What is the "best" or your personal fav OverDrive?

[darkhorse]

Sure this goes into infinity but it would be nice to hear the likes and dislikes of some of the players out there.

I will offer three ranges of my choices:
$130 range (lower price range)-
VOX JS OD ICE 9 overdrive: remains a fav of mine, really pushes the amp and in front of any other gain, not my fav for a stand-alone OD tone but in combination really does a great job. Has the extra features of the "more" boost and the bass level tone.

Fulltone OCD v4: I have sinced dropped my OCD off my board, waiting on a new drive to arrive. My OCD has been modified to remove the fizzy gain by removal of the germanium diode, it sounds better than the stocker. But, all in all it was just too gainy a drive for me. Many like it, my complaints are the three knobby limited tonal param range and too much gain. Add some diode options and some toggles or dip switches other than that single blasted "tone control' which is just a treble rolloff, and it would be able to compete with the newer and better optioned ODs these days. Some love the OCD and all the gain it has, I prefer a more tonal, less gainy drive. A good drive for the price.

Also cheap end of price is the Visual Sound Overdrive, the Route 808, very much like a TS type OD with an additional bass toggle. Visual Sound pedals are not true bypass but do have really good buffer circuits. The drive is only like $80 or like $150 for the Route 66 OD and compressor combo, nice pedal.

(High mention here, for BARBER OVERDRIVES, I do not have any but they have long been on my want list, several models available w tweaking options, several LTD models, SuperSport, TonePress, Small Fry, Burn Unit, all major good pedals. Ranges from $130 -$200. )

$190 range (mid price range):
HOMEBREW Paradrive Overdrive/boost: a seriously great sounding versatile drive and independent boost. 3 diode position option select and a fat boost toggle for more low end, tone control is voiced differrent than the typical TS type roll off. A really, great sounding drive, I choose this over the Lovepedal Amp Eleven.
HERMIDA Zendrive: Simply a legendary drive.

$345 range (high dollar zone):
Boiling Point Overdrive: a custom made superdrive w two option switches, each one custom made and unique swirl color scheme. Might be the best sounding and best looking pedal ever!

[Igotsoul4u]

crowther hotcake. I personally have a jacque tuneblower that is pretty awesome.

[Pohaku]

Matchless HotBox (original Mark Sampson era) - lots of tube goodness. Wish it had a true bypass though.

Keeley modded TS-9 for those want to be annoying moments.

[nedorama]

Barber Direct Drive
Paul Cochrane Timmy
Keeley-modded TS9

[henge]

Barber small fry.

[AllAboutTone]

Boss BD modded.
Box of Rock.

[madstrat]

lovepedal

eternity specifically

[kafka]

I'm not really a connoisseur of ODs, but I have the Zendrive and Zendrive2, and think they're both fine pedals. For general use, I find the Zendrive2 is more of an all-arounder. To my ears, the Zendrive is better for putting just a little edge on the tone.

[BadJones]

I always just comeback to the standard ts9 or the reissue ts808. They always sound right to me. Nothing fancy. I think everyone that plays guitar are familiar with there sound.

[allphourus]

Originally Posted by kafka

I'm not really a connoisseur of ODs, but I have the Zendrive and Zendrive2, and think they're both fine pedals. For general use, I find the Zendrive2 is more of an all-arounder. To my ears, the Zendrive is better for putting just a little edge on the tone.

+1 Could agree more,
I too have both Zens and love them, the Zen 2 being a little bit smoother or mellower. Either will put you in Larry Carlton/Robbin Ford territory when used with a clean Fender (This is what I wanted), I think this is what they were designed to do, But they can be abused too and are quite capable of being more diverse than just that one sound ( though I might Not Like all of them, YMMV). Don't overlook the other Hermida pedals especially the Tiki Drive. Very capable pedal, with a broad sonic pallet. All of my Hermida pedals are tweekable to work fine with either single coils or humbuckers.

As I've stated on another thread you (@Darkhorse) have been posting on I also love my Analogman King of Tone, but used for a very different sound/tone then the Zen Drives. Works great with my Tele or Strat to "boost, lift and and enhance" without destroying the tonality of the single coils, Different but loved equally.

