Overdrive Pedals - Need Your Honest Opinion Please

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DaxNelson said:
What does everyone think of the Seymour Duncan Pickup Booster for this purpose? I have one lying around somewhere... I should check it out. I got it with a bunch of other pedals a while back. Since I've been checking these forums, I'm curious to see about making my sound a little tighter. Does tightening up the sound effect things when you're just strumming fat chords?

First and foremost, the Pickup Booster is just that - a clean boost pedal, so if your Boogie is equipped with a solo boost, it's kinda pointless. However, from watching the video on the SD website, the resonance option of the PU Booster might help pump some mid range into your signal to fatten it up. Give it a shot and let us know how it works. ;)
 
I'm not sure a solo boost has the same effect. The solo boost is only a volume boost. A booster or an OD IN FRONT of the amp will change the way the preamp will sound. The purpose of an od is not only to add volume or distortion, it CHANGES the way the preamp sounds. You also need to know that if you have an high gain amp you should not use gain on the OD or very few, only the level and tone should be turned up high. The best tones i got from my tube amps where obtained by turning down a bit the gain on the head and using an od set to gain=0, level=5to10 and tone= 5 to 10. It will not give you more distortion, just more attack, more thightness and a meaner but cleaner and more definite tone
 
plinky said:
I didn't know there was a metal chassis version. Every one I've seen has been cheap plastic. I found a link for the Daphon, and it actually looks like it's molded in the color of yellow:

http://www.dealsdirect.com.au/p/daphon-overdrive-pedal-electric-guitar/

I'd be curious to see the innards of it. ;D
BTW, if it uses those tiny little tactile switches for the bypass, I know where you can get those when it wears out. :)

daphoned200d_th.jpg


one of those. it's a pretty solid little unit, if i get a chance i'll take some pics of the insides for you
 
From my experice with useing overdrive pedals as a clean boost for DR's, I found that "Tube Screamerish" type overdrives work best for me than the Boss type. I've owned TS-9 reissues modded by both Analog Man and Keeley and have always gone back to a stock Ibanez TS-808 reissue or a stock Maxon OD-808. I also like the Digitek Bad Monkey too, very under rated pedal!! and you can't beat the price!
Oh yeah, if you use a VooDoo Lab PP2 to power your OD's, you have to use the "Sag" control power jacks! Just a little Sag makes it sound nice and fat!
 
LynchLicks said:
From my experice with useing overdrive pedals as a clean boost for DR's, I found that "Tube Screamerish" type overdrives work best for me than the Boss type. I've owned TS-9 reissues modded by both Analog Man and Keeley and have always gone back to a stock Ibanez TS-808 reissue or a stock Maxon OD-808. I also like the Digitek Bad Monkey too, very under rated pedal!! and you can't beat the price!
Oh yeah, if you use a VooDoo Lab PP2 to power your OD's, you have to use the "Sag" control power jacks! Just a little Sag makes it sound nice and fat!

Interesting regarding the Sag on the PP2 of OD's. I'm wondering if that holds trus for the OCD given that they say the more voltage (9-18) you run through it the more punchy it sounds. The PP2 has the ability to put out 12 volts from one single output (1-4) by switching one of the corresponding dip switches to the ON position. I believe the Sag control is suppoes to mimic a 9 volt battery running low. i.e. slightly below 9 volts. So, I dont' know if using Sag would be appropriate for the OCD. Any thoughts on this out there?
 
Dusty Rhodes said:
LynchLicks said:
From my experice with useing overdrive pedals as a clean boost for DR's, I found that "Tube Screamerish" type overdrives work best for me than the Boss type. I've owned TS-9 reissues modded by both Analog Man and Keeley and have always gone back to a stock Ibanez TS-808 reissue or a stock Maxon OD-808. I also like the Digitek Bad Monkey too, very under rated pedal!! and you can't beat the price!
Oh yeah, if you use a VooDoo Lab PP2 to power your OD's, you have to use the "Sag" control power jacks! Just a little Sag makes it sound nice and fat!

