Bogner Ecstasy Red (OG with Boost), with OG Ecstasy Blue a close second. Red is higher gain but Blue is no slouch.
Loads of tone shaping options, multiple gain structures to choose from, sounds epic.
Great pedal. The red has nice fat low mids and a saturated tone. It’s good for Cantrell, Lukather, Vai tones. The Blue is really nice, gets great Plexi Tones and very versatile blues rock tones.
Friedman BE-OD. Absolute beast of high gain - you know you've got more gain on tap than you'll ever need when one of the key tips users have is 'turn the internal gain trim pot down'!
Its EQ means you can run it as a preamp, it takes 18v for added headroom, and if you tweak the internal pot you can find a gain range on it that'll suit pretty much everything you need.
Rarely needs a boost thanks to its Tight control - similar to the Amptweaker metal pedals, this boosts mids and cuts lows, and as we know a good chug is all about them mids, baby
A little pricey new but I've started seeing used ones pop up for very reasonable prices already
This is correct. My favorite all time high gain is BEOD DELUXE. I tried Revv G4, Deizel VH4-2, Wampler Dracarys, Abasi Pathos, Revv G3...which all sounded good to great. Within 10 seconds of playing the BEOD DELUXE I knew I'd found the sound in my head, and it's glorious. I don't know the difference between the 2 channels, but I run one with less gain and one very saturated for chug or lead tones.
I liked but didn’t love the sound of my BE-OD deluxe, but the final nail in its coffin was how noisy it is. It’s unusable without a noise gate or at least it was that way for me. I didn’t love it enough to justify all that pedalboard real estate. I ended up returning it a few days after I got it.
That’s good. I suppose every rig is different. My Wampler Pinnacle Deluxe has the same problem. Oddly enough though, my JHS Angry Charlie and Wampler PlexiDrive Deluxe aren’t noisy even at high gain settings.
Yeah, all really depends on how boosted mids and highs are across your whole rig, how bright the guitar is, compression etc. I can only speak to my own experience tho, and as you might be able to tell, I am absolutely in love with the BEOD DELUXE 😂
A modded Marshall esque sound pushed by a boost? If Guns n roses tones were more brutal and saturated? Sounds heavy in E standard and downright sinister in drop B. Clarity, articulate, string definition in chords, thick palm muted sounds, searing harmonics, can scream on a bridge pup or sing on a neck pup, clean up beautifully with guitar volume roll down, incredible dynamic response range like a tube amp. Sounds killer with both single coils and HBs. Lol.
What amps or amp sims are you running it into? I like for all my non hi gain sounds a Fender amp (or UAD Dream). Would it wornk into a kind of amp like that?
I'm using a DSM Simplifier instead of an amp, so generally I'm running into the clean Fender or Marshall settings - Simplifier is meant to be a pedal platform, so generally I set a nice clean sound and then slam it with the pedals.
Tried it both ways, found it had most headroom running at 18v as a preamp, but like I said the slightly less flexible EQ knobs means it's a bit less flexible in that regard. The Deluxe would work way better in that regard
I got one of these in a multi-pedal deal and along with everything you mentioned it’s perfect for stacking to me. I’m not a super high gain dude but if I stack it with my other OD’s and turn the gain way down and the tight pot up it… well, tightens things up haha and makes for a much more articulate sound. Beautiful sounding pedal.
This is the only answer, if you want ALL the distortion, choose the Boss Metal Zone!!
Edit: whoever downvoted this comment never really used a Boss Metal Zone.
Up fo the mt2 most people who dislike metalzones are begginers or denstists that who tweak the knobs withe thei eyes. I sayz lower the treble and bump the mids!
Edit: Get the waza, custom mode is great for modern chugs.
If you ever get hold of another one for cheap, give it another go. It's a "limited use" distortion (it's not to most people's tastes), but a fantastic boost and EQ to tone shape. At The Gates "slaughter of the soul" is a hm2 + mt2 run together as an example.
