# overdrive pedels



## guitarpicker (May 16, 2007)

i would like to no best boss overdrive pedel,:rockon2:


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## Gene Machine (Sep 22, 2007)

*huh*

plees spel kurectly, i dunt no wut yew mien


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## Kapo_Polenton (Jun 20, 2007)

lol Gene Machine, 

OD-1 but you won't find many anymore

SD-1 modded

bad monkey from digitech as a clean boost and a bit dirty!


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## devnulljp (Mar 18, 2008)

No such thing as best. Depends on what you want it for, what style, what budget, etc.
FWIW Here's a list of good ones from another forum.

overdrives
The list:

TS 808
TS 9
Tonebone Hot British 
Tonebone Classic
Ibanez TK999
EHX English Muff'n
VS Jekyll & Hyde
VS Route 66
Proco Rat
Crowther Hot Cake
Matchless Hot Box 
Coloursound OD
DOD 250 OD Preamp RI
Toadworks Lil' Leo OD
MI Audio Blue Boy
Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive
Lovepedal Eternity
Fulldrive 2
Carl Martin Hot Drive'n Boost
Fulltone '69 & 70 (fuzz)
Analogman Sun Face (fuzz)
Roland AF-100 Bee Baa
Barge Concepts BB-1
Voodoo Lab Superfuzz
Fender Blender
Zen Drive
Tim / Timmy
ZVex Fuzz Factory
Maestro Fuzztone
Ampeg Scrambler
The Guv'nor
Big Muff (fuzz) 
Xotic AC boost
Menatone Howie
Alfonso Hermida Zendrive
Euthymia Crucible Fuzz
MJM London Fuzz
MJM London Fuzz II
Addrock Geranium Fuzz (not a typo)
1980s Dave Fox Crest Audio Fuzz Face *Rare
T.C. Jauernig Diabolical Gristle Tone Manipulator Overdrive
Lovepedal ETERNITY

There are lots of others

I have AC boost, Fulltone Fuldrive 2 (basically a tubescreamer + boost), Zen Drive, Timmy, Tonebone classic, soon to have Tube Driver too (thanks riffboy76) and a few others. I've also had/got Fulltone 69 & 70 and a Lovepedal 200lbs Tone fuzz pedals. Got a couple of others on the way from D*A*M. I've had Boss HM2 & DS1 and a TS9.
Depends whatyou want, what sound, and how much cash you have to put into it.


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

You cant expect a serious answer when you havent provided any info about the type of music you play, amps used, where you play, and what you're looking for in an OD pedal.

FWIW, I like the modded TS type pedals (TS9, TS808, Maxons and ibanez), but also think the Jekyll and Hyde is a really cool concept.

I'll put in a plug for my Joe Bodenhamer Bloody Murder OD pedal. It boosts the low end really nice.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

www.bodenhamer-electronics.com

get the SD-1 with the toggle to go from SD to tubescreamer i believe. basically, pick any overdrive from joe, and tone will ensue.


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## allthumbs56 (Jul 24, 2006)

The best stock Boss overdrive is the OD-3 handsdown. But as the others say, it is an "overdrive" and it may not be what you're looking for if you want to play heavier music.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

allthumbs56 said:


> The best stock Boss overdrive is the OD-3 handsdown. But as the others say, it is an "overdrive" and it may not be what you're looking for if you want to play heavier music.


We use OD pedals to boost the amp. the real crazy guys use distortion pedals.. apparently a metalzone into a dual rec works.. i dont plan on trying it hahaha


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## adamm (Mar 8, 2008)

I like the Boss Blues driver. Especially if modded by Robert Keeley. that is, as far as Boss pedals go. Otherwise, I am a fan of the Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive and especially the Hermeida Audio Zendrive. And you can't go wrong with a tubescreamer(I prefer the TS 10. there are a bunch of different models, all voiced a little differently). Ultimately, a good sounding overdrive has a lot to do with the way you play. A good pedal can not make a bad player sound good. But a good player can make a bad pedal sound good.


