Overdrive pedal suggestions

[galamba]

I am currently using a Mesa/Boogie V-Twin pedal for my drives. I am not very happy about it because I think its tone is quite dark and the noise on the lead channel is too much, so is the overdrive. I would like a suggestion on a nice overdrive to buy, maybe you can give me two suggestions, one pedal for rythm work and another for a boost.
Thanks in advance.

[fezz parka]

I like this one...

[TT100]

Barber LTD for a very musical od. Not a metal pedal. Great for rhythm.

Don't know about a boost but as happy as I am with my LTD I'd try Barber's Launch Pad.

Check 'em out here

TT

[MIKEH]

Lots to choose from. You've got Fulltone FD2, Barber LTD and Direct Drive, Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive, the Bad Bob that fezz mentioned, Carl Martin, several varieties of Boss pedals, Tubescreamers, Nobels, MXR, and Danelectro. Seems like there's new ones coming out every week.
I use a Fulltone FD2 and Fat-Boost together. It works for me. YMMV.

[galamba]

Thanks for the replies guys, I do apreciatte your suggestions, but the thing is, I live in Brazil and it is quite hard to find these custom-hand-made stuff down here. Would you have any suggestions on good models for Boss stuff, or nive TubeScreamers, or other stuff like that?

[MIKEH]

Try out a Boss OD-3 or BD-2, or a Tubescreamer TS-9 or TS-808 reissue. You should be able to find these in Brazil.

[Tele-Bob]

Forget about the King of Tone pedal. They suck and ya can't even get 'em. That probably a good thing considering how bad they are and all. ;)

[ragtweed]

I bought a used Boss Blues Driver that was modded by Stomp Box Pedals and its a great pedal for mild OD tones.

[Tele-Bob]

I was about to throw away my BD2 because it wasn't working properly. I took a chance and sent it to Analogman and it came back a champion!

[CocoTone]

THE most often asked question on any BB regarding guitars,,,which OD to get?? I guess your locale is a bit of an pain in the ass, but you`ve got internet, so you can order just about anything. You can`t go wrong with a TS 808 RI, but there is so much to choose from, ya gotta roll the dice in your case, cuz you caint`demo `em, can ya?

CT.:ahem

[Kap'n]

What CT said.

If you're located in a gear desert, and are looking for the ultimate OD for you, what I would do is to purchase popular stuff used on Ebay, and get a frame of reference for what you want. I'd start with (either all at once, or in succession).

A TS based box, like a TS7/9/Fulldrive, etc.
A non-TS pedal, like a BD2 or a Direct Drive
Any of the popular clean boosts - Fatboost, Germ, BadBob

The great thing about Ebay is if you buy used and shop wisely, the most you'll ever be out is shipping, if you buy something you don't end up liking.

[galamba]

Thanks a lot for the replies guys. I have been checking out some of the Fulltone pedals and they do seem to have great tone. I was pretty happy with the sound clips and I am looking into the FD2, because I am presenting live all the time so the boost feature would be great for me.

I am going to take a look at ebay but the thing is not everyone ships outside the US, but I will keep looking. Answering one of the questions, yes, I am in a gear desert, only one good shop in town but they only have the popular stuff of course. So i am buying a lot of stuff from Internet reviews and stuff like that, so I really apreciate your help.

One question about the FD2. Is there enough gain in that to play lead when you turn the boost on? I am looking for an OD beacuse of its natural sound, but I do like a little gain when I play lead.

Thanks for your help!

[Franklin]

One question about the FD2. Is there enough gain in that to play lead when you turn the boost on? I am looking for an OD beacuse of its natural sound, but I do like a little gain when I play lead.

YES!

[Offshore Angler]

The OSA modded TS9 with the Gonzo switch rules IMHO.

[Huckleberry]

There are always the classics:

Ibanez TS9 TubeScreamer: light OD, good for boosting leads into a Fender amp. I think some pro players may have done this, but noone you've heard of. LOL!

Boss DS-1 Distortion: will get you into late 70's/early 80's territory.

ProCo Rat: picks up where the Boss leaves off, keeps going into Smashing Pumpkins fuzz. Might me too much sonically, given your description of your needs.

Digitech Bad Monkey: a TubeScreamer type with more grunt & sparkle. My current fave between my McCarty & Champ.

