The Best Distortion Pedal For Metal in 2023

How to Choose a Metal Distortion Pedal

Choosing the best distortion pedal for metal requires knowing exactly which features benefit the music itself and what type of music you want to be making. Because there is such a large variety of different options even outside of the 10 products reviewed earlier, this Buyer’s Guide aims to give you information about metal distortion pedals and how you should be using them.

A good metal distortion pedal is typically identified first and foremost by sound. If the tone itself isn’t very high-quality or the effects applied don’t sound good to you, there is little chance that the pedal is good in the long run. Though there are some types of music that benefit from a lower quality distortion (such as death metal, grindcore music, and other genres that focus on compression and low fidelity recording quality), finding a product that has a good range of quality can be a way for you to stay flexible and not lock yourself into any particular subgenre of metal.

A pedal that allows flexibility in tone will undoubtedly be easy to use, typically offering users an intuitive interface to control the nuance with. This is why the perfect distortion pedal for metal will be able to effortlessly control multiple factors such as level, EQ, gain, and more, allowing the user to not even have to think about inconvenience when using the product.

On top of this, having a product that is also well-designed means that it is durable, having a strong build quality that makes it unlikely to get harmed or worn out easily. Though all of the aforementioned factors will surely drive up the price of any given product, there are products out there (as highlighted in the previous review section) that are able to be efficient and affordable.

Your Genre of Metal Music

Because of the many different subgenres that make up metal music, you’ll likely want to consider the distinct approaches to distortion that certain genres have.

For instance, as the original genre from which metal culture was created, Heavy Metal typically goes for a more traditional sound. With bands such as Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath as its foundation, bands working within heavy metal won’t require such a nuanced sound. This is because the distortion is typically lighter, not as abrasive, allowing musicians to stick with pedals that don’t pile on too many effects. This is in reference to distortion’s original discovery as a mistake, with the sound evolving mostly from guitar amplifiers that were turned up too loud.

This is much different than Thrash Metal, a subgenre that took the foundation of metal and increased its intensity, speed, and dynamics. Because this genre was mainly established in the 80s before digital distortion was available, a lot of the sound is based off of simply increasing the volume of previously established distortion methods. As a result, you will want to find a pedal that gives you a very compact, compressed type of distortion that is effective and powerful. A good product that was reviewed earlier in this article would be the Boss DS-1!

Groove Metal is a more nuanced style of music, having been used to refer to a variety of groups with different sounds such as Pantera, Machine Head, White Zombie, and Jane’s Addiction. Though the approaches vary, the premise is largely the same: take the fast-paced music of thrash metal and slow it down, exploring the nuance in sound that results. Because of this, you’ll want a pedal that gives you a good variety of controls to customize your own metal sound effectively. For this, a pedal such as the MXR M116 Full Bore will do the trick!

For those looking to play Death Metal music, it’s usually best to focus on getting extreme power in your sound. This is because the genre is all about grit, with the metal guitar style functioning just as much as a rhythmic device as the bass and drums. As a result, getting a pedal like the Boss DS-1X that specializes specifically in boosting your sound to new heights is a great choice. For a strong, powerful tone, you might also want to look into a pedal that can do overdrive just as well as distortion such as the Fulltone OCD.

How Do Distortion Pedals Work?

Like similar types of gain effects, distortion was originally discovered by accident. This was because the sound is a natural result of turning up an amplifier too loud, increasing the sound to a volume level at which the amplifier can’t process the sound properly, therefore distorting it. This is the result of the original signal (comprised of sine waves) bumping up against the volume threshold of a given device, creating a clipping effect that removes the quality of the sound in place of loudness.

A Brief History of Distortion Pedals in Metal

As previously mentioned, distortion was invented in the 50s as an accident due to malfunctioning amplifiers. Artists would soon take notice of this, eventually incorporating intentionally fuzzy sounds into their work through the use of shoddy equipment. This sound would eventually inspire the blues and rock sounds we know and love from the late 1950s/early 1960s, with the grit and intensity defining the genre of rock music.

Because distortion had already been introduced into the cultural zeitgeist through rock and blues artists such as Jimi Hendrix in the 1960s, the history of heavy metal begins with taking those concepts of fuzz and distortion to new heights. After Deep Purple was named the loudest band around in a newly established Guinness World Record category in 1975, the increase of bands continuing to increase their dynamic power lead to the development of heavy metal.

Since the founding of heavy metal in the 1970s, distortion became more widely available to consumers, not only encouraging experimentation with the subject, but also an increased nuance in the possibilities. The introduction of digital distortion has brought us to our modern-day situation in which there are many different ways to achieve distortion and many different musical styles that embrace them.

How to Use Your Distortion Pedal

After you’ve found the best distortion pedal for metal, it’s important to know how to use it. In this section, I’ll be showing you how to effectively use your distortion pedal to get the most out of it.

