# Fulltone Pedals...comments



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

I bought an amp from a fellow recently and we sat over a coffee and discussed gear.

He had tried many, many pedals and advised me to be sure to try the Fulltone pedals if I had the chance. He was of the opinion that few pedals could match this brand of pedal.

I don't often use pedals and I have never tried a Fulltone....but for some reason I remembered what he said and have been curious ever since.

He didn't suggest any specific Fulltone pedal...but we were talking about overdrive/distortion tones.

I'm starting this thread to see what others think about Fulltone pedals.

Cheers

Dave


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## mario (Feb 18, 2006)

The Fulltone stuff IMHO are some of the greatest pedals ever made. Solid build and great tone. Mike Fuller has a great ear for that "vintage" sound. I have 4 Fulltone pedals on my pedalboard and I still have 3 others in rotation. My favs are OCD, Fat Boost, Deja Vibe 2 and last but not least the Fulldrive 2.


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## nitehawk55 (Sep 19, 2007)

I think Fulltone makes some great pedals too . I've got to admit though that I think the Arteffect Zenith did the FDII thing better . 

Got a new one listed in the pedals FS if you're looking......$165 shipped :smile:


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## Stratin2traynor (Sep 27, 2006)

I love my Fulltone pedals as well. OCD and FD2. If only someone would sell me their Ultimate Octave...Anyone, anyone....


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## chesterb (May 28, 2006)

Just get an OCD and you will get it.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

mario said:


> My favs are OCD, Fat Boost, Deja Vibe 2 and last but not least the Fulldrive 2.


You certainly have a lot of experience with these pedals.kksjur

Which one would you choose for a "mild" amount of overdrive/distortion? ...and/or ...what would be your deserted island Fulltone pedal?

I haven't read up on the Fulltone line as I'd prefer to get information from sources that are not as "biased" shall we say.

Thanks

Dave


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## zdogma (Mar 21, 2006)

I have an OCD and a clyde deluxe on my board, and the FD 2 was my fave OD until I got my Kingsley Jester. All his pedals are well made and very roadworthy.

I wish I'd picked up a Soulbender when he still made them.


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## mario (Feb 18, 2006)

greco said:


> You certainly have a lot of experience with these pedals.kksjur
> 
> Which one would you choose for a "mild" amount of overdrive/distortion? ...and/or ...what would be your deserted island Fulltone pedal?
> 
> ...


Hey Dave,

You cannot go wrong with either the OCD or Fulldrive. Both can deliver very mild boost or medium distortion. The OCD is IMHO a little more "open" sounding and the Fulldrive has more of a "midrange hump" like a Tube Screamer. As much as I LOVE the OCD big time....there is something I like about the Fulldrive a bit more. Plus it has a separate boost. Great pedal!


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## bagpipe (Sep 19, 2006)

Ditto on the OCD - great pedal. I also have a Clyde Wah and its awesome too. His stuff seems to be "geared" for playing live ie anything I have tried sounds great when its played live through a loud amp.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Many thanks for all the responses. 

Seems like the Fulltone line has quite a devoted following.

Thanks for the suggestion re: the OCD and Fulldrive.

Dave


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## Archer (Aug 29, 2006)

I have the first and third version OCD pedals. Not using them right now but they are really good.


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## devnulljp (Mar 18, 2008)

Fulltone and analogman arethe baseline for boutique-ish gear if you ask me. They raised the bar from the Boss etc. to made to high spec but readily avialable pedals. 
I've had a few Fulltones -- 69, 70 fuzzes, OCD, Fulldrive 2 -- I kept the 69, it's a great Ge fuzzface. The 70 I sold to fund another fuzz, which when I got it I hated and wished I'd kept the 70. The OCD was a bit too gainy and compressed for me -- a fine sounding pedal though, just not for me -- the Fulldrive is a really great tubescreamer, but I'm kinda bored with that sound so out it went. OTOH, I tried one of his wahs and didn't like it at all. I'd love a TTE but too many $$$ so I'm sticking with my dirty old echoplex. Apparently Robin Trower uses one of his dejaivibes now. 
Depends what you're after really. I don't really go for full-on distortion but rather a lighter OD, and I can goose that with a fuzz (of which I seem to be gathering a collection). There are lots of great drive pedals available now -- in the old days you had a choice between Boss, Ibanez, and total crap. 

