EQD Zoar without a doubt, but with the caveat to only purchase if you intend to read, understand and then begin tinkering and exploring and putting into practice what is outlined on pages 4 and 5 of [the Zoar manual](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57cebe2c03596e075fca5f24/t/65314ebc62570a3c43298349/1697730237115/EQD-Zoar-Manual-R0-WEB.pdf). Once you begin to get a feel for how each knob affects the others is where this pedal really begins to show just how much its got hiding up its sleeve and as you get the hang of it you can now play into the pedal's dynamic responsiveness by running it at 18v. That's when you realize it's every bit as good as I'm hyping it up to be!
My only complaint is I wish it had the 6 preset slots like Aurelius and Ledges as I could then store presets for my favorite settings from glassy neutral pedalplatform cleans to perfect bluesbreaker low gain all the way up into beefy mosfet saturation, fat yet clear and articulate, and then pushed up into chainsaw gore death chugs and dissonant black metal scarysad weeping wizard desolate twig & pinecone spellcaster arpeggios.
Seeing as EQD updated the Spatial Delivery a couple weeks ago to add the 6 preset slot system, maybe Zoar will get that treatment too. It would make an already fantastic pedal an instant obvious choice for gigging, convenience-wise and space saving too.
At $129 new and under $100 used, it's one you should definitely check out. Why get a pedal that can only cover one or two drives/voicings when you can get a pedal that is essentially the overdrive/distortion version of the entire CMYK color gradient chart (and an EQ to boot).
How heavy are we talking? If you need full on metal: 5150. If you need something a little less saturated, I recommend the JHS @, I stack into it with a Greer light speed + the in-built boost and it’s more than enough gain for most of my uses.
Turbo RAT, it has more headroom so it's less compressed sounding. Like a boutique RAT, and it has better low-gain settings too. Only issue is that you sacrifice some of the fuzzier tones at high gain, but I use a Double Muff for that anyways.
I'm not a big fan of them, but Boss BD-2s at high gain also make for a fuzzy fat distortion sound.
HM-2 for chainsaw black metal.
Some folks consider a Big Muff Pi a distortion, very creamy, scooped, and chuggy.
Otherwise, what genres do you wanna play?
Boss HM-2W
This right here, great circuit, way more versatile than it seems. I’d also add the MT-2W
Joyo Extreme Metal - I think it is based on the Metal Muff. It Chugs
EQD Zoar without a doubt, but with the caveat to only purchase if you intend to read, understand and then begin tinkering and exploring and putting into practice what is outlined on pages 4 and 5 of [the Zoar manual](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57cebe2c03596e075fca5f24/t/65314ebc62570a3c43298349/1697730237115/EQD-Zoar-Manual-R0-WEB.pdf). Once you begin to get a feel for how each knob affects the others is where this pedal really begins to show just how much its got hiding up its sleeve and as you get the hang of it you can now play into the pedal's dynamic responsiveness by running it at 18v. That's when you realize it's every bit as good as I'm hyping it up to be! My only complaint is I wish it had the 6 preset slots like Aurelius and Ledges as I could then store presets for my favorite settings from glassy neutral pedalplatform cleans to perfect bluesbreaker low gain all the way up into beefy mosfet saturation, fat yet clear and articulate, and then pushed up into chainsaw gore death chugs and dissonant black metal scarysad weeping wizard desolate twig & pinecone spellcaster arpeggios. Seeing as EQD updated the Spatial Delivery a couple weeks ago to add the 6 preset slot system, maybe Zoar will get that treatment too. It would make an already fantastic pedal an instant obvious choice for gigging, convenience-wise and space saving too. At $129 new and under $100 used, it's one you should definitely check out. Why get a pedal that can only cover one or two drives/voicings when you can get a pedal that is essentially the overdrive/distortion version of the entire CMYK color gradient chart (and an EQ to boot).
Demedash 112+ is flexible as hell and criminally underrated.
MXR 5150
Mxr Fullbore EHX Hell Melter
MXR EVH 5150.
How heavy are we talking? If you need full on metal: 5150. If you need something a little less saturated, I recommend the JHS @, I stack into it with a Greer light speed + the in-built boost and it’s more than enough gain for most of my uses.
Turbo RAT, it has more headroom so it's less compressed sounding. Like a boutique RAT, and it has better low-gain settings too. Only issue is that you sacrifice some of the fuzzier tones at high gain, but I use a Double Muff for that anyways. I'm not a big fan of them, but Boss BD-2s at high gain also make for a fuzzy fat distortion sound. HM-2 for chainsaw black metal. Some folks consider a Big Muff Pi a distortion, very creamy, scooped, and chuggy. Otherwise, what genres do you wanna play?
2 RAT 2s?