Overdrive Pedals - Need Your Honest Opinion Please

[danvortex]

i run the loop active but don't put anything in it, the amp is a bit thighter this way but what i like is that you can run the channel level very i and use the black knob for volume and it definitely sound better to me, i find that it hads more punch and compression, it just sounds better to me.

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

Billq,

Sorry to be so late in responding...I've been away on work for a while. As to the Bad Monkey, try increasing capacitor C5 from the stock 0.047uF to 0.07uF, 0.1uF, or even 0.15uF. The higher the value, the more of the mid boost this will take out, giving a more transparent and full-range boost. Combine that with the fact that the Bad Monkey already gives you the ability to boost the bass significantly, and you can get fairly close to a Fulldrive2 or OCD kind of sound, at least in terms of the tone curve. It still won't have exactly the same sound as those pedals, but then it costs like $1.95 comparitively.

If you've got a good amp to run into, a modded Bad Monkey is good enough to make it sound really nice for not too much money. Very good value for the guitarist on a budget.

















SteveP,

If you're running an EL-84 amp, you really don't need to tighten the bass. The EL-84's are very similar to the EL-34's in the Marshall or Stilletto, only a bit brighter and tighter if anything. If you want an overdrive without a mid hump, then I've already gone over a few. The OCD, the Fulldrive2, the Xotic BB Preamp, and the modified Bad Monkey would all fill that bill. However, a fuller range tone response means more bass, and that means a looser bass, not tighter, so you may just have to experiment a bit to find the balance that works for your ears.

Dusty Rhodes,

RE: "When you say "if front of the amp" do you mean NOT running through the FX loop?". Yes, that's exactly what I mean. You will never, ever, ever run any overdrive AFTER the amp's preamp....that is, in the effects loop. That completely defeats the purpose of what all overdrives are designed to do, which is to take your guitar's signal and crank it before it gets to your amp's preamp section.

Chris,

I didn't know that regarding my question about running the overdrive in front vs in the loop. Currently I have it running through the loop but will switch that out now. It makes sense what you have stated. I just automaticaly run all pedals through the loop and didn't stop to really think about it.

Thanks Chris,

 

[danvortex]

silverwoolf i understand why you use the level at noon but if you play metal, i beleive you would get an even better result running it higher on the level and using a noïse gate afgter the od to control the extra feedback it would produce. But this is only my opinion.

 

[danvortex]

the purpose of an OD is to change the way your preamp sounds so it has to be in front of it, not in the loop wich is between the pre and power amps

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

the purpose of an OD is to change the way your preamp sounds so it has to be in front of it, not in the loop wich is between the pre and power amps

Yea, it's so obvious to me now. Duhhh.... But you know, that's the great thing about forums. Thanks,

 

[Silverwulf]

silverwoolf i understand why you use the level at noon but if you play metal, i beleive you would get an even better result running it higher on the level and using a noïse gate afgter the od to control the extra feedback it would produce. But this is only my opinion.

I've tried running it higher before, wasn't for me. I can see the appeal to another player though. For me, settings higher than 12 Noon start adding a little too much to the signal and makes it a little more "brittle" sounding compared to the tone I like, even with moderate settings on the Tone knob. However, I can completely see why another player would enjoy it. In the same vein, I'm also a guy who enjoys my Rev G's more so than the pre-500's that everyone seems to like. I just like my tone a little darker.

 

[danvortex]

ok, i know what you mean, i actually like my pre-500 better than my rev G so that says a lot about our differences in taste

 

[satisfied5582]

well this is what i use and it does the trick for me. i use a hughes and kettner tube factor. it has a pre amp tube built into the pedal. it maintains your guitar and amps true tone and doesn't let its tone get lost. it has 2 factors 1&2. 1 is a little boost great for solo and a good boost on clean channel, 2 is crazy! it is a little pricey but man it is a great pedal.

 

[Bill11]

Hi satisfied5582,

Ditto on the hughes and kettner tube factor...they are awesome pedals. I like mine better than the V Twin I used to own.

 

[blacklight_uk]

I built my own Big Muff clone which i use with my channel 2 crunch sound on my Roadster.

