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March 20, 2023 March 20, 2023 is the first day of spring. Old man winter has released the northern hemisphere from his frozen clutches. Hooray! And now on to the meat of the matter, but before I go into recording metal and rock guitar I’d like to say thanks so much to the GalibenGroup in Bodrum, Turkey for the kind words and sending the award. Thanks so much for visiting and enjoying this website. I’d also like to thank Sara for taking the time to read The Fluid, Embalmed for Life. Like you, I also enjoy the horror genre. And I’d also like to make a few corrections to the last posting (edition four) of the recording metal guitar saga. First, the last minute added amp head Neurontube Debut by Audio Singularity does not pass Zystrix guidelines and has been thrown off the list. Sorry, Zane, it was a nice thought but a terrible suggestion. However, these other heads and effects have been added, they sound good, and will be reviewed and included in the final PDF: Clang by V Tar Amps, Classic J One by EXE Consulting, X50 by TSE Audio, Pig Pie by Analog Obsession, Nick Crow 8505 Lead, and the Crunck V2 by Nembrini Audio. Special thanks to Brian, Metal Pickle, and Donnie Tonebud for the suggestions. And now on with the show… Recording Metal and Rock Guitar This Zystrix posting is the fifth of a several part series designed to help a person record guitar, specifically metal and rock guitar, no matter your skill level. And the main crux is how to do an excellent job on a low budget. Please know that there are many types of gear that are glossed over or omitted here because there’s just too much great gear to list. “Turn that damn thing down!!” Last time in part four we covered FREE guitar amp software, virtual guitar pedals, and helpful guitar-friendly plug-ins. For a review click on the arrow pointing left by the wrist watch at the top of this page. This time we’re covering guitar pedals. Later in this series I’ll cover an engineer’s and guitarist’s approach to the instrument, gear use, old tricks, modern and popular tricks, and maybe a few you never tried. So here’s more basic gear needed for a bare bones beginning -- guitar pedals. How to Record Killer Metal and Rock Guitar The Ultimate Guide (Part Five) THE FINE PRINT: Zystrix is not and has never been a participant in any advertising program including but not limited to the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, Sweetwater, or any other affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to the aforementioned or any other companies. There are many slick websites inspired by making sales, but not many honest ones. Zystrix has no links associated with the sale of any products. This keeps our reviews honest, cuts out any unnecessary middle man, and keeps this website free from cookies and the influences of Google and other unethical purveyors of your digital exhaust and personal information. It’s our mantra. Covering all the worthwhile and/or financially viable guitar pedals is a large undertaking. And there are going to be many, many pedals that I either overlooked or have forgotten. That’s just how it is. But what I’m going for here is a great metal or rock guitar sound on a budget -- or at least affordable for most of us. I’m also going to stick with pedals that have a usable distortion for most players. This pedal section will be divided into three basic parts. The first section covers amp-in-a-box pedals that work in most metal and rock situations. I glossed over many pedals to try to land on the ones I feel are more appropriate to this writing, or the ones that sound good to my ear. In the second section distortion and overdrive pedals are covered, ones that have withstood the test of time, modern ones that sound cool, and budget pedals that work. Don’t forget that many of these pedals can be had at even lower prices if you seek out the used ones. And some can be had for a bargain with online discount coupons at popular and huge online retailers. Does a pedal need to be expensive to be good. Not at all. But I’ve included some that are quite expensive to many guitarists. And at the end I will also add a summary of old stand-by pedals that really help in other areas like subtle complexity, modulation, time based effects, and forgotten but still great (and affordable as I write this) helpful gear. So what is it with amp-in-a-box pedals? Amp-in-a-box pedals are an inexpensive way (and quiet way) to inject amp sounds without the need of an amplifier. Many pedals listed are believable copies of expensive ones, especially in a mix situation. And someone may ask the usual ongoing question, “Why are we supporting builders who ripped off somebody’s hard work in design?” Pedal circuits are not covered by copyright, and anyone can