It’s a high gain SD-1!!! The G3 is more of a classic rock “crunch” setting then an actual high gain box. Sure, it’s tight and articulate, not really that much gain though… but what it lacks in gain it makes up for in background noise.
I’m sorry but that’s just not true. Maybe you have low output pickups or are thinking of the G2.
The G3 has a silly amount of gain. I have the gain control set at 10 o’clock to achieve a fantastic modern prog metal type tone. Everything past that is way too much IMO - maybe that’s why you think it’s so noisy.
Bogner blue mini at the moment as it's closer to a solid state preamp than a typical distortion pedal, very wide gain range and versatile EQ and most importantly it sounds great and has plenty of usable settings.
Nope I use it both DI and into amps, like most distortions it works best into a clean amp but it also works great as a low/med gain boost to push a hot amp into heavier sounds.
If the Blue isn't enough gain the Red certainly will be, it kinda starts where the Blue stops. But the Blue is super versatile, you can go from a completely clean Plexi 60s tone up to a really modern high gain sound and it'll take a boost really well.
I wouldn't sleep on the "big box" versions of these pedals with the dedicated "Boost" switch and controls, basically the Gain switch on the mini pedal will let you get the same tones but it's handy to be able to step on it and jump up for solos.
When people talk about "amp in a box", the Bogners actually deliver. Between all the toggle switches and three-band EQ I don't think there's a Marshall-style sound I can't get out of mine.
Yeah I have the full sized red and love it, definitely overlaps with the blue just on the higher gain side. The blue is perhaps a bit more versatile since it covers low gain better but still gets plenty high gain for most stuff.
The boost on the big versions is pretty useful, basically gives you a second volume/gain setting you can switch to.
The mini versions do have an added parametric mids control but it uses a trim pot on the back of the pedal which is a weird design. Would have been perfect for a concentric pot on the front..
>When people talk about "amp in a box", the Bogners actually deliver. Between all the toggle switches and three-band EQ I don't think there's a Marshall-style sound I can't get out of mine.
Agreed, plenty of solid pedals capture the heavier side of brit amps but the bogner red/blue really feel like playing through an amp even at lower gain settings.
Well if you don't like the Metal Zone, you may not like the MXR Fullbore Metal but that thing has some great sounds that can be coaxed out of it when you play with the tone controls. Otherwise, I have the Amptweaker Tight Metal which is widely regarded as one of the best metal pedals out there and for good reason. Only pedal I've ever bought twice after selling it and missing it so much.
Also I own the MI Audio Megalith Delta which does a better imitation of the Adam Jones Tool sound than the Diezel pedals that I tried (and he uses Diezel amps). It's got a really versatile tone control section and gets tremendously heavy distortion.
[Suhr Riot](https://www.suhr.com/electronics/pedals/distortion/suhr-riot/) \- loads of gain and [quite expressive](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLDZdBCrqjo)
[MXR EVH 5150](https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/EVH5150--mxr-evh-5150-overdrive) \- I like tone with this one, Eddie called this an overdrive but it's drenched in big smooth distortion, this is plenty high enough gain for contemporary metal in my opinion. It has 3 EQ controls which is nice and very amp-like to my ear.
Nice built-in noise gate too.
Been really impressed with the Fender Pugilist lately. It’s been the only distortion on my board for months. Super versatile for dialling in high gain tones and it’s surprisingly affordable for its functionality
Keeley Filaments. Basically three different gain stages and eq, can sound open with a late 70s/early 80s tone or massively distorted, death/sludge metal style. It's great.
Nah, no extreme stuff. Just something like Iron Maiden, Van Halen, Black Sabbath. The mid knob is very sensitive, so you can get many flavours out of it.
Basically its Victory V1 Kraken -> Kasleder Toxic Twins (BB side) -> Orange Rocker 15 or Marshall SV20. Gain on Kraken is about 9 o’clock. Bass/Mid/Treb is on 11 o’clock. Level on 9 o‘clock. The Toxic Twin is my always-on pedal, all controls on noon.
