Distortion Pedal reviews from Reddit
Summary
We analyzed 350 Reddit reviews across 8 subreddits and 27 posts to rank the best Distortion Pedal brands recommended by redditors, including communities like r/guitarpedals, r/basspedals, r/Bass, r/Hardcore, r/synthesizers. Top-rated brands include ProCo (4.6/5), Boss (4.0/5), Joyo (4.0/5).
Stats
Reviews350
Subreddits8
Posts27
Brands27
Products94
350 reviews from
and
By Brand
/By Product
#1
ProCo
4.6
(96)
"RAT"
"You can usually get a ProCo RAT used for $50 or less."
"Say it again! RAT!"
"Lots of metal been made with a Rat or a DS-1…"
"The RAT is awesome for bass!"
"ProCo Rat or Boss Metal Zone"
"Agrees with ProCo Rat, which is my favorite distortion pedal."
"The RAT has been hands down the best all around distortion for 40 years."
"Can’t believe it hasn’t been said yet. ProCo Rat. It’s always a Rat."
"Should i choose one i would choose the rat. i love its character."
#2
Boss
4.0
(87)
"Metalzone goated"
"ProCo Rat or Boss Metal Zone"
"Boss DS-2, it's not also more versatile than the DS-1 on it's Turbo I mode."
"SD-1 into a DS-1 is magic for $100 or less."
"I'd look for a boss blues driver second hand. boss pedals are built solidly and regularly come up on ebay / reverb / second hand in store."
"DS-1 is a really solid choice here."
"Boss all day. DS1 is many people’s first pedal and is like $40 used leaving you $60 to get another effect."
"Get a DS-1. Everyone should have one in their tool kit to answer the question “does this sound good distorted”."
"Get a used Boss blues driver, the way it keeps the bass intact and interacts with bass frequencies is so good for synths."
"#METAL ZONE. nothing comes close to its infinite options, throw it in an fx loop for even better noise."
#3
Joyo
4.0
(33)
"Joyo Dark Flame or Rigel are great IMHO."
"Joyo Dark Flame or Rigel are great IMHO."
"For cheap a Joyo Rigel, Dark flame, or Uzi should get you close."
"For cheap a Joyo Rigel, Dark flame, or Uzi should get you close."
"For cheap a Joyo Rigel, Dark flame, or Uzi should get you close."
"I have the joyo double thruster, does the job."
"I use a Joyo Splinter (fat rat clone), blended with the dry signal using a Boss LS2."
"Joyo monomyth"
"Joyo monomyth, it’s a dark glass clone."
"Joyo Double Thruster on Amazon is basically a dark glass clone."
#4
Electro-Harmonix
4.3
(23)
"If you have some money to spend I’d get an electro harmonix Hell Melter."
"The Muff has been the Muff for even longer. Can’t go wrong with either."
"Yes! I came back to suggest this one."
"I have an o.g. Russian made big muff. That box is nutso."
"I currently run the dark glass b3k and love it but also really want to try the Electro-Harmonix DELUXE BASS BIG MUFF PI"
"The Big Muff Pi Bass fuzz pedal is also awesome for similar reasons."
"People generally like Russian (or Bass) Big Muffs"
"For bass the most commonly cited “best” distortion pedal is the Big Muff."
"Really like the EHX Metal Muff for that more scooped, tighter distortion."
"Big Muffs and Rats can be had pretty cheap second hand and are both great pedals."
#5
MXR
4.4
(17)
"The MXR 5150 is a good one too."
"I’m gonna throw some love behind the MXR Distortion+. It’s my favorite."
"MXR bass fuzz is my #1"
"MXR 5150 pedal is sick. Built in boost and noise gate too."
"MXR Super Badass"
"Check out the MXR Super Badass Distortion! I was skeptical because of the name but it rocks! Used it for an emo/pop-punk cover band (Basket Case included) and it covered all the bases pretty well."
"I’ll go more obscure and say an MXR Distortion +"
"Stack a Boss MD-2 into a MXR Fullbore , both easy enough to find 2nd hand."
