Hey everyone! Please check out the full description for info on the gear in this episode, the white JHS amp, Josh's guitar and strap and links to gear and the record in Record Time. Thanks for watching!
If you like Superunknown, do check Dogman by King's X! An underrated 90s classic, and one of the finest heavy albums ever. Just as good as Superunknown to me, if not even better.
God rest your soul Chris, RIP! Superunknown was the first CD I ever bought, still my number 1 favorite album to play straight through. Josh, excellent choice of pedals and album recommendation, as always. If you get the time, i think an episode on the Expandora on cocaine might be worth exploring too :)
I agree that in the 90's, compared with Pearl Jam, Soundgarden was unfairly "Super Unknown"; I too discovered them further in depth much later than I wish I did....Chris Cornell is my personal Numero Uno of all times....
I wonder if Josh has ever forgot to mention a JHS pedal in a video. You can tell he avoids it for as long as possible before regrettably offering us something of his lineup. It pains him so,,, the poor boy. Someone should take him out for ice cream afterwards.
His best IMHO is the Meat and 3 modded Soul food. I got 1 used that was done in a homebuilt unit. Cheap at $83 and been on my board since. Surprised he didn't do the Butler Tube driver. That's on my board also as my distortion part. Mines been modded with a bias knob and I'm running at 18v. So it's the older 3 knob version.
I have an original ProCo RAT . I love this old technology bent steel box pedal. It quit working and I sent it to ProCo in Kalamazoo,Michigan and they returned it to me not only working like new but enclosed a RAT t-shirt and a note stating that they hadn’t seen such an old RAT in a long time. Repair and shirt were free . ProCo is a great company with awesome products and better people running it
@@axelbergstrom3644 True story. A while back when the first Waza stuff was coming out I jokingly said to my gear hookup guy "Do you have the Waza Metal Zone or tuner?" and they came out a week later. Now I'm waiting for the Line Selector Waza.
Had “Badmotorfinger” and knew the next album would be beyond amazing. Got “Superunknown” the very day in came out and was blown away. Cornell was a genius writer, harmonically, melodically, rhythmically, lyrically, and must always be included in any list of the greatest rock singers ever.
There isn’t a project that Cornell touched that I don’t like. I wasn’t born until just before Audioslave (sorry if that makes anybody feel old) so I didn’t get into his music until about a year before his death. He will forever be one of the top artists I regret not seeing before they passed. His voice is just something you don’t hear in rock often and is just so special and formative to how I listen to music.
It's hilarious when a design engineer says something like "I like it cuz the knobs don't really tell you what they do." This is fast becoming my favorite Channel on TH-cam. When a buddy of mine introduced me to Soundgarden all I could say was, "at last here are the successors to Black Sabbath." Born in the early 60s I didn't have a relationship to grunge and sort of resented the whole Seattle thing. My son's obsession with Kurt Cobain didn't really help. But this album and Soundgarden's Garden of sound opened my mind.
You might like a band called *Loudmouth* Very riff and groove centered. The Seattle thing, while fresh and new at the time, had a half life for me. So, Loudmouth, bringing more of a hard rock sound offering, was welcomed to my ears th-cam.com/video/pdGdl0BzZi0/w-d-xo.html And in looking this up, happy to find a live version th-cam.com/video/oaUAsEFVmyI/w-d-xo.html
Kim Thayil said that he cranked up a Peavey to 11 to get his sound for that album, interestingly he uses very very light gauge strings and has a very light touch.
I was also a ninties grunge kid. Silverchair's Frogstomp was what drove me to really learn the guitar that I had gotten years earlier. There was a little distortion involved... yis.
@@erictoniaschwab1009 It's multi tracked and reportedly using multiple guitars and amps/cabs. (Teles + Gibsons into Bogner + Marshall various cabs. Multi-tracked dozens of times... allegedly).
Boston's "Don't look back" riff leading into the choruses and the "Piece of Mind" track's isolated, distorted main riff after the solo. Over 20 years ago I heard those riffs on my mom's Greatest Hits cd when she picked me up from school one day in Alabama and I became a guitarist and rock fan that day. I still get a chill every time I hear it. That's how distortion changed my life.
sski: Amen to that! If the D+ is good enough to record 'Blizzard of Ozz', 'Diary of a Madman' & 'Moving Pictures' then it's plenty good enough for me. But... I recently purchased the Fender Pugilist and it's fantastic. Running the dual gains in 'series' is Crunch City.
sski the day I tried to live is also one of my favorites for sure !!!! Awesome song really not a bad song on that entire album ..... such a good band and to that was “the” soundgarden album although I do love badmotorfinger and everything after superunknown.
Wasn't sure anyone else new that little secret. I found it by putting an electroharmonix soulfood in front of it. I use the soulfood as an almost always on boost barely audible so its always there then one magic day plugged the tc in and wham. Like you mentioned, dig in and man the response n attitude you get, sweet!
"Super unknown" is probably one of the best grunge albums out there, but in terms of distortion I think "Bad motor finger" is heavier than the "Super unknown". I love them both...
There were some reviews of Superunknown saying something along the lines of: Best Black sabbath album. Don't ask who because I can't remember who gave that review.
