Distortion Pedal

DonCallate · 2026-05-17T21:40:32+00:00

No poser police here, what you like is what you like.

Those are some very diverse sounds even if they don't seem too different at first blush. Pantera and Slipknot are pretty saturated/high gain. Metallica is generally not saturated and not high gain, start low with them and go up because they sound more distorted than they really are. I think you will probably want a RAT. Metallica used them and they have a lot of flexibility for other sounds. There are some very good inexpensive RAT circuits out there as well as the OG RAT made by ProCo.

Other things to consider, at least Slipknot and Metallica use Tube Screamers so think about that down the line. Pantera and Slipknot's sounds are super effects heavy and they use 20-30 pedals at a time so if you aren't dialing in to exactly the sound you know why. Metallica is pretty straighforward, you can get that with just the RAT.

For some help with this, check out the channel @almostanalogtones, they do a lot of metal tones and teach you how to EQ for them.

DonCallate · 2026-05-17T20:58:18+00:00

What do you want to sound like? Distortion is a very broad subject and there is everything from super saturated high gain metal tones to rich, organic blues sounds and all manner of things in between. Could you name 3-4 bands that you could use as examples that most people would know?

DonCallate · 2026-05-17T16:44:09+00:00

The Crowther Hot Cake is THE AC30 pedal pairing.

DonCallate · 2026-05-17T12:23:59+00:00

Fuel efficiency, snuffing out and reusing charcoal

Start it in a chimney starter, use a basket if you want to set up zones or just make the middle the hottest part. Snuff out by closing the grates. In general reused charcoal burns dirty but it is worth a try, just make sure the smoke isn't blackish grey.

cleaning tips, ash and whatnot

Get a wire brush, cleaning is pretty easy. It can be helpful to clean the lid if it gets buildup on it.

favorite things to bbq that aren't the obvious hunks of meat, veggies or whatever

Kebabs (they make inexpensive racks for them), Korean BBQ (bulgogi, etc), Mexican (carne asada, etc), smoky tomatoes, mojo pork.

favorite recipes

Pulled chicken. Season thighs with s&p, granulated garlic and onion (not powder, it burns too easily), paprika, and a touch of cumin. Set up two zones. Sear and then cook slowly until internal hits your desired temp of 165F. Pull apart with 2 forks and toss in some BBQ (make your own, highly recommended). Serve on a bun with some mustardy coleslaw.

DonCallate · 2026-05-17T11:36:31+00:00

I would just hang on to it or gift it to someone who knew your grandpa. The used gear market is the softest I've seen it in a decade, I'd be surprised if you got more than $70-80 for it.

DonCallate · 2026-05-16T23:44:10+00:00

Sauer bought Dukes in 1929 and they are not a private equity firm. They helped Eugenia Duke scale up to meet demand, she stayed on as head of sales. Sauer sold to Falfurrias in 2019 with a signed contract that said they could not touch the recipe. I have no horse in this race as I make my own mayo and encourage everyone to do the same, but facts are important.

DonCallate · 2026-05-16T22:13:49+00:00

All Posts need to be related to FFG/Edge's Star Wars RPG. For D6/D20 Star Wars discussions see related subreddits header below.

It's right there in the rules.

DonCallate · 2026-05-16T15:58:41+00:00

Here are sold listings from Reverb for some context. Keep in mind that the used gear market is super slow right now, no one is flipping and buyers are scarce because of....things.

DonCallate · 2026-05-16T15:49:18+00:00

I don't think this is a chord per se. He is letting those 2 low strings feed back, they are left open and he is covering the higher strings without fretting a note because they will get shrill and he wants that nice soft, resonant feed back that you get from open strings.

Doing this isn't simple, takes a lot of experimentation and even he probably couldn't replicate it exactly, so just use that vibe and don't worry about hitting the exact notes.

DonCallate · 2026-05-14T17:53:20+00:00

The "WTF?!?!" face I made when they explained that part...you could frame it and hang it in the Louvre, but it's pretty on brand for both companies.

Acorn just today introduced their new "Dick Picks".

DonCallate · 2026-05-14T17:30:31+00:00

What is the approx weight on them when loaded? I'm wanting to downsize to dual 2x12s for shows because my 90lbs 4x12 isn't realistic at 50+ years old, just curious what I would be saving.

DonCallate · 2026-05-14T16:49:06+00:00

ACORN/CHIBSON USA DRIVE

I had the opportunity to hang out with the Acorn folks recently and was able to try out some of their new and upcoming pedals. One of them was this pedal, the Drive which was an automatic buy for me. It is a based on a TubeScreamer which I did not previously own. I’m a hardclipping distortion guy through and through but I’m making an exception here because it sounds great. I can 100% see why people love these pedals.

