# Overdrive pedals?



## Luke98 (Mar 4, 2007)

I'm looking for an overdrive pedal.
Which, in your opinion, are the best bang for my buck?
I don't know too much about pedals, as I used to play acoustic, and recently (with the help of one of shoretyus's awesome tele's) got back into playing electric.

Thanks.


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## dufe32 (Feb 5, 2007)

What do you want to achieve? What kind of amp(s) are you planning to use with your pedals? What's your music style? Are you playing humbuckers or single coils? What kind of budget you're looking at?


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## Luke98 (Mar 4, 2007)

I just want a heavier, but not distorted tone, if that's a good way to describe it. Think Neil Young Hey Hey, My My or Life in the Fast Lane. I'm playing a fender super champ xd (smallish tube) I play mostly rock & blues, or that's what i'd want the pedal to achieve tonally. I'm playing a single coil tele, and my budget is under 225$


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## dufe32 (Feb 5, 2007)

Fulltone OCD might do the trick. Tele's are thin sounding, the OCD will bring some balls. The OCD can get pretty mean but clears nicely when rolling back the guitar's volume knob.

I'm a Les Paul player, so I don't know how the Tele would react with the OCD. However, I do know that the OCD will make my guitar shine in any amp I will plug in. The OCD is an amazing piece of gear.

I would try as much as I can, with my own guitar and amp, and go from there. There are so many possibilities. Maybe a fuzz would do it, you should not rule them out. I recently acquired a Crowther Hotcake from a forumite, and I only have good words for it: lots of balls, less gainy than the OCD, sounds more vintage and less compressed. The choices are out there, what works for me might not do it for you. You have a good budget, you should be able to find a nice boutique od pedal, but you should try it with your amp and guitar.

Other forumites might have better/different ideas/experiences than mine, I hope they'll chime in. This could be debated for months, everyone has their "own tricks" or favorites.


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## Stratin2traynor (Sep 27, 2006)

OCD is an awesome sounding pedal. It's good with both single coils and humbuckers. It's great for a rhythm sound but I've heard it's not that great for leads. I don't play in a band so I wouldn't know. 

I'm a fan of the tube screamer camp. That would do as well - just a little more middy.

There are a ton of OD out there. Once you go down that path...it can be scary expensive


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

I have a modded ibanez TS7 that would do exactly what you're looking for  got it for a very reasonable price - the same they went for in stores.

The guy who does the mods had to postpone business due to personal stuff, but has started back up. I don't have the website or his email off the top of my head though.

I know that the OCD gets rave reviews, also try out a maxon OD808 and look for a used one if that's your preference


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## allthumbs56 (Jul 24, 2006)

The two best "bang for the buck" ODs are the Bad Monkey and the SD-1. Each at about 40 bucks new. Take it from an OD junkie. After those two it's the law of diminishing returns.


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

Sheila needs to get dirty? Oh the shame of it all... 9kkhhd.. 

Not a distortion guy but maybe a Blues Driver or Boss Ds1? I just run another line into the first channel of my Deluxe, but I actually have thought about a distortion lately.


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## Luke98 (Mar 4, 2007)

shoretyus said:


> Sheila needs to get dirty? Oh the shame of it all... 9kkhhd..
> 
> Not a distortion guy but maybe a Blues Driver or Boss Ds1? I just run another line into the first channel of my Deluxe, but I actually have thought about a distortion lately.


Mmm, not so much distortion as a little extra oomph.

But shame on all you members of this forum, for making me so eager to go out and blow a few hundred dollars!

I've been browsing quite a bit, I think I'll pick up a Fulltone OCD, there's a ton of great reviews for it, might as well try one out kkjuw


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

Best bang for the buck, would be the Danelectro Cool Cat pedals. There are 2 that you can try, either the Transparent Overdrive which is said to be a clone of the Timmy and the Drive which is the clone of the OCD. Both pedals are under $50.00. I have both. Some people prefer the Transparent Overdrive but I like the Drive more. You can't go wrong with either.

So before you spend the $$$ on the OCD, try out the Drive first. It's very close to how the OCD sounds.