So cool that this man is so secure that he can promote his competition. Very smart. Why? Because business makes business..... More people are fascinated with guitar pedals,... more will buy. Never ending cycle , and they will always remember JHS!!
couldnt agree more theres natural harmonics gently placed over crazy distortion laden guitars. Doesn't hurt the songwriting is rad. Still put em on and rock out. 🤘🏻
Good call my man! Very underrated 90s band ! Great sound and very well put together. “Stars” was the first song I heard back in the 90s and was just amazed. Just walls of fuzz and distortion and modulation. I think the singer is like a professor or something
To so kindly quote Brian Wampler, "I've seen distortion pedals that are actually preamps." That means you can run it directly into the Effects Loop Return to replace your amp's own preamp, instead of it being a simple pedal you run into the front of a clean amp. In the category of preamps, the Seymour Duncan Palladium definitely is a winner. In the same category of preamps, I also love the Wampler Triple Wreck, and the Alexander Jubilee. BUT, by far, my absolute favourite preamp is the Effectrode Blackbird. I have mine running into an Orange Pedalbaby, and that combination has replaced my amp. That combination IS my amp. As for simple distortion pedals you run directly into the front of a clean amp, by far, my absolute favourite is the classic ProCo RAT 2. There is a very good reason why everyone copies them. That said, as good as most copies are, as great as a few copies are, none have the same vibe as the original RAT 2. None of them can put you into the same mindset as the original RAT 2. Always go with the original ProCo RAT 2.
Superunknown was my first Soundgarden album, bought it on cassette after only hearing Black Hole Sun. It has a heavy air about it, and I just love it. Still my favourite of theirs.
Here in Canada, as well as a teen in the 90's, Grunge was it. A great Canadian band that got its start in the early 90's is the band Sloan. And their first big breakout album Smeared was released by DGC. This album and their sound on this album is what got me started on the search for that sound. They say this album was soaked with the Boss HM2 heavy metal pedal, but not sure if there is any truth to the myth.
@@Iggytommy I guess you didnt watch till the end when Josh asks us to name an album that turned us on to a distortion or distortion sound we hadnt heard before. But, well done you on bailing early.
@@Iggytommy Well, whether the Big Muff is technically a distortion pedal, a fuzz box, or whatever - the "distortion sounds" on that album were eye-opening to me when it came out. Past that, its all semantics.
@@Iggytommy Fuzz and Overdrive are commonly grouped under the blanket term "distortion pedals", even when they technically fall into three distinct categories.
I’d say Helmet needs to be a part of the high gain conversation. ESPECIALLY the first few bars of Milktoast (especially the Crow version)-I’ve never gotten over that sound.
"If I were ever to do an episode about unique distortion or drive pedals" Please do! p.s. Hudson Electronics Broadcast/Broadcast Dual/Sidecar would be great
I've owned a Dark Matter, loved that pedal, don't know why I got rid of it. Highly underrated. The Rat is still my go to distortion on my board though, and has been for years.
Derrick Lugo This has been my main distortion for just about a year now. I think the name is misleading to some. It sounds like it would be a heavy metal pedal but it’s more of a classic rock Jmp/JCM sound.
Notable IC chips: two 4560-type op-amps Component-side circuitboard image: October 1998 Related circuits: FX51 (loosely based), FX100 (same circuitboard, but R27, R32, R47, C17, C19, and Q7 are missing in the FX101); DOD's I.T. circuitry was also used in a series of small practice amplifiers (including the "Grind I.T.") released at the same time. The FX100 has 2 4558D's... So same Circuit Board, yet Many.. just a few differences. "In the video you say the 101 w/ echo???
Distortion Pedal: My favorite on my board is the Moog MF Drive, it is so versatile and unique. Also love the Sunset because it's metallic red. Record: Soundgarden's Superunknown is the last cassette that I bought before my first CD: Nine Inch Nails the Downward Spiral = Great noisy distorted album!
@@runlarryrun77 the Riot and Riot reloaded are awesome. I'm thinking I like the original Riot the best, as it has more of that classic Marshall flavor. I like to set the gain about 10 o'clock, then hit it with an overdrive.
Calamine anyone? Superunknown, such a great album. 4th of July might be my favorite song ever. That sludgey tone with Chris Cornell's voice gives me chills. Such a powerful song.
A Boss FZ-2 is my Holy Grail pedal because of that album. Sure, Behringer gets close, but I want something that doesn't feel like it's moments from falling apart.
@Hertegovinul Are you interested in my looper pedal? www.alibaba.com/product-detail/CUVAVE-5-min-Oem-Mini-Looper_62022914620.html?spm=a2747.manage.0.0.309871d2AcPtEv
So many of my friends started playing guitar because of Jimi, Nirvana, Metallica, etc, but I actually started beca of my dad’s new wave bands. The distortion that first really blew me away was the distortion on the 6 string bass intro of the Cure’s song “End,” and the rhythm guitar sound on their song “Trap.” The first one growls like a hunting lion, the other lacerated you with a scalpel. Love it.
Everything from Dinosaur jr. J Mascis even has distortion on for his "clean" sound. (And of course the EHX Big Muff/ EHX Electric Mistress combination)
Josh is the Mr. Rogers of the music world. He promotes equality and positivity in all of his videos. So nice to see such an honest, appreciative, and caring person. I play his videos at night to fall asleep to because he's so easy to listen too. Awesome, videos, awesome pedals, awesome company, and Josh is super awesome.
A modern Boss pedal that I have enjoyed a lot the last decade is the Power Stack. I think it does a great job emulating a Plexi and a JCM800. I even like it with a Strat and the gain dimed. Half decent Van Halen tone.
I love it when he does show his own pedals he says where he got the inspiration from, paying the hommage. Josh you are too humble. That's a kilt I would rock!
It's awesome. Major Marshall JCM-type tones. The lower gain tones are nothing to sneer at either. You can even get it to do the Jimi cranked vintage Marshall thing.
Weezer's Blue Album and Pinkerton are forever landmarks for me - perfectly combining massive power distortion with glorious Beach Boys melody. The Pixies also need to be mentioned in that train of thought.
MI Audio Crunch Box, Diezel, Amptweaker, Wampler Triple Wreck = (my favorite) , MXR 5150, Empress Heavy, 1981 Overdrive, Jam Pedals Rattler, ( at least 5 - 10 more, that I haven't mentioned ). Steve Stevens Brutal Distortion on: "Flesh for Fantasy" ( not to mention the Sick Tri Chorus ) - too !!!