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## violation (Aug 20, 2006)

For Boss my vote goes to the Keeley modded SD-1... stock is OK too but modded sounds much better. 

My personal favorite overdrive pedal is the MXR Wylde Overdrive but I've also heard great things about the Maxon OD808 which I intend on trying and/or buying.


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## a Pack of Wolves (Sep 5, 2007)

try a simple boss o.d. -1

it's a pretty standard/common thing around

not too much drive and it seems to let yer 'playing' be heard 
instead of piles and piles of distorted stuff on top

i used a boss super o.d. for a few years 
(which was very close to a t.s.-9 tubescreamer) 
and it was very nice


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## keithb7 (Dec 28, 2006)

Another vote here for the Boss modded SD-1. I love it.


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## NB-SK (Jul 28, 2007)

adamm said:


> I like the Boss Blues driver. Especially if modded by Robert Keeley. that is, as far as Boss pedals go. Otherwise, I am a fan of the Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive and especially the Hermeida Audio Zendrive. And you can't go wrong with a tubescreamer(I prefer the TS 10. there are a bunch of different models, all voiced a little differently). Ultimately, a good sounding overdrive has a lot to do with the way you play. A good pedal can not make a bad player sound good. But a good player can make a bad pedal sound good.


I found an old article that Robert Keeley wrote about moding a TS-7. I'm using that as a guide to mod mine. I feel the TS-7 sounds very fizzy and unnatural (the best way to describe it is to say that it makes my tube amp sound like a SS amp) and lacks bass. 

I ordered a chip tuning kit from here yesterday:

http://www.banzaieffects.com/Tube-Screamer-Chip-Tuning-Set-pr-16132.html

I also ordered carbon comp resitors to do the 'Brown mod' etc (some say it sounds better, other say carbon comp resitors are too noisy...Just cost me a dollar. If it's no good, I'll switch to metal film resistors), a diode to try and see if I like asymetrical clipping, and a polypropelene capacitor to fix the bass response problem. I'll order metal film resitors and polypropelen capacitors to replace the electrolytics from my usual source (much cheaper). 

The main reason I'm attempting the mods is that I just found out that there are two online stores that sell kits for cheap. They have a few kits that I've been wanting to try out but got discouraged by the high cost of shipping the equivalent kits over here from Canada or the US (I live abroad). If I don't mess up my pedal while doing the mods, I'll be making a couple of these kits soon.


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## Kapo_Polenton (Jun 20, 2007)

Which mod did you guys apply to your SD-1's? I like the SD-1 with marshalls but with more gain it gets a tad noisy and somewhat mushy. Maybe its my cables or the fact that it is second in line to a bad monkey which i not true bypass.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

send OD pedals to Joe for ubertone, and his prices arent ridiculous.

if you tell him exactly what you want from the pedal, he'll also try his very best to get that sound out of your pedal for you.

www.bodenhamer-electronics.com. i kinda want to try an SD-1 of his..


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## devnulljp (Mar 18, 2008)

The Bad Monkey has a surprisingly good rap for a cheap distortion too.
I have way more dirt pedals than I need...with more on the way.


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## NB-SK (Jul 28, 2007)

Just did some mods on my TS-7. I first put in a socket for the op-amp chip and installed a TI JC4558 chip to see if it made a difference--it didn't. Then, I changed one of the diodes to get asymmetric clipping. Nice harmonics, but it still sounded one dimensional and harsh. I then did the resistor mod. I switched R58 with a 10kohm and the R55 with a 100ohm (both are carbon comp resistors). Nice, but not good enough. Then, I did the bass response mod, switched out C34 with a Panasonic 0.1uF film cap. First impression? Dude!!! That smoothed it all up. The mids and treble aren't overly pronounced anymore and the bass comes through very nicely. It's a marked improvement on stock. I debating whether I should change R27 (less drive on low) and R85 (more drive as you turn up the knob). It would only take 5 minutes, but I like the way it sounds now.


