Top 15 Best Metal Guitar Pedals Reviews And Guideline To Pick

If you’re really into metal and want to purchase the best metal guitar pedals, here is the list of the top 15 best quality distortion pedals for the metal in 2023.

Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s and early 1970s, primarily in the United Kingdom and the United States. With origins in blues-rock, progressive rock, and acid rock, heavy metal bands created a dense, massive sound characterized by distortion, lengthy guitar solos, emphatic rhythms, and loudness. Even the lyrics and the results are related to violence and machismo.

Distortion pedals are one of the most essential items used in this genre. Nowadays, there are several choices of distortion pedals in the market of instruments for music. In fact, even if you’re an experienced player, it’s still a little difficult to find a suitable one. Today Carroll / Fletcher will highlight 15 of the best metal guitar pedals on the market offering both high quality and great experience in guitar playing and also cover a variety of suitable budgets.

Best Metal Guitar Pedals Comparison 2023

TC Electronic Mimiq Doubler Pedal	MXR M116 Fullbore Metal Distortion	Fulltone OCD Obsessive Compulsive Drive Overdrive
$$$	$$	$$$
Best Effects Pedals for Metal	Best Distortion Pedals for Metal	Best for the Money

** Below, you will find our detailed reviews of the best metal guitar pedals, but you can also click the links above to see current prices or read customer reviews on Amazon.

Detailed Reviews Of Top best metal guitar pedals

Fulltone OCD Obsessive Compulsive Drive Overdrive

The first product we want to show you is the Fulltone OCD Obsessive Compulsive Drive Overdrive guitar effect pedals from the Fulltone brand. While not designed specifically for the metal player in mind, the OCD can adapt to any form of heavy music. For your solos, you can achieve a wonderfully smooth overdrive before moving to high-gain distortion when you want to hit the tune.

There are 3 knobs in this product, which control your playing move, sound, and volume. There’s even an option to choose between playing high and low pass.

I like how much tonal range the pedal always provides when you turn into a quieter pass. Lower volume doesn’t mean you’re losing out, but if you play a lot of songs with peaks and troughs, it can make this a great lever.

It is operated by batteries, with a protective panel which is locked into place. But if you have to replace the plug, the little screws can be a nightmare to bring back into position. It often gets used to missing the completely low-end bass frequencies.

MXR M75 Super Badass Distortion

The second product of this best metal guitar pedals  list is MXR M75 Super Badass Distortion from the MXR brand. This M75 possesses the default voice spoken in British tube crunch EL34. Hold it at noon to offset this sort of thing, but if you chase hundreds of nasty-dishy metal profits, turn it up until 2 pm.

The three-band EQ is all about modifying the M75 gain function. Take some of the mids for Metallica scooped crunch in the late 80s, raise the mood in the 1970s. The M75 is a non-brainer that takes seconds to hit the tone when it comes to the right distortion pedals – an indestructible machine with a diverse analog distortion.

The M75 is a non-brainer that takes seconds to hit the tone when it comes to the right distortion pedals – an indestructible machine with a diverse analog distortion. The pedal has a strong appearance, strength, and consistency, and has no meaning.

The best example of heavy metal sounds to get with this pedal is Iron Maiden’s ones. Heavy metal fine, and the nature and meaning of guitar sound. I strongly recommend this to you.

BOSS Harmonist Guitar Pedal (PS-6)

Next, we have the BOSS Harmonist Guitar Pedal (PS-6) from the Boss brand. Look at the new BOSS HARMONIST, with four clever pitch-shift effects and three-voice harmony in one useful device. The impact modes feature harmony, pitch shifter, and detune, plus the all-new super bend for genuine pedal-bending sounds and crazy three- and four-octave pitch sweeps. With an extra pedal for voice, you can also control pitch. The harmony feature is short and convenient to use and supports a number of patterns in intervals. Creating beautiful, three-voice harmony is easy: pick a major or a minor key and set the change to 3-voice-that ‘s it!