Nice! Loved the Dr. Scientist The Elements and Strymon Sunset. I was on the hunt for a distortion gizmo for my JC-40 and saw a Fender Pugilist used at GC for $70. Man, does it do the job. Very smooth high gain with tons of clarity and harmonics. It gets really wild when you dial in the onboard distortion. It wasn't bad GC also had a Boss OC-2 MIJ black label in like new condition for $100. GC dude ringing it up did a double take. It was a good day!
R.E.M. - Monster is a great album for one particular sound - heavy distorted tremolo 👌 Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream has that amazing op amp Big Muff fuzz/distortion sound that seems to be mixed down to create a warm full sound on the entire record 👌 NOFX - Punk in Drublic... not much else to say about that. It’s distorted. 👌 I was really impressed with the Strymon Sunset, it did something different to my ears to the normal stuff. Thanks for another entertaining video.
I have loved my BE-OD since the day I got it, glad to see it in the mentions! My runner up is the MXR 5150 OD; anyone whos played it knows it's a high gain pre amp and not just an OD!
Outlaw Mod DS-1, only a few components to swap and it makes the DS-1 the best dirt box I’ve ever owned. The mod is a DIY that you get from Machine Head Pedals as a pdf. Get the parts, do the mod, be overjoyed at how good your dirt now sounds. I’ve owned literally dozens of dirt pedals over the years and I can’t believe how a $30 pedal with a mod that cost $12 in parts manages to sound better than them all.
I grew up in Tx. and was aware of Kings X when they were a new band. I feel like Ty Tabors distortion tone is one of the all time greats. It was literally ear candy live in his early days playing those Lab Series amps with chorus but the rate on zero for a spatial effect. Back then in Dallas I saw Eric Johnson and SRV together @ a place called 'Tango's' once per month for a couple of years. Two who are considered the best 'tone rangers' in the industry and still I remember they had nothing on King's X's live guitar sounds. Creamy deluxe distortion like my Bogner Shiva but better. What ever he did should be duplicated IMHO.
In all these kind of videos featuring distortions and overdrives I always miss the Carl Martin Plexitone (the 18v version with boost ). After trying many, that’s the best sounding one for me, I have gigged and recorded with it, a must have IMHO.
I have been binge watching this channel for a while now, and I guess I'm happy to have guitar-nerd-confirmation for the TC dark matter. Absolutely love it, crisp shrieks, howls and grumbles. It won't go into super heavy distortion all alone, but man it sounds sweet. A record that really got me into really heavy distortion sounds was Consequences of Disobedience by Velcra
That Elements pedal has some serious 90s garage rock drive. I bought Superunknown while I was in Germany during my first stint in the Army in '94. I was getting my first pedals then to. First one was the DOD FX69 Grunge, bought new and which I still have. I love that pedal. I use it for metal music, specifically, at the time Black Sabbath and Metallica, for the most part.
The internet is reading my mind.. I was looking at my board yesterday like, "my ds-1 is cool and all, but I need a solid distortion.."....well, here's to another month of bread on bread sandwiches.
Fell on Black Days changed my life I watch your videos religiously this is the first time I've commented my favorite distortion pedal is just a plain DS1 I was a huge Nirvana fan Now That I'm Older I'm really into overdrive's so thank you so much for the Morning Glory...... we love it down here in North Alabama.... War Eagle
My favorite is Randy Rhoads' Crazy Train Distortion + tone. I also like Tom Warrior's Morbid Tales sound but I think that was a cranked JCM 800 with no pedal. The Acapulco Gold sounds great.
@@robertross9074 If you want low volume, get a lower wattage that breaks up faster at a lower volume. Want more low end? use a 212 or 412. At home, all you need it 2watts. On stage you want more headroom. I don't actually plug my guitar in, unless I'm at rehearsals or at a show.
@@RealGingerTea I never got used to distorted or overdriven sounds at lower volumes. I've played for over 30 years. I no longer use 100 watt or even 50 watt amps, but if it's less than 25 watt into a 1x12, I don't like how it sounds. Just a preference. Like I said, the Tube Screamer is a nice exception. For high gain, I still use my Marshall Silver Anniv. 1 x 12.
@@RealGingerTea Yes, of course. I have attenuators on all of my amps over 30 watts. I use volume pedals to create swells. For instance, many love the sound of an overdriven Marshall 100 head into a 4 x12 or stack. The headroom is very hard to duplicate. Now amp companies have gone to lower wattage heads, single speakers (even some recommending 8"!) and yet to my ears, these amps have no headroom at all. They are like two-dimensional paintings. Flat. Could this be altered by a pedal? I like to think so, yet pedal technology today is not so much different then it was 30 years ago. Give me technology that replicates the headroom and natural gain of an overdriven, high powered tube amp. It has yet to be created, in my opinion.
There’s a new band called Belmont and they do this power-pop-punk thing but their guitars seem way heavier than they should be for the genre. It all sounds so great. Check out Belmont by Belmont!
Nice recommendation, digging them so far. I think this genre is called easycore if you wanted to look up more bands like them, although already these guys sound so much better than most other bands I've heard with that label so it might be downhill from here.
Favorite pedal from this episode is a toss up between the Drive-Bi and the Sunset. Very different vibes, but equally as awesome! One of the first albums I heard that was shaped by distortion, instead of overdrive, that blew my mind was "Blizzard Of Ozz". I am an overdrive guy, but HOLY SMOKES Randy Rhoads!!! I do love me some Sabbath, but Randy was a whole different flavor.
@Hertegovinul Are you interested in my looper pedal? www.alibaba.com/product-detail/CUVAVE-5-min-Oem-Mini-Looper_62022914620.html?spm=a2747.manage.0.0.309871d2AcPtEv
for distortion i usually just run a stock boss metal zone into my new waza-craft metal zone into a keely modded metal zone. then when i want to switch to my lead sound i just kick in a dimed boss MT-2 Metal Zone for a tiny bit of extra push.
