Tight distortion pedal?

[Sascha Franck]

Alright folks, the one thing I still seem to be missing on my pedalboard is a distortion pedal acting as tight as it gets. Will be used to run into a clean or almost clean amp (model).
What I'm using right now is a cheap but excellently sounding Drop Kick from Harley Benton, apparently a Suhr Riot clone - but while the sound is great, the tightness could be vastly improved (but the same goes for the original, at least AFAIR). I also still have an MXR 78 Custom Badass Distortion, pretty much the same thing (just that it doesn't sound too great, either).
Yeah, I know, pedals running into an amp (or model) usually don't give as tight a response as a decent overdriven amp, but as I'm quite happy with the dynamics of especially a J.Rockett "Dude" but also a Tone City "Golden Plexi", this isn't an issue for me.
Standard sized pedals pretty much would not work (space restrictions), but a TC/Rockett sized one with the jacks on the top end would work, same goes for any typical mini pedals (Mooer and the likes).
Would love B and T controls, but a typical 3-control pedal would likely be fine as well.
Wouldn't want to break a bank, especially as these kinds of drive are just a "side dish", I rarely really need them. Want to have that color on my board, though.
Also, quite unfortunately, Germany isn't exactly the greatest place for endless gear flip-flopping, so I wouldn't want to wade through gazillions of options (hence asking here).
Please also note: The pedal needs to provide all the tightness on its own, so any of the common "TS in front" tricks are out (as said, space is tight).

Any decent candidates?

 

[Steinmetzify]

PlxFx Bion boost.

It’s a Naga Viper Rangemaster clone but lets you decide the range via a knob.

It’s my always on pedal, seriously. It’s great.

 

[Sascha Franck]

But that's a boost, not a distortion pedal in its own right, isn't it?

 

[paisleywookiee]

MXR 5150 OD is awesome.

 

[Sascha Franck]

MXR 5150 OD is awesome.

Hmpf. Hating you!
Seriously, just after scrolling through some videos (have seen at least 2 of them before already), it's absolutely clear this would be completely up my alley. But oh well, I defenitely couldn't make this fit on my current board (which is large enough already) without throwing out some of my standard drives (which won't happen). Got a sort of re-design/-organsisation in mind, maybe it'd fit after that, but that's not gonna happen any day soon.
Also, at €269, this would instantly become my most expensive drive - pretty steep for something I'd not use as a main drive.
Still, you fixed me on. Grmbl.

Looking for a clone now...

 

[Sascha Franck]

Hm, there's also the Carl Martin Panama - but that's a lot closer to a rodded Marshall and defenitely not as tight as the MXR. And I think I got the MIAB territory covered sufficiently (Tone City Golden Plexi 2, quite excellent IMO), boosting included.

 

[paisleywookiee]

I don’t think anyone’s cloned it yet, actually.

 

[Sascha Franck]

I don’t think anyone’s cloned it yet, actually.

Yeah. Been looking around and there seems to be a DIY kit, but that's using a PCB of the same size, so not much won (apart from it being cheaper but possibly not working as well).
Man, that MXR is really tempting - defenitely not now but surely something to consider once I may reorganize my board. Maybe I should just get along with what I have for the time being and then get the real deal, hm...
But then, maybe there's something else, too.

 

[paisleywookiee]

Oh, Walrus Eras is cool too.

 

[la szum]

I think @Jarick did a thread about pedals like this.

 

[2112]

Since you're in Germany check out the Lichtlaerm audio pedals, especially the Gehenna. Lots of control over pre/post EQ.

Revv G3 & MXR 5150 OD are tasty choices otherwise.

 

[Sascha Franck]

Thanks for the suggestions.
But hm, you folks all seem to be rich. For me, 200+ bucks for what is a distortion pedal, is at least a sort of considerable amount of money (at least atm, still recovering from the pandemic, now struggling with pretty much everything being vastly more expensive, etc.), especially given that it'll only be used rarely.
But then, those Lichtlaerm pedals really look good.

 

[Jarick]

Well pedals aren’t dirt cheap but you can find deals. I got my 5150 for $100 used and you can find BE OD for $125 used all day long.

I’d look for a used BE OD if you want high gain as it has a tight control. It’s definitely high gain though now crunch.

 

[Sascha Franck]

Given typical metal lingo, I think I rather need crunch. Anything EvH alike would be quite sufficient in terms of maximum gain.

 

[paisleywookiee]

Thanks for the suggestions.
But hm, you folks all seem to be rich. For me, 200+ bucks for what is a distortion pedal, is at least a sort of considerable amount of money (at least atm, still recovering from the pandemic, now struggling with pretty much everything being vastly more expensive, etc.), especially given that it'll only be used rarely.
But then, those Lichtlaerm pedals really look good.

Not rich at all. It’s just that most of these pedals really seem to hover around $200 new. Unless you go for one of the Chinese clones, or something used, you’re kinda stuck.

 

[Sascha Franck]

It’s just that most of these pedals really seem to hover around $200 new

Hm, yeah, perhaps...
But then, the TC Magus (which I'd only call "rat inspired", rather than being a literal clone) is €78 and it's a most excellent pedal, great build quality too, from what I can tell. Same goes for the Tone City Golden Plexi, which is just €68, not a clone either and a really excellent MIAB choice. Sure, they're built in China, but most of that stuff is, these days.

 

[Stratzrus]

MXR 5150 OD is awesome.

Killer demo by Pete Thorn. Man, that dude's chops are amazing!

 

[Eagle]

“The”5150 pedal demo is this ;

 

[Eagle]

Al has the best early Ed vibe I’ve seen.

 

[littlebadboy]

Ola's Solar Chug pedal?