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## NB-SK (Jul 28, 2007)

devnulljp said:


> The Bad Monkey has a surprisingly good rap for a cheap distortion too.
> I have way more dirt pedals than I need...with more on the way.


You could also make one yourself. Lots of schematics out there. I just made a much tweaked copy of a well-known overdrive and I'm working a very versatile fuzz pedal right now. Took me 50$ in parts and 10 hours of my free time to make each. The biggest soldering project I had previously done was rewiring my Epiphone LP. I'm far from being an expert at soldering, but the first pedal sounds great, no hissing or other nastiness.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

There are more TS clones out there than there will be dandelions in the schoolyard behind my house in a few weeks. Any one of them, from the $20 bargain basement plastic-box clones to the $300 swirly-paint TB units can be easily modded with a couple of simple part changes to yield a tone you find more suitable. Whether you like the enclosure, feel of the pots, or bypass system is up to you, but the basics have been copied time and again, and much of what is out there going for big money is simply the same basic thing with some thought put into component values to suit a gven taste. No reason you can't read up a bit, think it through, and make some smart parts changes yourself and save yourself enugh money to buy another pedal on top of the one you modded.

I strongly encourage ALL of you to go to www.geofex.com and read the technology of the Tube Screamer article (link situated in the upper left corner), where you will learn how the TS ticks, and what changes what.


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## NB-SK (Jul 28, 2007)

devnulljp said:


> The Bad Monkey has a surprisingly good rap for a cheap distortion too.
> I have way more dirt pedals than I need...with more on the way.





mhammer said:


> There are more TS clones out there than there will be dandelions in the schoolyard behind my house in a few weeks. Any one of them, from the $20 bargain basement plastic-box clones to the $300 swirly-paint TB units can be easily modded with a couple of simple part changes to yield a tone you find more suitable. Whether you like the enclosure, feel of the pots, or bypass system is up to you, but the basics have been copied time and again, and much of what is out there going for big money is simply the same basic thing with some thought put into component values to suit a gven taste. No reason you can't read up a bit, think it through, and make some smart parts changes yourself and save yourself enugh money to buy another pedal on top of the one you modded.
> 
> I strongly encourage ALL of you to go to www.geofex.com and read the technology of the Tube Screamer article (link situated in the upper left corner), where you will learn how the TS ticks, and what changes what.


Yup, and don't believe in the hype about the JRC chip being the best thing in a tube screamer. I just spent a few minutes switching between the JRC4558D and the TI4558P. The JRC is really smooth, maybe too much so. I prefer the slightly rawer sound of the TI.


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## devnulljp (Mar 18, 2008)

NB-SK said:


> You could also make one yourself. Lots of schematics out there. I just made a much tweaked copy of a well-known overdrive and I'm working a very versatile fuzz pedal right now. Took me 50$ in parts and 10 hours of my free time to make each.


True, but as you can get them off evilbay for $25...


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

NB-SK said:


> Yup, and don't believe in the hype about the JRC chip being the best thing in a tube screamer. I just spent a few minutes switching between the JRC4558D and the TI4558P. The JRC is really smooth, maybe too much so. I prefer the slightly rawer sound of the TI.


We went through all that over on the DIY Stompbox forum. It really is a question of taste. Some like JRC/NJM, some like TI, some like RC, some LM. Some like a 4558, some swear by a Burr-Brown or an Analog Devices. Some like a bi-Fet, some bipolar only, and I'm sure someone out there can only stomach CMOS. In the words of Herschel Krustovsky: "Oy!"

If one MUST have a TS-like device in one's arsenal, the smartest thing to do is to install a decent socket with machined pins (not the sockets you buy for 20 cents), and pick yourself up a small "variety pack" of dual op-amps. Swap 'em around, being sure to record soundclips for easy and valid comparison. Then figure out what does and doesn't make a difference. You may be surprised.