I agree a 100 on Super Unknown. It's the perfect album. It is in my top ten ALBUMS of all time actually. Other heavy rock/punk records from that time that I loved were, in no particular order: Janes Addiction: Nothing Shocking. - Smashing Pumpkins: Gish. - Government Issue: You. - *Fugazi: 13 Songs. - *Bad Brains: I against I. - *Slayer: Reign In Blood. - Pearl Jam and Alice In chains: Songs from the "Singles" sound track. - *Helmet: In the Meantime. - *SNFU: If You Swear You'll Catch No Fish.----*In The Top 100 Punk/Metal albums of all time. IMHO.
Funny, i just spent an hour playing around on my guitar and thinking that i'm starting to be bored with fuzz pedals, and boom here you are with a video just for me to spend more money on new gear :D !!!
Hey everyone! Please check out the full description for info on the gear in this episode, the white JHS amp, Josh's guitar and strap and links to gear and the record in Record Time. Thanks for watching!
No Rivera Metal Shaman?
If you like Superunknown, do check Dogman by King's X! An underrated 90s classic, and one of the finest heavy albums ever. Just as good as Superunknown to me, if not even better.
Good thing you commented yesterday on your today's video but why didn't you say "first"?
God rest your soul Chris, RIP! Superunknown was the first CD I ever bought, still my number 1 favorite album to play straight through. Josh, excellent choice of pedals and album recommendation, as always. If you get the time, i think an episode on the Expandora on cocaine might be worth exploring too :)
I agree that in the 90's, compared with Pearl Jam, Soundgarden was unfairly "Super Unknown"; I too discovered them further in depth much later than I wish I did....Chris Cornell is my personal Numero Uno of all times....
Finally a JHS. I thought you didn't knew about them, great pedal makers
I wonder if Josh has ever forgot to mention a JHS pedal in a video. You can tell he avoids it for as long as possible before regrettably offering us something of his lineup. It pains him so,,, the poor boy. Someone should take him out for ice cream afterwards.
He knows them, he just knows they suck.
His best IMHO is the Meat and 3 modded Soul food. I got 1 used that was done in a homebuilt unit. Cheap at $83 and been on my board since. Surprised he didn't do the Butler Tube driver. That's on my board also as my distortion part. Mines been modded with a bias knob and I'm running at 18v. So it's the older 3 knob version.
I have an original ProCo RAT . I love this old technology bent steel box pedal. It quit working and I sent it to ProCo in Kalamazoo,Michigan and they returned it to me not only working like new but enclosed a RAT t-shirt and a note stating that they hadn’t seen such an old RAT in a long time. Repair and shirt were free . ProCo is a great company with awesome products and better people running it
I only need 13 metal zones to sound good
🤣🤣🤣
13... and 1 Waza
@@davethepius 13 metal zones... and 1 Behringer ultra metal ;)
@@axelbergstrom3644 True story. A while back when the first Waza stuff was coming out I jokingly said to my gear hookup guy "Do you have the Waza Metal Zone or tuner?" and they came out a week later. Now I'm waiting for the Line Selector Waza.
A Metal Zone joke. How original.
Had “Badmotorfinger” and knew the next album would be beyond amazing. Got “Superunknown” the very day in came out and was blown away. Cornell was a genius writer, harmonically, melodically, rhythmically, lyrically, and must always be included in any list of the greatest rock singers ever.
There isn’t a project that Cornell touched that I don’t like. I wasn’t born until just before Audioslave (sorry if that makes anybody feel old) so I didn’t get into his music until about a year before his death. He will forever be one of the top artists I regret not seeing before they passed. His voice is just something you don’t hear in rock often and is just so special and formative to how I listen to music.
Yeah!!! our PAL800 GOLD Overdrive ! Thank you Josh for having our pedal in your list, we are very grateful, it is amazing! Keep Rocking!
Josh is so humble, he plays and recommends other pedals, not only speaks on them. Great demo.
It's hilarious when a design engineer says something like "I like it cuz the knobs don't really tell you what they do." This is fast becoming my favorite Channel on TH-cam.
When a buddy of mine introduced me to Soundgarden all I could say was, "at last here are the successors to Black Sabbath." Born in the early 60s I didn't have a relationship to grunge and sort of resented the whole Seattle thing. My son's obsession with Kurt Cobain didn't really help. But this album and Soundgarden's Garden of sound opened my mind.
You might like a band called *Loudmouth* Very riff and groove centered. The Seattle thing, while fresh and new at the time, had a half life for me. So, Loudmouth, bringing more of a hard rock sound offering, was welcomed to my ears th-cam.com/video/pdGdl0BzZi0/w-d-xo.html
And in looking this up, happy to find a live version th-cam.com/video/oaUAsEFVmyI/w-d-xo.html
Superunknown may very well be the best rock album of the 90's. There's so much excellence throughout it. A true masterpiece.
Kim Thayil said that he cranked up a Peavey to 11 to get his sound for that album, interestingly he uses very very light gauge strings and has a very light touch.
For me...Dirt - Alice in chains.
Good call on the Superknown. RIP Chris - legend.
If only I could like this video twice: once for the video as a whole and once for you playing the riff from “Corduroy.”
The second i saw the title of this in my notifications I was like “great, here goes lots of money.”
Word. I'm over here like, a dozen must-haves, of which I have zero...
I was also a ninties grunge kid. Silverchair's Frogstomp was what drove me to really learn the guitar that I had gotten years earlier. There was a little distortion involved... yis.
Jerry Cantrell's sound on Dam that River has got to be one of my all time favorite distortion sounds from the 90s
Ivan Vovchik TOTALLY! Was that just a Marshall or a Bogner? Or did he use a pedal for it.