copy or emulate and build a circuit if they feel so moved. Read both the September 26, 2022 and the October 10, 2022 posts regarding public domain topics -- click on the yellow megaphone to return here. Another typical comment is, “If I want the real sound I’ll buy the real thing.” In my opinion having the original amp, pedal, microphone, cabinet, and so on has a lot of snob appeal, but if something else gets you close (or not) doesn’t mean it’s bad, it’s just that particular sound. That’s all. Why fret about someone’s sound that has nothing to do with you? There’s a lid for every pot. This pedal section is relatively loooooong so turn the amps up full, make sure my idiot cards are in the correct order, lights, camera, and away we go… AMP IN A BOX PEDALS Pedals are much cheaper than amplifiers and they are also easier to carry around. Remember though, some amp-in-a-box pedals don’t require a power-amp emulation or a speaker cabinet emulation, but most require both to sound realistic. So keep that in mind when shopping. I’ll cover those types of emulations in the next edition of this pedal section. Here’s the list of worthwhile amp-in-a-box pedals I found, and in no certain order... Golden Plexi V2 by Tone City For the price this pedal is amazing; I loved it at first hearing. It’s a one trick pony but it does that one trick really well. If you want old amp-in-a-box Marshall tones on a budget this one does it. It sounds like the gain goes to 11 and slightly beyond. Don’t forget to run it through a cab IR pedal for sonic realism if you decide to use it by itself. A subtle transparent type distortion pedal plugged in before it isn’t a bad idea either. I would suggest the Nobelman by Tone City, or for even more aggression the Myomorpha by ENO (both pedals are listed in the distortion pedal section). Brand spankin’ new the Golden Plexi V2 is about $50 USA or less with free shipping. A sonic bargain. Model B by Tone City This over-sized pedal is a great Mesa Boogie in a box at a budget price even when it’s brand new. The sound is convincing. The drive amount is more than needed for most people. And considering what is offered it can be had for $85 USA or less fire-new with free shipping. Listen to it and you decide. Model M by Tone City Tone City does it once again. This budget pedal is a great Marshall in a box at a budget price even spic-and-span new. It’s got a fairly convincing amp-like tone but you’ll need an IR pedal if it’s used by itself (a power amp emulation to go with it is nice too). And, like the Model B above, it’s easy to find it for the same price with free shipping. Ecstasy Blue and Red mini by Bogner These pedals emulate the 1 st and 2 nd channels on a Bogner Ecstasy amp. There are bigger versions of these pedals, but these are more pedal board space friendly. The pedal sound design is a similar mindset as the Revv pedals (see Revv below) in that they emulate the amp head channels. Either pedal is very amp-like and realistic. The blue pedal is an excellent sounding crunch and would work well with a distortion or drive pedal in front of it. The red pedal has more gain and more sag and tends to do better (in my opinion) as a lead sound. And similar to the Revv pedals, I suspect using the blue one for your crunch and the red one for your lead would be a nice combination. Or use either one with your favorite distortion or overdrive and imitate a setup that would blow down doors. Either one would be great but, since I prefer sag, I would choose the red one. For metal I’d choose the blue one and use a favorite distortion pedal. As you can probably guess these sound best through a power amp and then through a cabinet. So to be used by themselves you’ll have to get yourself a pedal that emulates a power amp and a cab IR. I’ve seen a used Bogner Ecstasy small red pedal for $150 which seems like a bargain to me considering the realism. These pedals rock hard. And how do they sound? What I hear in the red pedal is that it embraces my playing with molten love, later enticing me to dive into a firey jacuzzi in the nude. I spent a year there one night; it was a wonderful evening I’ll never forget. Naming it Ecstasy was no accident. Some day I’m gonna buy a big Bogner amp so we can have pizza and watch old movies together. La Grange by Bogner This pedal is a great old Marshall plexi sounding pre-amp and sounds best through a tube amplifier power section (line in) and speaker cabinet. So (of course) it would also sound good with a power amp emulator and your favorite cab IR. It also works as a pedal into the front of an amp but that may not be the choice of most guitarists. I like that it combs between the sounds of the two old inputs the plexi had, and it also has a Variac switch to give that starve-the-amp-of-voltage type of sound. It can also