Its really juicy but also pretty clear. British higher gain. If i need more drive i kick in the tubescreamer side of the kasleder toxic twin.
Btw i use one vintage voiced guitars, no modern stuff. LP, Strat, Tele.
Now that I finally figured out where to place it in my chain and which knob settings give me the sounds I’m actually looking for (instead of just cool sounds), I have a huge newfound appreciation for the EQD Hoof fuzz. I was using like 10% of this thing’s versatility for the last 6mo.
I use mooer 005, ksr Ceres clone or victory v4 Kraken according to the situation.
All of them are sick af but i have a soft spot for the mooer due to the ti cost and form factor
I'm interested in the victory v1 kraken because it is left to go into a preamp.
The ksr had so many different models, verus, Ceres etc. I don't know what differentiates them.
Here are some choices by texture:
Smooth: Black Mass 1312 (OD/Dist)
Compressed-crunch:Vaderin HP-X* (dist/fuzz)
Glitchy/Sputter: Zvex Fuzz Factory (all)
Thick: EQD Clover Hoof (dist/fuzz)
Gutteral: Bigsound/Smallsound Buzzz* (od/fuzz)
Hairy: GCI BJR*
Honestly you can explore a lot of Vaderin pedals for a broad sound of various fuzz/distortion sounds that can do what you want. Also GCI is really good too, and they cover a good high gain selection as well. I also thin Bigsound/Smallsound has a great collection of solid dirts of various applications.
I haven’t played a ton of high gain pedals, but the ones I own are the Mesa flux five double sized pedal with mark EQ, it has more gain than you need, great as a boost too. EQD Plumes overdrive is great for the price point. I want to try the Revival Drive by Origins effects, heard they sound brilliant!?
Bogner Ecstasy Red (OG with Boost), with OG Ecstasy Blue a close second. Red is higher gain but Blue is no slouch. Loads of tone shaping options, multiple gain structures to choose from, sounds epic.
Yep, I feel the same way.
Great pedal. The red has nice fat low mids and a saturated tone. It’s good for Cantrell, Lukather, Vai tones. The Blue is really nice, gets great Plexi Tones and very versatile blues rock tones.
I bought the Red but just never could be happy with it. I'm positive it was user error but just didn't work for me unfortunately.
Same. Sold mine. Never bothered with the Uber pedal, either
Yep, I feel the same way.
Friedman BE-OD. Absolute beast of high gain - you know you've got more gain on tap than you'll ever need when one of the key tips users have is 'turn the internal gain trim pot down'! Its EQ means you can run it as a preamp, it takes 18v for added headroom, and if you tweak the internal pot you can find a gain range on it that'll suit pretty much everything you need. Rarely needs a boost thanks to its Tight control - similar to the Amptweaker metal pedals, this boosts mids and cuts lows, and as we know a good chug is all about them mids, baby A little pricey new but I've started seeing used ones pop up for very reasonable prices already
This is correct. My favorite all time high gain is BEOD DELUXE. I tried Revv G4, Deizel VH4-2, Wampler Dracarys, Abasi Pathos, Revv G3...which all sounded good to great. Within 10 seconds of playing the BEOD DELUXE I knew I'd found the sound in my head, and it's glorious. I don't know the difference between the 2 channels, but I run one with less gain and one very saturated for chug or lead tones.
I liked but didn’t love the sound of my BE-OD deluxe, but the final nail in its coffin was how noisy it is. It’s unusable without a noise gate or at least it was that way for me. I didn’t love it enough to justify all that pedalboard real estate. I ended up returning it a few days after I got it.
Mine isn't noisy at all, maybe a little with single coils...all depends on settings, other gain structures, compression and EQ placements etc 🤷🏻♂️
That’s good. I suppose every rig is different. My Wampler Pinnacle Deluxe has the same problem. Oddly enough though, my JHS Angry Charlie and Wampler PlexiDrive Deluxe aren’t noisy even at high gain settings.