Interesting regarding the Sag on the PP2 of OD's. I'm wondering if that holds trus for the OCD given that they say the more voltage (9-18) you run through it the more punchy it sounds. The PP2 has the ability to put out 12 volts from one single output (1-4) by switching one of the corresponding dip switches to the ON position. I believe the Sag control is suppoes to mimic a 9 volt battery running low. i.e. slightly below 9 volts. So, I dont' know if using Sag would be appropriate for the OCD. Any thoughts on this out there?

Most OD pedals are ment to run at the proper voltage. I've tried the Sag control with some MIJ Boss SD-1's and OD-1's and it just did'nt work as good. The older MIJ Boss overdrives were ment to be run at 12 volts anyway. That's mainly why the Pedal Power has the 9 volt to 12 volt option. The Sag control just seems to work best with the Tube Sreamerish type pedals. The "dieing battery" thing is an old Eric Johnson trick! Or at least he's the only one I've read about useing 1/2 dead batterys in his Tube Screamers. All I can say is try it on the OCD with the Sag and see what results you get. Let your ears be the judge!
 
LynchLicks said:
Dusty Rhodes said:
LynchLicks said:
From my experice with useing overdrive pedals as a clean boost for DR's, I found that "Tube Screamerish" type overdrives work best for me than the Boss type. I've owned TS-9 reissues modded by both Analog Man and Keeley and have always gone back to a stock Ibanez TS-808 reissue or a stock Maxon OD-808. I also like the Digitek Bad Monkey too, very under rated pedal!! and you can't beat the price!
Oh yeah, if you use a VooDoo Lab PP2 to power your OD's, you have to use the "Sag" control power jacks! Just a little Sag makes it sound nice and fat!

Interesting regarding the Sag on the PP2 of OD's. I'm wondering if that holds trus for the OCD given that they say the more voltage (9-18) you run through it the more punchy it sounds. The PP2 has the ability to put out 12 volts from one single output (1-4) by switching one of the corresponding dip switches to the ON position. I believe the Sag control is suppoes to mimic a 9 volt battery running low. i.e. slightly below 9 volts. So, I dont' know if using Sag would be appropriate for the OCD. Any thoughts on this out there?

Most OD pedals are ment to run at the proper voltage. I've tried the Sag control with some MIJ Boss SD-1's and OD-1's and it just did'nt work as good. The older MIJ Boss overdrives were ment to be run at 12 volts anyway. That's mainly why the Pedal Power has the 9 volt to 12 volt option. The Sag control just seems to work best with the Tube Sreamerish type pedals. The "dieing battery" thing is an old Eric Johnson trick! Or at least he's the only one I've read about useing 1/2 dead batterys in his Tube Screamers. All I can say is try it on the OCD with the Sag and see what results you get. Let your ears be the judge!

You hit the nail on the head. "Let you ears be the judge". Ultimately it all comes down to that. When you mentioned the older Boss pedals taking 12 volts, are you refering to the ACA power supply models?
 
I use an Ibanez TS-7 for the distortion (set wherever you like it) and just before it I put an Ibanez TS-9 (Gain on 0 - Tone about 9 o'clock - Level all the way up or near that). The TS-9 adds sustain, an overall compression sound (but better) and a little punch. Be sure to put the OD pedals AFTER a WahWah pedal, NOT before or the sound is horrible.
 
Ok... took a while, but I spent some time messing with the Duncan pickup booster I got a while back. I was using it in front of my dual rec. At first, I really couldn't notice much of a difference. Then I turned up the turned up the pedal a little more.... it sound good, but when I really noticed the difference is when I turned it off. The amp sounded so much drier without the pedal on out front. It's hard to explain because it is more subtle than I expected it to be, but at the same time it now sounds odd without it! Is this how you guys first experienced using an OD out front? I still have a lot more tweaking to try....

