Phil O'Keefe Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 On a budget, the Soul Food is pretty tough to beat. At the other end of the price range, I've been working on a review of the Amptweaker Tightdrive Pro, and it's really been impressing me. Incredibly well thought out and engineered, with a ton of tonal flexibility and options. It's expensive, but not over-priced, if that makes any sense... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members badpenguin Posted October 20, 2014 Members Share Posted October 20, 2014 A Duncan Lava Box. Don't laugh, ok? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted October 20, 2014 Members Share Posted October 20, 2014 Lately I'm using dirt boxes to just push my amps more than actually coloring the sound that much. In that respect I'm finding that a lot of pedals can do the job fine. I have some really nice ones with lots of tone shaping features...but they use those wall-wart power supplies and aren't as convenient to use on the go like a simple pedal with a 9V battery is. For example a Radial Tonebone Classic is a very versatile dirt box. Also the Bad Cat 2-Tone is great. But those boxes are large heavy and power hungry. A really nice overdrive pedal with a good mid-hump to it that makes your amp sound like it's loaded with KT66 power tubes is THIS one for sale on Ebay for around $80: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Marshall-BluesBreaker-Mk1-Handwired-Clone-Pedal-/261630012501 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Floyd Rosenbomb Posted October 20, 2014 Members Share Posted October 20, 2014 A great option for the wall warts is the 8 plug one spot,http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000RNB720/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_2?pf_rd_p=1944687562&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000XXBHA6&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1EXHCA7GVF6K3XYQAG1P Worth its weight in gold. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bernardo gui Posted October 20, 2014 Members Share Posted October 20, 2014 1. Hermida Zendrive2. Sonic Fusion Overdrive3. Serendipity Overdrive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BeanoBoy Posted October 20, 2014 Members Share Posted October 20, 2014 hello mate... long time no see yep, still using the kemper (thinking of picking up a princeton reverb at some stage just as a plug and play amp though)... i actually really like using pedals with the kemper... i know it has cool on board stuff, but i love using say a fuzz pedal with it and rolling back the volume a little on the guitar i find using pedals with the kemper really adds something to it... livens it up or something... right now i'm stuck on using a trainwreck profile with my pedals Since I've moved to Florida I've been jamming with some folks and ALWAYS get great comments on my Kemper's tone. I never tire of it. Lately I'm digging the Fargen 60s profile. Cleans up almost immediately with volume knob twists. Many tones in that one. For jams The 67 Plexi, AC 69 and Cranked Trainwreck, as well as the Fargen are drawing attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members eeddings Posted October 20, 2014 Members Share Posted October 20, 2014 Catalinbread RAH -- $40 off on the Blems page at Catalinbread.com. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted October 20, 2014 Members Share Posted October 20, 2014 There are four basic types of gain pedals. Preamp, Overdrive, Fuzz and Distortion. People and manufacturers tend to mix up Distortion with overdrive but if you look at circuitry, you understand that not every box called overdrive is an actual overdrive circuit. A preamp is of course just clean boost. It can create overdrive in the preamp section of an amp by driving it into clipping. Fuzz tends to be 2 or three gain stages, usually transistors and creates a coarse clipping. The gain of one transistor feeds the input of one or two more stages in series. The output gain of one transistor is hotter then the next transistors maximum threshold and clips the signal in the process. The transistors aren't usually chosen for high fidelity as much as how they tend to clip the waves. The pedals usually have some high pass filtering to remove lows to remove mud. Overdrive is very similar to fuzz except it doesn't saturate as hard or as much as a fuzz and has a medium clipping. They're mainly used to overdrive an a tube amp but some have additional gain saturation so you can get a clean amp to sound like driven tubes. It tends to be less grainy then a Fuzz with a softer edge and has higher fidelity with less coloration then a Fuzz or Distortion. It may have two or three gain stages but the drive can be adjusted from clean boost, to crunch to medium saturation. Distortion are more brick wall devices which usually has a fine/hard clipping. Some can be dialed up for clean tones but they usually have tone coloring or band passing of some sort that reshapes the signal. Gains ramp up much higher and gain stages can completely flatten the sine waves. This may be done by diodes, Transistors, or op amps. All have the same general effects of clipping the waves. The pedal EQing tends to make different frequencies saturate sooner/more then others. A metal pedal for example will scoop mids so the lows and highs saturate more. Other pedals may have midrange peaks to give the pedals their signature tones. The reason why I mention these differences are to clarify if the OP actually wants an overdrive or was it a general statement on any drive pedal.There have been mixed suggestions on pedal types including several distortion pedals. Overdrive can be a noun or a verb so I wanted to be sure what the OP was actually looking for overdrive. What some people spend on some off these overdrives are ridiculous. Sellers mark them up 2000% above cost and people are willing to spend that kind of money. Open them up and nearly all use the same