What Makes a Good Metal Tone?

A good metal tone is replicating the power, compression, and clipping that comes with traditional distortion. Just like the malfunctioning amps and clipping described in previous sections, metal tones are built around this foundation, encouraging users to increase volume and equalizers to further distort the sound.

Above all, though, is the notion of replicating the original distortion of a tube amp, getting the amp distortion that originally was found through harsh volume extremes. By replicating that sound from the beginning, you can get a harsh sound without always having the amp turned up all the way, also giving you room to increase the volume later on.

How Do You Dial in a Good Metal Tone?

Dialing in a good metal tone will ultimately depend on your personal preference, as the exact tone will rely most on the music that you are creating. However, there are still some categories you can follow that will help you direct your efforts in a particular direction.

For example, the volume or gain knob will be your most important tool when you need to seriously increase the power of your sound. If a pedal comes with a boost switch or another way of boosting the sound, this will also add significant power and volume.

Using a band EQ (or any type of equalizer) is also a good way to ensure you have the tone you want, with the ability to specialize in lows/mids/highs (also known as bass/mids/treble) as an added bonus. If you want a more shrill sound, just turn up the highs a lot (great for subgenres such as Thrash Metal), while emphasizing the lows and mids will give your sound more of a drive (effective for subgenres like Death Metal). If you’re interested in having a more natural sound that reflects your guitar more effectively, consider investing in a true bypass pedal that allows your tone to not get caught up in too much artificial processing.

How to Minimise the Effect of Gain on Your Tone

For many guitarists, finding the balance between volume and depth will always be at the front of many decisions regarding tone. This is because using the volume or gain knobs will surely raise the power of your sound, but also consolidate a lot of the nuance through compression. To avoid the gain taking nuance out of your sound, make sure that you’re not relying too heavily on it. Focus on making your sound louder by toggling with the EQ as opposed to just turning the gain up. Another way to make sure the gain isn’t too much is it combine it with the dirty channel on your amp.

Can a Distortion Pedal still work well with Single Coil Pickups?

Single coil guitars have an infamous reputation of not accommodating distortion pedals very well. This is because the sound typically doesn’t have much power to it, making it necessary to apply more gain if your’e working with single coil guitars. The gain will add more compression to the sound overall, allowing you to have a more condensed, powerful sound. However, like we highlighted in the previous section on how to minimise gain, you should apply this effect carefully, making sure not to overwhelm or lose too much quality in your sound.

Using Metal Distortion Pedals in Your Set Up

Distortion in general can work in the same setup as any other type of pedal, but there are some effects that don’t lend themselves well to metal music. For example, chorus pedals and other types of modulation devices make it difficult to apply a true metal distortion, while reverb sometimes waters down the distortion of the sound. In terms of where you should place them in your general pedal setup chain, you should put distortion pedals after compressors and before modulation pedals to ensure that the processing is allowed to get the most natural sound.

Where Should Distortion Pedals Sit in the Signal Chain?

Distortion pedals should sit in one’s signal chain after compressors and before modulators, as they are typically the last type of compression sound processing that is applied before other pedals alter the sound in more expansive ways.

The Difference Between General Distortion and Metal Distortion

Metal distortion pedals are typically different from normal distortion pedals in the sense that they have more options to boost the overall volume and impact of the tone itself. This is largely due to the nature of metal music to be louder and more distorted than other genres, requiring the use of pedals specifically geared towards that purpose.

Though many professional musicians might prefer to use a high-quality tube amp for a proper distortion sound, this doesn’t mean that there is no purpose for a distortion pedal if you’re looking to take your setup to the next level. Instead of being tied to a tube amp, a lot of guitarists prefer to be able to have the nuance that a pedal provides. In the event that you don’t need the pedal and just want a tube amp sound, you can cut the pedal out, but it’s useful to have.

The Difference Between Overdrive and Distortion

The main difference between overdrive and distortion is that—while the former solely focuses on turning up the volume to get it to clip, imitating the sound of old tube amps, the latter focuses on that in addition to changing the sound in general to be more distorted. This is why many overdrive pedals won’t have many configuration settings, instead focusing mainly on power and how to apply it (warm, intense, EQ’ing).

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, finding the right distortion pedal is the only way for you to get the metal tone that you need for your music. However, due to how ever-changing and vast the market is (including how many boutique pedals on the market), it’s important to not only know how distortion pedals work, but also be familiar with some of the more accessible products available. This is why I recommend the MXR M116 Full Bore as the best distortion pedal for metal available. The design of this product simply can’t be beat, offering a compact, but durable interface that does not wear easily. On top of this, the multitude of different knobs makes customizing your tone with nuance an intuitive experience. This pedal is also very affordable, riding the balance between budget products and high-quality ones effectively.

Regardless of which pedal you go with, though, I hope this Buying Guide has been helpful for anyone looking to expand their horizons and start using distortion effectively for metal music!