Which brings me to my next question: do you think an OD such as an 808 would be really vastly different than what the Duncan is doing? I wouldn't imagine it would be since the whole purpose seems to be to hit the front end of the amp harder... but I've been wrong before. Before I pay $$$ for an OD pedal, I'll like your input as to if it would be way different than the Duncan pickup booster, or is an OD pretty much a variation on the same theme? When you read the manual of the Duncan, it seems to be marketed for this very purpose.
 
I think you will get more of a dramatic change with an OD, i play metal and i use an MXR Wyld OD in front of my 2 DRs and it sounds way better than any clean boost, EQ or any expensive OD i have tried. I would never play my DRs without an OD and noise gate in front, this is THE X factor that makes me sound good...
 
What are you settings on the Zack OD? I picked one up at guitar center and I'm not really experiencing what everyone else seems to say. I even spoke to one of my friends who has been producing metal bands forever and he said it's pretty much industry standard to run an TS9 or Maxon OD to give the tone more focus. But I'm still failing to see how this tightens up the sound. I don't know if it matters, but I play very little lead work or single note riffs. It makes more sense to me that this may be more effective on tightening up around a single note - but I'm not experiencing that with chords and 2 and 3 string palm-muting.... I know from reading this thread that many peeps have different opinions and maybe I just like plugging straight in, but I thought I'd at least be able to more notice the effect of running the OD or boost.

General observations: the Zack Wyld OD seems to take away some of the low end. With the drive all the way down and level all the way up, it doesn't seem to be any louder. When I dial in a small amount of gain, it gets very noisy (even with turning the gain on the amp down a bit) and I'm not noticing any more definition.
With the Duncan booster, I notice that it is not as noisy and makes it sound a little more brutal, but I don't notice any more tightness. If anything, I notice that it seems to sacrifice tone for a little more brutalness.
My Switchbone A/B/Y pedal has a boost function that sounds similar to the Duncan booster - actually, I thought it sounded a little better.

Why am I not having this enlightening experience that everyone talks about? Is it my style of playing, I'm not doing this correctly, or just my tastes????
 
I use the MXR OD with my 2 DRs and it really give a better tone for rythm work, lead is also better but rythm is just perfect with the OD

I suppose you play a rev G DR so here are the settings i would suggest.

MXR: gain 0, level 3 o'clock to maximum, tone 2 o'clock to maximum to your taste

Dr: red channel, modern, solicone diode, bold, effect loop active at send 7 if series

red channel settings
vol 12 o'clock, presence 11 o'clock, bass 2 o,clock to max to your taste, mids 1 o'clock, high 1 o'clock, gain 1 to 2 o'clock.

try this and give me some news, i'd like to know how you like it
 
xscottx9's quick and dirty reviews are also fairly accurate IMO, with maybe one alteration. The OCD overdrive, while nice enough on a clean channel, is after all an overdrive, and sounds much better in front of an amp's dirty channel. To add even a bit more clarity, I will mention that IME, it depends quite a bit on what kind of amp you are putting it in front of. That's true with any overdrive.

For instance, the OCD, on pretty much everybody's short list as one of the best overdrives ever made by anybody, is very Marshall-y sounding and provides a somewhat full-range tone. Playing it in front of a Marshall or a Stilletto will do different things to those amps' sound than playing it in front of a Recto. An OCD in front of a Recto tames and tightens the muddy bass, puts back the sweet mids, and rounds off the harsher, fizzier highs of the Recto. IOW, it sounds fantastic....better than either the OCD or the Recto sound alone. In front of a JCM-800 or a Stilletto Ace combo, it will give more girth to the bass frequencies and fatten up the mids and highs, compensating for the sometimes thinner sound those EL-34-based amps provide naturally. The same could be said for other full-range boutique overdrives like Fulltone's Fulldrive 2 or GT-500, or the Barber Direct Drive, or the Xotic BB Preamp.

