Distortion/Overdrive/Booster Pedal recommendations

[wez]

I'm not usually one for asking for recommendations on a forum for this kind of thing, but I'm stretched kinda thin at the moment and don't have time to try a bunch of pedals.

I've recently moved to a single channel amp (Ampeg SJ-12T), in the past I've always been a dirty channel or small amp kinda guy, not really into distortion pedals. The Ampeg is pretty clean and being a 50-watter, it doesn't get crunchy until you really hammer it. What would be a nice pedal to put in front of it I wonder? I'm looking for something that gives me a nice gentle but solid crunch, something like the bluesy tone you might get from a little 5 or 10 watter, but without changing the character of the amp too much.

I have a Tube Screamer but it kinda stamps it's sound all over the amp. I'm wondering if I might actually want a clean boost pedal? Just looking for some ideas.

And of course if anyone has anything suitable that they're looking to sell, let me know.

[ether]

Crowther Hotcake?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXuRpPXRBa4

[Particle]

I recently bought a Sarno Earthdrive after reading an interview with Nels Cline.
Hands down the best overdrive I own....and I have quite a few.
Works great into clean and dirty amps.

Don't just trust me....Mr O'Neil heard mine and ordered one.
5 weeks wait for delivery but worth it.

http://www.sarnomusicsolutions.com/products/ed.html

[Junction]

This thing will blow your mind

http://oddfellowfx.com/?page_id=146

[jkhuri44]

used a fulltone Fat Boost, or fat boost 2?
that thing sounded brilliant to me...one of those "try the amp without it...urgh this amp sucks without it" (and the amp does not suck haha).
really good pedal.

[Paul Maybury]

Hi, if you can solder, have a look at General Guitar Gadgets.
All my favourite pedals I have built from their kits.
Also, these are good, and cheap.
http://www.joyoaudio.com/en/product/show_111.html
Cheers,
Paul

[rightintheface]

I went through a tonne of different boosts and overdrives etc until I settled on building my own Zvex Super hard on - 7 components, easy as hell to build. it was my first DIY pedal and is still going today. Love it!

[ChrisW]

Roland are in the process of releasing recreations of many of their classic Boss pedals. Still based on all analog circuitry.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BINFsEPuQKE#t=42

[Drumstruck]

This isn't a pedal, but they're cheap and go from a nice tubey overdrive to Fripp-sound (and it's a pre and a DI):

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb05/a ... tubemp.htm

[wez]

Love all this info, thanks everyone.

[Chris H]

I've found the Pro Co Rat is a good for the crunch side of distortion as you can dial in the tone. For the thicker type of distortion I love my old MXR distortion pedal. There two plus my amp covers all the bases I need but I must admit i haven't auditioned any newer options.

[Bent my VU]

They all stamp their own character on the amp to some extent.

Try going through some of the proguitarshop demo videos on YouTube - or Burgerman666.

I'd also check out the MI-Audio range. The Blue Boy Deluxe is one of my favourite pedals for low to medium gain into a clean amp.

[rick]

The earthdrive of steves was instantly gratifying into my old twin reverb
Which was what i considered a miracle because its the chimey clean
That is hard to make snarl

So i Spoke to the guy who builds them
( he is a mastering engineer btw )
and I ordered it same day

It turned up last week .. Beats all my pedals

Its not much past acdc for gain on full by itself ( without the amp helping )
But its the drive pedal to use with an clean amp
I presume the ampeg just needs a helping hand down low
I havent tried the earth drive looking for uber gain ..
Might be amazing
Might not .

But if your just looking for one pedal and can wait
I would recommend this one

There are a million $100 pedals out their that you can get
Tommorrow of course .. I cant recommend you spend $100 a million times

Then there is the klon ..
I have no F@#$ing idea why they cost like 2 grand 2 nd hand for a distortion pedal
I Have never heard one but i dig the fact a little
10 cent opamp in a 20 dollar ugly box is selling for 2 grand
I can almost talk myself into buying one to see what the f@#$
Is going on !

The rise and the rise of the klon gives me hope for the future of the music business

Now if i can just get every klon owner to start a record label
Things would get back to 1985 in no time at all !

.

[wez]

So when I said I had no time to go and try all these pedals.... now I really want to go out and try all these pedals!

Cool suggestions, they all look good. That's some pretty serious love for the Earth Drive, bit pricey for a boost pedal but not outrageously so. Although the simplicity (and price) of the Fat Boost is tempting.

Anyone used the Fulltone Full-Drive 2? Having two channels of boost would be useful.

[Particle]

Hey Wez, I'm not sure where you are based but if you are in Sydney and wanted to hear the Earthdrive.....oh and the fat boost....oh and the fulldrive and the ...etc drop me a pm.
Like I said though, the earthdrive is my favourite...hands down.
btw I first considered buying it after I read Nels Cline uses it on his B board to cover the Klon on his A board.

[wez]

Hey Steve, I'm in Melbourne but thanks for the offer... sounds like you know a thing or two about boost pedals!

I'm thinking that I'd be a schmuck not to go and order an Earth Drive now.

[Kurt]

The Boss DS-1 with Keeley mods sounds great. I also have a soft spot for the Marshall Shredmaster.