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## StevieMac (Mar 4, 2006)

allthumbs56 said:


> The two best "bang for the buck" ODs are the Bad Monkey and the SD-1. Each at about 40 bucks new. Take it from an OD junkie. After those two it's the law of diminishing returns.


+1 to *allthumbs56*. I prefer the Bad Monkey for my particular set-up (Tele-->'62 pro) because I require both bass & treble adjustment. I understand the Transparent Overdrive has this as well and I've heard that it sounds great. 

I totally agree with the law of diminishing returns as well. After $50-$100 (new or used), it becomes a serious value judgement.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

shoretyus said:


> Sheila needs to get dirty? Oh the shame of it all... 9kkhhd..
> 
> Not a distortion guy but maybe a Blues Driver or Boss Ds1? I just run another line into the first channel of my Deluxe, but I actually have thought about a distortion lately.


If you're looking for overdrive, I'd stay away from both these pedals. Of course, that depends on your definition of overdrive or tonal preferences, but I think of overdrive as being warm, thick and grinding. Even though the BD-2 is an "overdrive" pedal, both it and the DS-1 are very harshing and cutting. It might be your cup of tea, but I didn't like either.



allthumbs56 said:


> The two best "bang for the buck" ODs are the Bad Monkey and the SD-1. Each at about 40 bucks new. Take it from an OD junkie. After those two it's the law of diminishing returns.


I've had an SD-1 and yes, that's what I think of when I think overdrive. A fantastic pedal! As for the Bad Monkey, I have no direct experience with it, but a lot of people like it and it's supposed to be a pretty good Tubescreamer clone, so it's gotta be doing something right.



Chito said:


> Best bang for the buck, would be the Danelectro Cool Cat pedals. There are 2 that you can try, either the Transparent Overdrive which is said to be a clone of the Timmy and the Drive which is the clone of the OCD. Both pedals are under $50.00. I have both. Some people prefer the Transparent Overdrive but I like the Drive more. You can't go wrong with either.
> 
> So before you spend the $$$ on the OCD, try out the Drive first. It's very close to how the OCD sounds.


I had a Transparent Overdrive for a while and it _was_ really fantastic. Alas, it wasn't fantastic enough to displace my Fulldrive, but then again I reserve the right to think of my Fulldrive as the best OD pedal ever. All in all, the Transparent OD really is good value, though I don't know about the v2 ones that are supposed to be coming out.


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## dufe32 (Feb 5, 2007)

hollowbody said:


> ... but then again I reserve the right to think of my Fulldrive as the best OD pedal ever.


I kinda feel the same way about my OCD, this little guy changed my rig. It actually became the heart of my rig, it's the only pedal I would bring with me because it can do it all with clarity and definition. I was in a "battle of the bands" at Bar Chez Maurice in St-Lazare this past weekend, and the backline amp was a Fender Deville. I'm not too fond of the Fender dirt channel, so I slapped my OCD through the clean channel and I had stellar results. Stellar enough to make me wonder "should I get a Fender amp?". So to me, I'm pretty sure the OCD will make me sound fantastic in ANY tube amp I may use. In my eyes, my Les Paul and the OCD are the only things essentials. I could manage any situations with these two.


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## Lemmy Hangslong (May 11, 2006)

I like the BBE Green Screamer. Like a Tube Screamer with a tone switch to have or not have the mid hump.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

dufe32's post raises a key question: Do you want the pedal to have a sound of its *own*, or do you want it to push the amp to produce *its* sound with some added oomph?


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## rev156 (Mar 2, 2008)

+1 on the cool cats, you can't go wrong for the money.


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

...try the FET Dream.

manufactured in mississauga:

http://cepedals.com/products2.html?gclid=CO7A692z2psCFRHxDAodhFsp_g

-dh


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## Jim DaddyO (Mar 20, 2009)

Write down all these good suggestions and look them all up on you tube for sound samples. Some manufacturers have sound clips on their web pages and you can compare different ones. Make sure the sound sample is using equipment close to what you use.
I use to use a TS-9 that I loved, but I didn't use too much gain on it, boosted the level and let the tube amp do the rest.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

mhammer said:


> dufe32's post raises a key question: Do you want the pedal to have a sound of its *own*, or do you want it to push the amp to produce *its* sound with some added oomph?


