Distortion pedal with powerful intuitive EQ?

Another vote for Talons.
Underrated dirt pedal, you can get it for around $100 in used condition.

 

That worked for me, but this works better, IMO.

 

Catalinbread Dirty Little Secret has a great 3 band EQ and it sounds awesome with Fender amps.

 

Check out Hardwire SC-2.

 

Radial Tonebone Classic distortion/Trimode has INSANE eq!

There are several ways to control treble, mids and bass. Treble can be controlled at the input, there is a high treble control to take out unwanted fizz (it works with a JBL equipped Twin Reverb which says a lot) and there is a treble control which gives definition without being overly sharp. The two band bass/treble eq lets you set the bass-mid-treble balance and there are two additional mid boost functions.

 

I love the distortion and EQ on my Radial Tonebone Trimode. It's also tube-driven, has three distortion 'ranges' (overdrive-typical distortion-melt your face), and you can switch between rhythm and lead tones with a stomp. Expensive, but I've had mine forever and it'll probably stay that way, so for me it was worth it.

 

My vote would be something from Blackstar's HT line--probably the Dist or Dual based on your description. I'm also enjoying my Monte Allums modded Boss Metal Zone. The mod actually turned it into a very usable, flexible distortion pedal.

 

Haven't tried one but that new DOD Looking Glass looks well thought out. Treble roll off and active bass pre-clipping, then active treble after clipping stage. Use pre-EQ's to shape pu/tone hitting clipping circuit, post treble to control bite and relationship to od.

I'll also throw in with how superb the EQ is on AYA Drivesta.

I'm still amazed by EQ and buffers in these boxes 20 years later. Start with them rolled left and think of it like a fender amp and you'll find a usable sound or a few.

 

After my personal OD shootout, the MXR stayed on the short list. It is highly versatile, a killer OD at moderate/low dist setting. And "smooth enough" when set higher. Great price and form factor. See the pedals that left here:
http://www.tdpri.com/threads/should...now-summer-edition.495586/page-2#post-6748520

 

The Talons sure sounds good in the YT demos. I did some reading on FSB. Looks like it might have some Guv'nor in it's DNA. BTW, I'm surprised nobody's mentioned the old black-box Marshall pedals; Guv'nor, DriveMaster, ShredMaster, etc.

 

Congrats!

 

Congrats on the new pedals. Now that I've spent some time with my Barber Small Fry, I figured I'd add it to the list. With it's three EQ trimpots and Zendrive style variable HP filter, there's plenty to tweak on the EQ front. What I'm most impressed with is the variety of tones I can get just using the topside controls; volume, gain, tone, and dynamics. I'm alternating between three guitars and two amps so EQ is pretty much set in the default positions with the HP parked where it sounds good to me. Anyone interested should pull up the manual and check out the sample settings to get some idea. I'm mostly using it as a medium OD but there's plenty of gain for heavier stuff.

Apparently, players liked the SF as a Dumble sim when it first came out. Pretty cool but that's not all it can do. A lot of pedals are great for one drive or distortion sound but if someone is looking for versatility, the SF could be a contender.

BTW, +1 on the SL Drive. Fresh Cream in a can!