[Offshore Angler]

RATs are cool, but even though they are true bypass, they suck the signal dry in bypass mode. But, sometimes only a RAT will do.

[Bongolation]

even though they are true bypass, they suck the signal dry in bypass mode.

Huh?

How is that physically possible?

[Offshore Angler]

Don't ask me. But they just do. But, a RAT is a RAT.

[CocoTone]

Don't ask me. But they just do. But, a RAT is a RAT.

Your right about the tone-sucking true bypass pedal. I installed a TB switch myself into an MXR Distortion plus, and it STILL sucks the tone bypassed. Baffles the shit outta me,,,

CT. :ahem

[Franklin]

Your right about the tone-sucking true bypass pedal. I installed a TB switch myself into an MXR Distortion plus, and it STILL sucks the tone bypassed. Baffles the shit outta me,,,

CT. :ahem

I have not tried the Fulltone OCD pedal, anyone?

Troy T had a really cool two stage overdrive pedal at the last CT jam, I can't remember what it was. I didn't get a chance to play it...

[sinner]

I tried the Fulltone OCD, very nice but seems a tad harsh, but it was very hard to tell trying out in the store with other noise and people near by. To be fair I would have needed to try at home with my rig and a couple of days to dial it in (I'm slow). I decided not to buy and got a Landgraff Dynamic Overdrive instead--never tried one but heard some great clips over at the LPF.

[Kap'n]

Troy T had a really cool two stage overdrive pedal at the last CT jam, I can't remember what it was. I didn't get a chance to play it...

I'm pretty sure it was one of these:


A Red Snapper and a Blue Collar in one package.

More info here:
http://menatone.com/new_menatone/fish_info.html

I didn't play it either, but it sure sounded great when Troy used it!

[Bongolation]

Don't ask me. But they just do. But, a RAT is a RAT.

Thing is that a true mechanical bypass - assuming it isn't broken - can't possibly be affected by the circuit because there's no connection with it. It's a dead short between the plug tips, a completely isolated shunt, with no (0) connection to anything with electronic properties. That's the basic principle, though there are a number of "untrue" bypass circuits in stomps.

I didn't think that the RAT was true bypass, though.

If I'm factually mistaken about any of this, I'll be happy for a superior geek to correct me.

[AshTele]

With my JTM45 Clone I have been using one of these:


Very Expensive, but the best boost I've tried!!!

For and all out OD: I love my TS808 Reissue:


-Peace
-Nate

[Franklin]

I'm pretty sure it was one of these:

[crazy fingers]

I recently picked up a voodoo labs sparkle drive that is working famously.
I am using it in combination with a hot rod deluxe, mxr 10 band eq and a
thd hotplate. With this combo I can set the hotplate right on the breaking point and use the sparkle drive for leads. I can dial in feedback with my volume control and the sound is pure vintage fender (or as close as i can get with my eq).
I would otherwise say the tried and true tube screamer would be a good option, but my only experience with them was with a mid 90's model with the black plastic encasement. Those were too damn noisy and never got me the sound I was hoping for. They make a good paper weight though....

[Franklin]

Any Klon owners here?

[opdev]

I have been through alot of OD's. My three suggestions are

1) Menatone Red Snapper (to me this is the best OD period).
2) Fulltone OCD (sounds great and very versitile)
3) Clark/Barber Gainster (similar to RS but a little less clarity. This may be good for a brighter amp like a BF).

I have abandoned Keeley BD-2, TS-9, Boss SD-1, Sparkle Drive, Direct Drive, and Rat (although I should have kept the RAT).

[Stewie]

I have both the BD2, and the TS9. I like the BD2 much better and it is readily available. I can't seem to get a mellow bluesy tone from the TS9. I am using Fender./Gibson, single coil, P90, Humbuckers.
Blues Junior, Blues Deluxe Reissue, and Super Reverb. I play only the blues.

[Tele-Bob]

Just to throw a wrench in the works here.

I notice a lot of people use a pedal to get an overdriven rythm sound even though they're playing through an amp with 3 pre-amp stages which is more than capable of producing a crunchy rythm sound.

For playing rock, I have always tried to use amps that would give me a great, crunchy rythm sound with no effects at all. Once I have my rythm sound as a foundation, I then start to build my solo tone and other stuff on that foundation.

