# Blackstone Appliances MOSFET Overdrive



## markxander (Oct 24, 2009)

This isn't a review so much as an appreciation thread. I'm playing higher-gain stuff lately so it's been moved off the board, but this is a really cool and fun pedal.

I first read about this pedal at least ten years ago, but got one for the first time last year. It's a keeper -- how can you ever get rid of something that looks like this???










The two channels are almost the same circuit, except the "red" channel has more gain. There's a socketed cap on the board that you can pull to make them identical and just have two settings. 

The exterior design is unlike anything else I've ever seen or owned. The controls are all flush mounted and can be changed with a pick or flathead screwdriver. The finish is a hammered black that feels like it's a quarter of an inch thick. It's a pedal I would feel pretty comfortable just throwing into a gig bag or a backpack full of cables. 

It promises amp-like gain and picking response, and at the lower end of the gain spectrum it delivers it. I think the "red" channel with the gain up high is a little more compressed than my amps sound cranked, but it's still usable. 

A nice touch on the "red" channel -- minimum gain is at noon, and turning it in either direction will add distortion with slightly different characteristics. To the right, it's the same EQ as the brown channel, but to the left there is a bass cut for humbucker guitars. 

I have one huge gripe -- it uses a tiny dual-colour LED to tell you which channel you're on, but the colours are orange and red. It's almost indistinguishable, and as far as I know I don't suffer from any colour blindness. I wish it was a bigger, brighter LED, or at least two colours that are more obviously different.


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## DaddyDog (Apr 21, 2017)

I’ve seen those and want to try it. One was on Reverb recently.


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## crann (May 10, 2014)

markxander said:


> I have one huge gripe -- it uses a tiny dual-colour LED to tell you which channel you're on, but the colours are orange and red. It's almost indistinguishable, and as far as I know I don't suffer from any colour blindness.


This is my favourite OD pedal by far. A few things I have found that you didn't mention.

1. This thing is super picky about what signal is fed into it. I always have it first in the chain, otherwise you get odd audio artifacts or a fizzy breakup, maybe it just doesn't play nice with my other pedals. Something to do with the impedance it sees?
2. The single LED indicator is a huge bummer. I find the colours quite different and easy to tell the difference, but my issue is that you never know what channel it's on until you activate the pedal. A non-issue if you're using a switching system.
3. While the dynamic response of the pedal is amazing, it does (IMO) have a tendency to add some treble signal. Hard to EQ out given the controls available. Maybe I've drank the Kool-aid, but this interacts very differently with every guitar (even within pickup class). Some HB guitars OD super smooth, while other HB guitars get a touch ice-picky. Single coils tend to be more predictable and consistent.

It's definitely one of those "if you know, you know" type things on the board.


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## Grab n Go (May 1, 2013)

It's a great pedal. It was a mainstay on my board many years ago when I gigged. It really blends well with an existing amp sound.

I don't have the pedal anymore, but I sort of rediscovered it inadvertently. I'm re-mixing some old band recordings and I noticed some of the guitar DI tracks used a pedal. It took me a while to recall that it was the Blackstone.


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## markxander (Oct 24, 2009)

crann said:


> This is my favourite OD pedal by far. A few things I have found that you didn't mention.
> 
> 1. This thing is super picky about what signal is fed into it. I always have it first in the chain, otherwise you get odd audio artifacts or a fizzy breakup, maybe it just doesn't play nice with my other pedals. Something to do with the impedance it sees?
> 2. The single LED indicator is a huge bummer. I find the colours quite different and easy to tell the difference, but my issue is that you never know what channel it's on until you activate the pedal. A non-issue if you're using a switching system.
> ...


Which version do you have? The 2.3 circuit that I own has a switch for buffered bypass that makes it a lot more forgiving of input (you can turn it off but I didn't think it was that much more responsive without the buffer). There is also a treble trimpot inside (not every version) that can help you tame it a bit, but I agree --- even at its mildest settings it can be a little strident at times.


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## crann (May 10, 2014)

markxander said:


> Which version do you have?


I didn't know there were different eras. I knew about the buffer switch but not the treble pot. I've never opened her up so I might not have either, looks like I have some tinkering to do, thanks!


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

While I can't speak to differences between versions, in general the circuit is kind of a Red Llama / EPFM Tube Sound Fuzz / EHX Hot Tubes on steroids.


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## markxander (Oct 24, 2009)

crann said:


> I didn't know there were different eras. I knew about the buffer switch but not the treble pot. I've never opened her up so I might not have either, looks like I have some tinkering to do, thanks!


Here is the link to the version history: Blackstone Docs


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## Alex (Feb 11, 2006)

Great unit. I had one for a long time and one of my favourite MIAB.


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## Bigsby1967 (Feb 27, 2016)

I picked up one of these recently.
I must be missing something, I can't get it to work for me.
I bought it used locally and can't find a decent tone. It was harsh and the drive controls are really sensitive to the smallest change and add compression as you add drive.
I'm constantly tweaking the internal trim pots to try to find a good balance with less treble and the right amount of gain.
On the plus side it's really responsive to guitar volume and attack.
I'm sure it's a great "set it and forget it" pedal for many and I'd really like to like it but it's way more work than it should be.


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## Alex (Feb 11, 2006)

Bigsby1967 said:


> I picked up one of these recently.
> I must be missing something, I can't get it to work for me.
> I bought it used locally and can't find a decent tone. It was harsh and the drive controls are really sensitive to the smallest change and add compression as you add drive.
> I'm constantly tweaking the internal trim pots to try to find a good balance with less treble and the right amount of gain.
> ...


Which amp(s) are you using it with?


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## Bigsby1967 (Feb 27, 2016)

Alex said:


> Which amp(s) are you using it with?


'67 Gibson ES 330 into a '65 Princeton Non-Reverb and a '73 Les Paul Deluxe into a '65 Ampeg Reverberocket.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

The pedal uses 3 sections of a CD4049UBE hex inverter chip. The Red Llama uses 2 sections, as does the EHX Hot Tubes. A number of Laney amplifiers use a similar circuit for their dirty channel. I've made a bunch of pedals that use a couple of sections from the same chip. I quite like 4049-based drives. They can have a really nice "grunt" and grind. If I want to sound like Keith Richards or Mike Campbell, it's what I reach for.

I have a schematic that purports to be the Blackstone, but it only shows 4 controls, rather than 5, so I assume it is either an earlier version or simply a reduced single-channel version.


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## Alex (Feb 11, 2006)

Bigsby1967 said:


> '67 Gibson ES 330 into a '65 Princeton Non-Reverb and a '73 Les Paul Deluxe into a '65 Ampeg Reverberocket.


Vintage amps tend to be darker/warmer and don't think the Blackstone is a good fit. Have you tried a Lovepedal COT 50? adds some brightness and in my experience, works great with darker sounding amps.


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## jfk911 (May 23, 2008)

you could always trade it for a Julia, ha


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## Bigsby1967 (Feb 27, 2016)

Alex said:


> Vintage amps tend to be darker/warmer and don't think the Blackstone is a good fit. Have you tried a Lovepedal COT 50? adds some brightness and in my experience, works great with darker sounding amps.


I haven’t but I’ll keep an eye out for one.
I’m pretty happy with the ODs that I have but wanted to try the Blackstone after hearing so much about it.


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