Next, we have the BOSS Harmonist Guitar Pedal (PS-6) from the Boss brand. Look at the new BOSS HARMONIST, with four clever pitch-shift effects and three-voice harmony in one useful device. The impact modes feature harmony, pitch shifter, and detune, plus the all-new super bend for genuine pedal-bending sounds and crazy three- and four-octave pitch sweeps. With an extra pedal for voice, you can also control pitch. The harmony feature is short and convenient to use and supports a number of patterns in intervals. Creating beautiful, three-voice harmony is easy: pick a major or a minor key and set the change to 3-voice-that ‘s it!

This pedal will cover everything you need to build harmonies for your lead sections. For metal guitarists, it is a good choice and offers you lots of space. It is a lot of fun to be able to jam along with harmony lead pieces on your own if you have never done it before.

This pedal will cover everything you need to build harmonies for your lead sections. For metal guitarists, it is a good choice and offers you lots of space. It is a lot of fun to be able to jam along with harmony lead pieces on your own if you have never done it before.

Boss DS-1X Distortion Guitar Effects Pedal

Another guitar pedals come from the Boss brand is this Boss DS-1X Distortion Guitar Effects Pedal.  This is a guitar pedal that is easy to use and understand. The hardware and the controls are both simple, with gain, level, and distortion knobs. This is a huge help if you’re not the person who likes to fiddle around with your new pedal and bring things together for hours.

This BOSS pedal uses MDP technology, so you can pick great sounding tones regardless of the register you have selected. Besides that, the distortion is crystal-clear and the sound will never be distorted or boomy, even though you hit two or more notes at the same time.

This is a basic, but powerful, distortion pedal with simple controls that can be easily used by all levels of lead and rhythm musicians. You may either go for soft, rich rhythm effects or change them for a stunning solo tune. Depending on the setup the sound can become clearer at high notes.

In short, this distortion pedal will give you the great combination if you often shift between leads and rhythm, or want to feel them both. If you want a middle ground to help you raise your performance to a new level, this unit is a keeper albeit a little on the pricey side.

MXR M116 Fullbore Metal Distortion

One more interesting product appearing in this best metal guitar pedals list is the MXR M116 Fullbore Metal Distortion from the Jim Dunlop brand. Name and design are both included in metal, Jim Dunlop uses metal to have a special look to this wheel. Best still, it ensures you get a sturdy kit that, when you’re in the heat of the moment, can survive harder stomps.

It has six knobs that allow you to control the range, frequency, gain, and volume of your sound. You may tweak those when enjoying the EQ three-band gain.

I like the pedal even being fitted with a Noise Gate option. This means that when it comes to sound quality as well as intense distortion at high volume ranges you’ll be less constrained by the other devices. So, I see this as a good match for lead and rhythm guitarists alike.

It’s more of a mixed bag in terms of the sound. When playing through a low-gain amp, it produces a fascinating sound, but you may fail to find a decent tone to go with it.

Unfortunately, when performed over a high-gain speaker, it’s not the greatest distortion pedal for music. This is mostly due to the fact that there is a high gain in the pedal itself, but the mixture of the two does not really do much for it.

Even, it could be a perfect pedal for beginners even looking for their sound. It’s also a decent choice for the mid-range and the solid structure means it can last.

Wampler Triple Wreck Modern Rectified Distortion Pedal

The sixth product from our best metal guitar pedals list is the Wampler Triple Wreck Modern Rectified Distortion Pedal from the Wampler store. The secret to Triple Wreck is durability. It provides a very heavy sound but if you want to try a more soft rock feel, the retro turn still makes it useful.

As for the distortion effect, as a standard, it comes with a genuinely high gain. There’s even a boost option though, which brings it up even further.

Shift the key in a clockwise direction and you get this very thick fuzz that envelops your games. Switch it the other way around, the layers of distortion on top of themselves, so you can reach those very powerful effects.

It also provides a lot of low ends, making it a sound that is very bass-heavy. You will note this means on all amps it doesn’t fit well enough. A bit of tuning the EQ settings can help here.

It comes with a battery, but from a normal power supply, you can run it too. But when hooked into the mains, it tends to produce some ambient noise.

Amptweaker TightMetal JR Distortion Pedal

Another not less amazing metal pedal is the Amptweaker TightMetal JR Distortion Pedal from the Amptweaker brand. The TightMetal JR Amptweaker satisfied all of your requirements when you’re focused on quality. Probably no other pedal can surpass this beauty when it comes to tone. The styles of lead guitar work well because the emphasis is little on the high frequencies in comparison to the lower ends.