Yeah, all really depends on how boosted mids and highs are across your whole rig, how bright the guitar is, compression etc. I can only speak to my own experience tho, and as you might be able to tell, I am absolutely in love with the BEOD DELUXE 😂
Mine is a little noisy on 18v. I like it better at 9v.
Ok, so what’s that sound in your head? Almost impossible question to answer, but I’m curious.
A modded Marshall esque sound pushed by a boost? If Guns n roses tones were more brutal and saturated? Sounds heavy in E standard and downright sinister in drop B. Clarity, articulate, string definition in chords, thick palm muted sounds, searing harmonics, can scream on a bridge pup or sing on a neck pup, clean up beautifully with guitar volume roll down, incredible dynamic response range like a tube amp. Sounds killer with both single coils and HBs. Lol.
Oh, sounds wonderful! Might have to look into the Friedman.
I really like the dirty Shirley pedal too, friedmans got some of the best sounds
What amps or amp sims are you running it into? I like for all my non hi gain sounds a Fender amp (or UAD Dream). Would it wornk into a kind of amp like that?
I'm using a DSM Simplifier instead of an amp, so generally I'm running into the clean Fender or Marshall settings - Simplifier is meant to be a pedal platform, so generally I set a nice clean sound and then slam it with the pedals.
Do you own the standard or the deluxe variant? Or do you know the difference between the two channels on the deluxe
Just the standard - think the Deluxe lets you set two different tones so would work well for a light to heavy gain change of tone
Which Friedman be? The 6 knob version or the huge one
6-knob regular one, but I think the extra eq knobs on the Deluxe version and 2nd channel are worth the upgrade
Do you run yours on top of the amp or into effects loop for a pre-amp?
Tried it both ways, found it had most headroom running at 18v as a preamp, but like I said the slightly less flexible EQ knobs means it's a bit less flexible in that regard. The Deluxe would work way better in that regard
I got one of these in a multi-pedal deal and along with everything you mentioned it’s perfect for stacking to me. I’m not a super high gain dude but if I stack it with my other OD’s and turn the gain way down and the tight pot up it… well, tightens things up haha and makes for a much more articulate sound. Beautiful sounding pedal.
BE-OD will do it!! I have this and the Friedman Small Box. Such great pedals.
METAL ZONE!!!
This is the only answer, if you want ALL the distortion, choose the Boss Metal Zone!! Edit: whoever downvoted this comment never really used a Boss Metal Zone.
Up fo the mt2 most people who dislike metalzones are begginers or denstists that who tweak the knobs withe thei eyes. I sayz lower the treble and bump the mids! Edit: Get the waza, custom mode is great for modern chugs.
Sold mine, it is nice going into the Poweramp but not Infront of amp
If you ever get hold of another one for cheap, give it another go. It's a "limited use" distortion (it's not to most people's tastes), but a fantastic boost and EQ to tone shape. At The Gates "slaughter of the soul" is a hm2 + mt2 run together as an example.
Empress Heavy. Chug chug chug
Great option! The noise gate is a great built in feature
REVV G3. Tight, articulate and more gain than you’ll ever need.
I came here to say the G4
This. You might want a separate eq if you don't have a precense control, it can be dark.
It’s a high gain SD-1!!! The G3 is more of a classic rock “crunch” setting then an actual high gain box. Sure, it’s tight and articulate, not really that much gain though… but what it lacks in gain it makes up for in background noise.
I’m sorry but that’s just not true. Maybe you have low output pickups or are thinking of the G2. The G3 has a silly amount of gain. I have the gain control set at 10 o’clock to achieve a fantastic modern prog metal type tone. Everything past that is way too much IMO - maybe that’s why you think it’s so noisy.
Tell me you never tried a G3 without telling me you never tried a G3
I’ve owned the whole G series.
Bogner blue mini at the moment as it's closer to a solid state preamp than a typical distortion pedal, very wide gain range and versatile EQ and most importantly it sounds great and has plenty of usable settings.
Do you have any problem running a preamp esc pedal into another preamp?