It's insane :shock:

 

[Rojoyinc]

I guess it's subjective, I scanned this thread as I'm about to order a Seymour Duncan SFX03 (tube distrotion) and thought I'd check out other options first... OCD seems to get good reviews here, but in all the demo clips I can find on here adn youtube, I think it's horribly irritating. But thanks for sharing so I could compare!

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

I guess it's subjective, I scanned this thread as I'm about to order a Seymour Duncan SFX03 (tube distrotion) and thought I'd check out other options first... OCD seems to get good reviews here, but in all the demo clips I can find on here adn youtube, I think it's horribly irritating. But thanks for sharing so I could compare!

I understand what you are saying. What you need to do is actually try one out. Preferably with your model of amp and guitar. I picked one up and I must say that it's a very nice pedal. It took me a while to dial in the sounds I like. All-in-all I'm not sorry I bouht it. But like you said, It's all subjective.

 

[djw]

I bought a Fulltone OCD about 2 weeks ago and have been fooling around with it through my Lone Star Classic since then... and my findings so far are: sweeeeeet.

It's not quite what I had intended to get at the time, which was a cleaner boost kinda thing. However, I am very impressed with the OCD's balance between transparent crunch and rich distortion. I'd tested it out at Rocker Guitars in SF though a little Victoria amp, and A/B'ed it with a BB Preamp, which in the end I decided was a little chilly-sounding by comparison.

Having that Andy Timmons clip as a reference for us LSC users has been handy, and keeping the goal in mind of one pedal that would enhance two channels with the same setting keeps the game well-focused.

The OCD does this, so far for me, very nicely. It pushes the clean channel just a tad more than the BB does. But this is ok, and in my case this has opened my amp up a bit in an unexpected way. The LSC is already very responsive in both the clean and drive channels, so I don't really need extra grit in the clean channel (I already get it by playing harder). However, kicking in the OCD in the clean channel gives me a nice Marshally push, very focused and tight.

This character also frees up my drive channel somewhat from trying to imitate a Brit-mode thing, and allows me to bring it back into the normal mode, which feels more natural and is, frankly, superior tone- and response-wise to the thick/thicker options. And the OCD just pushes the drive channel back into the Brit zone I'd been trying to get with the "thick" option previously, just with more gain.

So the LSC and OCD compliment each other very well, I think. I use the OCD with the following settings, more or less:
Low-pass selected
Level: 12:00
Tone: 12:00
Drive: 9:00

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

I bought a Fulltone OCD about 2 weeks ago and have been fooling around with it through my Lone Star Classic since then... and my findings so far are: sweeeeeet.

It's not quite what I had intended to get at the time, which was a cleaner boost kinda thing. However, I am very impressed with the OCD's balance between transparent crunch and rich distortion. I'd tested it out at Rocker Guitars in SF though a little Victoria amp, and A/B'ed it with a BB Preamp, which in the end I decided was a little chilly-sounding by comparison.

Having that Andy Timmons clip as a reference for us LSC users has been handy, and keeping the goal in mind of one pedal that would enhance two channels with the same setting keeps the game well-focused.

The OCD does this, so far for me, very nicely. It pushes the clean channel just a tad more than the BB does. But this is ok, and in my case this has opened my amp up a bit in an unexpected way. The LSC is already very responsive in both the clean and drive channels, so I don't really need extra grit in the clean channel (I already get it by playing harder). However, kicking in the OCD in the clean channel gives me a nice Marshally push, very focused and tight.

This character also frees up my drive channel somewhat from trying to imitate a Brit-mode thing, and allows me to bring it back into the normal mode, which feels more natural and is, frankly, superior tone- and response-wise to the thick/thicker options. And the OCD just pushes the drive channel back into the Brit zone I'd been trying to get with the "thick" option previously, just with more gain.

So the LSC and OCD compliment each other very well, I think. I use the OCD with the following settings, more or less:
Low-pass selected
Level: 12:00
Tone: 12:00
Drive: 9:00

I couldn't have said it better. Exactly.

 

[Newysurfer]

Distortion is all about flavour. Which flavours do you like. Sooo - we're all Mesa players right. Most Mesa amps deliver stunning American flavoued distortion. The Mesa heavy distortion sound is the icon of the American distortion tone. We've all got that in our amps except for the Lonestar users.

The classic English distortion tones come thru the Marshall JCM800, JCM900, the Plexi and others.