For every metal player, this exquisite pedal is a must. This unit uses integrated tone, volume, and gain controls with high-gain fury to produce the clearest and best-sounding tones you can dream of. In addition, there is a slider switch that flips between thrash, regular and smooth EQ.

If you like your crunch, give yourself a Christmas present at the beginning of Christmas and see this beauty. The great thing about this Jr. is undoubtedly low-end retention, and the distortion is on the gritty side a bit.

Overall, this Jr is a good friend for any lover of metal. You can’t help but think that the sounds are a bit small. You can’t resist. If you are a bassist, we encourage you to test whether you want a snap with a bad line.

Diezel Herbert Two-Channel Overdrive and Preamp Guitar Effects Pedal

In the next place, we have Diezel Herbert Two-Channel Overdrive and Preamp Guitar Effects Pedal from the Diezel brand. The Herbert is not the purest distortion pedal because it can be used as such for sure. Take the 180-watt lead head of the Diezel’s city-leveling sound and drop it on the board, this is a sure-fire way to apply high-gain filth to the signal.

This stomp-box isn’t inexpensive but the amp from which it draws its preamp circuitry is not either, and the Herbert has amazing distortion on-tap with the same dynamic EQ options as its namesake.

BOSS Mega Distortion Guitar Pedal

The Boss MD-2 could be the pedal for you if you’re looking for something easy to add to your rig, something that will get you the classic thrash, hard rock, or death metal groove. It’s a really bright orange exterior that makes it visible from miles away and that will help you make rapid changes in dark areas.

For even more distortion, the pedal comes with a tone sensor, distortion sensor, and a level and gain boost. If we talk of severe distortion and sustained enduring, this is really one of my favorites.

The maker engineered the tone control to match the low and high frequencies. Although the tonal range of the MD-2 is not on par with other metal distortion pedals at the same price point, it manages the metal frequency extremes very well.

What is also useful is the tuning of the bottom-heavy distortion to suit seven-string guitars too. So it opens up even more possibilities for what you can do. While I would definitely not suggest it for a djent rig, It can get you beautifully started if you’re on a budget and can jump up to an AXE FX.

KHDK Dark Blood Distortion Effects Pedal

The flamboyant lead guitarist of Metallica knows the way around a warped metal sound, and the dark blood, attributable to a heavy sound built in the American tube amp style, is one of the best distortion pedals.

The advantage is close and compact, with lots of bass reaction, with the necessary so-called doom power that forms the bottom end intuitively.

You can use those horrific sounds to put the “amen” to the “doom” but a noise suppressor aboard keeps it safe and you have plenty of amusing heights to spot on what’s perfect all-round for music.

BOSS NS-2 Noise Suppressor/Power Supply Pedal

One great addition to our best metal guitar pedals list is the BOSS NS-2 Noise Suppressor/Power Supply Pedal. With NS-2, the input signal noise and hum are efficiently eliminated while the original sound is preserved. The Boss NS-2 noise suppressor pedal effectively removes the input signal from the noise and hum while maintaining the tonality of the original sound. The noise components remain uninfluenced by natural attacks and the envelope.

It is an immensely common pedal and functions very well. You turn in, configure the right mode and you’re ready to go.

You’re going to finish in a great toning, use a noise suppressor wisely. Don’t churn your earnings for a rusty mess and expect it to calm your sound seamlessly.

Blackstar HT-METAL Guitar Effects Pedal

The Blackstar is a two-channel pedal, for clean and heavy music, that metal players love. It serves as a lift to bring an added dimension to your sound in clean mode.

Both channels provide even flexibility, which helps you to switch in a matter of seconds from smooth play to the harsh rhythm.

It also has a big gain, but the pedal can create too much noise when it is used.

It also has six buttons that allow your sound to be extra tuned. I really like the ISF-button, which makes it more noticeable when playing hard, by messing with the mid-range.

This can be the best metal guitar pedals for recording and playing live by a direct connection.

JHS Bonsai 9-Way Screamer Overdrive Guitar Effects Pedal

The JHS Pedal Bonsai gives you a range of tube-screams of high quality in one compact box. This pedal determines the value of polyvalence. It is one of the most complex pedals on the market, if not the most complex, that enables you to use sounds between the 1970s and the present day.

