6 Best Distortion Pedals: Bought, Tested, & Rated
Best Distortion Pedal Top Pick: Empress Effects Heavy
From a tone and feature perspective, there’s nothing that beats the Empress Heavy. We’ve tested it in-house and it’s simply the nicest distortion pedal on the market without any weak spots, unless you count the high price tag (though we’d say its price is easily justified)
Guitar gear recommendations should be based on real-world experience, research, actual use and familiarity with the gear being recommended. Those of us who are now in our 30s (me at the time of writing this) would have — for the most part — started playing guitar in the 1990s, at the height of distortion use. Experience with distortion pedals was especially thorough for those who couldn’t afford an amp nice enough to have a decent onboard distortion.
OUR NEXT TOP 3 PICKS FROM THIS LIST
- Wampler Dracarys (Sweetwater)
- TC Electronic Dark Matter (Sweetwater)
- Amptweaker TightMetal JR (Amazon)
During my early playing years, I went through a lot of distortion pedals. Most were pretty bad, some were decent and a few stuck with me for the long haul. I figured out how to tell good distortion from bad and how to get a distortion pedal that fit the different styles of music I wanted to play. This article is a roundup designed to help you do the same thing.
Please note:
We’ve bought, tested, photographed, and recording audio for these pedals. You are getting a first-hand account from actual guitar players, and not a cheap roundup.
We’ll start with my favorite — the Empress Heavy — and go from there. Enjoy.
1. Empress Effects Heavy
The Heavy by Empress Effects does two things extremely well: High gain and control versatility. There are two channels that each have a four-band EQ associated with them, all on top of a universal “hi” and “low” knob adjustment that helps you match the tone of the pedal to your amp’s clean signal.
Tone sounds big, thick and saturated, yet it also sounds smooth and tight, even on more intense settings. Power chords sound full and responsive, while palm-muting gives off a distinct and satisfying chunk.
Stylistically it certainly leans metal, but can do lighter styles as well. It’s a great recording tool and extremely useful in a live scenario. The only hesitation would be the hefty price tag, though for many high-gain and distortion fans, that cost will be well worth it.
IDEAL FOR: Metal, tinkering, and high gain
- TONE: 98
- EQ/CONTROL: 85
- BUILD/STRENGTH: 92
- COST/VALUE: 88
THE PROS
- Dual channels
- Tons of control
- Analog
- Tone quality is excellent
- Noise gate is one of the best in the business
THE CONS
- Expensive
2. Amptweaker TightMetal JR
I’ve gotten to know James who runs AmpTweaker and he was kind enough to send me one of the TightMetal Jr. distortion pedals to try out for this review. It’s the most popular of the three pedals and the most affordable.
I found the TightMetal to be naturally more “aggressive” than most of the distortion pedals I’ve tested. By that, I don’t really mean that it was heavier or just “more distorted”, but the distortion seemed thicker and more evenly sustained. Feedback would show up quicker (at least without the noise gate) and harmonics seemed to ring out for as long as you wanted.
Despite the sustain and heavy saturation, the sound was easily refined and tightened up, even if I limited myself to using only the Gain and Tight switch to do so. I found that in most cases those were the only two controls I needed to change.
IDEAL FOR: Modern playing styles
- TONE: 97
- EQ/CONTROL: 90
- BUILD/STRENGTH: 92
- COST/VALUE: 90
THE PROS
- Tone sounds great on heavier settings
- High-gain settings are essentially noiseless
- Heavy, modern and smooth saturation
- Additional EQ and tightening options
- True bypass
THE CONS
- Expensive
3. Wampler Dracarys
The Dracarys pedal runs a ton of smooth gain that can be loosened or tightened up via the Open/Tight switch. Though I thought the distortion sounded fairly similar in both modes, aside from a weird volume drop when going from Open to Tight.
It wasn’t a deal breaker, but it did mean I left the pedal in “Open” mode most of the time.
My summary of the Dracarys is that it’s most at home with bass and gain pushed high, and a little less emphasis on the treble frequencies. When I turned the pedal’s highs up, or the highs on my amp up with the pedal engaged, I just didn’t like the response quite as much.
Anyone needing heavy, high-quality distortion with a simple control scheme would do well picking up the Dracarys.
IDEAL FOR: Rhythm metal players
- TONE: 94
- EQ/CONTROL: 82
- BUILD/STRENGTH: 100
- COST/VALUE: 90
THE PROS
- Great tone for rhythm
- Handmade in the United States
- High gain tone is tight
- Smooth, percussive distortion
- True bypass
THE CONS
- Expensive
- No noise gate control
- Open and Tight modes sound similar
4. TC Electronic Dark Matter
The Dark Matter distortion, despite the name “Dark Matter” sounding deceptively metal, was built by TC Electronic to be a distortion pedal that bridges classic overdrive tones and modern distortion, while also preserving the subtleties of your guitar technique and clean amp signal.
