(08-15-2016, 12:17 PM)Fred Rocker Wrote: i'm looking to get an old mxr distortion +.
i like a pretty crunchy tone with some reverb in there.
i think the mxr will crunch things up and i can keep the volume down.
it's been 30 years since i used a distortion+. when i had one they didnt have an a/c input, just battery.
i'm wondering if they are noisey?
Personal opinion - The distortion+ is fairly straight ahead, but has no tone control. The schematic shows VERY minimal passive treble cut after the distortion. There is bot a lot of control to dial in a specific tone. That pedal is probably better with an amp that is already crunching a bit, and for adding a subtle amount of gain/crunch boost on top of that. They are maybe not as good for going into a clean & clear amp.
The current MXR line has other 'distortion' pedals in the line that have at least a tone control to help the pedal tone match your straght tone.
The old MXRs may have been more noisy than they current ones, simply due to op amps being a lot better than they were 30+ years ago in terms of noise. But yes, you will still be boosting noise due to gain, compression, etc.
Personal opinion - if you are open to suggestion, try something like the Barber "Direct Drive," or even a "RAT" pedal. The RAT is classic and at least has a tone control. The Barber is also not that pricey, and has slightly more control with more thoughtful circuitry for good crunch tones.
I also find that crunch pedals sound a lot better into an amps when the amp's bright switch isn't on.
As always, your mileage may vary.