch, from Dokken, was associated with Arredondo-modded Marshalls until he started doing the "I'll endorse anyone who'll give me a free amp head" thing.

I know Reb used the ADA's. Also, (and this is why I wanted one badly) the guitarists from Skid Row supposedly used them (although I know better now - most guitarists used great Marshalls and stuff in the studio). Also, Vito Bratta from White Lion supposedly used them.

Sounded absolutely rippin' with Carvel/Jacksons with the HSS pup combo and the Floyd Rose wang bars.

[Gravity Jim]

I believe that Reb really used Bradshaw-modified Marshalls all through that period, just like the rest of those guys.. But he POSED with ADAs!

As far as I know, Reb did stints with Dokken and Whitesnake.

[Rickenjangle]

I just noticed I said "Carvel" Jacksons. I guess I'd like an ice cream cake shaped like a Jackson guitar, please... ;-)

[Kap'n]

It's my birthday!

[Gravity Jim]

How many bands do you suppose have already named themselves "Cookiepuss?"

[Kap'n]

Or Irish bands who have named themselves Cookie O'Puss?

[Plugger]

so there's very little metal pedals that would sound good through the drri?

"Good" is subjective. But this makes me think of someone who orders a lobster in a fine seafood restaurant, and then ask the waiter to bring a big bottle of ketchup.

-Mark

[Kap'n]

One of the problems of using a "metal" sounding pedal with a DRRI is that

• The DRRI, like all BF/SF designs, have extended clean high freqency response
• "metal" pedals tend to have buzzy/fizzy distortion

It ends us sounding like a bee in a bottle. It's even worse if you have JBLs or other speakers with clear high end.

BF/SF amps also tend to accentuate the compression of these pedals, and depending on the model, they can actually sound quieter when you step on them, especially if they have that scooped mid sound.

[WideAwake]

Try the Boss MD-2 Mega Distortion - it's got seperate tone/low end controls. I am using it on my Blues Deluxe RI for a few songs and I think it's great. I've managed to get some of those nice 80's sounds from it.

[Huckleberry]

First of all: Reb Beach was in Winger, and did a breif stint in Dokken a few years ago.


Second: the ProCo Rat was designed to get a Marshall sound out of a Fender amp. The Filter knob on the Rat rolls off the infamous Fender highs.

I use a Rat with my DRRI, and I love 80's guitar tones (other tones, as well. Otherwise I wouldn't have a Fender amp). I find the results to be awesome.

[fetchzee]

For 80s hair metal in a pedal, I'd also recommend looking for one of the old Digitech Programmable Distortion pedals. I found one for about $30 a while back, and it's definitely hair-friendly, especially if you open it up and engage the DIP switch that controls the 40ms delay on the lead channel. Instant shred.

[flintpunk]

2 pedals that sound really good distorted through a clean amp like yours are...

1. The original Marshall Guv'nor. I had one for years and played it through a blackface Showman head during the 80's and really copped the "80's Tone" (or lack thereof). Later I ran it through a Sovtek Mig 50 (russian bassman knockoff), another notoriously clean amp. I sold the pedal in a momentary lapse of good judgement.

2. Jeckyl and Hyde. This pedal will give you the triple-rec Boogie sound (if you'd like), but as a bonus, also has a TS808 clone built in. Not bad for around $120. This one also sounds good through clean amps.

Good luck!