Which OD Pedal?

[tpwelie34]

Hey guys, I've read many threads now about the Roadster and am now considering buying a OD pedal for more compression and gain in my sound.

I am considering the MXR ZW OD pedal.

What are your thoughts on it and how does it compare to the MXROD808 or a TS9 or TS 808?

 

[playdosboogies]

Huge reliability issues with that pedal(zwod). I bought a used one despite the reliability issues i read about and sure enough, it went. Usually it's just a switch related problem, but thats a dealbreaker if your a gigging guy and need reliabilty. With rectifiers in general, and i owned a roadster combo for a few months, any old tubescreamer or one the 10,000 variants of a ts circuit works awesome. Some people dig ocd's for boosts, i don't. I love the ocd into a clean fender twin or any clean amp for od/dist, but not with mesas. A tubescreamer attenuates the lowend and makes it tighter, adds a nice amount of compression and actually makes the gain a lot more articulate IMO. Anything from an Ibanez ts9 to high-priced boutique TS clones all work awesome for mesas gain channels. If your not sure, grab a used badmonkey for $20 or a boss SD1 for about the same money and try them. You can spend a lot more, but i find those pedals work just as well as my more boutique tubescreamers.

 

[Steve@Russo]

I like the ts 9 and 808 as kind of like a boost on an overdrive channel, the zw I have not messed with, back in t he day he just used an od-1

 

[espboogie123]

Had the wylde back in day...it was ok. I'm a Maxon od808 user.

 

[94Tremoverb]

I like the ts 9 and 808 as kind of like a boost on an overdrive channel, the zw I have not messed with, back in t he day he just used an od-1

SD-1. The OD-1 is the original 2-knob one, quite rare now - the SD-1 is the familiar 3-knob one. ZW definitely used a SD-1, although as far as I know never one of these special jobs...

I have to admit that for years and years I never liked the SD-1 - I thought it always sounded a bit cardboardy and ordinary with any amp I tried one with, and in the end I just thought this pedal is not for me. Then a couple of months ago a friend gave me an old one to mess about with, modify or whatever... I plugged it into my Tremoverb just to see what it sounded like stock, before I started doing anything, and HOLY SH!T!!! It sounded absolutely incredible. I just called my friend and bought it on the spot . I don't think it's a special one, or anything - it sounds like any other SD-1 when I run it into other amps - but I'd never tried one with a Tremoverb (or any other Rectifier) before.

Bearing in mind that the whole TS-808/9 series is a copy of the basic Boss circuit with a few small changes (mostly to avoid the Boss patented asymetrical clipping) and that it's a lot cheaper, I would definitely try a SD-1 before spending more money.

I did eventually try bypassing the extra diode that gives the asymetric clipping too, and it didn't sound as good.

 

[Steve@Russo]

sd-1 your right, got confused!

 

[fluff191]

The MXR OD is ok I guess, I wasnt that impressed. I like the OD808 for boosting but dont like it to add grit to the clean channel. You can hear too much of the unaffected signal. Or maybe that's how all OD are I dunno.

Anyways, I just ordered a new Keeley SD-1. So we will see how that turns out.

 

[droptrd]

ODs are completely subjective to your taste and are incredibly addictive. Experiment often. Just have fun and buy used. The Danelectro Cool Cat pedals are totally bad *** for around $40 new. Theyre bad *** at any price. check them out. Im currently using the Cool Cat Drive (OCD Clone) with my Tverb.

 

[boogieman60]

I use a standard tube screamer,for a little boost and playing fill lines when I sing. It really likes channel 1 just a little drive, about 10:00 volume boost about 2:00 and the tone to taste..

 

[screamingdaisy]

Any Tubescreamer, although when it comes to the Recto the Maxon OD808 is the king of them all (IMO).

I have a ZWOD and... I use my OD808.

 

[lailer75]

i used the zw-44 for a couple of years, then went through a bunch of diff od`s. i stopped at the od808 for a while, but now ( :lol: watches out for tomatoes :lol: ) use a boss mt-2. i`m planning on picking up a keeley modded one soon.

