which od pedal

[braintheory]

So I just got the DOD YJM308. There's a lot of different opinions about this pedal, but I think it's phenomenal. It's aggressive, super tight, articulate, gritty, and dynamic. This works great for rock and metal, but it's a bit too aggressive and edgy for when I play stuff like Eric Johnson, fusion leads, or any time I'm looking for a more pretty, sweet lead tone. So, basically I'm looking for the best od pedal I can get for a sweeter type of lead tone and I'm willing to spend as much as it takes. I've done a lot of research and it looks like some of the good ones include: suhr shiba, okko, maxon 808, t-rex may, bb preamp, visual sound, mad professor (possibly the best one), durham, homebrew, jetter, skychord, and klon. What do you guys think? Would any of those pedals be too edgy for what I want?

 

[braintheory]

Also, would any of the pedals I've listed stand out as being much better or in another league than other pedals I also listed?

 

[swbo101]

FWIW, I'm a huge fan of a mid 80's Pro Co Rat box. They go for a bit on Ebay, but they are fantastic. I wouldn't use any other box, but that's just me. I think Pro Co may have made a re-issue, just don't get the Pro Co Rat 2.

Just my .02

Good luck

 

[srf399]

If you want a killer pedal that will get you in the Eric Johnson ballpark try the Xotic AC Booster. Check out the comparison on Youtube with the Zendrive. I figured for half the price the AC Booster would be a good bet and it's awesome. I had the BB PReamp and although it's smooth it's more compressed. The AC Booster is more alive and open sounding to me. Very nice OD pedal with a small footprint.

 

[elvis]

The Eric Johnson/ZZ Top/Gilmour tone is FUZZ, like the Big Muff or Tube Driver. I don't think you can quite get there with OD. Fuzz has an amazing low-end boost that gives a distinctive "violin tone".

If you're looking for the light overdrive sound, then there are 1,236,973 versions of the tube screamer that are all pretty nice.

 

[srf399]

The question by the original poster was which OD pedal so I took that literally and didn't consider the Fuzzface. And I agree that if you want it all you'll need one of these as well.... But the Butler OD is a huge part of his sound as well.

Listen to some of Alan Hinds stuff... he's getting some awesome fusion sounds using the AC Booster OD and very Johnsonish sounding at times. The AC Booster has the Robben Ford fusion thing going on and when delay and some reverb is thrown in it takes off...similar to a Zendrive IMO. But a lot easier on the wallet.

All I can say is try one.... to me it's nothing like the TS808 I owned and sold.... Although the tubescreamer is an iconic pedal used for years by many better guitarists than me.... it was very unnatural sounding to me. the TS808 sounded sterile, compressed, thin, and middy compared to the AC Booster IMHO. The AC is a thick nice natural sounding overdrive that with analogue delay and a splash of reverb for me absolutely does get in the Johnson park. I'm playing through a Legacy II so that has a definate influence on the pedal as well as it is a very smooth/punchy/non grainy sounding amp and is great for that type of sound.

 

[elvis]

Yeah, I just added the fuzz comments in case brain was thinking of the violin tone.

+1 on your fusion comments. Though I'm not exactly sure which of the many fusion tones he's shooting for: Heavy sustain but clear enough for complicated chords, slight overdrive for clean-ish notes that have a bit of break-up in the attack, etc. I've listened to a LOT of fusion players, and they all have their own thing going on tone-wise.

 

[KH Guitar Freak]

I don't think many pedals can get that BK Butler OD without getting one of those. However, I've found the Suhr Shiba OD with the toggle switch to the right and the tone backed off quite a bit can sound a bit like that EJ styled violin tone. Then of course there the good old Fuzz Faces...

 

[gonzo]

Barber Direct Drive Super Sport

http://www.barberelectronics.com/supersportdd.html

my personal favorite

 

[Vigo1999]

^

+1 for the Barbers. although i will stick with the regular Direct Drive, imo it has a more round, smoother tone than the sport, that has a lil more edgy sound.

better bang fo the buck either, for around 100bucks you simply cant go wrong with them.