# If you could have only one pedal, which would it be?



## stringer (Jun 17, 2009)

Hi folks. I am seeking some advice in choosing a pedal. Right now I have a zoom g2u? I think, but I am looking for something simpler to use. I play an epiphone les paul ultra with factory alnico humbucker pups fed into a fender blues junior. I like stevie ray vaughn, bb king, buddy guy, tommy castro etc... I'm looking for a bluesy sound. I was leaning towards a fulltone ocd based on what I've read here.

So what would your choice be? Any comments on the Moollon pedals? Love the pewter filigree looks, but damn they're expensive.

Cheers, happy hollidays, and thanks for reading.


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## blam (Feb 18, 2011)

does a tuner count?

quite honestly, I could live with no pedals. the only one i might miss is a fuzz.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

I would say the OCD. I've gone through more dirtboxes than undies in the last few years and the OCD has stayed on my pedalboard for almost 2 years now (which is the longest, by FAR!). My 2nd pick would be a Tube Screamer, if you like the mid-hump sound (which I do).

fwiw - my OCD that I love so much is a v3. I tried a v4 and didn't dig it.


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## Big_Daddy (Apr 2, 2009)

This is probably cheating but I love my Nova System. So many good effects, OD/Boost/Compressor/Delay/Modulations, all rolled into one. It rules my pedalboard.


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## stringer (Jun 17, 2009)

hollowbody said:


> I would say the OCD. I've gone through more dirtboxes than undies in the last few years and the OCD has stayed on my pedalboard for almost 2 years now (which is the longest, by FAR!). My 2nd pick would be a Tube Screamer, if you like the mid-hump sound (which I do).
> 
> fwiw - my OCD that I love so much is a v3. I tried a v4 and didn't dig it.


Thanks for the info. Now that I see v3 and v4 I realise I have more research to do. I am looking for some low end frequencies.


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## stringer (Jun 17, 2009)

Big_Daddy said:


> This is probably cheating but I love my Nova System. So many good effects, OD/Boost/Compressor/Delay/Modulations, all rolled into one. It rules my pedalboard.


I've never heard of the Nova. Is it anything like the zoom I mentioned? I am just looking to simplify things a bit. A pedal that is dirty, has bottom punch and clear glassy highs, that's all.


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## Big_Daddy (Apr 2, 2009)

stringer said:


> I've never heard of the Nova. Is it anything like the zoom I mentioned? I am just looking to simplify things a bit. A pedal that is dirty, has bottom punch and clear glassy highs, that's all.


It's a multi-fx pedal made by TC Electronics. Not sure how big the Zoom is but the Nova's dimensions are about 9" x 11". Here's a link...

http://www.tcelectronic.com/NovaSystem.asp


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

Believe it or not the one that gets the most use around here is my dano transparent OD V1


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

A decent compressor. You can use them as clean boosters, and as overdrives, in addition to using them as compressors. It also adapts to a great many styles of music, which is more than I can say for most pedals.

As another thread here so well illustrates, many would consider reverb their go-to effect, though in most instances they don't think of reverb as a "pedal" so much as an aspect of a good amp.

I get the feeling, however, that you are asking a question of a somewhat different type.


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## stringer (Jun 17, 2009)

mhammer said:


> A decent compressor. You can use them as clean boosters, and as overdrives, in addition to using them as compressors. It also adapts to a great many styles of music, which is more than I can say for most pedals.
> 
> As another thread here so well illustrates, many would consider reverb their go-to effect, though in most instances they don't think of reverb as a "pedal" so much as an aspect of a good amp.
> 
> I get the feeling, however, that you are asking a question of a somewhat different type.


Do you have any compressor brands to suggest? I am happy with the reverb from my jr. After seeing some of the pedal boards people have and the cost of some of those pedals I feel like a pretty poor fella. Some folks must have thousands into their board. I play alone mostly and want something that will give me a distorted/fuzzy? sound different from me cranking the o/d on the amp. Something "fuller" with a bit of "howl".