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## a Pack of Wolves (Sep 5, 2007)

i recently been using a guvnor plus alot latey

pretty marshally,good tone,sturdy

marshall pedals don't get enuff attention


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Agreed. I really dig the Guv'nor. Got a Jackhammer too. 

Peace, Mooh.


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## Guest (Apr 29, 2008)

Gene Machine said:


> plees spel kurectly, i dunt no wut yew mien


You, sir, are ignorant . Its obvious the fellow has some work to do on his spelling but what he's asking is quite clear.


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## NB-SK (Jul 28, 2007)

mhammer said:


> We went through all that over on the DIY Stompbox forum. It really is a question of taste. Some like JRC/NJM, some like TI, some like RC, some LM. Some like a 4558, some swear by a Burr-Brown or an Analog Devices. Some like a bi-Fet, some bipolar only, and I'm sure someone out there can only stomach CMOS. In the words of Herschel Krustovsky: "Oy!"
> 
> If one MUST have a TS-like device in one's arsenal, the smartest thing to do is to install a decent socket with machined pins (not the sockets you buy for 20 cents), and pick yourself up a small "variety pack" of dual op-amps. Swap 'em around, being sure to record soundclips for easy and valid comparison. Then figure out what does and doesn't make a difference. You may be surprised.



Yes, good suggestion. That's exactly what I did. As I posted earlier, I bought this set:

http://www.banzaieffects.com/Tube-Screamer-Chip-Tuning-Set-pr-1613.html

I got it yesterday. I like the TI more than the JRC when playing through my amp. I'll try out the other ones later, but there's no rush because I'm very satisfied with the TI chip.

By the way, I did the less drive at zero, more drive when turned up mods...I think it takes out some of the bass, don't care for the taper either. I'll probably be putting the stock R27 and R85 back in.


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## devnulljp (Mar 18, 2008)

Hey, can we take a quick poll? How many and what type of OD/dirt boxes you folks using? I keep telling myself I have too many, but still seem to keep buying em.

Fuzz: Fulltone 69, Lovepedal 200lbs with D*A*M 66 on the way.
OD/Dist: AC boost, Zendrive, FDII, Tube Driver, Tonebone Classic with a Timmy on the way and I keep having to stop myself buying an Eternity.


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## Kapo_Polenton (Jun 20, 2007)

BOSS: SD-1, BD-2 which i am doing the H20 mod to this week, bad monkey, BB preamp and two DOD250 knock offs that were built for me by a pal which i really don't like anymore. 

Then I have a crunch box and now am considering that CMAT mods Brownie as i heard a clip which blew my mind and i am not 100% satisfied with OD's and boosts in front of my plexi. Sometimes a good clean amp and pedals is convincing enough in a mix if it gives you the texture you are looking for. I think i am turning into an "amp distortion only" guy. Just somethign about a pedal in the loop which bugs me... i notice it more and more with the duncan JB because it is slightly more nasaly then other pickups. I find it great on its own but boosted something is there which is annoying me.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I probably have around a dozen or so of various types, commercial and DIY, digital and analog, discrete and chip-based. Many have been assembled, tried out, then. Off the top of my head:

The Crank (my own OD/booster design)
Highway 89 (Doug Hammonds excellent design)
Couple of Tube Screamers
Two CMOS boosters (CMOS invertor-based design derived from old Anderton Tube-sound fuzz, but much much better)
EH Hot Tubes clone (original design)
Two hot-rodded MXR Distortion+ (w/GE or Si diode)
Marshall Bluesbreaker clone
Line 6 Crunchtone
AMZ Minibooster

....and probably some others that have been boxed, unboxed, and sitting in a pile of populated boards with wires and pots hanging off them.