Taking a look at an overdrive like the Tube Screamer or its variants (808, TS-9, Maxon, SD-1, Zakk Wylde OD) that cut more bass and tend to emphasize the upper mids, these overdrives tend to sound better in front of an amp like the Recto, which naturally tends to have a little mid-scoop and a little mud in the bass. They can, of course (and were for years) be used in front of Marshalls or Marshall-sounding amps like the Stilletto, but for today's guitar sounds, there may be too little bass and/or the upper mids can get out of hand.

Now, the modified versions of some of those Tube Screamer-based overdrives tend to give a more full-range response than the stock pedals. They can still produce the sounds of the unmodified pedal, but they can also provide a surprising amount of bass, and can be adjusted to leave out the mid-range bump they usually provide. As such, they can be used quite well with either a Recto or a Marshall-sounding amp.

Clean boosts are a different animal. They give you essentially more of the same sound you're already getting. In front of a Stilletto Ace combo, your mids will fatten up, but you still may not be getting all the low-bass you're wanting, and you may need to dial back on the treble to avoid that amp sounding strident. On a Recto, a clean boost won't give you the mids you need for soloing, and it will only make a muddy bass sound get muddier. Fizzy highs will get even fizzier. The point is, with a clean boost you need to make your tone sound as good as possible to start with, then the clean boost will just give you more of that good tone.

stompboxfreak72 brought up a good point about the Digitech Bad Monkey being a good pedal for the money and often overlooked. Unmodified, it's a more versatile pedal than the unmodified SD-1 since it gives you more control over the bass response especially. However, where that particular pedal is an especially great value is if you modify it a bit to give even better bass response, wider dynamic range on the gain control, and more singing mids. With just a few very cheap DIY mods, that pedal can get you some tones rivalling boutique pedals that cost $100 more.
 
Hi Chris,

I agree with your take on the Bad Monkey; it is an impressive pedal and can provide some serious tone improvements/enhancements.

What I hear you saying is that some DIY mods could enhance its capabilities even further.

If you get a chance, could you share these mods with us? I am interested!
 
Best OD i've tried.
$99
GreenScreamer_4in_72dpi.jpg

Worked great with my Stage 1 Stiletto.Very transparent with the gain and tone down,and the level cranked
 
Of course overdrive sounds are subjective but believe it or not the best overdrive pedal I've tried is the Guyatone OD2.
I think it sounds a little better than even the TS-9.

I recently heard some sound clips of 12 different OD pedals back to back and the two that stood out as "great" were the Fulltone fulldrive and the DOD YJM308.

I've purchased a YJM308 but have not received it yet.I hope it sounds as good as the clips I've heard but if not I can always mod it back to DOD "grey" specs
 
Dusty Rhodes said:
recto-robbie said:
Getting into which overdrive is the best for you is a touchy subject that ive seen so many threads go on and on about it its ridiculous.
xscottx9 provided a nice review of many available. You simply need to decide how much money your willing to drop on an OD because honestly although boss OD's do the job, there are many out there that really arent even in the same ballpark IMHO. No you dont need to spend 3 or $400 to get a nice OD like some will suggest.
Persoanlly from my experiance in affordable excellent OD's I would try
MI Audio blues pro or blues boy, OCD, Barber Direct Drive,
Ibanez ts-808 RI, Maxon od-808 and believe it or not that bad monkey for dirt cheap is a pretty decent OD,, to name a few more. There is nothing wrong with Boss although many will argue that point.
Good luck and make sure whatever you buy,, its from a dealer who will accept returns.

I hear what you are saying. Tone is purly subjective. I love the sound of an EL34 amp. Hence my decision to get the Marshall DSL 401 and Mesa Stiletto Ace. What I'm looking for is something to tighten up the overdriven channel and add some blues grit and soul to the clean channels. Distortion is not my goal. I am just wanting to add that little bit of extra flavor to what I already like. i.e. I don't want to change my tone but ranter enhance it. Perhaps I just need to explore what has already been bread into the amp. and practice on technique more. In retrospect I don't think Randy Smith left anything out.