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Pretty much any compressor will do, really. If you can fnd a cheap Danelectro or Behringer, you'll be okay. The overdrive function is a result of pushing the input of the amp hard, which can yield a different tone than diming the gain and turning down the master on the amp. Where the compressor can achieve a somewhat different kind of tone is a result of feeding the amp a signal that sits consistently at a certain level relatve to the clipping threshold of the amp, without going too much above or below that point. That function is different than a standard "clean booster" provides where the signal will depend on your picking strength.

Of course, the validity of all of this advice depends on whether or not you like the overdriven tone of your amp or not.


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## Shark (Jun 10, 2010)

stringer said:


> I play alone mostly and want something that will give me a distorted/fuzzy? sound different from me cranking the o/d on the amp. Something "fuller" with a bit of "howl".


I picked up a Suhr Riot pedal recently and although it's not designed as a bluesy overdrive pedal, it's got the _biggest_ distortion sound of any pedal I've yet heard. Very full, big sound. Loads of gain, though you can always turn the gain down. Perhaps not quite what you're looking for, but it's the first pedal I've ever owned that has given a cranked amp's gain channel a run for its money, as far as the sound quality goes. Such a fun pedal.


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## blam (Feb 18, 2011)

hollowbody said:


> I would say the OCD. I've gone through more dirtboxes than undies in the last few years and the OCD has stayed on my pedalboard for almost 2 years now (which is the longest, by FAR!). My 2nd pick would be a Tube Screamer, if you like the mid-hump sound (which I do).
> 
> fwiw - my OCD that I love so much is a v3. I tried a v4 and didn't dig it.


my OCD was moved to my other room when I got a full drive. i don't see myself parting with the OCD though. great little pedal.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

blam said:


> my OCD was moved to my other room when I got a full drive. i don't see myself parting with the OCD though. great little pedal.


Haha, I went the other way, my OCD kicked the Fulldrive clear across Canada!

However, I traded away a Z.Vex Box of Rock for the Fulldrive and I STILL regret that!


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## georgemg (Jul 17, 2011)

I'll second the OCD. I like to have a few pedals but having an overdrive pedal is the one thing I wouldn't want to be without. The OCD has enough range to cover anything I would need. 

FWIW I actually prefer Version 4. I use it for my lower gain sound and V4 is a bit more transparent than the earlier versions. I also prefer to run the voltage a bit higher - 12v from my Pedal Power 2. It's punchier that way.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

georgemg said:


> I'll second the OCD. I like to have a few pedals but having an overdrive pedal is the one thing I wouldn't want to be without. The OCD has enough range to cover anything I would need.
> 
> FWIW I actually prefer Version 4. I use it for my lower gain sound and V4 is a bit more transparent than the earlier versions. *I also prefer to run the voltage a bit higher - 12v from my Pedal Power 2. It's punchier that way.*


good point! i run mine at 18v pretty much all the time!


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

I have a Diamond comp and I love it. They're a few bucks though.

Check out Jeffs' stuff here... http://www.maritimeanalog.com/store...y_id=28&Itemid=2&Name=Value&vmcchk=1&Itemid=2

Canadian builder and a forum member. Cool pedals that don't break the bank.
The Firing Line or SSB are fuzzes that go from O/D to distortion/fuzz. Not over the top either.
You could run the fuzz into your overdriven amp for balls out, or into the clean side for more of just a distortion.
The Bullfrog Boost is worth a look at to get some SRV tones from the cleans of your amp too. 8)


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## stringer (Jun 17, 2009)

sulphur said:


> I have a Diamond comp and I love it. They're a few bucks though.
> 
> Check out Jeffs' stuff here... http://www.maritimeanalog.com/store...y_id=28&Itemid=2&Name=Value&vmcchk=1&Itemid=2
> 
> ...


Thanks for the info on the canadian stuff.


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## Ti-Ron (Mar 21, 2007)

Humm, only one pedal. It's hard, really hard.
I'm not playing with many of them but still.
That will depend on the amp I have.
If I can get enough gain from the amp I would say a wah.
If it's a really clean amp, I would say a Rat.

