Distortion advice please...

dont_go_on_me

I'm having a tough time finding a distortion tone that's to my liking. My distortion is an Ibanez Sonic Distortion. I like it, but it's almost not heavy enough for me...almost too "overdrivey" if that makes sense. Now i don't play metal, so i don't need something obnoxiously heavy...fuck, how can I explain what i want ?

I back up the SD-9 with my BD-2 and that can get pretty thick and heavy, but i can't help but wonder if there's something else out there that may be better.

I'm very hesitant about getting rid of the SD-9 because of how well it backs up my Shannon OD in the chain...that's pure lead bliss. So i want to make sure that if i were to get a new distortion it would interact well with the Shannon. I also have a hunch that my SD-9 is probably more "overdrivey" because of my amp (Peavey Delta Blues 115).


So what are some good distortions. I've heard a lot of talk about Rats and Big Muffs...and i just found this Vintage Rat on sale:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=home/search/detail/base_pid/151508/

and how does the "vintage" differ from the Rat2?:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=home/search/detail/base_pid/151501/



Also, eventually I would like to get an Avatar 2x12 cab with Celestions (Vintage 30 & 70th Anniversary)...in what ways would that affect my tone?



FYI:

Peavey Delta Blues --

Boss DD-5 -- Phase 90 -- Shannon OD -- Ibanez SD-9 -- Boss BD-2 -- Dunlop 535Q -- Boss Tu-2 ---->

Fender Std. Strat, Epi LP Custom, Gibson SG Standard

sustainedia

i back up my shannon od with a modded proco rat. got it from:

http://www.vodkamods.com

i use avatar's 4x12 with celestion vintage 30's. you can hear my demo here:

http://www.myspace.com/sustainedia or just http://www.sustainedia.com

my rig for this demo was as follows:

fender american deluxe strat --> Shannon O/D --> Sovtek Mig-50 Amp ---> Avatar 4x12 w/ Vintage 30's Celestion

Pacomc79

The modded pro co rat or rat 2 is an excellent #2 for use with the shannon OD or any TS9 or 808 clone.

I had a 3 way keeley modded Rat2 for a long while. The vintage rat has a bigger case, I don't know that there is that much difference in tone although I'm sure this would start a tremendous fight in some forums. The keeley mod allows for three different tones that I found useful. Most rat mods are for a bit more clarity which it can use, although this is absolutely the direction you should be looking for. I'd probably buy a reissue first and then see if you need the mod at all. At the time of my purchase of the keeley the pedal modded was 105. I'm sure you can find a good lightly used rat for less than 60 on fleabay. You have to be a little careful because it's a great very durable pedal and case, occasionally the owners allow them to get awfully dirty and they brake the original switch. One of the benifits of the mod is a fairly durable (much moreso than the radio shack stuff) true bypass switch.

The rat takes a bit of getting used to to get the sound you are looking for, once you get the hang of the filter and you start cranking the volume and then adjusting gain to taste, the Rat is one of the things that sits on your pedal board forever, it's damn near unbreakable and the graphics glow so you can see them on dark stages.

The Rat is more of a late 70's early 80's marshall crunch tone and the Big Muff is more of a loose fuzz bomb sustainer. The Rat is probably more of what you are looking for in this application.

I really should be writing product reviews for musicians friend.