kinds of circuits and parts with maybe a few variances. Some people are willing to pay that much for a fancy looking box I suppose. A simple overdrive can be extremely inexpensive pedal consisting of a single chip and maybe $5 worth of parts total. These Dano Fab overdrive for example only cost $12 and produces an excellent drive response. Their housing is super small however, and can be a PITA to step on. Rehousing is definitely an option to look at. The cool cat is larger and probably built better but its still not a bank buster. MAR make a couple of overdrives but they are overpriced in my book. They been getting ridiculous prices on their vintage pedals just like Ibanez have but theres no real cause for it because all the same parts with the same specs are still being made. They quit making the vintage ones till thay see the EBay prices go through the roof then remake the same pedal with a $300% markup. Instead of paying $39 for one you pay $120 for the same thing. Smart marketing on their part. A Tube driver is an overdrive because it can be dialed up clean and drive tubes into saturation. It does have clipping diodes and can be used in a SS amp with good results but it gets the best results driving preamp tubes as do most overdrives. Electroharmonix Hot tubes Nano, Germanium or Lumberjack are nifty pedals that are priced well. Haven't tried many Boutique pedals. If I want Boutique I can build them just like they do for peanuts. One of these Beat to crap Fuzzrites cost $425 and $89 to ship a pedal that weighs a few ounces. You can build the exact same pedal with New/Old stock parts from the 60's for about $15. I suppose some stupid idiot will wind up buying it but placed side by side with the one I built in a blind listening comparison, there's no way you could tell the difference. http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-MOSR...item338c1e2dcb Boss makes a few decent overdrives. The FBM-1 Fender '59 Bassman Pedal is one I been thinking about getting. It was overpriced when it first came out but now its down to $89 and may be worth having. I got so many pedals now I really don't need. I even have doubles so I can run two complete amp setups Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted October 21, 2014 Members Share Posted October 21, 2014 I've A/B'd the TS-9 and the Bad Monkey. Own and really like both. The clear winner for me is the TS-9. But I still like the Bad Monkey. The Bad Monkey is a great pedal because it creates a very nice OD tone with the huge added benefit of more EQ control. Having the bass EQ on tap did huge wonders for my Marshall VS8080. Something the TS-9 couldn't do without another pedal, i.e. an EQ pedal, being added into the mix. Where the TS-9 exceled was having a more spatial coliseum-like tone to it, whereas the BM had a more boxy OD tone. Truly, either one would be the right choice depending upon what you need in your tone. Like with that Marshall VS8080, with the BM, it was a "good to go" amp, but with just a TS, it would still be lacking. But with my black-face Fenders, the TS-9 would be my choice. The only other OD pedal I've bonded with in recent years is the Fulltone OCD. I'd still like to try a Timmy some day. For an even more vintage softer OD, go for the TS-808. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mistersully Posted October 21, 2014 Author Members Share Posted October 21, 2014 still looking for an od... but i just ordered one of these... should be here tomorrow it's kind of a lighter fuzz IHt6oUc003A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted October 21, 2014 Members Share Posted October 21, 2014 Here's Andy with the Batio. It also goes into the clean boost zone - Not exactly Klon; Voxy maybe but the results depend mostly on your amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gdsmithtx Posted October 22, 2014 Members Share Posted October 22, 2014 I am a sucker for cheap OD pedals, and depending on my mood any of them can be my week-to-week favorite. What I have: BK Butler Real Tube pedal - dropped an 12AU7 tube in place of the stock 12AX7 to smooth it out. Nice "grainy" sound; very authentic, as to be expected from BK. My most expensive single-use pedal ... had it for close to 20 years. Digitech Hardwire CM2 Tube OD - My current favorite for several months. Its features make it very versatile; the Classic/Modified switch and level/gain/two tone knobs take it from excellent Tubescreamer-style to hotrodded boutique pedal tones. [video=youtube;83hmC9T-gPk] Dano Cool Cat Transparent OD v2 - Really, really nice with single coil pickups. v1 was an almost direct Timmy clone, but I prefer this one to the generally-sought-after v1. Here's a video A/B-ing the two versions: Dano Cool Cat Drive v1 - Very nice with humbuckers. More gain on tap. Kind of an OCD clone apparently. Here's a video by the same guy A/B-ing the two versions of this one: Bad Monkey - Good stuff; Tube-screamer type with mid hump; pretty adjustable. So many people have said so much about this tremendous value OD pedal. I've heard folks say that they think it would be more popular if it was more expensive, given its sound; I agree. Digitech Screamin' Blues - Just about as good as the Bad Monkey, but with less mids and more gain. Here's a Bad Monkey / Screamin' Blues shootout: [video=youtube;oS7ZbXu-ic4] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members eeddings Posted October 23, 2014 Members Share Posted October 23, 2014 Well lookie here: [h=2]TC Electronic NDR-1 Nova Drive Overdrive and Distortion Guitar Effects Pedal -- $129[/h] Wow, this is "dirt" cheap - pardon the pun. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/stupid?icid=206243 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted October 24, 2014 Members Share Posted October 24, 2014 Press release for a Maxon 808X elsewhere. The demos sound very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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