If I can cheat, a rat and a wah!


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

If you go the compressor route, the Marshall Edward is 
-built like a freaking tank
-very very tweakable
-usually found cheap (under 100)

I don't know why more guys don't use or recommend them, it's a great value for a (I say it again) extremely tweakable pedal.
http://marshallamps.com/product.asp?productId=59


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## NB_Terry (Feb 2, 2006)

The Marshall ED-1 is a great pedal. 

My Tim pedal is the one if I'd have one only.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

The ED-1 s essentially a pimped-up Dynacomp, which is not such a bad thing.

That said, I remind folks that the question initiating the thread was "If *you* could have only one pedal, which *would* it be?", and not "If *I* could only have one pedal what *should* it be?". A compressor suits MY needs and preferences, but I can understand how others would feel naked and helpless in the absence of a wah or a delay or an overdrive of some sort.


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## Macki (Jun 14, 2010)

I can get most of the od tones out of my amp, so if it was one pedal, then I would go with my TU-3 tuner. If that does not count as a pedal then I would add in my Empress delay.


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## GTmaker (Apr 24, 2006)

Hopefully this is a good thread for this question...

Seems to me there is a lot of love for the OCD pedal...
I have the V4 and dont realy like the sound its giving me on anything past drive = 8 or 9 AM where 7 AM = 0
Anything past that and I get way too much overdrive/distortion for my taste
just to be clear I'm calling the full drive sweep as 7AM to 5PM

I play thru a Fender Super reverb RI usualy set to Volume = 3

What am I doing wrong and if possible, can you please add your favourite settings for the OCD pedal.
I promise to try all settings.

There are a lot of you tube examples but this is a nice short one that I like as far as my ideal overdrive tone.
Please notice how touch responsive the settings sre...play just a little bit softer and the tone cleans right up..dig in and its a whole new sound.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18lkefr0I0A&feature=relmfu


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

GTmaker said:


> Hopefully this is a good thread for this question...
> 
> Seems to me there is a lot of love for the OCD pedal...
> I have the V4 and dont realy like the sound its giving me on anything past drive = 8 or 9 PM where 7 PM = 0
> ...


Weird. I know the v4 is quite a bit different than my v3. Have you tried the HP/LP switch? 

When I run the OCD on it's own, I usually have the drive at 1pm and the volume wherever it needs to be. I have the switch in HP mode and tone around 1pm again. I use the guitar's knobs to reduce gain, or run it wide open for really dirty songs.

When I stack the OCD with the Timmy (which is set for a light drive), I turn the gain on the OCD down to about 9 o'clock and volume so that it's at unity with the Timmy. Tone at 1pmish again and the switch is at HP.

But again, the v3 and v4 are VERY different, so that may not work for you.

Having said that, you might just be using the wrong pedal. If you need a lighter drive, try something like a Timmy instead of the OCD.


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## JimiGuy7 (Jan 10, 2008)

TS9!!!!!! That is the one I use the most.


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## georgemg (Jul 17, 2011)

GTmaker said:


> Hopefully this is a good thread for this question...
> 
> Seems to me there is a lot of love for the OCD pedal...
> I have the V4 and dont realy like the sound its giving me on anything past drive = 8 or 9 AM where 7 AM = 0
> ...


The OCDs all have a lot of range in their settings - I like this but you definitely have to find the sweet spot for whatever style you are looking for. When I first put it on my pedalboard I was using it for my higher gain sound with the following settings (if memory serves correct) > High-peak setting, Volume 9:00, Drive 3:00, Tone 12:00. 

I was having trouble finding a low gain sound I liked and almost bought another OCD, but ended up buying a Plim Soul to use as my high-gain sound. I then switched the OCD over to my lower gain sound and now use the following settings > Low-peak, Volume 2:00, Drive 10:00, Tone 12:30. 