@@erictoniaschwab1009 It's multi tracked and reportedly using multiple guitars and amps/cabs. (Teles + Gibsons into Bogner + Marshall various cabs. Multi-tracked dozens of times... allegedly).
I thought it was a Bogner Fish preamp and the MosValve 500!
What did he play live back then? I'm sure nowadays it's his signature Friedman.
Jerry and Kim Thayil had the heaviest guitar tone out of the 90’s hard rock scene. Of course along with the great Darrell Abbott
Kim Thayill gave me a love of controlled feedback and heavy slab distortion from an early age. Badmotorfinger.
4th of July is my favorite song off of that album. Heavy riff.
Was just about to comment this! Also love old school death/doom and sludge.
4th of July is my go to riff to test heavy dirt tones
Yeah that one and also "Limo Wreck" 🤘🤘🤘🔥🔥
This man speaks the truth.
Rick Beato needs to get onto that song, i don't understand how it can manage to both sound menacing and calming
Boston's "Don't look back" riff leading into the choruses and the "Piece of Mind" track's isolated, distorted main riff after the solo. Over 20 years ago I heard those riffs on my mom's Greatest Hits cd when she picked me up from school one day in Alabama and I became a guitarist and rock fan that day. I still get a chill every time I hear it. That's how distortion changed my life.
My fave off that Soundgarden album is, "The Day I Tried to Live". Everything about it. And you can pry my MXR Distortion + from my cold, dead hands.
sski: Amen to that! If the D+ is good enough to record 'Blizzard of Ozz', 'Diary of a Madman' & 'Moving Pictures' then it's plenty good enough for me. But... I recently purchased the Fender Pugilist and it's fantastic. Running the dual gains in 'series' is Crunch City.
@@lespauldisciple3349 Hmmm. Intredasting. I may have to look into that one.
Great tune.
My Favorite too! I can skip Black Hole Sun or Fell on Black Days, but never TDITTL
sski the day I tried to live is also one of my favorites for sure !!!! Awesome song really not a bad song on that entire album ..... such a good band and to that was “the” soundgarden album although I do love badmotorfinger and everything after superunknown.
Love my Tc electronic dark matter. I love how it responds to attack and when you throw a boss sd1 in front of it magic happens.
Drew D I use this same combo and you are so right!
Wasn't sure anyone else new that little secret. I found it by putting an electroharmonix soulfood in front of it. I use the soulfood as an almost always on boost barely audible so its always there then one magic day plugged the tc in and wham. Like you mentioned, dig in and man the response n attitude you get, sweet!
"Super unknown" is probably one of the best grunge albums out there, but in terms of distortion I think "Bad motor finger" is heavier than the "Super unknown". I love them both...
Yeah Kim tore it up on Room 1000 Years Wide. Old Guild through a Peavey VTM. None more Doom.
@@neilpatrickhairless I was actually about to mention the tone on this song and then I clicked the comment and saw yours
I don't know, if it weren't for 4th of July and Mailman, I would definitely agree,
@@dmpp47 Yes, Mailman. Great song. And Kim's solo break at the end... still gives me chills every time!
There were some reviews of Superunknown saying something along the lines of: Best Black sabbath album. Don't ask who because I can't remember who gave that review.
So cool that this man is so secure that he can promote his competition. Very smart. Why? Because business makes business..... More people are fascinated with guitar pedals,... more will buy. Never ending cycle , and they will always remember JHS!!
The album with best distortion sound ever is HUM
You’d prefer an astronaut
As a 90’s kid I’m sure you’d love it
couldnt agree more theres natural harmonics gently placed over crazy distortion laden guitars. Doesn't hurt the songwriting is rad. Still put em on and rock out. 🤘🏻
Good call my man! Very underrated 90s band ! Great sound and very well put together.
“Stars” was the first song I heard back in the 90s and was just amazed. Just walls of fuzz and distortion and modulation. I think the singer is like a professor or something
Amen. I keep hearing they are going to put out another album...
@@bradruhfel4883 one can only hope
BIG BIG AGREE
To so kindly quote Brian Wampler, "I've seen distortion pedals that are actually preamps." That means you can run it directly into the Effects Loop Return to replace your amp's own preamp, instead of it being a simple pedal you run into the front of a clean amp. In the category of preamps, the Seymour Duncan Palladium definitely is a winner. In the same category of preamps, I also love the Wampler Triple Wreck, and the Alexander Jubilee. BUT, by far, my absolute favourite preamp is the Effectrode Blackbird. I have mine running into an Orange Pedalbaby, and that combination has replaced my amp. That combination IS my amp.
As for simple distortion pedals you run directly into the front of a clean amp, by far, my absolute favourite is the classic ProCo RAT 2. There is a very good reason why everyone copies them. That said, as good as most copies are, as great as a few copies are, none have the same vibe as the original RAT 2. None of them can put you into the same mindset as the original RAT 2. Always go with the original ProCo RAT 2.
4th of July by Soundgarden is why I love Doom metal.
Superunknown was my first Soundgarden album, bought it on cassette after only hearing Black Hole Sun. It has a heavy air about it, and I just love it. Still my favourite of theirs.
I laughed at your intro. Hilarious that Josh couldn't keep it together. I love your videos.
Always entertaining and Educational..
Josh in one of those guys i wish i knew in real life... the tone/vibe of this channel is fabulous
Here in Canada, as well as a teen in the 90's, Grunge was it. A great Canadian band that got its start in the early 90's is the band Sloan. And their first big breakout album Smeared was released by DGC. This album and their sound on this album is what got me started on the search for that sound. They say this album was soaked with the Boss HM2 heavy metal pedal, but not sure if there is any truth to the myth.
chris mintie great band, great album! Really, an hm? The guitar sounds are pretty open, crunchy, not that sort of Uber-distorted stuff.