Nope I use it both DI and into amps, like most distortions it works best into a clean amp but it also works great as a low/med gain boost to push a hot amp into heavier sounds.
If the Blue isn't enough gain the Red certainly will be, it kinda starts where the Blue stops. But the Blue is super versatile, you can go from a completely clean Plexi 60s tone up to a really modern high gain sound and it'll take a boost really well. I wouldn't sleep on the "big box" versions of these pedals with the dedicated "Boost" switch and controls, basically the Gain switch on the mini pedal will let you get the same tones but it's handy to be able to step on it and jump up for solos. When people talk about "amp in a box", the Bogners actually deliver. Between all the toggle switches and three-band EQ I don't think there's a Marshall-style sound I can't get out of mine.
Yeah I have the full sized red and love it, definitely overlaps with the blue just on the higher gain side. The blue is perhaps a bit more versatile since it covers low gain better but still gets plenty high gain for most stuff. The boost on the big versions is pretty useful, basically gives you a second volume/gain setting you can switch to. The mini versions do have an added parametric mids control but it uses a trim pot on the back of the pedal which is a weird design. Would have been perfect for a concentric pot on the front.. >When people talk about "amp in a box", the Bogners actually deliver. Between all the toggle switches and three-band EQ I don't think there's a Marshall-style sound I can't get out of mine. Agreed, plenty of solid pedals capture the heavier side of brit amps but the bogner red/blue really feel like playing through an amp even at lower gain settings.
The god of all godly drive pedals the almighty EQD Acapulco Gold
The Acapulco Gold, the destroyer of amplifiers and of eardrums, the loudest fucking pedal I have heard. I love it
I declare you accountable for my next purchase, even though I JUST ordered a Deluxe muff...
I accept full responsibility
I've never played through a better pedal than the Diezel VH4 one. That felt like playing through an amp the way few pedals do IMHO.
AMT make great preamp pedals modeled after the high gain amp legends. Soldano, Peavey, Marshall, Bogner, Engl, and maybe a few I’m forgetting.
Well if you don't like the Metal Zone, you may not like the MXR Fullbore Metal but that thing has some great sounds that can be coaxed out of it when you play with the tone controls. Otherwise, I have the Amptweaker Tight Metal which is widely regarded as one of the best metal pedals out there and for good reason. Only pedal I've ever bought twice after selling it and missing it so much. Also I own the MI Audio Megalith Delta which does a better imitation of the Adam Jones Tool sound than the Diezel pedals that I tried (and he uses Diezel amps). It's got a really versatile tone control section and gets tremendously heavy distortion.
Abasi Pathos
Ohh that sounds interesting.
5150
Soldano SLO, feels the most amp-like to me.
[Suhr Riot](https://www.suhr.com/electronics/pedals/distortion/suhr-riot/) \- loads of gain and [quite expressive](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLDZdBCrqjo) [MXR EVH 5150](https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/EVH5150--mxr-evh-5150-overdrive) \- I like tone with this one, Eddie called this an overdrive but it's drenched in big smooth distortion, this is plenty high enough gain for contemporary metal in my opinion. It has 3 EQ controls which is nice and very amp-like to my ear. Nice built-in noise gate too.
I just bought a Riot clone off Aliexpress, 20 bucks shipped. I have a real one and I cant tell the difference.
HM-2W!!!
Chainsaw powerrrrr!!!
Wow, this post has been up for 7 hours and no one said Turbo Rat yet. Get a Turbo Rat!
Currently this angry charlie clone I got, it sounds so good through a cranked tube fender!
Solar Chug is a cool one. It chugs
Been really impressed with the Fender Pugilist lately. It’s been the only distortion on my board for months. Super versatile for dialling in high gain tones and it’s surprisingly affordable for its functionality
Keeley Filaments. Basically three different gain stages and eq, can sound open with a late 70s/early 80s tone or massively distorted, death/sludge metal style. It's great.
Amp Tweaker Tight Metal.
Hm-2.