The Bonsai’s most surprising aspect is how it manages in one specific case to mimic nine distinct shouts. It is not a style package, it includes nine combinations of various pedals with a single rotary knob, including modern, uncommon, retro, and difficult to find screamers.

Ideally, you probably have hyped and reviewed the price tag already if you are a shrieking fan. If you are already here, be sure to check it out, as we think it is one of the most innovative pedals on the market and a perfect way to get 9 pedals in one.

If there are still doubts about the pedal that suits you better, be confident that this Bonsai can pull together nine different ones to encourage you to buy it. It can be used to take advantage of the slide, bounces, and personalities of the nine different pedals and it sure doesn’t cost 9 units!

TC Electronic Mimiq Doubler Pedal

The Mimiq Doubler by TC Electronic is worth trying out if you want to replicate the sensation on your own. You should stretch the guitar sections and create several dubs as opposed to your drums.

The magic of genuine lab reproduction has been refined completely by MIMIQ Doubler. The technologically sophisticated doubler algorithm absorbs all the spontaneous, nuanced nuances of the studio moment, attack, and pitch and makes them usable for the stage in a super-intuitive stompbox.

MIMIQ Doubler allows players to add up to three more guitar songs. And, with a fine-tuning influence over the tightness of the doubling and the mixing of dry and effective signaling, Musicians will conjure everything from the ultra-realist and tight multi-trailing guitar lines to subtle riff-fattening effects. Now apply Stereo I / O to the live tone mix and you see that the MIMIQ Doubler is the actual king of clones.

Horizon devices Precision Drive Modern Overdrive Pedal Electric Guitar

The final item of my best metal guitar pedals list is this Horizon devices Precision Drive Modern Overdrive Pedal Electric Guitar. This distortion pedal is incredibly powerful. By moving, luminous, assaulting, and intensity you can easily change the sounds to make them sound the way you like them. The volume control is a good touch – six are worth more than ten on this classic toggle.

Horizon Accuracy is fitted with an optimized noise door to minimize noise and a punch power knob of the highest level. This system is popular due to its exact ability to hold the bottom ends of the signal and to minimize mud on the bottom ends with ease.

You are in the right position if you like an extra-precise lever. It could be the perfect distortion pedal for metal, particularly Djent and other like-minded. This unit is particularly for metal lovers who enjoy cold, cold low ends with overdrive and high precision.

In general, this distortion pedal is one of the most powerful you can find. It provides a wide variety of attack speeds, allowing you to punch accurately without losing sound quality. Therefore, if you enjoy Djent-style effects, you must try out this pedal!

How To Pick Your Ideal Guitar Pedal For Metal

At first, metal looks from a tonal point of view like a simplistic style – you make a decent distortion and you are decent for it. But it takes a bit of preparation, tuning, and the right gear for a genuinely decent sounding metal guitar tone.

In this guide, you can see a selection of the best metal guitar pedals and how different pedals can form, strengthen, and densify the metal tonality.

Things To Consider When Purchasing The Best Metal Guitar Pedals

Now comes a shortlist of conscientious considerations should be taken into account :

Distortion Pedal Effects

Distortion pedals have been specially designed to distort the tone. In other words, you can get an extreme snap or distortion of the ground, but even if you play loudly or softly you have the same impact. Be sure that you know what to do about it-our tips will produce some real grit and gritty tones that are great for metal playing.

Amps and Pedals

Some people may discourage you from choosing this because a heated debate is going on about this topic. However, we suggest you do it for yourself whether you have a particular kind (such as Death Metal or other related ones) a distortion pedal can support you, or it can allow you to create a low-quality amp. For starters, some amps are all right with classical rock, even though heavy genres are not possible for them.

Finding the Right Tone

Each distortion pedal that you use provides a slightly different sound. Connect your theme, guitar, and multiple variables to your options in different amp configurations.

This will lead to you finding a pedal that does not fit your style when you shop without playing first. The easiest way is to achieve versatility The more the knobs, the more you can change settings before you get the sound you like.

Build quality

You’re not only looking for strong distortion. You must also stand up to the rigors of constant stumping on your pedal.