Another thing to point out (as we mentioned earlier in this thread) is that you can use anywhere between 9 and 18 volts with the OCD. I found I preferred 9volts for higher gain sounds but higher voltage for lower gain sounds. I don't have the adapter to get the full 18 volts out of my PedalPower2 but even using the 12 volt output made a noticable difference. Punchier and more open sounding.

You should be able to get a similar sound to the sample you provided (check out the Fulltone product page for some examples of sounds Mike Fuller got out of it). Then again, it may be easier to get the sound you are looking for with another pedal - not all pedals are right for everyone. This may be blasphemy to say but I have never found a Tubescreamer or Tubescreamer style pedal that I liked, even though I like the sound of other people playing them.

One last thing to add - sometimes certain pedals don't react well with other pedals. I have found that a few pedals even being in my pedal chain were affecting the sound of others. You may want to try the pedal on it's own to see if it's the OCD that you don't like or if something else is affecting it.


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## stringer (Jun 17, 2009)

Any love for the digitech blues screamer with the tone splitter?


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## Nick Burman (Aug 17, 2011)

Ernie Ball Volume Pedal. Cold dead hands, an' all that.


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## Roryfan (Apr 19, 2010)

VooDoo Lab Sparkle Drive combines TS808 & clean boost circuits then allows you to blend them. The tone knob also has a better sweep than your average Tube Screamer. The SD sounds better if your amp is already breaking up a bit, so this can be an issue at low volumes depending how much you can crank up your amp.

Also a big fan of Diamond pedals, and if I can only have one the J-Drive is worthy of serious consideration. The OD channel allows you to dial in a nice rhythm crunch at unity gain with your clean tone, then step on the boost side for solos. Sounds great w/ single coils & 'buckers, extremely versatile pedal.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Nick Burman said:


> Ernie Ball Volume Pedal. Cold dead hands, an' all that.


Your post reminded me of what is considered to be one of the earliest humorous print advertisements. This was for Pear's soap.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Furniss_Soap.jpg


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## Tarbender (Apr 7, 2006)

Got to be my Timmy pedal. Gives just enough ump without colouring the sound...


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## Ti-Ron (Mar 21, 2007)

Roryfan said:


> Also a big fan of Diamond pedals, and if I can only have one the J-Drive is worthy of serious consideration. The OD channel allows you to dial in a nice rhythm crunch at unity gain with your clean tone, then step on the boost side for solos. Sounds great w/ single coils & 'buckers, extremely versatile pedal.


Is the J-Drive is a TS variant? Looks alot like the Fulldrive!


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## Guest (Dec 23, 2011)

With the choice of 1 pedal I would use my Strymon Timeline. Grit and Reverb and Trem can all come from A nice amp. Tubes will give compression. Volume pedal= volume from guitar. Tone knob on the guitar can be wah like.

Timeline gives out many delay tones plus modulation.


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## GTmaker (Apr 24, 2006)

First of all a great big thanks to those that responded to my OCD problems.
VEry informative and good advice.
Speaking of good advice, although I have never tried a Timmy pedal, it sounds like
that is more in line to what I need. Hopefully in the new year I can talk someone into a nice
OCD v4 for a Timmy swap + cash on my end I suppose.

Sounds like a plan. Holding breath for offers to fill up my messages Inbox.


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## georgemg (Jul 17, 2011)

GTmaker said:


> Sounds like a plan. Holding breath for offers to fill up my messages Inbox.


...uhh, I wouldn't hold your breath too long. As much as I love my OCD the plain truth is they're plentiful for cheap. You can pick one up for $100 - the lowest I've seen a used Timmy go for recently was $175, and that pedal went within a few hours on Craigslist. You might be better off getting on the Timmy waiting list and selling your OCD outright once the Timmy arrives.


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## blam (Feb 18, 2011)

hollowbody said:


> Haha, I went the other way, my OCD kicked the Fulldrive clear across Canada!
> 
> However, I traded away a Z.Vex Box of Rock for the Fulldrive and I STILL regret that!