"The MXR Distortion+ (and Distortion III which is the same circuit but with a tone knob) are awesome pedals."
"The MXR Distortion + is $99.99 at Sweetwater."
#6
Darkglass
4.5
(13)
"Darkglass. Basically a choose-your-fighter because all of their pedals are amazing."
"I switched to a dark glass and it’s been a night and day improvement."
"Darkglass 100%"
"Darkglass Microtubes X7 heavy with a lot of variety in sound."
"Anything by Darkglass"
"All the darkglass stuff is great."
"The darkglass pedals are insane. You have something to look forward to for sure."
"Darkglass B7K"
"DG VMT for more focused and dense sound."
"Dark glass alpha omicron"
#7
Tech 21
4.1
(12)
"No recommendation for Sans Amp? Smh. VT Bass is the shit."
"I’ve used a Sansamp and some form of Big Muff for years."
"Otherwise, the Sansamp is highly recommended."
"Sansamp and a Behringer Hm300"
"Sansamp. Even if they try something else later down the line, it’s a great tool for any bass player to have."
"I use a sansamp."
"His best tones in my opinion was using a SansAmp as a dirt box."
"I would give the "Tech 21 - SansAmp Bass Driver DI" or the "Black Arts Toneworks - Black Forest" a try."
"Tech21 BassDriver or MXR M80 for mid gain tone-shaped drive sound."
"Sansamp"
#8
Empress
4.9
(8)
"Empress Heavy Menace. It's like every distortion you'd ever want, but in one pedal."
"The following pedals are my picks: Empress Heavy Menace"
"Empress Heavy"
"Empress Heavy Menace. Best metal distortion pedal I’ve ever owned, it’s not even close"
"Heavy Menace is the smaller version. Big version is just the Empress Heavy. And you’ve been led correctly. It absolutely rips."
"Empress Heavy Menace. Best metal distortion pedal I’ve ever owned, it’s not even close"
"I use an eae longsword for low gain and an Empress heavy menace for high gain. The gate on the menace is excellent and I get compliments on my tone after nearly every show."
"Empress Heavy Menace"
#9
Behringer
3.9
(8)
"You should be able to get a new Behringer BOD400 Bass Overdrive for less than 30$, and even less if you find one used. Been gigging with one for 4 years and it works great."
"Behringer has a ton of pedals for $28...take your pick."
"Behringer BOD400"
"Behringer BOD400 is a good cheap ODB3 clone"
"If you’re not touring or playing a ton of gigs where your gear is getting moved, the Behringer pedals are great."
"You'd get more mileage out of getting a ... Behringer SF300 (either $25 or $29, can't remember)."
"You should just get a Behringer SF-300. $30 for filthy Electric Wizard style fuzz."
"Check out Behringers. They’re $25 for most."
#10
Mosky
4.0
(7)
"If you're wanting something small and cheap, the Mosky Black Rat is pretty killer."
"A used Boss DS-1 and a new Mosky King Rat."
"Mosky "King Rat""
"If you want a cheap rat knockoff you’d be better off with a Mosky Black Rat."
"Or better yet, Mosky King RAT, which has the dirty and fat RAT settings too, but is only 5 dollars more."
"Mosky King RAT or Movall Jumpspace, and I will fight anybody on this point"
"Or better get the Mosky Black Rat (rat clone). it costs 30 USD and sounds IDENTICAL to an original Pro Co Rat."
#11
Wampler
4.3
(6)
"The Wampler Tumnus mini (an excellent Klon clone) is just a hair over the $100 mark."
"I really love the sound of the Wampler Phenom. It has a three band EQ so you can get a lot of tones out of it."
"Wampler Phenom"
"Wampler makes (or made?) one called the Triple Wreck."
"Wampler’s Triumph is a total sleeper that I dont see talked about nearly enough."
"Nobels ODR-1 and Wampler Belle are around 100 used and they are great overdrive pedals."
