# Mantra, OCD or ...?



## Ti-Ron (Mar 21, 2007)

I'm looking for a medium-high gain overdrive.
I want something touch sensitive, tight (for palm mute and punk chaka-chaka rifts), no tubescreamer please or Rat. I'm looking for somthing with a good and balanced eq. I don't want to lost bass or treble when kick in.

Any suggestion or comments on the OCD and Mantra?


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

...radial hot british or london bones might work for you. i'd also take a serious look at some of the wampler offerings.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

For me it's always the OCD. It's the only drive pedal I've bought that I've kept for more than a year (going on 3yrs now, I think!)

It's great a med-high gain pedal, but it's also great to push a tube amp and does an ok job of light drive as well (depending on what you consider light drive).

No experience with the Mantra, but I don't need any. I love my OCD. It really cleans up nicely, screams when I dig in and lets each guitar retain its character.


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## TWRC (Apr 22, 2011)

I too have never tried the Mantra but am an OCD guy myself. I got one a few months ago and haven't looked back. It's really dynamic and touch sensitive in comparison to other ODs that I used to own. Heck, I've had a Tubescreamer on my board since I started playing and the OCD managed to replace it.

It can definitely do that medium gain thing as long as your amp is pinned but as far as high gain goes, it doesn't really go into that territory but the great thing about the OCD is that it's stackable with just about everything.


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## Swervin55 (Oct 30, 2009)

Another OCD fan here (I have two) for all of the reasons already stated.


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## Ti-Ron (Mar 21, 2007)

So the OCD seems to be the winner here! 
Will take a look at it soon!


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## Ti-Ron (Mar 21, 2007)

david henman said:


> ...radial hot british or london bones might work for you. i'd also take a serious look at some of the wampler offerings.


The SloStortion is tempting me. Any comments on it?


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

The nice thing about the Wampler stuff is that there's a three band EQ on all, or most of the dirt pedals.

At least that way, you're not stuck with just a tone knob.

I haven't tried the SloStortion though. I haven't tried the Mantra, or OCD either. 8)

One dirt pedal that has my attention lately, is the four knob Model H from Bearfoot.

Of course, there's always the Elements from Dr Scientist. It's supposed to be very versitile.


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

I like my Lovepedal Eternity which is a Roadhouse version. It's something that might interest you. It's very responsive to your playing and doesn't get muddy even at high gain..


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## TWRC (Apr 22, 2011)

I have a Dr. Scientist Elements on my board and I would venture to say that it's pretty much the best OD / Distortion pedal out there especially in terms on tweakability. It does low gain, bluesy overdrive really well but it really shines in high gain mode. There's actually a video that compares a Slostortion with an Elements and personally, I think the Elements sounds better.

Comparison between Soldano SLO - Dr Scientist The Elements - Wampler SLOstortion - YouTube



sulphur said:


> The nice thing about the Wampler stuff is that there's a three band EQ on all, or most of the dirt pedals.
> 
> At least that way, you're not stuck with just a tone knob.
> 
> ...


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## Ti-Ron (Mar 21, 2007)

Is the low-med gain side shines too? I'm not metal player, I still want to hear my guitar!


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

Ti-Ron said:


> Is the low-med gain side shines too? I'm not metal player, I still want to hear my guitar!



...that's an issue for me, as well. after a while, if not sooner, a dirt pedal begins to sound like...a pedal. i've been gravitating to pedals like the ocd (i have the cheap danelectro copy), the wampler paisley, the radial bones london and the slostortion because they sound more akin to an amp than a pedal.


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## TWRC (Apr 22, 2011)

It's amazing. I think a lot of people associate the Elements as a metal sort of dirt pedal (Ryan did design it with lower tunings in mind) but I think it's by far the most versatile dirt pedal out there because you can dial in just about any tone and it's friendly to every amp and guitar I've ever plugged it into.

Another big reason why I went with the Elements is due to the fact that it has a mix knob. You can find the right balance between your guitar tone and the distortion to your liking. To me, this is starting to sound like the pedal you should be looking for. The OCD is awesome, but again that mid-high gain territory is almost non-existent when you're plugged into a clean amp which isn't great for those "for palm mute and punk chaka-chaka rifts". 

As usual, Andy does another great demo. Check this out, asides from the metal tones, I think you'll really like it.

Dr. Scientist The Elements - YouTube



Ti-Ron said:


> Is the low-med gain side shines too? I'm not metal player, I still want to hear my guitar!


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## Ti-Ron (Mar 21, 2007)

The mix knobs seems really usefull! I'll take a look at this carefuly!
THanks for the input!


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## Ti-Ron (Mar 21, 2007)

Yeah, I know. I don't understand this. Same thing with the amp. Sometime pedals have too much personnality, your amp seems gone or useless. Can be good in some situation, if you have a really bad sounding amp and a pedal you love, but otherwise, it's a shame to buy such a nice amp to "cover" it with something else!


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## georgemg (Jul 17, 2011)

Ti-Ron said:


> Yeah, I know. I don't understand this. Same thing with the amp. Sometime pedals have too much personnality, your amp seems gone or useless. Can be good in some situation, if you have a really bad sounding amp and a pedal you love, but otherwise, it's a shame to buy such a nice amp to "cover" it with something else!


Even worse to me is when the pedal has so much 'personality' that it doesn't matter which guitar you play, cause they'll all sound the same. 

I hate to sound like a fanboy but I've had a lot of luck with Fulltone pedals myself. I have an OCD, Robin Trower OD, Plim Soul and Fat Boost, and they're all great for adding gain to your sound without taking over your sound too much.


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## Andy Tran (Apr 23, 2011)

I've had both the OCD and the Mantra, and I can definitely say I liked the Mantra better. I've settled on a Himmelstrutz Fetto Custom now, though.


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## Ti-Ron (Mar 21, 2007)

@david henman: Is the Paysley Drive can be use as a boost (with mid bump) like a tube screamer?


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## ElectricMojo (May 19, 2011)

I'd really suggest checking out the Fairfield Circuitry Barbershop Overdrive, it's an amazing pedal:
4 ways to use The Barbershop - YouTube
The Barbershop Overdrive - YouTube
Fairfield Circuitry Barbershop Overdrive - YouTube

Have a nice day!


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## Marshall LX58 (May 17, 2012)

The OCD is great at 18 volts or below 9 volts ( danelectrode or dead batt) and it likes to be pushed or can push good to, I run mine betwen a fuzz head and a vintage ts 808, fuzz head> ocd v.2> ts-808. They are great a great OD or a good boost to. one I will keep, or replace.


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