 

[b0nkersx]

fulltone ocd or maxon od808

in a nutshell, od808 wins slightly for heavy rhythm and thats about it. ocd wins for leads (slightly), clean channels (a lot), and mid gain stuff (a LOT), and also sounds great for heavy rhythm. i actually prefer it for heavy rhythm because i use a mills 4x12 cab and don't have a problem with flubby bass so the ocd gives me a much fuller tone. ocd also seems better built. i own both and use the ocd way more.

 

[fluff191]

i used the zw-44 for a couple of years, then went through a bunch of diff od`s. i stopped at the od808 for a while, but now ( :lol: watches out for tomatoes :lol: ) use a boss mt-2. i`m planning on picking up a keeley modded one soon.

 

[screamingdaisy]

i used the zw-44 for a couple of years, then went through a bunch of diff od`s. i stopped at the od808 for a while, but now ( :lol: watches out for tomatoes :lol: ) use a boss mt-2. i`m planning on picking up a keeley modded one soon.

MT-2 actually makes for a cool boost. Has to do with the parametric EQ.

 

[fluff191]

Yeah I know. I couldn't resist giving him a face palm though. :lol:

 

[tpwelie34]

So the general consensus says that the OCD fulltone will be my best best?

Will this pedal allow me to play bedroom levels and still have a nice and thick tone comparable somewhat to when I crank it?

 

[divil]

Diamond J-Drive MKIII.....great pedals....I just traded a Xotix BB for a second one!...couldn't get on with the Xotic..to thin and scratchy!

Divil

 

[94Tremoverb]

MT-2 actually makes for a cool boost. Has to do with the parametric EQ.

The EQ on it is great, you can really dial it in almost any way you want. The inherent harshness of the distortion tone I'm not so keen on though... but you can fix it pretty simply without having to go to Keeley mods or whatever - just replace the two clipping diodes with LEDs. You should have a couple of these left over from putting blue ones in other pedals . You could probably use different colored ones (eg red, green) to give it asymetric clipping if you want, but I haven't tried that yet.

It's the asymetric clipping I like about the SD-1 I think. It really seems to bring out the harmonic responsiveness with the Tremoverb, and leaves a little more of the chunk at the bottom end in. The symetrical clipping (TS-type) is tighter at the bottom end but flatter-sounding (in my opinion, with my amps).

OD pedals can be really amp-specific though - knew this already but my experience with the SD-1 was really almost shocking... I still don't like it with any other amp I've tried it with. It even sounds great with the Tremoverb's clean channel, but not so much with other amps' clean channels... why?!! So I'm pretty sure there is no one 'best' overdrive pedal or even 'good' and 'bad' ones possibly - you just need to find the right one for the amp. Even my old RAT - which I used to think was universally the best, and sounded great with everything, doesn't sound as good as the SD-1 with the Tremoverb.

 

[Acesofbelkan]

I never tried the Maxon or tubescreamers so take my opinion very lightly,

I bought a YJM308 overdrive pedal. It's eq'd to yngwies preference, but on my single rectifier it sounds super FUCKING HUGE. Like REALLY huge. The bass is super tight and the treble and mids are super crystal clear, and it gives you instant "fook'in" metal :lol:
I like to keep the gain on the recto at noon to 1 oclock and the volume maxed on the yjm308, for leads I add a little gain on the yjm308 to saturate it even further and it's so **** clear but doesnt sound thin at all.

This pedal might not compare to the Maxon and tubescreamer because it those seem to be everyones fav boost pedal for their recto's but the YJM308 is selling for 30$ on zzounds. So even if it's not as good, its a hell of a great price on a overdrive pedal that could serve as a backup. For 30$ its at least worth checking out.

 

[tpwelie34]

What would be the best way to power my pedals in terms of price, reliability, and noise?

I was thinking of something like a One Spot but am worrying that probably somewhere down the line, the quality of it will make me want to buy something else.