sound tighter or looser depending on the three-way switch setting you desire. And it has a boost switch for playing leads that deserve volume attention. And how, how, how, how does it sound? With a name like La Grange it’s not hard to guess; these are excellent renditions of vintage Marshall tones. And where’s the proof? All the beer drinkers and hell raisers just left Chicago. Jaguar by Caline This is a classic old modded Marshall head sound in a box. It’s got high gain and a bias (Variac) emulation too. You’ll need an IR pedal for this one to use it by itself although it sounds good plugged into the front of an amp. And the price is right (about $40 USA) with free shipping. Not bad for the money – give it a listen. 1987 V2 by Volta This is a very convincing plexi sounding pre-amp type pedal and, like so many amp-in-a-box pedals, it’s a one trick pony but it does that one trick very well. It sounds great through the power section (effects loop) of a guitar amp into a cabinet, so to use it by itself you’ll need at least an IR pedal and, preferably, through a power amp emulation before the IR. I’ve seen this pedal for $230 USA with free shipping but not many used ones. Give it a listen – maybe you’ll hear the wind cry hell’s bells. Tonex by IK Multimedia I listed this item because it’s new and a review was requested. So here it is. This pedal simply sounds amazing and it’s about $400 USA with free shipping (depending on where you buy it). It will work with your favorite pedals plugged into the front end (or not if you prefer) and it doesn’t require a cab IR pedal after it because all the cab IR emulations are built in. You can even upload your favorite cab IR emulation to it if you desire. And it will even plug into your computer DAW via USB for recording. Unfortunately this pedal is internet dependent and requires a connection to work properly and to get any sounds out of it. Here’s what the instructions say, “Before you get set up and connected, you first need to register the TONEX pedal with IK Multimedia, which is necessary to gain access to the software required to use your pedal.” Then it goes on to say, “After registering your TONEX pedal, AmpliTube and the necessary TONEX Librarian software will be available to authorize and download.” I don’t know about you, but that’s a certain-death deal- breaker for me. It’s not possible to get any sounds from this pedal without an internet connection or by simply going to a local library, so it reduces my enthusiasm for this pedal to zero and it shouldn’t be on this list. Why don’t they install the software before the sale – maybe use a ROM? Digital guitar amps and pedals use this method. Maybe that idea is too obvious, but Tonex is the only pedal on this list that has that problem. Hmm. Xbox One also has the same cockamamie ill-thought design to work properly. That’s why I sold mine. There’s no use paying a lot of money for a guitar pedal that’s only as good as a door stop. A brick would be much cheaper. Another issue is that there is no way to plug into an effects loop – it doesn’t have one. So your favorite digital delay has to come after the pedal. I suppose that’s OK and most people could overlook that. But like so many so-called modern and free software guitar effects, Tonex by IK Multimedia flunks Zystrix guidelines. Many programs didn’t make in the last listing for free guitar software. That’s just how it is. But you are the consumer, consider this pedal and make your own decisions. It’s hot if you like amp sounds that seem very realistic and don’t mind compromising your computer and your music. Or get a second smaller cheap laptop and take it to the library as a sentry go-between to protect your music and intellectual property. But that seems like a lot of goofing around and a lot of extra expense for the promise of a working pedal. Hopefully they’ll improve that. Or wait around a few months and buy a Kemper – the price will have come down by then. Wampler Pinnacle Deluxe V2 I really like this pedal if you are looking for a classic Marshall tone. It even gets that brown sound so many enjoy. Put a distortion pedal in front of it for a more personal touch. If you like those classic ZZ-style vintage Marshall rock tones from the 1970s then this pedal does that very well too. Or run it through a distorted amp for a wicked rippin’ lead sound. These pedals are out there in used condition for an OK price, but the price hasn’t and doesn’t come down that much. This pedal goes good with an IR pedal or a computer IR, plugged into an amp effects loop, or plugged into a Torpedo Cab M into a computer. If you like Marshall, especially an 800, and you like a lot of variations on that theme, then you’ll probably really like this pedal. Excellent. Boss ST-2 Power Stack This pedal imitates the sound of a hot-rod Marshall – a monster amp in a pedal. It goes from JTM-45, to AC/DC, to angry 80s rock, to an over-the-top massive gain meltdown when turned up full. It sounds great through the front of an amp or damn good through a power amp with guitar speakers. If you like a Marshall type tone it’s indispensable. My favorite use is with a compressor to give it a little more sag, but it’s also cool with a Klon, Timmy, or ODR-1 type transparent distortion to goose the front end. I found one used for only $60 USA and it was definitely worth it. I bought it without having to think about it. Listen to one – then buy it used before the price goes up. Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal This is a pedal with a hard distortion sound and it lends itself very well to super heavy guitar tones. And like the Boss ST-2 Power Stack above, it also sounds great through the front of an amp or damn good through a tube power amp with guitar speakers. Match a distortion pedal to the front of it for a hard aggressive metal meltdown. Unlike finding a good used Boss ST-2 Power Stack at a good price, this pedal retains value and is difficult to find used at a fair price anywhere. But if you enjoy playing metal then the price gouge may be worth it. You decide. This one puts the metal to the pedal in Boss fashion. BE-OD by Friedman I like the gain and drive sound of this pedal – it’s got a cool grind with attitude. I think it’s supposed to be a type of Marshall emulation although it has it’s own bend on it. This pedal falls into the category of amp-in-a-box to me, but it sounds best if used in a traditional sense through the front of an amp. Some people complain that it lacks mid-range control, so set your amplifier to compensate and take up the slack. This is a very popular pedal and it has others who have tried (mostly successfully) to emulate it for a lower price. Listen to a Fireman NDS-5 by NUX or the UZI by Joyo. The Uzi has taken the BE-OD pedal idea a little further by adding a mid-range control and a bias dial for an electrical starvation emulation. For $50 USA I’d say it’s worth the time to give it a listen. Angry Charlie V3 by JHS This pedal has Marshall JCM800 like tones. From listening to so many pedals it has occurred to me that the main problem with a Marshall amp emulation is the upper mid-range or the lower high end – somewhere in that range. That’s where pedals tend to fall down in emulation. And although I think this pedal has some serious thought and effort put into it, for me it misses the mark. Sorry Josh, you know I love you, but if I close my eyes it just doesn’t convince me. But maybe that’s the point; maybe it’s not supposed to be an exact replica. Then I’m the idiot. I don’t know. However there are many who love this pedal and that’s why it’s listed here. Play your guitar through one and you be the judge. 5150 Overdrive by MXR Overdrive, overdrive, overdrive. This amp in a box emulates, you guessed it, the 5150 amp. It’s got a fairly convincing 5150 sound with a boost and a gate to tame the noise. Does it get the best brown sound of any pedal? Well, not to my ear. But it gets a great sound. The brown sound award would have to go the Wampler Pinnacle Deluxe V2. But I’ll bet if you plugged this pedal into the Pinnacle Deluxe V2 and kept an eye on your gain staging you could probably beat the brown sound and even invent your own that sounds better. Just my two cents even though you didn’t ask for a penny. Or here’s another guitar sound experiment; try plugging this into the Tightmetal Pro 2 described below and I’ll bet the sound would be enormous, over the top, and difficult to tame. People would start to talk. Pal 800 V3 by Pedal Pal FX This is the third incarnation of another Marshall sound type of pedal that really sounds great. It has a toggle for that #34 tone and the other toggle adjusts the gain tone. The look is similar to that of an 800 Marshall face-plate including the knob type, plate color, and lettering. I’m not sure why they sell it out of only one outlet, but I suppose the idea has that certain, uh, reverb. This pedal has no power amp or speaker emulation so, well, you know the drill by now. This box certainly rocks and the sound is reminiscent of, well,… sweet child, it may increase your appetite for destruction. Oxford by Joyo This pedal is a good emulation of an Orange Amp, so those who like that kind of crunch and bite may enjoy this one. It has a nice typical mainstream type of rock sound. Use this pedal through your favorite cab IR for more variations -- I prefer the Orange 2x12 but the Orange 4x12 is nice too. Now that I think about it this is the only pedal I know that specializes in emulating an Orange amp, it does a really good job, and it can be had brand new with free shipping for a bargain. California