How do I make distortion not sound so.....distorted?

I have a feeling its just my gear, and a lot may have to do with the mixing songs go through when recorded, but I'm not sure. When I play with my distortion on, it obviously doesn't sound clear, but I notice that when bands play with distortion, it doesn't sound nearly the same. Their sound is actually clear, with very slight distortion. For example; Megadeth uses distortion, even in solos you can hear every note. When I play it, the distortion drowns everything out and you basically hear a lot of distortion with music in the background. Another band is Children of Bodom. They obviousely use distortion, but Alexi's sound is always clear.

I don't know if I explained that clearly, so if you have no idea what I mean, let me know.

Try to cut back on the "Gain".

If I'm not mistaken Children of Bodom uses a lot of "Mid" in their sounds but it's been a while since I've listen to them.

I know I had a tendency to over use the Gain. I've cut back on it and brought up the Mid a bit more.

Maybe start with those two.

Alexi said in an interview a little while back that he doesn't use a lot of gain, that most of it comes from the hot EMG. You also have to take into account that these bands are using high end gear. If your unhappy with your tone, perhaps is that time for some new gear.

The simple solution is to cut back on the guitar volume and treble.
Bring the gain down on the distortion unit or amp.

If neither of those work, then it's upgrade time. Either your amp, pedal or pickups. You might also consider going with a multieffects using rather than just a distortion pedal. There's usually dozens of settings you can pick from, or in the case of something like a GT-8, hundreds.

Its probably time for an upgrade, considering I have been using the same electric guitar and amp for about 8 years now. I don't have the gain high at all, but it still sounds unclear. Whats the difference between all the different settings (Mid, Treble, ect)? I never really paid attention to it. I fool around with them and adjust them until I get a good sound, but I'd like to understand what it is Im actually changing.

It's just increasing or decreasing certain frequencies.
Rolling back on the treble decreases the higher frequencies.

i always found cuttin out the middles frequencies gives a sharper note.

if i have high gain i do that

Any recommendations on settings? My amp has treb, mid, bass, and reverb. My distortion pedal just has high, low, and gain. This is where Im at now:

Amp: 8, 3, 8, 3
Pedal: 8, 7, 1
In the order mentioned above.

Im going for a Megadeth sound

Gain on the pedal at 1? I'm no metalhead, but that doesn't seem like it would get a Megadeth sound.

Originally Posted by: hunter1801Any recommendations on settings? My amp has treb, mid, bass, and reverb. My distortion pedal just has high, low, and gain. This is where Im at now:

Amp: 8, 3, 8, 3
Pedal: 8, 7, 1
In the order mentioned above.

Im going for a Megadeth sound

Can't really answer that because the speakers, tubes, cabinet and pickups contribute so much to the sound that no two people would use the same settings.

You just have to experiment.
One thing you might wanna try out is to download a demo copy of something like Amplitube, go direct line-in to your computer and experiment with the settings for a few days. It won't directly help your own sound, but it'll give you a lot of experience into what effect each element has on the end result.
For instance, just changing the microphone type or placement can completely alter the sound. As will changing the cabinet from an open to a closed back.

Originally Posted by: WeslabaGain on the pedal at 1? I'm no metalhead, but that doesn't seem like it would get a Megadeth sound.

Right, but my original problem stated that I already get too much distortion. Thats as close as I can get with the gear I have.

Originally Posted by: AkiraMids are your friend, make the most of them. :)

Yep... I keep the gain at about 7, treble at about 7 and middle at 9.... It's the mids that cut me through the rest of the band...