Even on low gain settings, the Dark Matter’s tone somehow manages to sound really full and thick. It’s smooth but also gives you some nice crunch on your pick scrapes and palm mutes. You get vintage and modern distorted tones by simply moving the gain knob.
I like and recommend it for most basic distortion needs or for supplementing an amp-based distorted channel.
Read the full review: TC Electronic Dark Matter
IDEAL FOR: Budgets
- TONE: 89
- EQ/CONTROL: 79
- BUILD/STRENGTH: 95
- COST/VALUE: 99
THE PROS
- Very affordable
- Voicing switch
- Can handle both modern and vintage distortion sounds
- True Bypass
THE CONS
- No noise gate control
- Not as heavy as the previous two options
5. Boss MD-2 Mega Distortion
The MD-2 Mega Distortion is not one of Boss’s most popular pedals, but I’ve found it to be one of their more effective, high-value distortions in this price range. Unlike the DS-1, which I’m not super crazy about, the MD-2¶ can work well in both the heavy and light sides of distortion, making it useful for both high and low gain scenarios.
The MD-2 can sound really thick and full, with smooth saturation, or light and warm like a slightly broken up tube amp. It’s meant to be a gritty, almost fuzz-style distortion which means it’ll sound messier on the higher gain settings and can sound a little too biting on treble-leaning EQs.
I like it for players who need a primarily modern distortion pedal that can also get light and subtle, if needed.
IDEAL FOR: Budgets
- TONE: 80
- EQ/CONTROL: 82
- BUILD/STRENGTH: 90
- COST/VALUE: 87
THE PROS
- Four-band distortion EQ
- Good on the lead and rhythm side
- Heavy saturation
- Great price point
- Boss’s five-year warranty
THE CONS
- No noise gate control
- Not true bypass
6. Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer
The TS808 is a smooth, low-gain distortion effect designed to be much less edgy and biting, favoring sweet, subtle warmth that can even make a solid state circuit sound bluesy and tube-esque. I was able to test it with an old Fender Deluxe tube amp, which I thought was a nearly perfect companion.
As I’ve already touched on, the styles most suited for the TS808 would all be low-gain.
It reminded me a lot of AC/DC’s tone, though I don’t believe Angus Young or Malcolm ever used it.
IDEAL FOR: Tube amp pairing
- TONE: 92
- EQ/CONTROL: 75
- BUILD/STRENGTH: 95
- COST/VALUE: 83
THE PROS
- Sounds great with a broken up tube amp
- Perfectly suited for vintage or blues playing styles
- Retro aesthetics are a hit
- True bypass
THE CONS
- No noise gate control
- Can’t do modern or metal distortion tones
Distortion Pedal VS High Gain Amp
Is it better to use a high gain amp channel as opposed to a stompbox for distortion?
The simple answer is yes, however, there are some qualifiers. Most of the amps with really nice onboard distortion are also really expensive. The Diezel, Mesa Boogie and Marshall amp heads are all north of $2000 retail, which means their distorted sound is going to be a lot better than that of a $100 pedal.
However, not all of us want to spend thousands on an amplifier. If you do, and you end up with a Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier, I’d say you’re much better off to use a dirty channel on that amp and forgo the distortion pedal. On the other side, if you have a cheaper guitar amp with gain that doesn’t sound great, I would advise supplementing that amp with one of the distortion pedals from this list.
Conclusion
Keep in mind, these are distortion pedals that we’ve used, researched and/or had a lot of experience with.
Thus, we aim to provide an objective look at each pedal and highlight where they have the most value.
It doesn’t mean that what I might find less valuable, can’t work for you.
Use your own situation to gauge whether or not a certain distortion pedal would be worth the money. Take the Boss DS-1 for example. While it’s not very helpful in a modern metal context, it could be perfect for a light gain source or a blues playing style. If that’s your situation, the rating I provided should get a significant bump.
Questions or Comments
If you have questions about the distortion pedals listed here, feel free to leave them in the comments section below, and I’ll answer there.
A lot of people may also disagree or take exception to the way I rated these pedals or the numbers I provided for each grade. I’d be happy to discuss that as well and defend my stance.
SOURCES & WORKS CITED
- AmpTweaker Tight Metal ST Product Manual PDF
- Tone King Tight Metal Review
- Wampler Pedals Dracarys Product Manual PDF
- Wampler Pedals Dracarys Product Page
- Guitar Player (Dave Hunter’s) Review of the TS808 Tube Screamer
- Equipboard.com’s TS808 Info Page
- AnalogMan Tube Screamer Article
- Boss MD-2 Settings Article
- Seymour Duncan’s Dirty Deed Product Page
- Big Muff PI Equipboard Page
- Empress Effects Heavy Product Manual
- Behringer UM300 Ultra Metal Review