Dusty - You need to be clear about what tones you are trying to acheive. What type of overdrive do you want
Many American OD style pedals probably won't give you any flavours of OD that cannot already be acheived with your amp and the right guitar/PUP's.

There's a pedal made for just about any tone so start testing em out. The Fulltone Fulldrive 2 Mosfet is the best and most versatile OD pedal around IMHO. For British style distortion you can't go past a Crunchbox.
 
I found Chris' recent post, which suggested that the effect of an OD will change according to the amp it is enhancing, to be really interesting.

I'm considering buying an OD for the burn channel of my Express 5:25. The purpose would be to tighten the bass for palm-muted power chords.

Anyone have insights re: the effect of different OD's on overdriven EL-84 amps?

The Express already accentuates the mids, so I'm wondering if a tubescreamer-esque pedal, which would further accentuate the mids, would be a poor choice.
 
Newysurfer said:
Dusty Rhodes said:
recto-robbie said:
Getting into which overdrive is the best for you is a touchy subject that ive seen so many threads go on and on about it its ridiculous.
xscottx9 provided a nice review of many available. You simply need to decide how much money your willing to drop on an OD because honestly although boss OD's do the job, there are many out there that really arent even in the same ballpark IMHO. No you dont need to spend 3 or $400 to get a nice OD like some will suggest.
Persoanlly from my experiance in affordable excellent OD's I would try
MI Audio blues pro or blues boy, OCD, Barber Direct Drive,
Ibanez ts-808 RI, Maxon od-808 and believe it or not that bad monkey for dirt cheap is a pretty decent OD,, to name a few more. There is nothing wrong with Boss although many will argue that point.
Good luck and make sure whatever you buy,, its from a dealer who will accept returns.

I hear what you are saying. Tone is purly subjective. I love the sound of an EL34 amp. Hence my decision to get the Marshall DSL 401 and Mesa Stiletto Ace. What I'm looking for is something to tighten up the overdriven channel and add some blues grit and soul to the clean channels. Distortion is not my goal. I am just wanting to add that little bit of extra flavor to what I already like. i.e. I don't want to change my tone but ranter enhance it. Perhaps I just need to explore what has already been bread into the amp. and practice on technique more. In retrospect I don't think Randy Smith left anything out.

Dusty - You need to be clear about what tones you are trying to acheive. What type of overdrive do you want
Many American OD style pedals probably won't give you any flavours of OD that cannot already be acheived with your amp and the right guitar/PUP's.

There's a pedal made for just about any tone so start testing em out. The Fulltone Fulldrive 2 Mosfet is the best and most versatile OD pedal around IMHO. For British style distortion you can't go past a Crunchbox.

I decided on the OCD after testing out a few including the Fulldrive 2. I must say it was really tough deciding between these two but I liked the enhanced bottom end with the OCD. At any rate, I am very pleased with the results of the OCD. It's doing exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for all of the input.
 
JxMxFxPx said:
I recently heard some sound clips of 12 different OD pedals back to back and the two that stood out as "great" were the Fulltone fulldrive and the DOD YJM308.

I've purchased a YJM308 but have not received it yet.I hope it sounds as good as the clips I've heard but if not I can always mod it back to DOD "grey" specs

I have the DOD YJM308 modded by Analogman. It's a very strange overdrive pedal. It is very, very noisy and really does not create a great effect by itself. What it does do is really tighten up your lead runs on the lower strings. Yngwie uses this pedal and when you plug it in you know why. However, in front of my DR it does not do the trick by itself.

Solution : I run this pedal after a Maxon Ts-9 ( Analogman mod) or the BB Xotic Preamp. It is shred city with this pedal for me when used in this fashion. I am not a fan of it in my setup when used without another OD.

Just my thoughts...... curious to know what you think of the YJM since I don't know anyone else who uses one but me.....
 

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