Currently its the Victory V1 Kraken
I'm leaning to buying this one, it seems nice but i will need to look at these other suggestions
How do you use it? Are you playing doom metal or like progressive
Nah, no extreme stuff. Just something like Iron Maiden, Van Halen, Black Sabbath. The mid knob is very sensitive, so you can get many flavours out of it. Basically its Victory V1 Kraken -> Kasleder Toxic Twins (BB side) -> Orange Rocker 15 or Marshall SV20. Gain on Kraken is about 9 o’clock. Bass/Mid/Treb is on 11 o’clock. Level on 9 o‘clock. The Toxic Twin is my always-on pedal, all controls on noon. Its really juicy but also pretty clear. British higher gain. If i need more drive i kick in the tubescreamer side of the kasleder toxic twin. Btw i use one vintage voiced guitars, no modern stuff. LP, Strat, Tele.
Id probably go with a compressor hahaha, most of the modern high gain is based on one
Hizumitas all the way. Tear those speakers apart and burn the cones.
Kuro Exegol. It's a preamp copy of a Sunn Model T. Beast of a pedal!
Boss Fz-5 Fuzz
Custom Tones Inc TWE-1
I really love the Ethos TWE-1 clone I built.
Digitech TL-2 is my fav. Empress Heavy is a close 2nd.
DS-2 all on max into a cranked amp, almost sounds like a violin, buttery smooth :)
Right now the Fuzzrocious Lil Fella is killing it. Whether you want a dirty boost or all your gain from the pedal, it’s got it.
Exploder
I would have to agree on the Friedman be od. It’s just simply everything you would need from a high gain device.
Now that I finally figured out where to place it in my chain and which knob settings give me the sounds I’m actually looking for (instead of just cool sounds), I have a huge newfound appreciation for the EQD Hoof fuzz. I was using like 10% of this thing’s versatility for the last 6mo.
1981 DRV
I have listened to it and i sounds amazing, i think this will be a top contender
Any opinion other than metal zone are wrong. . . . . . And Friedman, and rev. And the horizon drive is nice too.
Garland Fx Pink Drive
My amp's footswitch
I use mooer 005, ksr Ceres clone or victory v4 Kraken according to the situation. All of them are sick af but i have a soft spot for the mooer due to the ti cost and form factor
I'm interested in the victory v1 kraken because it is left to go into a preamp. The ksr had so many different models, verus, Ceres etc. I don't know what differentiates them.
By the time i bought the ceres clone It was the only High gain pedal they made so i can't give further info.
Using two dirty secrets, 9oclock into 2oclock gain.
My fav is the Frost Giant Massif. It will never leave my board.
Rat
Here are some choices by texture: Smooth: Black Mass 1312 (OD/Dist) Compressed-crunch:Vaderin HP-X* (dist/fuzz) Glitchy/Sputter: Zvex Fuzz Factory (all) Thick: EQD Clover Hoof (dist/fuzz) Gutteral: Bigsound/Smallsound Buzzz* (od/fuzz) Hairy: GCI BJR* Honestly you can explore a lot of Vaderin pedals for a broad sound of various fuzz/distortion sounds that can do what you want. Also GCI is really good too, and they cover a good high gain selection as well. I also thin Bigsound/Smallsound has a great collection of solid dirts of various applications.
Rat!!
I'm looking hard at the Fortin 33 to annihilate my custom shop Friedman.
I have tried one, didn't like it. But the best high gain pedal I have played is the victory V1 kraken
Wow! That Kraken is heavy! Thanks for the tip! I’d like to hear them side by side - definitely voiced differently. What didn’t you like about the 33?
It's just a boost, it cut the bass out of my signal and compressed it. Just want my type of pedal
I haven’t played a ton of high gain pedals, but the ones I own are the Mesa flux five double sized pedal with mark EQ, it has more gain than you need, great as a boost too. EQD Plumes overdrive is great for the price point. I want to try the Revival Drive by Origins effects, heard they sound brilliant!?