Mudhoney's EP "Superfuzz Bigmuff" - the title tells you everything you ever needed to know about the band and the album.
how is that relevant?
@@Iggytommy I guess you didnt watch till the end when Josh asks us to name an album that turned us on to a distortion or distortion sound we hadnt heard before. But, well done you on bailing early.
@@nohandle54 - both the Superfuzz and the Big Muff are NOT distortion pedals though. That was my point.
@@Iggytommy Well, whether the Big Muff is technically a distortion pedal, a fuzz box, or whatever - the "distortion sounds" on that album were eye-opening to me when it came out. Past that, its all semantics.
@@Iggytommy Fuzz and Overdrive are commonly grouped under the blanket term "distortion pedals", even when they technically fall into three distinct categories.
Mailman is a super underrated track off Superunkown, and my personal favorite!
Changed my mind about distortion, Helmet-Strap It On. Heavy, really heavy, jazz in drop D.
I’d say Helmet needs to be a part of the high gain conversation. ESPECIALLY the first few bars of Milktoast (especially the Crow version)-I’ve never gotten over that sound.
My must have Distortion pedal is The Rat and the Ds2
Lol your comments first like
Rats are amazing. My favorite heavy setup right now is my Sovtek muff and a stone deaf pdf.
DS2 is fantastic!
I have a modded ds2, not normally a high gain guy, but I love it!!!
@@therapist6328 the pdf is sick
Helmet, "In the Meantime" released in 1992.. Changed my definition of heavy, chunky, distorted guitars. That album is still just heavy.
"If I were ever to do an episode about unique distortion or drive pedals"
Please do!
p.s. Hudson Electronics Broadcast/Broadcast Dual/Sidecar would be great
I own a Helix, and have sold all of my pedals - and this is still one of my favorite TH-cam channels!
I've owned a Dark Matter, loved that pedal, don't know why I got rid of it. Highly underrated. The Rat is still my go to distortion on my board though, and has been for years.
Derrick Lugo This has been my main distortion for just about a year now. I think the name is misleading to some. It sounds like it would be a heavy metal pedal but it’s more of a classic rock Jmp/JCM sound.
Same. It was cheap and sounded great for low gain. Why did I sell it again?
@@sam4667 literally bought one again hahahahaha
@@DareBear2099 ha
Notable IC chips: two 4560-type op-amps
Component-side circuitboard image: October 1998
Related circuits: FX51 (loosely based), FX100 (same circuitboard, but R27, R32, R47, C17, C19, and Q7 are missing in the FX101); DOD's I.T. circuitry was also used in a series of small practice amplifiers (including the "Grind I.T.") released at the same time. The FX100 has 2 4558D's... So same Circuit Board, yet Many.. just a few differences. "In the video you say the 101 w/ echo???
Distortion Pedal: My favorite on my board is the Moog MF Drive, it is so versatile and unique. Also love the Sunset because it's metallic red. Record: Soundgarden's Superunknown is the last cassette that I bought before my first CD: Nine Inch Nails the Downward Spiral = Great noisy distorted album!
I don't even like Pearl Jam but that tone you got on "Corduroy" has me looking for a used Elements pedal.
I have been really enjoying the Suhr Riot pedal for my distortion, personally. It's a great Marshall in a box with three voices.
I have a Riot clone. Love it. To me it sounds like a RAT on steroids.
Yes. That's my main distortion pedal SUHR RIOT!!
@@runlarryrun77 the Riot and Riot reloaded are awesome. I'm thinking I like the original Riot the best, as it has more of that classic Marshall flavor. I like to set the gain about 10 o'clock, then hit it with an overdrive.
For personal Distortion, I agree.
I always loved Soundgarden Louder then Love. These guitars, the feedback, and vocals just rocked my world.
Calamine anyone? Superunknown, such a great album. 4th of July might be my favorite song ever. That sludgey tone with Chris Cornell's voice gives me chills. Such a powerful song.
Stone Deaf Warp Drive, switchable noise gate and every distorted tone under the sun....... my favourite
Day 185 of asking for the Sovtek episode
Samuel Jett EHX is remaking the MIG 50 I believe? I second your motion!
Samuel Jett he must be waiting to give us that one for Christmas
Bad news
Electric Wizard - Dopethrone. Changed my perspective on fuzz
G R O S S yeah dude, great record.
A Boss FZ-2 is my Holy Grail pedal because of that album.
Sure, Behringer gets close, but I want something that doesn't feel like it's moments from falling apart.
@Hertegovinul Are you interested in my looper pedal? www.alibaba.com/product-detail/CUVAVE-5-min-Oem-Mini-Looper_62022914620.html?spm=a2747.manage.0.0.309871d2AcPtEv
the intro to your videos is basically the intro to portlandia
Lolz
So many of my friends started playing guitar because of Jimi, Nirvana, Metallica, etc, but I actually started beca of my dad’s new wave bands. The distortion that first really blew me away was the distortion on the 6 string bass intro of the Cure’s song “End,” and the rhythm guitar sound on their song “Trap.” The first one growls like a hunting lion, the other lacerated you with a scalpel. Love it.
Everything from Dinosaur jr. J Mascis even has distortion on for his "clean" sound.
(And of course the EHX Big Muff/ EHX Electric Mistress combination)
K2A yesssssss Love dinosaur JR still a band I’m trying to see live while I still might have a chance love J and his killer guitar sounds
2:45 Pearl Jam’s Corduroy!? Finally, a song I recognize!
Superunknown is damn near perfect. My #1 record of all time. STP Purple is up there as well
Josh is the Mr. Rogers of the music world. He promotes equality and positivity in all of his videos. So nice to see such an honest, appreciative, and caring person. I play his videos at night to fall asleep to because he's so easy to listen too. Awesome, videos, awesome pedals, awesome company, and Josh is super awesome.