Any use of metal in the design of the pedal is good because it gives the kit longevity. Check the glasses, too. If the pedal is not well attached, a misfit’s foot will knock off a lever.

The Gain

What gives your guitar the deep and distorted sound is high gain. You should be able to tweak this setting to most pedals.

If you only play heavy riffs, keeping the pedal set at a high gain does the job. You may also want to find a pedal that provides lower solos gain or more nuanced action.

Bass

Similar to gain, the bass is a crucial part of playing heavy metal. You’re looking for a pedal knob with “Low” or “Bass.” Both are doing exactly the same thing.

In the ideal situation, when you’re playing riffs or attempting to create a drone-like sound, your pedal can produce strong lows.

Things to remember when buying guitar pedals for metal

Choosing The Right Pedal When Playing Metal

Seeking a great dist box comes down to many factors, a big one being personal preference. Your preference also depends on the metal genre you’re playing and your position in the band. In general, those who are just beginning should find something fairly neutral. By this, we say a distortion pedal that is not too high on gain and has a good number of choices for tone shaping. If we set the decision-making phase aside, then we will be left to find a solution to decent hardware.

The last thing you’d like is noise in your distortion pedal. You could actually get away with this in a more relaxed environment. But this easily changes if you intend to appear on stage. Any of the models on our list are very pretty much. Few brakes do that rather than most.

You should bear in mind, with all that said, that most distortion pedals provide plenty of range. Here the secret is the person’s experience with the pedal. If you’re a beginner, you may feel restricted, but while you’re spending some time playing with your signal chain, you’ll soon realize there’s much more room in there than it first seems.

Minimizing The Effect Of Gain On Your Tone

Gain, however good it can be, is a double-edged sword actually. Without even knowing, it is too easy to go overboard. Often guitar players use their distortion pedals to connect them directly through a smooth track. It’s just rational, after all, right? This is the contract here. The contract here. The quickest way to a half-decent tone is to use a solid-state distance pedal with a clean track. It is too easy to do and often guitar players are lazy. The trouble with this winning strategy is that it will overpower you.

A slightly safer alternative is to pair your distortion pedal with your amplifier’s dirty tube. You should not overload the amp with an external boost, but use the pedal as an encouragement for your dirty tube. Of course, with your distortion pedal, you can be pretty traditional. It’s all about finesse to nail a guitar sound produced with this process. Using the two benefit sources at the end of the day, the tone and space are far more established.

Getting the Right Pedal for Your Style

When finding the best metal guitar pedals, we need to take a lot of things into consideration. It’s better to see what your favorite guitarists use and go from there more often than not. But you also can realize that not all distortion pedals are ideal for the metal of all sorts.

Your unique genre can play a tremendous role in deciding which metal pedal suits you. For eg, in most situations having a wide variety of distortion correction is perfect. But that’s not something you would like to pay more for intense genres such as pitch, grind, or any number of core genres.

 If you want a consistent tonality to hear every note in all its glory, you’re going to want a larger EQ section. On the other hand, double band equipment may be more than adequate when you go for that classical distortion of the 80s or 90s where everything is brightly, aggressively, and too fast.

You should also worry about how much a pedal will bend you. Not all on the gain channel can be rolled up to the limit without reducing distortion and tonal stability returns.

Last but not least, the days are gone with just one foot. You must now use a pedal mechanism to help the listener recall a special tone. This means you must make sure that the distortion pedal suits your pedals properly.

Final Thoughts of Best Metal Guitar Pedals

TC Electronic Mimiq Doubler Pedal	MXR M116 Fullbore Metal Distortion	Fulltone OCD Obsessive Compulsive Drive Overdrive
Best Effects Pedals for Metal	Best Distortion Pedals for Metal	Best for the Money

Finally, we have represented our top 15 best metal guitar pedals with our best knowledge and experiences in this field as long as 100% enthusiasm.

Let us conclude that we have resolved confusion about the usage and location of distortion pedals in the field of metals. All you need now is to select from our list the most interesting suggestion, and have some fun!

See more best seller of metal guitar pedals on Amazon and find the best option for you here!

Thank you for reading this far! I hope that the information provided in this article will be helpful to you.

• Don’t forget to share your thoughts about best metal guitar pedals at the comment box below!

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