So when I look for any pedal I'm going specifically for something that will add new tones onto my list that my amp can't already do just fine. My amp already does great Mesa style American distortion tones better than any pedal can ever do so getting an American style distortion pedal doesn't add to or compliment what I've already got.

I've tried a lot of distortion pedals over 20yrs as a pro player. They all have their own voice. THere's a lot of good ones around.

The OCD is an excellent American style distortion pedal. Mesa's already do that better than anything else so I'm not interested in an OCD. It doesn't add new flavours to my pallette of tones. Just more of the same. Probably ok for Lonestar users though cause that amp doesn't do heavy distortion. I put the Rat & the Bad Monkey in the same category.

No Mesa amp can do classic Marshall crunch distortion tones in the English style though. I really luv those tones so I searched for a pedal that could deliver it thru my Mesa's clean channell. Without doubt the best IMHO is the MI Audio Crunchbox. It's Marshall in a box and absolutely nails AC/DC, Van Halen, early Bowie, Gary Moore, U2 type tones. It's cheap, it's true bypass and it's got a ton of gain. It's also the best distortion pedal I've ever heard IMHO. Here's a link to a bunch of good mp3 clips of the Crunchbox so you get the idea

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=761668

It's perfect for Mesa users who want to add a different set of English distortion flavours to an amp that already has the best American flavours.

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

Distortion is all about flavour. Which flavours do you like. Sooo - we're all Mesa players right. Most Mesa amps deliver stunning American flavoued distortion. The Mesa heavy distortion sound is the icon of the American distortion tone. We've all got that in our amps except for the Lonestar users.

The classic English distortion tones come thru the Marshall JCM800, JCM900, the Plexi and others.

So when I look for any pedal I'm going specifically for something that will add new tones onto my list that my amp can't already do just fine. My amp already does great Mesa style American distortion tones better than any pedal can ever do so getting an American style distortion pedal doesn't add to or compliment what I've already got.

I've tried a lot of distortion pedals over 20yrs as a pro player. They all have their own voice. THere's a lot of good ones around.

The OCD is an excellent American style distortion pedal. Mesa's already do that better than anything else so I'm not interested in an OCD. It doesn't add new flavours to my pallette of tones. Just more of the same. Probably ok for Lonestar users though cause that amp doesn't do heavy distortion. I put the Rat & the Bad Monkey in the same category.

No Mesa amp can do classic Marshall crunch distortion tones in the English style though. I really luv those tones so I searched for a pedal that could deliver it thru my Mesa's clean channell. Without doubt the best IMHO is the MI Audio Crunchbox. It's Marshall in a box and absolutely nails AC/DC, Van Halen, early Bowie, Gary Moore, U2 type tones. It's cheap, it's true bypass and it's got a ton of gain. It's also the best distortion pedal I've ever heard IMHO. Here's a link to a bunch of good mp3 clips of the Crunchbox so you get the idea

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=761668

It's perfect for Mesa users who want to add a different set of English distortion flavours to an amp that already has the best American flavours.

Good post. Thank you.

 

[Gibbyage]

What does OCD mean? I cant find a pedal by that name on musicianfriends.

And I need to tighten up my sound and get rid of the crunchyness. What Overdrive pedal would do the trick best? I'm a bass and mids player, very low Highs.

 

[djw]

What does OCD mean? I cant find a pedal by that name on musicianfriends.

OCD = Fulltone OCD. Details here: http://www.fulltone.com/ocd.asp

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

What does OCD mean? I cant find a pedal by that name on musicianfriends.

And I need to tighten up my sound and get rid of the crunchyness. What Overdrive pedal would do the trick best? I'm a bass and mids player, very low Highs.

Obssive Compulsive Drive made by Fulltone. You won't find them at your local chain music store. Go to the Fulltone site and look up the dealers in your zip code. They boarder line on botique which is why you need to dig a little to find a dealer.

 

[joe guitar 07]

Thank you for that bit of feedback. I would love to add some more punch and tighten up the already overdriven sound of my amp. From what you are saying, an OD device might just be the ticket.
I won't get into reviewing the various brands at this point.

Thanks again,

I use a ts9 and a boss noise supressor with my triple and the tone is massive !! and tight great sustain and harmonics!! i set the drive and level at about one oclock and use TAD power tubes from the tube store !!.