distortion pedal opinion

KarlSutton · Post by **KarlSutton** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 2:05 pm

anyone using this?

http://www.fulltone.com/ocd.asp

jmoore · Post by **jmoore** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 3:21 pm

KarlSutton wrote:anyone using this?

http://www.fulltone.com/ocd.asp

I don't own one (yet), but I've used them many times. It is not technically a distortion pedal, it is an overdrive pedal. That being said, it is an overdrive pedal that can be pushed to sound more like a distortion pedal. Sound amazing! And with the new price drop, they are a great value. You might also check out the Fulltone Full Drive 2. Equally amazing!

chrispick · Post by **chrispick** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 4:06 pm

FWIW...

Here's my favorite OD/Distortion pedal (it can work as both):

http://www.hughes-and-kettner.com/produ ... prod&id=12

Pricey, but sounds good to me.

I also use these guys...

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ ... c=3SOSWXXA

http://www.cusackmusic.com/?page=detail ... m=Screamer

http://www.marshallamps.com/product.asp ... ode=Guvnor

matticus · Post by **matticus** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 2:49 pm

Fulltone OCD is a great pedal. It seems to me to have a bit of a midrange hump like the tubescreamer. Stuff like that would be best for guitars with single coil pickups. If your more of a les paul guy like myself, you might try the:
Tim/Timmy pedals - hand-made by a guy in Nashvegas out of his garage so it has high quality parts, or the popular Zendrive by Alf Hermida. These are 2 "boutique" overdrive pedals that I have and LOVE both of them, especially the zendrive.
Just some options to consider.

chrispick · Post by **chrispick** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 2:43 pm

Wow, I thought there'd be more input on this thread. No one else have an opinion or suggestion regarding overdrive pedals?

KarlSutton · Post by **KarlSutton** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 3:22 pm

I appreciate the input, pardon my naivity about overdrive vs. distortion.

Being a newbee guitar player (mexican strat into a pod 2.0 into a music man 212) would you recomend I jump into these expensive pedals or start with the Boss stuff?

This is all for recording - no live stuff.

Thanks.

chrispick · Post by **chrispick** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 12:40 am

KarlSutton wrote:Being a newbee guitar player (mexican strat into a pod 2.0 into a music man 212) would you recomend I jump into these expensive pedals or start with the Boss stuff?

It's hard to make this kind of determination for others. But, I'd say that if you intend to use the pedals for recording, spend the little bit extra on a nice pedal, particularly one that's not built on modeling technology (as you already have the POD).

You don't have to spend $300+ on one (like I did). However, something around the $150 mark ought to suit you nicely. The Cusack Screamer I use goes for $150. The Fulltone OCD for $160.

RE: Boss pedals -- Listen to some samples of the lower prices models(Sweetwater has them with many of the Boss pedal pages). If you're cool with the way they sound, disregard my above suggestion and get the cheap Boss. People do like them and use them often.

jmoore · Post by **jmoore** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 6:08 pm

There are certainly many better pedals out there than those offered by Boss. That being said, they do make some nice pedals. I don't know exactly what sound you're looking for, so this is sort of a stab in the dark. You might want to check out the Blues Driver 2. It is a cool pedal and can be had new for about $70. Honestly, the old orange DS-1 distortion pedal isn't all that bad, it's just not at all versatile. You also might look into an Ibanez Tubescreamer. They make several different versions that are all pretty nice for the money. A buddy of mine just the TS9DX and I really like the range of sounds it was capable of.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TS9DX

Good luck!

builder · Post by **builder** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 7:57 am

chrispick wrote:
KarlSutton wrote:Being a newbee guitar player (mexican strat into a pod 2.0 into a music man 212) would you recomend I jump into these expensive pedals or start with the Boss stuff?
It's hard to make this kind of determination for others. But, I'd say that if you intend to use the pedals for recording, spend the little bit extra on a nice pedal, particularly one that's not built on modeling technology (as you already have the POD).

You don't have to spend $300+ on one (like I did). However, something around the $150 mark ought to suit you nicely. The Cusack Screamer I use goes for $150. The Fulltone OCD for $160.

RE: Boss pedals -- Listen to some samples of the lower prices models(Sweetwater has them with many of the Boss pedal pages). If you're cool with the way they sound, disregard my above suggestion and get the cheap Boss. People do like them and use them often.

I remember talking to you about the cusack pedal.... I haven't pulled the trigger yet, but could you give some more input on it.....

Thanks

chrispick · Post by **chrispick** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 2:36 pm

builder wrote:I remember talking to you about the cusack pedal.... I haven't pulled the trigger yet, but could you give some more input on it.....

Let's see...

It's a Tube Screamer copy, right? So it sounds like that, by and large.

At low gain settings, it gives a little bite and midrange bump (at default tone settings -- you can tweak the tone knob to preference). Makes my single-coil neck pickup sounds kind of like that intro riff from Wild Cherry's "Play That Funky Music."

At higher gains, it sounds like many a typical rock rhythm or heavy blues guitar. Good distortion without collecting low register mud. It's definitely not a nu-metal kind of high gain sound (mid-scooped and buzzy). It's the opposite (mid-humped a bit and defined).

So, it's not a "change your life" kind of pedal. But, it does what it promises. It's a good utility piece.

Addendum: I forgot to emphasize that it offers more gain than typical Screamers. And retains a bit more note clarity (in my opinion).

matticus · Post by **matticus** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 12:34 pm

Good call on the turbo tube screamer Chris. I have one and it's great. I'm a Lespaullian right now so it took me a while to make it not sound like Santana just jumped out of the box...which is fine if that's what you're going for.

jmoore · Post by **jmoore** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 6:20 pm

matticus wrote:Good call on the turbo tube screamer Chris. I have one and it's great. I'm a Lespaullian right now so it took me a while to make it not sound like Santana just jumped out of the box...which is fine if that's what you're going for.

I can't understand why anybody would want to go for that. He's got to be one of the most overrated guitarists of my lifetime.

Sorry for the brief hijack...

guitarsark · Post by **guitarsark** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 2:15 pm

i have the ocd and can say it is an awesome pedal. it's nice warm overdrive. anything by fulltone is excellent quality

cloudy house · Post by **cloudy house** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 3:30 pm

anyone checked out the xotic suff? amazing sounding...rc boost, ac boost, bb preamp
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mark

chrispick · Post by **chrispick** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 11:32 pm

cloudy house wrote:bb preamp...

I've seen some video marketing for this. Seems real cool.

It's essentially how I use my MXR Dynacomp -- mostly as a gain-stage device rather than compressor (although I do work it as that a touch).

MOTUnation.com

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