I think any distortion pedal can be great for some applications, so you really need to try some out and find what floats your boat!

[wez]

After a few weeks of procrastinating and being distracted by distractions, I've just ordered an Earth Drive from Brad Sarno.

I'm also thinking of getting a Fulltone Full-Drive 2 to play with while I'm waiting... 6 weeks is a long time, even for a slow moving old-schooler like me!

Thanks again for all the advice and recommendations. Will let you know how it goes when it arrives.

PS the Paul C Tim/Timmy looks good too, anyone got one?

[rick]

i have a blue boxed fulldrive 2 that i never use , make me an offer i cannot understand and its yours

[wez]

Hmmm tempting... last week I would've grabbed it, but in the meantime I've picked up a used Fairfield Circuitry Barbershop... and it's pretty damn good I have to say. It let's the full tone of the guitar ring through, and the 'sag' control is excellent for dialling in just the right amount of character/transparency. It's exactly what I was after.

But I'm really looking forward to getting the Sarno and seeing what all the fuss is about... I dare say I'll keep one and shift the other, although I'm secretly hoping they'll be completely different and therefore equally useful!

However I'm curious about the Full-Drive, so I'll give it a think. I'm not sure if I want to be one of those guys that owns 20 slightly different overdrive pedals.... oh who am i kidding. I'll email you.

[wez]

Hey Rick, I've emailed you re: the Fulltone

[Paul Maybury]

Got one of these on my recent visit to the U.S. it's really, really good. And cheap.
http://www.jimdunlop.com/product/m77-modified-od
Cheers, Paul

[Wiz]

I may be a wanker.. .its a very good likely hood...

But I use a few, in conjunction with a valve amp.

Now, if I was playing in something like a blues band, I would in all likelihood use a really simple setup..

but my pedal board consists of a compressor pedal (love squeeze) and a MXR overdrive MXR distortion Hermida OD and a Tubescreamer followed by a MXR Anaolog delay.

I use slight amounts of each drive pedal, with the Tubescreamer being like my solo boost more everything pedal. This in conjunction with my guitar volume and my Princeton set for clean, works out great for me.

I can go from Gimme One Reason sort of blues, to ACDC , to Funky clean, then woman tone, to ZZ top ish pretty easily.

[rick]

Sorry wez
I did get your email but I seem to have lost it
Resend if you can
In other news Steve just got a klon !

[wez]

No probs rick, done!

I really didn't need a new obsession but this is turning into one. Reckon I'll need to get my hands on a Klon KTR to see what the fuss is about (forget the original Klon, that's nuts).

Bought one of these stupidly cheap Joyo American Sounds... since found out that it's a rip off of a Sansamp, which I don't feel great about. But, umm, wow... interesting to say the least, especially cranked (which is totally not what I bought it for).

Sarno due any day. Got a Timmy and a JMK Custom OD on standby, plus the tubescreamer and the Barbershop. I can feel a shootout coming on.

[Risto]

The Fulldrive 2 is brilliant on a valve amps. I really don't need more than this.
Don't be afraid to go on aliexpress.com and buy a few Joyo pedals if you want to experiment.

cheers
Chris

[wez]

The Sarno arrived... only had a minute to play with it. Initial impressions - really smooth, more gain than I was expecting, could be pretty special. But planning a big pedal party as soon as I get my hands on Rick's Fulltone (check your email Rick ;-)) ... will do a full report after that, hopefully with some recordings.

IMAG1766w2.jpg

[Chris H]

For a very nice booster, plug your guit into one of these ( mine has a hi-z input )......then maybe an inline attenuator or two is recommended between this and the amp's input.

So far my amp has survived such abuse but maybe not all amps would survive intact but dam it's nice for over driving the input stage of a valve amp.

My_Byers.jpg

[Ender]

Bit late posting, but how did you go with your pedal hunt Wez? Did you find what you were looking for with the Earthdrive or Fulltone? Did you end up grabbing a Klon just to satisfy the curiousity? Would be keen to hear your impressions after adding those new ones to your collection.

[wez]

Hey Dan, sorry for the late reply.

Well as expected, I have kind of become obsessed with the whole thing and now have a pretty decent collection!

I've prety much decided which ones I'm keeping, and which ones I'm not. I've organised a 'pedal party' with a mate (who's bringing a couple of toys along). we've had to postpone it a couple of times... but when it happens, I'll be recording the whole thing and uploading some audio, and all will be revealed.

the list looks something like this...

Sarno Earth Drive
Fairfield Circuitry Barbershop
Timmy
Danelectro Transparent Overdrive ('lawsuit' Timmy clome)
Fulltone Full-Drive 2 (Blue/cream knobs version) *RICK I STILL OWE YOU MONEY FOR THIS! Please send your bank details
Joyo American Sound
Ibanez Tube Screamer ('SoundTank series)
JMK Custom Overdrive

Plus a couple I can't remember. Like I said, I know which ones I'm keeping, but I'm waiting to sit down with a 'real' guitarist.

Regarding the Byer... I actually had one a few years ago but sold it as I was never going to get around to modding it. Probably should have kept it (cost me $100).

Oh and if anyone wants to loan me a Klon (original or new version) or something else a bit special for the 'shootout', feel free to get in touch ;-)