#12
Damnation Audio
5.0
(5)
"Damnation audio MBD"
"Damnation Audio MBD (any version). It does any level of gain or grit really, really well."
"Damnation Audio - MBD v3, Bass Power Distorter or really any of their offerings."
"Damnation Audio MBD does everything you're looking for. Sounds really good at any gain setting."
"Damnation audio makes great bass distortion, but they also make two pedals (Dirt Mixer and Dirt Fixer) which will allow you to make *any* pedal sound great on bass."
#13
Source Audio
4.6
(5)
"Get a Source Audio AfterShock. does everything you want and then some."
"For in-your-face distortion I use the Aftershock (in B3K mode). The Aftershock can literally emulate anything else out there."
"The best I’ve found is Source Audio’s Aftershock pedal. Buy once cry once."
"Source Audio Aftershock if you want high tech."
"IMO, it was worth it to sell my B3K for Aftershock."
#14
Earthquaker Devices
4.3
(4)
"The Blumes pedal from EarthQuaker Devices sounds awesome. It’s technically an overdrive, but it really gives a good dirty sound without venturing into fuzz territory."
"On the more affordable end, the Blumes pedal from Earthquaker seemed to be pretty well-received."
"Got an Earthquaker Blumes for Christmas and I’m digging it."
"Few suggestions for great drives off the top of my head - Blumes earthquaker devices"
#15
Ibanez
4.0
(4)
"The Ibanez SM-7 Smash Box is sort of classic for this."
"Ibanez Tube Screamer mini is under $100 brand new."
"BE-OD and a tube screamer"
"Big muff+tube screamer"
#16
Digitech
3.7
(3)
"I used a digitech death metal pedal for a number of years."
"Digitech death metal or dod death metal"
"A cheap one is the Digitech Death Metal pedal."
#17
Way Huge
5.0
(2)
"Way Huge Pork & Pickle! I love mine."
"I had a friend mod it to add a Pork n Pickle style clean knob. Now it's awesome on bass."
#18
Idiotbox
5.0
(2)
"I’m a big fan of Idiotbox Effect’s Blower Box Deluxe. It’s RAT based and the clean blend does something different that normal clean blends and sounds super cool."
"Idiotbox Blower Box Deluxe is what you want as it has a LPF for the clean and a blend so you get an ultra fat low end and that crispy RAT distortion on top."
#19
DOD
4.5
(2)
"The DOD Carcosa is one of the preeminent doom fuzz pedals. Absolute top choice for heavy fuzzed out sounds but also incredibly flexible and amazing for the price."
"DOD Carcosa. You're welcome."
#20
Revv
4.5
(2)
"The Revv G3 is a killer high gain distortion pedal. Pretty expensive but definitely worth a consideration."
"Revv G3 or G4"
#21
Nobels
4.0
(2)
"ODR-1
I know, I know - isn’t that the country music overdrive? Yes AND it can do seriously sick distortion, retains the low end, and is reasonably affordable."
"Nobels ODR-1 and Wampler Belle are around 100 used and they are great overdrive pedals."
#22
Donner
4.0
(2)
"Donner Dark Mouse - it’s a cheap Rat clone and it’s great."
"The Donner Dark Mouse is cheap and good."
#23
Friedman
4.0
(2)
"Keep your eyes out for a deal of a Friedman be od or angry Charlie."
"BE-OD and a tube screamer"
#24
TC Electronic
4.0
(2)
"TC Electronic Magus is on sale right now for $30 and is a Fat Rat clone."
"TC electronic also has the Magus pedal, a rat clone with the different variants."
#25
Westwood
4.0
(1)
"Pickup a EQD Plumes, a Westwood, a BOSS BD-2 and push the dirty channel by cranking the volume on that pedal on low gain."
#26
YYZ
4.0
(1)
"The YYZ is a great pedal. So many different flavors in the pedal."
#27
Effects Bakery
4.0
(1)
"I really like this company called Effects Bakery. All their pedals are in the $40-$60 range and they have the best aesthetics."
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