So, I've tried many a gain pedal, Boss, Marshall, homemade, Digitech, but so far, the ONLY one that did the job as I wanted it to was... The Danelectro Daddy-O.
It is cheap, heavy, and looks funny (it's a pedal built to look like something made in the 50's but there was no such thing as a guitar pedal back then
), and I confess: first time I saw it in a store I thought it was cr@p.
But then I tried it. Wonderful to say the least. It was th only pedal that allowed me to really scoop the bloody mids that ruin my tone, either wit a les paul or a strat.
I played this little guy through a 15 watt amp, back when I was a bedroom player, and through some huge Marshall stacks. I take it to the studio too, just fine.
I can get most any level of distortion I want, from a nice texas clean crunch to a metal distortion.