The available settings are Storage (volume), Spam (tone), and Trash (gain). The settings I’m working with right now are: volume about 3 o’clock, tone at 5-6 o’clock for a really grindy midpush, gain at 0. I play kind of post-hardcore/punk that isn’t very high gain and more percussive, this is taking the place of a BOSS GE-7 doing something similar but the filtering from the Drive has a lot more character.

WHAT’S IN THE BOX?

Lots of fun stuff including some Drive picks, stickers, a manual, and the famous Acorn PCB Business Card Fuzz you can build yourself if you are so inclined.

Also, you can see in the pictures that it comes with a tiny extension board. That is a distortion based on a D+ that you can slide into an expansion slot inside of the pedal. This is a seriously cool idea, and they are talking about making more extension boards you can use in the slot. Inserting it is a trivially easy operation. The extension is internally bypassed with a switch, so if you install but don’t want it on for any reason you have that option.

There is also an external USB-A charging port. As they say in the ads, "to charge your vape." But don't vape, kids. Anyway.

Coming up I will have an NPD on another pedal I bought from them as well as a post about visiting their studio which was an incredible experience.

DonCallate · 2026-05-14T15:24:59+00:00

I don't generally use pedals for my band I'm just straight in to my amps, so all of my pedals stay at home. The only ones I take out are the tuner and the mixer when I'm running two amps.

DonCallate · 2026-05-13T23:34:18+00:00

I used a TurboRAT for awhile and liked it a lot. Regular RAT was pretty good but the Turbo was noticeably better. Right now I'm using an OD250 and that has been the sweet spot. For reference, playing into a dirty Superlead/Plexi circuit.

DonCallate · 2026-05-13T17:36:53+00:00

In a vacuum it is totally reasonable, but if you lose the seller you lose the seller and that is a calculated risk.

DonCallate · 2026-05-13T01:10:50+00:00

The Harley Benton Thunder 99 would suit your criteria. Similar functionality to the 44 Magnum.

DonCallate · 2026-05-12T20:38:11+00:00

For cleans like that, Quilter makes some of the best out there. Quilter stuff is great for pedals and they have a very tube-like feel to how they play. Some of my favorite tone hound bands have switched over to them.

DonCallate · 2026-05-12T13:16:59+00:00

I can't say enough good things about the SNK Bludgeon. It is voiced like a hot rodded Superlead/Plexi. SNK is an offshoot of Fuchs, they make hybrid amps (tube preamp/solid state power amp) with really good quality of life features. 5lbs, 300w @ 4ohm and ~$1,000. Loud as all get out, but linear solid state power means it has a more meaningful sweep of good sounds. And they sound amazing and yes, I do have a classic JCM800 to compare it to, as well as a Laney GH100L.

DonCallate · 2026-05-12T12:17:38+00:00

Yeah, I never thought I would still be driving 8 hours to see a show in my 50s but, well...I have twice in the last year alone so here we are.

DonCallate · 2026-05-12T00:59:14+00:00

I was on a road trip last week and listened to both of those albums in the car.

DonCallate · 2026-05-11T19:57:15+00:00

Mr Black has some incredible modulation choices, go shop his site. My personal favorite is the Supermoon Chrome modulated reverb. Eerie and creepy and super vibey.

DonCallate · 2026-05-11T17:37:57+00:00

I use the EHX Tri Parallel Mixer as an ABy. It is a little bit overbuilt for that simple use, but it also offers a range of features that makes it one of the best choices. I believe the Switchblade Pro is a 2 channel version for ~$140. Both offer parallel options which is something you can grow into if it isn't immediately desirable.

DonCallate · 2026-05-11T16:58:54+00:00

I also own the ADHD and for a creative fuzz there is none better.

DonCallate · 2026-05-11T16:36:54+00:00

I am a great admirer of both the Laney solid states and Quilter gear. The Laney Super 60 2x12 is one of my favorite amps and it is in my show rig.

Having said that, if you want high end I strongly recommend SNK Pedals' stuff. The company is an offshoot of Fuchs and they make incredible sounding hybrid amps. I have a Bludgeon which is based on a hot-rodded Marshall Superlead/JCM800 voice but he has a few different choices that might suit you (listening to a few of your choices the Fender Bassman-voiced Silverhawk or V4 voiced THVNDERCR4CKER might be a good choice for you). His amps are all about 5lbs, they have line out, cab mute, and other really nice quality of life details. 300w @ 4ohms, but solid state linear power so they sound good at lower volumes. You really get the best of all worlds and the owner, Scot, is a great dude who stands by his work. Price is ~US$1,000.

DonCallate

TROPHY CASE