The world of guitar pedals is immensely big as there are various pedals for everything! Just look at some pedalboards that can be seen during live performances – they can be stacked with different pedals producing fantastic sounds. Of course, there are good pedals and then there are bad pedals.
But some good pedals can receive unjustified hate, more often than not because people don’t know how to use them properly, or because they compare them to much more expensive and better pedals.
Here is a list of 6 distortion pedals that people hate for some reason which are actually quite good.
Behringer Ultra Metal UM300
Everyone knows that without a powerful, full, thunderous distortion, there can never be the most extreme guitar music in the world. The Behringer UM300 Ultra Metal Distortion pedal delivers one of the strongest, most saturated distortive sounds. The sustain that the UM300 offers will bring a smile to your face when you produce endless harmonic sounds from open riffs. The added control on the pedal allows you to adjust the sound to every magnet, every amplifier.
Controls: Distortion, Low, Mid, Mid-Freq, High, Level. Most of the electric guitar's sound is in the mid frequencies, which is why the Mid Freq control for detailed frequency tuning is a golden value (and maybe the most hated thing) on this super affordable pedal.
DigiTech Death Metal
If ever there was a cap on the amount of distortion that could be put into a pedal, DigiTech has done it. The legendary Death Metal pedal gives you complete tonal control of this massive amount of gain, giving you level controls - Bass, Mid, Treble that allow you to flexibly shape the pedal's tone by matching it to your own sound. This digital distortion pedal gives you a high-gain overdrive ideal for styles like metal and heavy rock. Your guitar is guaranteed to cut with such a big and fast tone that only this pedal can deliver.
As always expected from DigiTech, this pedal comes in a sturdy rugged metal chassis with amp output and mixer output giving you even more sound options.
Why the hate? Somewhat too much screaming and hissing sounds which can be balanced out with some mids.
MXR M116 Fullbore Metal
Against all the hate, this compact yet powerful MXR guitar pedal should be all you need to “release the palette” of the most destructive modern metal guitar tones you’ve ever heard. FullBore distortion turbo-electrifies your guitar signal with deadly amounts of ultrahigh gain. To be honest, this actually is the main concern as distortion can be not so clear at times. Be that as it may, all of this is complemented by Noise Gate, which clears noise related to extreme levels of gain, while improving the definition and strength of syncopated metal riffs.
Sensitive EQ controls, Bass, Mid, sweepable Mid-Freq, and Treble allow you to shape your tone with devilish precision. An additional Scoop switch provides an instant boost of high and low frequencies that will shake the room along the way adding clarity.
Boss MT-2
For some reason, the Boss MT-2 is receiving some hate still. Yes, there was much dilemma over its quality, but if we remember that Ola Englund “cracked the case” of how to use it and get the best tone, why still so much hate?
Why if MT-2 Metal Zone is one of the most popular Boss pedals ever, and gives a distortion with a multitude of medium and deep? It’s great for hard rock and metal music. The dual gain electronic circuit Boss MT-2 pedals give super-long sustain and strong distortion. The precise tone control is provided by a 3-band EQ that includes High / Low-frequency regulation plus Parametric EQ midrange. Separate Level and Distortion controls.
Boss ML-2
Keeping the list going with another “misunderstood” Boss pedal – the ML-2.
It provides an ultra-heavy distortion with a sharp attack for strong metal riffs. LOW control for a heavy low-frequency sound that goes best with 7-string guitars or dropped tuning (probably the reason why many hate it). The HIGH control for screaming, metallic tone is just fine for this price. Solid BOSS metal construction is just a bonus.
With its extreme gain, the Boss ML-2 pedal is one of the most potent and strongest distortion pedals that Boss has ever created (when used right). It easily brings massive distortion with the strong low tones needed to play Nu Metal, Grind Core, Industrial, Hard Core, or any other genre that requires strong sound.
Danelectro D3 FAB Metal
Load up your sound with high and mid frequencies to elevate your Metal sound to new levels. Unleash those harmonic squeaks and high amounts of sustain easily by operating the Level, Tone, and Gain knobs.
This little pedal was intended to achieve sounds like Iron Maiden, Thin Lizzy, or System of Down on your guitars. But what happened? Well, everyone believes that these aforementioned bands use non-plastic pedals that cost more than 20 bucks. Although this cheap pedal can be used for playing with a lot of distortion, it is not recommended for recording an album with it.
