I have used some pedals to plug Direct in Boss makes a great pedal. The problem is it loses meat. You have nothing left but vegitables. If you want **** thick chewy guitar sound you need to run it with true distortion ex: Marshall half stack turned up to 9 or 10. this is the way the pros' do it and for a reason. If you don't like hearing it loud, go in the other room with your mixer. As with anything it does depend on the sound you are trying to get.