by Joyo If you like the sound of a Boogie then you will probably like this one. Thick overdrive is what this pedal does. It’s like owning a Boogie pre-amp in a box. If you are familiar with the California by Tech 21 then you know what this pedal is about. I’m told it copies the Tech 21. However, the price on the Joyo is better considering the sound is so close. Run it through your favorite power amp emulation and cab IR for more realism. Plug your favorite pedals into it, especially the Grid Slammer, be careful of your gain staging, and it will sound close to the infamous Satan’s Amp of Doom. Give it a listen – and boogie on a budget with free shipping. British by Joyo Classic Marshall pre-amp sounds; all the old rock radio hits in a pedal. I’ve said it so many times, but run it through your favorite power amp emulation and cab IR for more realism. I’m told this pedal is an emulation of the British by Tech 21. It probably is – the sound is very similar. And the price is right. One thing that really works for more Marshall realism is to run a Marshall type distortion pedal into a Marshall type sound amp-in-a-box like this one. But use one made by a different company (like the Golden Plexi 2) for more emulation depth. Be careful of the gain staging. This pedal is also a bargain and free shipping. Sabbra Cadabra by Catalinbread If you are looking to produce the original evil sounding guitar tone from the early 1970s then look no further. This is an emulation of the original Rangemaster treble booster through an old Laney amp for that early classic metal grind. This one works best into the front of an amp. What does it sound like? It sounds big, it sounds demonic, and it sounds,… well,… don’t get paranoid if you find yourself into the void with the war pigs. Boo, hoo, hoo. ha, ha, ha, ha. Room #40 by Tsakalis This pedal is a superb Marshall in a box. Fantastic. It’s my favorite if a person simply wants an authentic sounding wall-of-Marshall type of tone. It’s got two basic emulations: a Plexi style circuit with the two volume controls and it also has an 800 style sound. The Variac knob has a beautiful sound which makes the overdrive sound intoxicating and addictive. And as so many of these pedals, it sounds best through a power amp and cabinet or some sort of emulation of these. It’s a little pricey at about $250 USA, so I faced the east, closed my eyes, put my hand on a big rock, and put it on my birthday wish list. Excellent. G4 and the G3 by Revv Amps Both of these pedals sound great but I prefer the red one (G4) because it’s got a little more sag, and I feel it does a little better job at lead tones. Besides, it’s much easier to make sag sound firm than it is to make something firm have sag after either has been previously recorded. The G3 (the purple one) is excellent for a more solid sound and it seems to lean slightly toward the 5150 style of sound. Many guitarists run their favorite distortion or overdrive into the G3 for a superior hard metal-like sound. Some people use both pedals: the G3 for the crunch and the G4 for leads. The G3 is supposed to be an emulation of the Revv third channel and the G4 is an emulation of the fourth or red channel. These pedals both sound and act very amp-like. In my opinion they sound best through the effects loop of a tube amplifier into your favorite cabinet. Think of them as amp head pre-amps that require both some kind of tube power emulation and speaker cab emulation. I tried to get a good sound through a power amp emulation into a cab IR but I didn’t have that much luck. It sounded great but didn’t have the flames and torque I usually seek. They also sound better with your favorite distortion or boost pedal plugged into them for a little front end grind tickle. That said, though, I love the sound. I found a used G4 in OK condition for $140 USA and free shipping so I bought it, but the used prices on these seem to be getting higher. And the G3 is a little tougher to find used at a low price anymore. Get either one (or both) and just friggin’ rock. Blackbird by Effectrode This pedal is a three 12AX7 tube pre-amp made in England and is an incarnation of the old blackface Fender amp. It also has a Soldano inspired second channel that also does a fairly good job of a Dumble kind of creaminess. Is it an amp-in-a-box? Yeah, I’d say so. It is very quiet for a tube pre-amp, the EQ is very smooth and pleasant, and overall the pedal is very musical sounding. This pedal sounds best run through the effects loop of a tube amp and speaker cabinet so, if run by itself, also requires a cab IR pedal and preferably a power amp emulation before that. This is an easy task on a computer DAW in studio recording. It also has a Jensen style speaker emulation IR built in, but you will probably prefer using your own IR. Plan