I found the Dano Transparent OD to be just that. Transparent! If you want a pedal to let your amp shine, this is a great high-value option.

I, however, like my drive to a bit different tonally than the clean, so my fave pedals of all time (TS-types, Boss OD-1, Fulldrive) have a fairly pronounced character of their own.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

Jim DaddyO said:


> Write down all these good suggestions and look them all up on you tube for sound samples. Some manufacturers have sound clips on their web pages and you can compare different ones. Make sure the sound sample is using equipment close to what you use.
> I use to use a TS-9 that I loved, but I didn't use too much gain on it, boosted the level and let the tube amp do the rest.


Pro Guitar Shop is my go-to place for youtube clips. They have tons and tons of videos, all really well done with pretty high quality sound (for Youtube) and they really get into the intricacies of each pedal, showing you a bunch of different setting, and then their arbitrary favorite setting for each pedal.

Also, they use great song choices to demo the pedals.


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## dufe32 (Feb 5, 2007)

hollowbody said:


> Pro Guitar Shop is my go-to place for youtube clips. They have tons and tons of videos, all really well done with pretty high quality sound (for Youtube) and they really get into the intricacies of each pedal, showing you a bunch of different setting, and then their arbitrary favorite setting for each pedal.
> 
> Also, they use great song choices to demo the pedals.


+1

Pro Guitar Shop is the best place for sound clips.


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## Luke98 (Mar 4, 2007)

mhammer said:


> dufe32's post raises a key question: Do you want the pedal to have a sound of its *own*, or do you want it to push the amp to produce *its* sound with some added oomph?


Pushing the amp to produce it's sound with some added oomph is what I had in mind



Jim DaddyO said:


> Write down all these good suggestions and look them all up on you tube for sound samples. Some manufacturers have sound clips on their web pages and you can compare different ones. Make sure the sound sample is using equipment close to what you use.
> I use to use a TS-9 that I loved, but I didn't use too much gain on it, boosted the level and let the tube amp do the rest.


Don't worry, I've been compiling a list from here and other places since the start :smilie_flagge17:


Thanks to all of you for having the patience to deal with an effects noob like me.


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## EL34POWER (Jan 16, 2007)

Barber LTD SR
OCD
Keeley BD-2
Super Chili Picosso


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## filmosound (Feb 27, 2006)

Chito said:


> Best bang for the buck, would be the Danelectro Cool Cat pedals. There are 2 that you can try, either the Transparent Overdrive which is said to be a clone of the Timmy and the Drive which is the clone of the OCD. Both pedals are under $50.00. I have both. Some people prefer the Transparent Overdrive but I like the Drive more. You can't go wrong with either.
> 
> So before you spend the $$$ on the OCD, try out the Drive first. It's very close to how the OCD sounds.


Those above mentioned Dano's are the best bang for the buck, but there's nothing better than the real things... the Timmy and OCD (v.4 is the one I have). In fact I love the OCD into the Timmy.


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## jimihendrix (Jun 27, 2009)

hey there...these are some good candidates...i love the pocket metal muff...it sounds great with every amp...don't let the name fool you....it can do mild overdrive too...


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## Archer (Aug 29, 2006)

dufe32 said:


> . Tele's are thin sounding,


umm.......no


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

Agreed Archer...my Tele can sound real fat when I need it to.

@ Luke98 - I'm almost embarrassed to say that I picked up a Boss SD-1 the other day to mess around with in a trade and I have to say that it sounds pretty darned good! It has the same sort of tone as my Fulldrive-2, which is still the best OD in the world to my ears, but it's missing the complexity of snarl that the FD-2 has. You get more overtones and harmonics with the FD-2, but I guess that's where the price tag comes from.

This isn't surprising, since they're basically the same pedal, so the similarily in sound is to be expected, but I didn't think it would be _this_ close. In all honesty, I would probably be more likely to take the SD-1 on a gig with me than the FD-2, mainly because I don't use the Boost on the FD-2 too often, it's smaller, and if someone spills a beer on it, it won't break my heart. 