I have a soft spot for 4049-invertor based overdrives, although Doug Hammond's delicious non-4049 Highway 89 has currently captured my heart. One of the things I'm hoping to attempt later this spring is an adaptation of the overdrive circuit in many of the Laney amps in pedal form. It also uses CMOS invertors, but uses a 4069 chip, and a more complex topology. People say good things about Laney solid-state amps, so I'm game.

I sold Ottawa's Tony D (a solid and respected blues player) a Tube Screamer clone last year that he was quite fond of at the time, though I do not know if he still uses it. It had all the usually TS-9-to-TS-808 conversion, but more importantly it had a "warp" control. This control essentially permits varying the degree of asymmetry in clipping by simply inserting a variable resistance in series with one of the two clipping diodes. It lets you go from normal TS sponginess and compressed tone to a little more dynamics and bite when you dig in. Nothing special technologically, but it works well. Tony strikes me as a little conservative when it comes to manipulation of his sound, so I think this struck a decent balance for him.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

A poll? Okay...A friend has recently made a Fuzz Face clone and a basic distortion box for me, the latter is very nice.

Also in the meagre collection is a Guv'nor, Jackhammer, Lava Box, BBE Crusher, as well as amp distortion, and boosters to help them all do their jobs.

No preference, just more choices and combinations.

Peace, Mooh.


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## bagpipe (Sep 19, 2006)

konasexone said:


> You, sir, are ignorant . Its obvious the fellow has some work to do on his spelling but what he's asking is quite clear.


I think it was joke ... you know, humour ? Maybe if he had added a smiley face it would have been okay? Like this :smile:


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## Guest (Apr 29, 2008)

devnulljp said:


> Hey, can we take a quick poll? How many and what type of OD/dirt boxes you folks using? I keep telling myself I have too many, but still seem to keep buying em.


I have a similar afflication. It's some sub-genre of GAS I'm sure. OD-acquisition-syndrome. 

Currently laying around the house: a diy muff thing, an Ibanez SM-9, a diy ts-9 thing, a barber trifecta (someone trade me an RV-3 for this!), a prototype Solid Gold FX SS454 (delicious medium-gain overdrive with the best mid-knob i've ever twiddled), a catalinbread silverkiss mk I (my low gain OD of choice for copping that Keef sound), a devi ever disaster fuzz, a perpetually-broke truly beautiful disaster and a Klon.

I've got the parts here for a rat type diy thing. I'm trying to decide if I'm man enough to etch my own PCB. 

Yea: it's a disease.


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

I think I might have the same disease. The first four are on my pedal board. The rest are somewhere in the studio.

Radial Tonebone Classic
Catalinbread Super Charged Overdrive
MI Audio Crunch Box
BBE Grande Boosta

MI Audio Blues Pro
HBE Power Screamer w/ Fat Boost
Fulltone Soulbender
EHX Nano LPB1
EHX Big Muff (Ram's Head Ver 2)
EHX Screaming Tree Treble Boost
Digitech Bad Monkey Overdrive
Keeley DS-1 Ultra Mod
Boss FBM-1 Fender Bassman
Boss BD-2 Blues Driver
Boss DF-2 Super Distortion/Feedbacker
Boss DS-1 Distortion (MIJ)
Boss OS-2 Overdrive/Distortion
Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive


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## devnulljp (Mar 18, 2008)

iaresee said:


> I have a similar afflication. It's some sub-genre of GAS I'm sure. OD-acquisition-syndrome.
> ...catalinbread silverkiss mk I...a perpetually-broke truly beautiful disaster


Silverkiss is nice. Purty too. I'd like one of those.
TBD is a fascinating pedal. I can't imagine ever actually playing through it, but it sounds really weird and interesting. I'd bet Robert Fripp could do something interesting with it.

I didn't mention the D*A*M RedRooster that's in the mail too -- add that to the dirt pedal GAS...


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## Guest (Apr 29, 2008)

devnulljp said:


> Silverkiss is nice. Purty too. I'd like one of those.