If you're running one OD pedal for rythm and then you kick in a second for a solo boost, you have just entered "Thin City". All the bottom end is gone from your solo tone. Add a wah wah pedal to that and you'll swear you're playing Telecaster on the brdige p'up with all the bass rolled off.

Having a great, crunchy rythm tone using only the amp will make all of your other pedals sound better, and will also help your sound to cut through the mix better at a lower volume. This reduces the feedback and noise from having too many pedals going at higher gain and output settings.

It's an "old school" approach that works.

I play in an eight piece band and the guys always ask me how I get my sound to cut so well at a lower volume than the guy I replaced. See above.

For a readily available pedal in Brazil? I would suggest an Analogman modded Boss BD2. It's inexpensive and retains the low frequencies beautifully when soloing.

[hudpucker]

FWIW, I hated my V-Twin. Even though I appreciated the fact that it had both rhythm and solo channels it was still too noisy and 'squishy' sounding and had a totally unacceptable amount of switching latency (though they later corrected the latency issue).

I did, however, just come into ownership of one of these:



Thus far, it seems to be a 'better mousetrap' than the V-Twin. It cleans up nicely by rolling off the gtr volume and you still get nice bottom and mids when you switch to the lead channel. Sounds MUCH better than the V-Twin to my ears.

It won't replace my vintage lamp cord Chandler Tube Drivers but it's a great pedal for playing out with a clean sounding amp.

[Don]

My BYOC Screamer Clone sounded like crap lately. I was thinking how fickle I am and that I love new pedals when I first get them then they fall out of favor.

Then I realized that I should check the battery.

It was almost dead.

Sounds great again!

[galamba]

I completely agree with you Tele-Bob, in my opinion you can´t beat the sound of a decent amp´s drive channel. I don´t have a decent amp yet, and that is because I need a very portable decent amp, and decent amps are very expensive around here. I play live gigs 4 times a week, and I am quite lazy to carry too much stuff around, so I usually just use the amps available in the clubs, and all of them suck big time. So I am looking into an amp to buy, and was wondering if a Peavey Classic 30 would have enough volume for a gig situation, I usually play miced, but it gets REALLY REALLY loud on stage. And the Peavey is a cheper option, the Fenders, Marshall´s etc... are very expensive down here. So I was considering buying a small tube amp and maybe a Barbed Direct Drive to add to the drive channel. What do you guys think about that?

Oh, by the way, I just got Kinman AVn Traditional MK-II pickups on my Strat. I first heard about the kinmans in here, and they do sound great! Thanks for that too!

[Mikey]

Any votes for the reverend DriveTrain II as a boost?

[MIKEH]

Using a non-master volume amp alone to get overdriven rhythm is problematic because of the voume needed. Anything over 20-25 watts puts you into hearing damage territory. I agree that if your amp has a master volume, you should be using it to get the best rhythm sound you can before you use a boost pedal for solos. In my personal experience, the only non-master volume amp over 15 watts that can overdrive at a reasonable volume is the Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb.

[Tele-Bob]

Yeah Mike, even my Deluxe Reverb is too loud for rock. It's perfect for blues though!

For rock, the Rivera Chubster 40 or my JCM800 2 x 12 combo get the job done nicely without blowing out my ear drums!

[Kap'n]

I completely agree with you Tele-Bob, in my opinion you can´t beat the sound of a decent amp´s drive channel.

I'll be the voice of dissention here. I've never heard a "drive channel" I've liked. Even a cheap-o $50 TS-7 in front of a good amp sounds better.

Good old fashioned non-channel switching amps overdriven is a different story.

[sabby]

I've had it with ODs. The Barber LTD was the best I heard for reasonable money. But, from now on, its one of these ...



... and one of these.



All the OD I need from the amp and a little fuzz to throw it over the top, or give some sparkle when the volume is rolled back

[Kap'n]

I've got one of those Mini-MASS thangs on my birthday wish list.

[stvnscott]

I like this one a lot:

http://www.s2amps.com/drive2.html

But, I might be kinda partial. I also alternate between a Sparkle Drive and a Full Drive. Sine these are TS variants, they sound best in front of a Fender. For Marshalls, I don't think you can beat the drive2.