All in all, a pleasant surprise and a really under-rated pedal.

caveat: I _still_ lust for an OCD


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

The clean boosters pictured are useful for boosting a signal you wish to *remain* clean after boost, or useful for pushing your amp into breakup when the tone controls are already set for "rounding off" the edge.

I stand by my eternal recommendation that when one wants to go from a bright clean or moderately colored (but bright) tone to an overdriven one, it is optimal to have a booster that also lets you trim back the treble. There are few sounds more irritating than harmonics of harmonics.

In keeping with this, the recently released Visual Sound Truetone pedal provides all the same clean boost that the EHX and MXR boosters do (and the ZVex SHO, Catalinbread boosters, yadda yadda yadda), but includes a treble cut control precisely for this reason. Its designer - RG Keen - and I have been discussing the principle of how one "spools out" top end in multi-stage overdrives since 1991, and this unit is in keeping with the results of our discussions. Not to take anything away from the other units, though. The Truetone also uses a voltage doubler circuit internally to mimic use of a much higher supply voltage. That will provide lots of headroom, even on hard-picked transients. Worth checking out if it meets your needs.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

mhammer said:


> In keeping with this, the recently released Visual Sound Truetone pedal provides all the same clean boost that the EHX and MXR boosters do (and the ZVex SHO, Catalinbread boosters, yadda yadda yadda), but includes a treble cut control precisely for this reason. Its designer - RG Keen - and I have been discussing the principle of how one "spools out" top end in multi-stage overdrives since 1991, and this unit is in keeping with the results of our discussions. Not to take anything away from the other units, though. The Truetone also uses a voltage doubler circuit internally to mimic use of a much higher supply voltage. That will provide lots of headroom, even on hard-picked transients. Worth checking out if it meets your needs.


Sounds interesting. Youtube-ho!!!


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Actually, stumbling onto the youtube demo for the Open Road pedal, it had some nice surprises as well. Decent clean and overdrive sounds. No mid hump.


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## mrfiftyfour (Jun 29, 2008)

Another overlooked and cheap overdrive is the Rocktron Sonic Glory. It's been my goto OD for a couple of years. It is a tubescreamer clone as well.
Very dynamic and musical.


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## Luke98 (Mar 4, 2007)

Alright So I had pushed the thought of bothering with an OD and just managing with what I had when I was in L&M the other day with a few friends, and on a whim asked a salesman what they had for OD's. I asked about the Fulltone OCD because so many people had mentioned it, he said they didn't carry fulltones but he personally recommended an SD-1, so I bought it, wasn't very expensive, and after trying it out at home, I kinda like it. I'll play around with it some more, but I'm probably going to end up keeping it, mostly because of the awesome blues tones I got this morning.

Thanks again for everyones suggestions


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## sivs (Aug 5, 2009)

There seem to be lots of good deals on used OD pedals these days, everything from the Dano's to high end boutique stuff. I'm currently loving my Fairfield Barbershop (a good Canadian made pedal to boot) and my subdecay liquid sunshine. I'm also impressed with the Diamond J-drive, and it's nice to have the independant boost built in. 

I think there are probably more good overdrive pedals out there than can be counted. Find a sound that you like and go for it... especially if you can get it for a good price!


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

Luke98 said:


> Alright So I had pushed the thought of bothering with an OD and just managing with what I had when I was in L&M the other day with a few friends, and on a whim asked a salesman what they had for OD's. I asked about the Fulltone OCD because so many people had mentioned it, he said they didn't carry fulltones but he personally recommended an SD-1, so I bought it, wasn't very expensive, and after trying it out at home, I kinda like it. I'll play around with it some more, but I'm probably going to end up keeping it, mostly because of the awesome blues tones I got this morning.
> 
> Thanks again for everyones suggestions


That's strange, the L&Ms in Toronto carry Fulltone and they advertise an OCD on their website for $175. The OCD is a freakin' brilliant pedal btw. I love mine! I avoided getting one for a while because I figured it was mostly hype, but since getting it, it plays so nicely with my Fulldrive.

