Overdrive pedal to retain amp tone-No Mid hump!

[malko]

possible? I love the tone of my clean BDRI an i am using a Danelectro Transparent Overdrive. While i like the crunch i dont like what it does to the tone. It seems to attenuate the bottom end and highs and adds a mid boost

Any suggestions? I dont want to pay too much money? Someone on another forum mentioned a Nobels ODR-1 when there was a similar question to mines?

[Carotte]

I have a B.K. Butler TubeWorks style Genz-Benz Blue Tube pedal with a 3 band Eq that let's me keep the low end of my Fender Blues Jr. modified with a Blue Dog cone instead of the original... it's fat! The secret is in the tube... But the one in the pedal! I've tried change tube (12ax7) many times in the Blues Overdrive, and the best ''bottom'' results were with a Groove Tubes Gold Series 12AX7. The original Marshall that comes supply with it is bery thin... The pedal itself is not so expensive if you find one... it's much cheaper than the ''Gilmourish'' Chandler or TubeWorks ''TUBE DRIVE'', and is still a B.K. Butler design. Got mine for 100$ off eBay! Hope this helps!
-Greg

[Carotte]

ho! I just saw that on the BK Butler web site, they take order for reproductions of the original Tube Drive... This would be your best buy... If you've got a certain amount to spend on an overdrive...
Cheers!

[octatonic]

Google 'Clean Boost Guitar pedal'.
See you in a year.

:-)

[dualtone]

Oof. The age old "transparent" overdrive debate! It's totally valid to want this. But, it always seems to me that great naturally overdiven amps (which is what we're always to trying to "get" in a pedal?) are full of all kinds of overtones and harmonics and, usually, midrange as you turn them up to get the sound. Just wondering if chasing this "transparent" thing is really worth it in the long run. Not trying to burst a bubble, just wondering...

[SpiderM69]

Klon Centaur

[popmann]

I like the Barber Small Fry...there are three settings...one has no mid hump...one has almost no mid hump...one has a mid hump...all that said, none of the three come close to the mid bump of a Bluesbreaker or RAT or countless others I'vee used.

For this reason, I think it works better with small amps than say a RAT. Small amps are almost all mids to begin with...boosting them just gets honky.

[Unclenny]

You might try putting an EQ pedal in front of your dist pedal to allow you to shape the tone more to your liking.

[malko]

Originally Posted by Unclenny

You might try putting an EQ pedal in front of your dist pedal to allow you to shape the tone more to your liking.

thats what i was thinking of doing. Decisions decisions.

[tiny333]

z vex super duper 2 in 1

cant go wrong

[Jonboy79]

Originally Posted by malko

thats what i was thinking of doing. Decisions decisions.

What's to think about, that's what eq's are for. Would it really hurt to try it? Might just work for you and save you months of searching for the ultimate OD pedal.

[SpiderM69]

Yes, EQ's are a surprisingly good solution for a boost. Also, a transparent compressor like a Keeley can do the job as well, just keep the sustain down and level up.

[popvulture]

+1 for the Klon Centaur. Since the previous guy just said the name of it, I'd like to add that it's the closest thing I've found to natural sounding overdrive in a pedal. It doesn't sound like it's put in front of your amp; it sounds like it IS your amp.

That's not to say that it's perfect, because there really is no such thing. No pedal sounds as good as a nice amp cranked up and doing its own thing. BUT, I've probably bought and sold about 20 overdrive pedals in my life, and the Centaur is the only one that stands out. I don't think it's about bumped up lows and mids, etc, but more about compression. To my ears, most overdrives raise your presence but crunch down your sonic range, losing a lot of the outer nuances of natural amp sound.

I'll shut up. Just order a Centaur, wait the month or however long it takes for it to arrive, then plug it in and play your best E chord. I doubt you'll send it back.

[Insomniaclown]

How about just a volume pedal? Some guys use these to really drive the front end of their amp.

[SpiderM69]

Yes, the Centaur is pricey, you have to wait at least a month for it, but it's worth every penny and the wait. In 40+ years of playing I have never heard a pedal so good. It's a keep-it-for-life pedal.

It's one of those things that's hard to describe, but the way Bill (Mr. Klon) describes it is truly how it sounds. It sounds like you, your amp, your guitar, only bigger. Yes, it can add it's own overdrive, but if you want to keep it clean it will give you that, only bigger. It works with tube amps only. It's one of those few pedals that when you turn it off, you immediately want it back on again.