I was playing my OCD through my little marshall in my other room last night and it reminded me of why i bought it. damn that little box sounds good.


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

I think that the wait list for a Tim/Timmy is down to three months, if not better.

If you don't have the info, it's here...

http://www.myspace.com/paulcaudio/blog/540743254

There are his distributors on the page, you might be able to get one off of them.
If you're dealing with Paul, it's best to call him. Good guy to deal with.
You don't pay until it's ready either.


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## GTmaker (Apr 24, 2006)

georgemg said:


> ...uhh, I wouldn't hold your breath too long. As much as I love my OCD the plain truth is they're plentiful for cheap. You can pick one up for $100 - the lowest I've seen a used Timmy go for recently was $175, and that pedal went within a few hours on Craigslist. You might be better off getting on the Timmy waiting list and selling your OCD outright once the Timmy arrives.


First of all thanks for the reply..your numbers seem to be in the proper ballpark..
To be fair to me, I did say + cash on my end.

The good side is that if someone is looking to sell a Timmy and also wants an OCD, we can make a deal that would be a one transaction win win situation...how could anyone pass up on a good thing like that....still holding breath...lol


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## Morkolo (Dec 9, 2010)

My Boss GT10, I kept buying single pedals but never liked the sound of them when I had 4 or more combined. The GT10 just does it for me, but like anything that will change.


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## Nick Burman (Aug 17, 2011)

mhammer said:


> Your post reminded me of what is considered to be one of the earliest humorous print advertisements. This was for Pear's soap.
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Furniss_Soap.jpg


Haha that's great! I really do love the Ernie ball volume tho ! It's way more versatile than a volume knob and you can use it as a safety switch for swapping guitars, an off switch for tuning and of course for violining. I also use it in conjunction with a delay for pulsating, bouncy stuff.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Some years back, when the first OCD came out, I put one through its paces in a local store. In responding to a thread on another forum about the OCD, especially the comments about its cost relative to the number of visible components inside (and Fulltone does not typically price their pedals cheaply), my comment at the time was that it seemed to do many different things reasonably well, and that - totalling the cost of individual pedals that covered those same bases - it was probably a pretty cost effective pedal, and would save pedalboard space too. Seems my first take has been supported by the experience of a great many here. I think that "Swiss Army Knife" aspect is one of the things that has continued to make it a very popular pedal.


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## Roryfan (Apr 19, 2010)

Ti-Ron said:


> Roryfan said:
> 
> 
> > Also a big fan of Diamond pedals, and if I can only have one the J-Drive is worthy of serious consideration. The OD channel allows you to dial in a nice rhythm crunch at unity gain with your clean tone, then step on the boost side for solos. Sounds great w/ single coils & 'buckers, extremely versatile pedal.
> ...


No, the J-Drive has more gain on tap than a TS & is much more tweakable. The bright switch works nicely with humbuckers.


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## stringer (Jun 17, 2009)

Thanks for all the replys folks! Some great info in there. I'm still looking, but I live in a very small town that has 1 guitar store and all it has on the shelves is a digitech blues screamer and a joe satriani saturator. Any reviews on the saturator?


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

I have a Saturator, one of my first dirt pedals.
Though I didn't mind that distortion that I'd get out of it, 
it was one of the only pedals that I've tried that I *couldn't *get unity gain.
Meaning, if you don't know, that even with the volume on the pedal jacked wide open,
the volume would actually drop a tad when the effect was engaged.
Unity gain, you'd have roughly the same volume from pedal off to pedal on.

Look here for some cool choices...

http://www.axeandyoushallreceive.com/new_pedals.htm

Even Axe music out west, this page is arranged from highest to lowest, so you'll have to sift through...

http://www.axemusic.com/prodtype.as...strSearchCriteria=&strProductsOrderby=P_Price

Scott has a few in the store here...

http://guitarscanshop.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2&zenid=de717b330361f1985b2df810dc15bb80

This is if you're able to shop online that is. 8) Long & McQuade are big out that way too and may have something you need.
If you're still stuck, pm me.


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