As for the SD-1, it's also a great pedal. It does a great job for its price and I'm sure you'll be happy enough with it til you decide to give something like the OCD a go one day.

With pedals like the SD-1 and the TS-9, I try to keep one on hand just to have a reference point for what a "standard" overdrive is, so that I can compare them with supposed "boutique" ODs to see if there really is any improvement, or whether I can justify the improvement.


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## NIK0 (Dec 6, 2007)

Good post! Nice to get some solid opinions on overdrives from the community.

I like the TIM pedal very much. Great as a clean boost! But I really like the Chandler and B.K. Butler Tube Drivers. Chandler TB's are rare but sound glorious and the Butler TB's are produced in limited quantities by B.K. himself.

All the tone junkies including Gilmour and Eric Johnson have a few of these on their pedal boards. Great clean boost and awesome overdrive.

There is my opinion...

By the way I have a vintage Chandler Tube Driver rack unit if anyone is interested. Mint condition with original box.

http://www.guitarscanada.com/Board/showthread.php?t=25613


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

please delete


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## Joebob (Aug 4, 2009)

OCD is a great and cheap pedal !!! Great value for the price
and a good way to start and learn and pedals !!!!:rockon2:


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## Grant2023 (Jun 26, 2008)

The OCD is a great pedal, especially when run at 18V. It definitely has a lot of headroom, and will get you very organic-sounding breakup.

If you are planning to crank it for high gain stuff, don't. It's a low-medium gain overdrive, and won't get you great distortion tones when dimed..it'll turn a little fizzy. Anything short of full blown distortion, this pedal is awesome value for the money.


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## forum_crawler (Sep 25, 2008)

If you really want to get the best bang for your buck, consider the Danelectro Cool Cat line of pedals:

1. Transparent Overdrive (Timmy clone)
2. Drive (OCD clone)
3. Distortion (clone?)

These pedals range from 30~50 a piece, and get very close to the original pedals, not identical, but very close. They are true bypass, and have real metal cast casings.


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## mrmatt1972 (Apr 3, 2008)

mhammer said:


> I stand by my eternal recommendation that when one wants to go from a bright clean or moderately colored (but bright) tone to an overdriven one, it is optimal to have a booster that also lets you trim back the treble. There are few sounds more irritating than harmonics of harmonics.


Agreed!

The first thing I thought while reading this thread is a boost with a treble cut is what you really want. I have one called a Fatzo (custom thing from North Bay) that is so good I'm often tempted to leave it always on.

Matt


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## HedleyGrange (Mar 30, 2009)

There are soooo many variations on a theme out there when it comes to overdrives and it really does depend on your amp/speakers/guitar...I have always been an SD-1 guy( mine has a few mods I did myself to open it up a bit and give it a fuller bottom and it smokes) and I have tried many pedals. And as much as I love it with Plexi style amps I have found that it isnt as useful or effective with the 18 watt style amps. For my 18 watter I like just a straight up clean boost like an LPB-1 to jack the tubes and speakers up!! My friends OCD sounded really really good with his silverface Bassman 50 though...


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## Salokin (Nov 10, 2008)

I ' ve got a Xotic BB preamp and AC booster like 4 months ago, and both od does what I have searched for a while. Both od are great and offer a lot of versatility. If you can get one of those Xotic effects, you will know what I mean. I prefer them to a Ts-9/ts-808. If you are searching for a prety nice
tweakable clean boost, you have to try the Xotic RC booster. Combined to BB preamp or AC booster, it' s pretry awesome! But if you want a TS, I suggest you the Maxon Od-808. I have one and it sounds great, even for leads with a boost placed after. 

Go check that link! http://www.xotic.us/effects/tremTrio/


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## Salokin (Nov 10, 2008)

I have to approve the OCD too, I don' t have choice!! It' s a prety good od too!!
I won' t never plug mine on 9v. It is prety much better plugged in 18v!! It sounds bigger, fater. I play in a 2/10 Fender Vibrolux and it helps a lots if you want to rock the place!!!