I've got a Timmy now for low gain (replacing an AC Boost), a Tube Driver (which replaced a Tonebone classic) and a HAO Rumble (fantastic OD, replaced everything else) and that does me fine. Almost bought an 80s Rat recently though...


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

I've got a Fulldrive 2 and couldn't be happier with it. I love my Tubescreamers and the FD2 does the TS circuit and does it great (even though it uses asymmetrical clipping like an OD-1). 

I have it set up for mild gain on the drive channel and it gets really gritty with the boost engaged.


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## Cdn_Cracker (Oct 7, 2006)

I totally agree that Analogman and Fulltone have set the standard for boutique pedals. Fulltones are however a bit easier to get a hold of to try out.

I have the Anniversary FDII, a first gen OCD, a Soul Bender and finally the Deja Vibe. They are all fantastic pedals, built like tanks and sound like heaven. Sure there are some other holy grails (Landgraff, Klon....etc), but you will pay through the nose and want to hire a personal protection detail to make sure no one walks away with them when you are out and about.

Dollar for dollar, you can't beat the Fulltones... I stack my FD II and OCD, it is a great set-up. Analogmans aren't easy to get a hold of (I have an Analogman King of Tone on order, but still have about another year until it is built). If I want a Fulltone, I can walk down to my local retailer and buy it now.


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## billygoat (Jun 26, 2008)

I've have an original ts-808, a zendrive, and I've had the timmy, keeley modified stuff, etc. etc.

But for my money, Mike Fuller and I must have the same ears, because my current board features

Clyde Wah, 
Fulldrive
OCD,
DejaVibe 
69.

It's great stuff. I've only had one problem, and they dealt with it efficiently, and they even answered my questions about trimmers quickly and politely (contrary to what you hear on the internet)

It's a good investment for sure. High quality stuff


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## sicko (Jun 12, 2007)

I have had a FDII for a while now and think it is a very nice pedal. I love the fact it is very sturdy and looks like it could take allot of abuse. It sounds very good also. I am sure there are many opinions on which is the best drive pedal or pedals but remember its all up to what YOU like. For the money you wont go wrong with a FDII. Look on Youtube.com and you can hear some good demo's of most pedals.


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## KoskineN (Apr 19, 2007)

If you ever got a chance, try the OCD with an 18v power supply! A lot smoother and more headroom...it makes quite a difference!


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## Mr. David Severson (Feb 3, 2006)

Nobody has mentioned the GT 500. I bought it on a whim from flee bay and I love it. There was some getting used to with the EQ trim pots. I find on the distortion side you to have keep the highs rolled right off otherwise it will sound shrill. It also has a seperate boost OD side which is very similar to a fat boost, basically two pedals in one. I also have an early version of the FD II and it is a great pedal. I find you have to play with an amp that is being pushed hard for the pedal to sound best. I will either use my Marshall 18watt clone or my 69 Deluxe Reverb with these pedals.


:food-smiley-004:


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## PaulS (Feb 27, 2006)

Fulltone make good pedals, I've played the FD2,Deja Vibe and the clyde wah. Although the FD2 was nice I found that I preferred the Daimond Jdrive because of it's option of being able to use the boost independant the drive. Also I just had a preferrence to the JDrives sound. The deja vibe was nice but it was a big pedal and I preferred something different. If your looking for pedals don't forget the guys at Diamond, they make decent pedals. :smilie_flagge17:


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## Stratin2traynor (Sep 27, 2006)

+1 I have a J-Drive MKIII and a Memory Lane. Both top quality pedals.


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## screamingdaisy (Oct 14, 2008)

Fulltone? Never heard of him...


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## GP_Hawk (Feb 23, 2007)

Ah yes, that soul bender...really wanted one. I've got an ocd vers 2 I really like. Plays nice with all my amps.