on spending about $350 USA. VH-4 V2 by Diezel This larger size pedal has a durable look and feel with a channel #1 sound that’s aggressive and edgy – truly metal – without any give or natural sag I can detect. Channel #2 is more aggressive in distortion with a very small amount of tube-like give or sag and seems to lend itself more to lead playing. If you haven’t guessed by now, like most of these, this pedal acts as an amplifier pre-amp. So with that in mind, like many other pedals, it sounds best either plugged into an amplifier loop input to a cabinet or through a tube power amp emulation into a cabinet IR. If your goal is to play metal guitar to kill small fauna and stun large wild animals then give the VH-4 V2 by Diezel a try – excellent amp-like distortion. Outstanding. V-Tone GDI-21 by Behringer This pedal is extremely affordable (Under $70 USA and free shipping) and has a sound that’s sort of a copy of the old Tech 21 SansAmp GT2 pedal. The build is plastic so it feels cheap. But it sounds good through an amp loop and cabinet or even into the front of an amp. It needs some kind of cab IR emulation type of sound after it at a minimum for individual use and some people may enjoy a pedal in front of it just to goose the front end or to inject more of their own personal pedal sound. As usual, be careful of gain staging. It even has an XLR output for plugging into a PA. Bonus. Pack one in your bag or on your pedal board and use it as a live gig emergency backup just in case your amp head blows up. Then plug it into the PA and on with the show. Cheap insurance. Tightmetal Pro 2 by Amptweaker This analog pre-amp pedal drips with 5150 amplifier attitude. If you want a killer 5150 sound then take a serious listen to this one. It was designed by the same guy who designed the amp, so the similarities are understandable. It’s got features like speaker cab emulation, XLR output, headphone output, large amounts of gain, built in noise gate, 3 types of effect loops, and it even has a scary skull on a guitar pick for a logo. The sound is unmistakably metal – tight, hard, forceful – but it’s very versatile if needed. And it will as easily plug into your amp line-in as it will straight into your DAW. There are more features offered on this pedal than most guitarists would probably use, but that seems to be the intention; covering every eventuality. It’s a formidable monster. Use it with the Diezel VH-4 V2 pedal for stacked stereo guitar insanity. Iridium by Stryman I like the Iridium in that it has a very nice and believable although somewhat clinical and sterile Marshall type of tone. It also has a good Vox and a Fender emulation but I don’t feel that really fits this type of pedal shootout. But getting back to the Marshall sound, if I’m looking to really rock it leaves me wishing for more – like so many guitarists did back in the old days before Variacs and hot-rod amplifier gain staging. Running your favorite distortion pedal before it invigorates some of that lackadaisical sound and injects that ballsy ooompf of your choice. I suppose you could run your favorite pre- amp into the Iridium – similar to the Satan’s Amp of Doom setup – and do some serious kick-ass. The Iridium sounds good through an amp effects loop, and it also has a cab emulation built in which is a handy feature for plugging into the board or your DAW. But for this pedal to attain liftoff and gain serious altitude it’s got to improve the thrust. That’s all – simply modernize your thrusters. Give one a listen. To be continued… so stay tuned… You made it to the end of the amp-in-a-box list, and you not only survived but prevailed. That’s all the cool amp-in-a-box pedals I found for recording metal and rock guitar. There’s probably more I skipped but I did what I could for metal and rock guitar. Please feel free to let me know any other good ones that come to mind. So stay tuned next time… in part six of this series we’ll continue on to another wide assortment of guitar pedals. Some are old, some are new, and maybe there’s some you never heard of before. Pedal sounds are very personal and often they are your signature sound. That’s the beauty of pedals -- they are yours. Then I’ll tell gripping spooky stories -- living a heinous existence of tortured depravity -- about the guitar sounds of old before the invention of electricity, and how we were forced to play through our amplifiers by candle-light. In the end we’ll cover the two main camps or schools of thought for the studio techniques of recording metal and rock guitar. This completed series will be available as a free PDF download after the last posting. Maybe I’ll see you next time. Don’t just live your life; awareness improves everything. Knowledge, art, and music for all…

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