A modern Boss pedal that I have enjoyed a lot the last decade is the Power Stack. I think it does a great job emulating a Plexi and a JCM800. I even like it with a Strat and the gain dimed. Half decent Van Halen tone.
Killing In The Name was the album that jumpstarted my tone endeavors. A simple Distortion + can be so powerful.
You had me at Corduroy. BTW, I've got this Rat modified by this company called JHS. It rocks. You should try it.
My favorite pedals: Boss DS-1, CK - Plexitone Single, JHS AT.
The Fender and the Strymon were the only ones that moved the needle for me.
I love it when he does show his own pedals he says where he got the inspiration from, paying the hommage. Josh you are too humble. That's a kilt I would rock!
Always surprised that Catalinbread doesn't get mentioned. My fave pedal company with cool, unique takes on circuits. Superunknown is incredible!
Just got the Empress Heavy Menace.
Best pedal I've ever owned. Does everything from crunch to chug.
Lovin that Fender Pugilist distortion! Solid tone!
true true
It's awesome. Major Marshall JCM-type tones. The lower gain tones are nothing to sneer at either. You can even get it to do the Jimi cranked vintage Marshall thing.
Got a used one for $50 a few years back....love it
Frontline Series II distortion... an 80s classic. Absolutely zero frills, if not less; thirty+ years old and still sounds great
Weezer's Blue Album and Pinkerton are forever landmarks for me - perfectly combining massive power distortion with glorious Beach Boys melody. The Pixies also need to be mentioned in that train of thought.
MI Audio Crunch Box, Diezel, Amptweaker, Wampler Triple Wreck = (my favorite) , MXR 5150, Empress Heavy, 1981 Overdrive, Jam Pedals Rattler, ( at least 5 - 10 more, that I haven't mentioned ). Steve Stevens Brutal Distortion on: "Flesh for Fantasy" ( not to mention the Sick Tri Chorus ) - too !!!
Good stuff but The Elements really stood out as having a fine voicing.
Exactly what I was thinking!!
Superunknown is one of my favorite alums of all time. I cycled between it and Tool Undertow. Great times.
That JHS is a complete beast. Easily the best tone out of the lot. For me anyway. 😉
Nice! Loved the Dr. Scientist The Elements and Strymon Sunset. I was on the hunt for a distortion gizmo for my JC-40 and saw a Fender Pugilist used at GC for $70. Man, does it do the job. Very smooth high gain with tons of clarity and harmonics. It gets really wild when you dial in the onboard distortion. It wasn't bad GC also had a Boss OC-2 MIJ black label in like new condition for $100. GC dude ringing it up did a double take. It was a good day!
Copper Blue by Sugar was the album that showed me guitarists were turning their mid controls in the wrong direction! Mxr distortion+
R.E.M. - Monster is a great album for one particular sound - heavy distorted tremolo 👌
Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream has that amazing op amp Big Muff fuzz/distortion sound that seems to be mixed down to create a warm full sound on the entire record 👌
NOFX - Punk in Drublic... not much else to say about that. It’s distorted. 👌
I was really impressed with the Strymon Sunset, it did something different to my ears to the normal stuff.
Thanks for another entertaining video.
I have loved my BE-OD since the day I got it, glad to see it in the mentions! My runner up is the MXR 5150 OD; anyone whos played it knows it's a high gain pre amp and not just an OD!
Corduroy - Pearl Jam was cool to hear! Great pedals
Outlaw Mod DS-1, only a few components to swap and it makes the DS-1 the best dirt box I’ve ever owned. The mod is a DIY that you get from Machine Head Pedals as a pdf. Get the parts, do the mod, be overjoyed at how good your dirt now sounds. I’ve owned literally dozens of dirt pedals over the years and I can’t believe how a $30 pedal with a mod that cost $12 in parts manages to sound better than them all.
I grew up in Tx. and was aware of Kings X when they were a new band. I feel like Ty Tabors distortion tone is one of the all time greats. It was literally ear candy live in his early days playing those Lab Series amps with chorus but the rate on zero for a spatial effect. Back then in Dallas I saw Eric Johnson and SRV together @ a place called 'Tango's' once per month for a couple of years. Two who are considered the best 'tone rangers' in the industry and still I remember they had nothing on King's X's live guitar sounds. Creamy deluxe distortion like my Bogner Shiva but better. What ever he did should be duplicated IMHO.
The old 6 knob chromed out MI AUDIO TUBE ZONE was really really fantastic. Huge, deep crunch that could shred with a light drive in front of it.
The Fender surprised me. Nice sound
I got one used for $50.....great pedal
1) Tight Rock Jr Amp Tweaker - pedal
2) Chelsea Light Moving - album
The two are not related, but worth checking out!
EXPANDORA! I always wanted one of those. Had no idea the Kilt was a version of it.
Mason Patton it’s based on it, but they’re very different, the kilt has way more cut and focus,the expandora is fuzzy,wooly more like a fuzz pedal imo
In all these kind of videos featuring distortions and overdrives I always miss the Carl Martin Plexitone (the 18v version with boost ). After trying many, that’s the best sounding one for me, I have gigged and recorded with it, a must have IMHO.
epic album. I think Spoonman is also worth a mention.
Harmony Smurf hell yeah got to respect the spoonman !!!! 👊🏻dude is legendary !!!!!
I have been binge watching this channel for a while now, and I guess I'm happy to have guitar-nerd-confirmation for the TC dark matter. Absolutely love it, crisp shrieks, howls and grumbles. It won't go into super heavy distortion all alone, but man it sounds sweet.
A record that really got me into really heavy distortion sounds was Consequences of Disobedience by Velcra
7:49 quality content. This is what I want pedal shootouts to look like.
That Elements pedal has some serious 90s garage rock drive.