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## mario (Feb 18, 2006)

Mr. David Severson said:


> Nobody has mentioned the GT 500. I bought it on a whim from flee bay and I love it. There was some getting used to with the EQ trim pots. I find on the distortion side you to have keep the highs rolled right off otherwise it will sound shrill. It also has a seperate boost OD side which is very similar to a fat boost, basically two pedals in one. I also have an early version of the FD II and it is a great pedal. I find you have to play with an amp that is being pushed hard for the pedal to sound best. I will either use my Marshall 18watt clone or my 69 Deluxe Reverb with these pedals.
> 
> 
> :food-smiley-004:


I have a GT 500....love it. I must be honest, when I first got it I quite frankly did not like it much. I had the highs wide open and indeed it sounded shrill. It does have a bit of a learning curve to it. I too find you have to really play around with the trim pots to find that "sweet spot". Great pedal!


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

mario said:


> I have a GT 500....love it. I must be honest, when I first got it I quite frankly did not like it much. I had the highs wide open and indeed it sounded shrill. It does have a bit of a learning curve to it. I too find you have to really play around with the trim pots to find that "sweet spot". Great pedal!


Agree on all counts, great pedal but takes a bit of time to dial in. I sold mine and miss it, as usual :smile: The OCD is still my favourite OD.


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## Peter (Mar 25, 2008)

This seems like an appropriate thread to ask about the GT500 in.  Been looking at it for a while, but there's not a music shop in town that has one for me to play with.

What kind of distortion sounds can you get out of it? Heavy enough for hard rock type stuff?


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## LowWatt (Jun 27, 2007)

screamingdaisy said:


> Fulltone? Never heard of him...


How are you liking that Soulbender? I wasn't sh!tting you when I said that one had something special over every Soul Bender I've tried. Way louder and thicker with a much richer fuzz tone.


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## JMann (Feb 18, 2007)

DeleriumTrigger said:


> This seems like an appropriate thread to ask about the GT500 in.  Been looking at it for a while, but there's not a music shop in town that has one for me to play with.
> 
> What kind of distortion sounds can you get out of it? Heavy enough for hard rock type stuff?


I bought Davetcan's GT500 and have had it for approx. 3-4 weeks. As of now, I agree with Dave, the OCD is my favorite dirt pedal. But the GT is slowly revealing it's strengths and like Mario states, it requires a bit of tinkering to find those sweet spots.

Imo, it can do the heavy rock but I am no expert in that genre. You should go to the Fulltone web site and check out the Guitar Player review of the GT.
Of course, it got the Editors pick award but you might like what they have to say about the tones this pedal is capable of.

One cool thing I discovered about it is when I max out the distortion, bass and treble and add just a bit of mids to taste, it imparts a quasi fuzz tone when playing a Strat through my Twin Reverb. Cool stuff:rockon2:


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## screamingdaisy (Oct 14, 2008)

LowWatt said:


> How are you liking that Soulbender? I wasn't sh!tting you when I said that one had something special over every Soul Bender I've tried. Way louder and thicker with a much richer fuzz tone.


I hated it at first. It was a real bitch to get dialed in... particularily when A/Bing it with a '70 on the same board. The 70 has a big bottom end and a sharp top end. The Soulbender can do both, but not at the same time. It's a little boxy in the midrange, but I think that is it's strength as it fills out and cuts through better than the 70. I also find it punches harder. Once I figured all this out it started becoming my go-to dirt pedal as it's less touchy than the 70.


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## Robboman (Oct 14, 2006)

Fulltone has great build quality and made a few real gems but they don't rank quite as high in my books as Barber. YMMV of course.


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## LowWatt (Jun 27, 2007)

screamingdaisy said:


> I hated it at first. It was a real bitch to get dialed in... particularily when A/Bing it with a '70 on the same board. The 70 has a big bottom end and a sharp top end. The Soulbender can do both, but not at the same time. It's a little boxy in the midrange, but I think that is it's strength as it fills out and cuts through better than the 70. I also find it punches harder. Once I figured all this out it started becoming my go-to dirt pedal as it's less touchy than the 70.


That boxiness is definitely a very key part of it. In a cranked amp with a band, it's what keeps it from getting lost in the mix like most Tone Bender based pedals.


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