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

Yeah, I finally broke down and got an OCD after a long time of doubting it's awesomeness. I was a firm believer that the drive channel of my Fulldrive-2 was the best OD to be had. That opinion changed slightly after I got the OCD. The FD-2 is still a fantastic pedal, but the v3 OCD I got is just flat out better and the difference is pretty obvious.


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## monty (Feb 9, 2009)

Cant go wrong with the Dano dirt pedals, they are cheap and pretty flexable.
Dont forget about the MXR Zack OD.


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## RP-50 (Oct 11, 2009)

*RP-50 footpedal*

Besides my guitar, the RP-50 foot pedal was the best investment i ever got. it dose overdrive along with another 79 other effects!!! around 150$ but it is worth it!!! if you wanna hear it just Youtube the name.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

hollowbody said:


> Yeah, I finally broke down and got an OCD after a long time of doubting it's awesomeness. I was a firm believer that the drive channel of my Fulldrive-2 was the best OD to be had. That opinion changed slightly after I got the OCD. The FD-2 is still a fantastic pedal, but the v3 OCD I got is just flat out better and the difference is pretty obvious.


I tried one about 2 years ago in a local store. My impression at that time was that it was not anything distinctive or revolutionary in itself, but rather it managed to cop a fairly broad array of well-loved tones that would easily replace 2 or 3 pedals on most boards. Some folks (inevitably) whined about the price, but my feeling was that if you added up the cost of what it could replace, it was fair value for the money.


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## Overt1 (Aug 31, 2009)

paul c timmy and tim for me.


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## krall (Apr 19, 2009)

I have a prototype Solid Gold Sound Labs "High Octane" od (from Montreal)..Best OD i've ever owned..Mine's a prototype with lots of gain on tap, clip and bass switches, the ones he's currently making are a low/mid gain pedals, but a friend of mine has one and they're also great..And customer service is next to none..Check them out at: http://www.solidgoldfx.com/


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## zjq426 (Aug 23, 2009)

I have a MXR ZW-44 Overdrive. It sounds ok and works ok as a lead boost or even a light distortion pedal. Problem is the NOISE!!!
I tried OCD and BB+ preamp at my friend's place..both are fantastic. Also tried AC booster but not so impressed.


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## drstone (Jul 30, 2009)

dont know if anyone has mentioned the diamond j drive mk3?

its a GREAT overdrive/boost and the reviews are no less than stellar.

ive had mine for about a week now and i havent been able to make it sound bad!
oh and theyre made right here in Canada! got to love that


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

mhammer said:


> I tried one about 2 years ago in a local store. My impression at that time was that it was not anything distinctive or revolutionary in itself, but rather it managed to cop a fairly broad array of well-loved tones that would easily replace 2 or 3 pedals on most boards. Some folks (inevitably) whined about the price, but my feeling was that if you added up the cost of what it could replace, it was fair value for the money.


I don't have quite as expansive a familiarity with pedals as you do, Mark, but yeah, I totally hear what you're talking about. I played with my OCD for a while and found lots of interesting tones, but ended up settling on the volume at 9 o'clock (this pedal is LOUD), drive at 11 and tone at 1 with the switch on the HP setting. This seemed to me to be the most fundamentally useful setting so far, except it's a bit gainy for some things. I'm getting an attenuator for my Marshall, so I'll have to fiddle some more after that.



krall said:


> I have a prototype Solid Gold Sound Labs "High Octane" od (from Montreal)..Best OD i've ever owned..Mine's a prototype with lots of gain on tap, clip and bass switches, the ones he's currently making are a low/mid gain pedals, but a friend of mine has one and they're also great..And customer service is next to none..Check them out at: http://www.solidgoldfx.com/


Greg's stuff is 100% awesome. He modded a Diaz Tremodillo for me and I love what he did to it. I also own a NOB boost pedal from him and that's a keeper as well. In fact the NOB and OCD combo is pretty unstoppable. It really gives my solos a fantastic tone and oodles of sustain.


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## stoptail (Sep 22, 2009)

I just bought an old Klon Centuar pedal and I rather like it . Not too much effect , just enough , it does not mask the sound of your guitar/amp . Pretty sturdy unit too .


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