I bought Superunknown while I was in Germany during my first stint in the Army in '94. I was getting my first pedals then to. First one was the DOD FX69 Grunge, bought new and which I still have. I love that pedal. I use it for metal music, specifically, at the time Black Sabbath and Metallica, for the most part.
The internet is reading my mind.. I was looking at my board yesterday like, "my ds-1 is cool and all, but I need a solid distortion.."....well, here's to another month of bread on bread sandwiches.
Fell on Black Days changed my life I watch your videos religiously this is the first time I've commented my favorite distortion pedal is just a plain DS1 I was a huge Nirvana fan Now That I'm Older I'm really into overdrive's so thank you so much for the Morning Glory...... we love it down here in North Alabama.... War Eagle
you were right. now my face itches. Thanks, JHS. BTW, my fav is the Crowther Hotcake \m/. Thanks for the hard work and great vids
do u play thru a vox?
@@arnyarny77 nope. a laney vc30.
My favorite is Randy Rhoads' Crazy Train Distortion + tone. I also like Tom Warrior's Morbid Tales sound but I think that was a cranked JCM 800 with no pedal.
The Acapulco Gold sounds great.
+1 for the dark matter. The kilt sounds phenomenal.
The thing about expensive drive/distortion pedals, is that you basically could just get a new amp.
But few in my opinion, do distortion well at lower volumes. The Tube Screamer amp is an exception.
@@robertross9074 If you want low volume, get a lower wattage that breaks up faster at a lower volume. Want more low end? use a 212 or 412. At home, all you need it 2watts. On stage you want more headroom.
I don't actually plug my guitar in, unless I'm at rehearsals or at a show.
@@RealGingerTea I never got used to distorted or overdriven sounds at lower volumes. I've played for over 30 years. I no longer use 100 watt or even 50 watt amps, but if it's less than 25 watt into a 1x12, I don't like how it sounds. Just a preference. Like I said, the Tube Screamer is a nice exception. For high gain, I still use my Marshall Silver Anniv. 1 x 12.
@@robertross9074 Have you tried an attenuator or a volume pedal/pot in the FX loop?
@@RealGingerTea Yes, of course. I have attenuators on all of my amps over 30 watts. I use volume pedals to create swells. For instance, many love the sound of an overdriven Marshall 100 head into a 4 x12 or stack. The headroom is very hard to duplicate. Now amp companies have gone to lower wattage heads, single speakers (even some recommending 8"!) and yet to my ears, these amps have no headroom at all. They are like two-dimensional paintings. Flat. Could this be altered by a pedal? I like to think so, yet pedal technology today is not so much different then it was 30 years ago. Give me technology that replicates the headroom and natural gain of an overdriven, high powered tube amp. It has yet to be created, in my opinion.
Glad you mentioned the TC Dark Matter, IMO not too harsh, don't need to dime everything . Now I want that Sunset pedal. Love Super Unknown.
There’s a new band called Belmont and they do this power-pop-punk thing but their guitars seem way heavier than they should be for the genre. It all sounds so great. Check out Belmont by Belmont!
Nice recommendation, digging them so far. I think this genre is called easycore if you wanted to look up more bands like them, although already these guys sound so much better than most other bands I've heard with that label so it might be downhill from here.
@@TheSquareOnes easycore. Ok thanks. I saw Jared dines to a bit comparing easycore to hardcore and I had no idea what was happening. Thanks.
Favorite pedal from this episode is a toss up between the Drive-Bi and the Sunset. Very different vibes, but equally as awesome!
One of the first albums I heard that was shaped by distortion, instead of overdrive, that blew my mind was "Blizzard Of Ozz". I am an overdrive guy, but HOLY SMOKES Randy Rhoads!!! I do love me some Sabbath, but Randy was a whole different flavor.
MXR Distortion+ way to go! Randy Rhoads!
You just need to rename all of your videos "These pedals will now be more expensive on eBay"
Paul Crowder thank god I just pulled the trigger for a Mudhoney at reverb just last week (it was a steal).
@Hertegovinul Are you interested in my looper pedal? www.alibaba.com/product-detail/CUVAVE-5-min-Oem-Mini-Looper_62022914620.html?spm=a2747.manage.0.0.309871d2AcPtEv
"Pedals you could have bought a few minutes ago"
for distortion i usually just run a stock boss metal zone into my new waza-craft metal zone into a keely modded metal zone. then when i want to switch to my lead sound i just kick in a dimed boss MT-2 Metal Zone for a tiny bit of extra push.
There was a guy on reddit who unironically runs 5 metal zones all at minimum gain and whenever he needs more dirt he just turns on another metal zone.
I'm quite fond of my Boss/JHS Angry Driver. You may have heard of it?
2:44 Corduroy off of Vitalogy! Havent listened to this record for a while - about time. Thanks Josh for reminding me!
Sonic youth goo turn me on to some real cool distortion
3:00 every week I say to myself "the waiting drove me mad" until the episode is released!
funny, i loved the fender pedal best ... didn't expect that
I agree a 100 on Super Unknown. It's the perfect album. It is in my top ten ALBUMS of all time actually. Other heavy rock/punk records from that time that I loved were, in no particular order: Janes Addiction: Nothing Shocking. - Smashing Pumpkins: Gish. - Government Issue: You. - *Fugazi: 13 Songs. - *Bad Brains: I against I. - *Slayer: Reign In Blood. - Pearl Jam and Alice In chains: Songs from the "Singles" sound track. - *Helmet: In the Meantime. - *SNFU: If You Swear You'll Catch No Fish.----*In The Top 100 Punk/Metal albums of all time. IMHO.
Funny, i just spent an hour playing around on my guitar and thinking that i'm starting to be bored with fuzz pedals, and boom here you are with a video just for me to spend more money on new gear :D !!!
I love the overdrive circuit in my Germanium Big Muff and of course you can't go wrong with a RAT2.