guitar effects pedals, what do I need for a heavier sound?

Question

I have a Marshall combo and an Epiphone SG copy. I'm fairly adequate at playing the guitar but I want a heavier sound. Without having to invest in a new guitar and amp (lack of funds) can anyone suggest any mid price guitar pedals that could improve my guitar sound. The built in distortion the amp has is good but I want something heavier. Any suggestions?

Excellent advice thanks.
The sound I'm going for is similar to New York hardcore bands Madball, Sick Of It All, Hatebreed and metal bands like Slayer.

Answer 1

There are some great pedals out there and alot depends on the kind of sound you want.

If it's 70's Rock you need an overdrive pedal, this will replicate an overdriven guitar and give you that Rock sound, the best on the market is the Ibanez Tube Screamer, but it's very expensive and it is possible to get a similar sound from a cheaper make.

If you want a real Metal sound, go for a distortion pedal as it gives much more of a Heavy Metal sound or even a Grungier sound.

Some of the best pedals are made by a company called Boss and can be found on ebay, or in any music shop.

Whatever you do I would recommend getting a compression pedal too, they really give a better bass end, add plenty of sustain and level out all of your playing to give a more even sound.

Hope that helps.

Answer 2

Boss SD 1 'Super Overdrive', £49 (68 $) Or there abouts, for that sort of money you cannot go wrong.

Another important tip, this pedal is a ferocious booster so DON'T use it to mask mistakes, easy habbit to get into because when I first got into pedals to boost amp gain I was FLYING so I made mistakes, so the TRICK is to BOOST WITH YOUR PEDAL, then TAKE YOUR AMP GAIN and BACK IT OFF ONE OR TWO just to clear up any excess (I know, some might say "What's the point of Boosting gain if your going to CUT it on the amp...but trust me all your doing is EVENING OUT THE GAIN STRUCTURE)

Hope that helps, you'll be well on your way to MADBALL, HATEBREED and SLAYER in NO TIME AT ALL !!!

Answer 3

The Digitech "Death Metal" pedal is by far the best for getting the Slayer, Hatebreed, Throwdown, etc...sound. For short money! I've gone through a bunch of pedals and really like that one.

And the Black 13 pedal is pretty decent too!! It has more range than the D.M. pedal as far as getting that awesome "Crunch" sound that bands like S.O.D., D.R.I., Nuclear Assault, all have you just don't get the growl that you get with the Death Metal pedal..

Hope this helps you out...

Answer 4

I presume you mean a bigger and fatter sound! Besides getting a bigger amp, which you can't afford, try using a heavier gauge set of strings. If you use light strings at the moment you will notice a big difference. Also if you have a low action set up, try raising the bridge a tad, this will improve the sustain of your guitar. if you go for this it will make your guitar slightly harder to play, but your fingers will soon become stronger as a result.

Answer 5

The sound you're looking for is that of a valve amp, cranked to the max with a "rectified gain" circuit. Lots of ways to get there but Behringer do lots of FX units/combos for ok prices and their rectified gain sound is awesome. Heavy, smooth and brutal. As other people have noted, heavier gauge strings will help, as will replacing your pickups for ones with hotter output. If you can't afford that, EQ and compression will boost the bass and fatten up your sound, you can pick up 2nd hand BOSS EQ ands compressor/limiter pedals for peanuts on eBay.

Answer 6

Agree with tho one about the strings and the action; works for Bass, too. Bigger strings just have more sound in them, and that will give you more frequencies to process. Don't be tempted to let all your equipment do the work for you, though. If you cultivate a heavier approach to your music and your playing, then that is bound to reflect in your sound.
Try e-bay for Boss, Pod etc.
Just turn it up; waaay up.

Answer 7

If you have the money, go buy a multi-effects pedal. I have a POD 2.0 and it's programmable, you can almost get ANY sound from it.Tinkering is always fun anyways right? Spend the extra money, and you have a ton of pedals instead of just one.

Answer 8

I'll tell you what. I'm in a good mood today so am going to do something I normally don't do.

The reason your guitar doesn't sound "heavy" is weak pickups. Email me through Yahoo! here and I'll send you a set of pickups so hot they'll pull your fillings out- for free. You just need to take your guitar and the pickups to the shop and have them installed. If you are good with a soldering iron you can do it yourself, I'll send easy directions.

Just email me no later than Monday Nov 27.

Merry (early) Christmas!

Answer 9

go on eBay and look for a boss override peddle, you might get one for 15 quid, they where 100 pound when they came out in the late 80s but it is quality gear.

Answer 10

For a heavier sound - you need a heavier foot.