My personal theory, and it is a theory only, is that the pedal somehow tickles some essential frequencies that bring out the magic of a nice guitar through a nice tube amp. Anyhow, that's what it sounds like to me. So what's essential it that it makes your guitar and amp sound like your guitar and amp, only bigger, so you have to like what you're hearing before you add the pedal. Then adding the pedal makes it gorgeous.

OK, I'm done gushing now. BTW, I've had this pedal for a few years, so the honeymoon period ended long ago; this isn't puppy love.

[Unclenny]

Originally Posted by Insomniaclown

How about just a volume pedal? Some guys use these to really drive the front end of their amp.

I love what my volume pedal does to my amps....last in the chain. Drives them to the sweet spot.

That, however, won't help much with this question of distortion tone.

[Flogger59]

Look for a used Zoom PD01. It's from a short lived analog line that they had a few years ago. It'll give you up to 30db clean boost, or an overdrive, depending on how you set it. I have one, and love it. They're built like tanks.

[mexicola]

Pedalworx Neodrive. You cant go wrong with just one knob!

[Digitar]

I love the original TC Electronic Booster/Line Driver/Distortion, not the new one. It's got a built in Noise Gate. An extra XLR out. Bass and Treble tone controls. A lot of guitarists use it as their secret weapon. Allan Holdsworth has used one in his lead chain for many years even though he's changed amps and processors. A little hard to find but well worth the search.

[softwareguy]

Just to point out: any decent eq pedal will have a volume boost/cut in it as well, so it is in fact a boost pedal, and you get to shape the tone of that boost. I've been using an eq more and more for my boost for just this reason, and it seems to me to do what you are describing very well.

Best of luck with your search.

[Gary Ladd]

Single Coils - SIB Fat Drive

Humbuckers - Color Sound clone with tone control, Zvex SHO, and believe it or not OCD V.1 on LP with minimal gain...

[Washington]

I'm very surprised nobody has mentioned the Fulltone OCD. Maybe the most dynamic overdrive pedal either. Try to get a version 3 if you like more "Fenderish" tone, the version 4 has germanium components (diode?) that give it a bit more of a Marshall edge.

[Tringboy]

I use the Crowther Audio Hotcake, its a bit like the Klon Centaur

[audiostout]

I use the durham mucho boosto for added boost.

Durham Electronics

[dewey decibel]

Originally Posted by malko

possible? I love the tone of my clean BDRI an i am using a Danelectro Transparent Overdrive. While i like the crunch i dont like what it does to the tone. It seems to attenuate the bottom end and highs and adds a mid boost

Any suggestions? I dont want to pay too much money? Someone on another forum mentioned a Nobels ODR-1 when there was a similar question to mines?

I have an original green ODR-1. It's really cool and fairly transparent. The thing is instead of a mid boost it has a bit of a bass boost. This turns out to be a plus for most people however....

Originally Posted by Unclenny

You might try putting an EQ pedal in front of your dist pedal to allow you to shape the tone more to your liking.

I'd be more likely to put the EQ after the OD. But yeah- OD plus EQ equals .

There's also the Timmy and Tim (the later has a loop built in that is perfect for an EQ), NOC3 Pure Drive, Xotic AC Boost, Catalinbread Silver Kiss Mk2, and Subdecay Liquid Sunshine (as well as many others) which are all worth checking out.

[awelti]

The Holy Fire Pedal by Creation Audio Labs is made to have a totally flat response (no mid hump) and can go from clean to overdrive to distortion depending on the setting. This guy has a good video demonstration and he also has a comparison tool that lets you compare different makes of pedals with each other:

Holy Fire Overdrive / Distortion Demo | OldToneZone.com

If you just want very clean boost that overdrives the amp but does not alter the tone or add noise check out the Creation Audio Labs MK.4.23 Clean Boost - but don't take my word for it, there are user reviews on Harmony Central... Also, here are a couple of links:

Creation Audio Labs MK.4.23 Boost: Harmony Central User Reviews

Gear Review: Creation Audio Labs Mk.4.23 Clean Boost « Guitar Gear

Creation Audio Labs - Blow it out your amp! The MK.4.23 Boost Pedal

[Joe Silence]

Originally Posted by Tringboy

I use the Crowther Audio Hotcake, its a bit like the Klon Centaur

i second that.

the Crowther Hotcake is really great for this!