I chewed through A LOT of over drive pedals last year. A sick number really. And the SKiss stuck around and stayed on my board. That says a lot about this little guy. It's very versatile but I really just use to put grit and treble on my single when doing the old covers: Stones, Kinks, etc. I used to use the Klon for this but it didn't sound right until the amp was loud and my opportunities to turn my amp up loud these days are few and far between. I'm actually contemplating parting with the Klon...it's been in the closet for almost 5 months now. I took it off the board after people started recognizing it because it made me paranoid. I'm freaky weird about having my gear stolen.



> TBD is a fascinating pedal. I can't imagine ever actually playing through it, but it sounds really weird and interesting. I'd bet Robert Fripp could do something interesting with it.


When it works it's out of this world. But it's temperamental. It was a Christmas gift from my wife and it's already been back to Moog 2 times for repairs. The eye needs a fair bit of ambient light to work well otherwise it turns into a binary switch. I had a Disaster Fuzz before this and I sold it off when I found out I had TBD coming to me...kind of wish I'd kept the DF. I actually keep meaning to ask mhammer for oscillating fuzz schematics. I took the DF apart and have to admit it was a pretty simple beast inside. But it sounded...wild. :smile:


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## Drazden (Oct 26, 2007)

I got a Mark I Diamond J-Drive a few months ago, and all I can say is this is my perfect overdrive pedal. It warms up the 'red' channel on my Marshall very nicely, adding the low-end oomph that it lacks and really filling it out. 

The boost with the separate footswitch is awesome for adding just a touch more gain and volume to the already-pushed signal for soloing. I haven't used it much to push a clean amp, though (the boost switch, that is.) 

The only question for me now is how to set it up--in front of the green (low-gain) channel on the Marshall, pushing it into a medium-gain rock sound, great for early Ozzy, AC/DC, etc., or pushing the red channel to take me into sick high-gain dirt. Oh wait. It's just as easy as turning the 'warmth' knob up.

Fantastic pedal. Can't recommend it highly enough. Kills the vintage TS-9 (or is it an 808?) I have sitting inside my old Ibanez UE-300 multieffects, which I used to use.

Now, drive list... Hm.

On the board: 
Diamond J-Drive
EHX Little Big Muff (for those fuzzy moments)

In the cupboard:
Ibanez UE-300 (basically, three stompboxes housed in one box with a master on/off.

Looking for: A Boss Super Distortion / Feedbacker DF-2. I think that'd be awesome to play with with my delay pedal.


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## Lemmy Hangslong (May 11, 2006)

Bbe Green Screamer


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## Spikezone (Feb 2, 2006)

devnulljp said:


> No such thing as best. Depends on what you want it for, what style, what budget, etc.
> FWIW Here's a list of good ones from another forum.
> 
> overdrives
> ...


Funny, a list this long, and all the other replies in the thread, and the Danelectro Daddy-O seems to have been omitted. I use and like the Daddy-O.
-Mikey


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## allthumbs56 (Jul 24, 2006)

On my main board I have an FD II, OCD, OD-3, and a BB Preamp. On my little practice board I have a Route 66 and a Rat. Off the boards but not going anywhere is my trusty old plain-Jane SD-1, a TS-9, and I think I still have a BD-2 and another Rat somewhere.

I'm also a delay junkie. 

I just tell my girlfriend that they're like her and her shoes and that stops any further argument


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## PaulS (Feb 27, 2006)

+1 on the Diamond J drive, I have the TR model and love it. Also I use a Tim which I find a really nice overdrive, very transparent. With the two of them they offer a lot of variety.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

I had one last year that may be my favourite in terms of a overdrive "pedal".


Catlinbread SCOD


I lined up a lot of boutique pedals and chose that one.


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## devnulljp (Mar 18, 2008)

Finally got my OD needs down to a HAO Rumble ODS and a Tube Driver. 
There's also a 69 fuzz and a RedRooster treble boost. 
Of course, somewhere along the way I've developed wah-acquisition syndrome too.










And don't even start me on delays.


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