Though it's out of production, The Mesa Boogie V-twin and my SF master volume Prorevrb is a great combo for more distorted/Rocking things, Think Charlie Daniels or Allman Brothers out to Gary Moore dare I say Joe Bonamassa, mostly used with my Gibson ES Artist ( note: Bob Moog Electronics removed and Tom Doyle PU System installed). Note that I have tamed the beastly almost uncontrollable high gain mode on the V-twin by putting a 12ay7 and a 12Au7 in it. They come up used here and there for usually around $250-$300. I will never part with mine.

I also have the V-twin Rack mount version, six modes, two Foot switchable channels with a third Foot switchable both channels in parallel Function with separate blend and master controls when in parallel for more sonic options and a Chandler Tube Driver Rack mount unit that works fine for certain things/situations, used by many, in both stomp box or rack form, a much sought after, raved about great unit that much has been said about elsewhere.

I'm not above slapping my Mesa Boggie Triaxis in front of any handy Fender for the ultimate ( in flexibility and tonal color) over drive.

[Ash Telecaster]

I have four on my board and like them all for what they do.

Boss sd-1 for adding just a touch of hair for shuffle groves.

Fulldrive 2 for bluesy tones

OCD Drive for heavier stuff. I use this instead of a distortion pedal.

Blues driver I keep the distortion all the way down and just use this as a solo boost.

[drbob1]

Always a good question to start a fight! To my ears, which like moderate overdrive that cleans up when I play quietly and plays well with Fender, Vox AND Marshall, from least to most expensive they'd be:

1. Zendrive/ZD2-smooth if pushed but cleans up beautifully. Stacks well. Loves all my amps.

2. Klon: it's the second best at Hiwatt and Marshall, great with Vox and kills with all Fenders. Set as a boost it does something really good but as a medium gain distortion I love it. Yeah, they're stupid expensive now but sometime this year Bill will get V.2 out and that'll be quite reasonable.

3. Cornish SS3: THE best OD ever for Hiwatt and Marshall, OK for Vox and really not that good for BF Fender. Too expensive but it'll be one of the few things left standing after the end of the world...

Honorable mention to the Tim. The price is very right, the EQ is the best on any pedal ever but the distortion is a bit harsh for my BF amps. Still, if I could only own one for low AND high gain duties, this is the most flexible...

[nedorama]

Originally Posted by allphourus

+1 Could agree more,

Though it's out of production, The Mesa Boogie V-twin and my SF master volume Prorevrb is a great combo for more distorted/Rocking things, Think Charlie Daniels or Allman Brothers out to Gary Moore dare I say Joe Bonamassa, mostly used with my Gibson ES Artist ( note: Bob Moog Electronics removed and Tom Doyle PU System installed). Note that I have tamed the beastly almost uncontrollable high gain mode on the V-twin by putting a 12ay7 and a 12Au7 in it. They come up used here and there for usually around $250-$300. I will never part with mine.

I also have the V-twin Rack mount version, six modes, two Foot switchable channels with a third Foot switchable both channels in parallel Function with separate blend and master controls when in parallel for more sonic options and a Chandler Tube Driver Rack mount unit that works fine for certain things/situations, used by many, in both stomp box or rack form, a much sought after, raved about great unit that much has been said about elsewhere.

Had the rack mount V-Twin, and honestly, didn't love it as much as I thought it would, although I ran it as a recording preamp into a ADA MicroCab II as I liked the adjustable speaker emulation vs. the standard line out on the back of the Mesa. Had it inbetween my old ADA MP1 and when I started getting back into tube amps; for Fender clean it didn't beat my Princetons, and for the Mesa thing, I found I was able to get close enough with Amplitube 2 or now Eleven LE. Sold it a year ago, and oddly, for the same amount I paid for it 10 years earlier - $300.

[AllAboutTone]

I tried out a Werewolf today, amazing pedal..

[darkhorse]

Thanks to all for the comments and picks.

Anyone used the ICE9? I like this pedal, not so much as a stand alone OD but as it combines with other pedals or pushes the tube front end. Really excels at taking a slight break up channel or a high gained into a better sonic tone.

I am currently pondering a new drive, usually running about 3 on my board at times for different options. I retired my OCD v4 that I had modded by removing the germanium diode to reduce the over all gain. Just too fizzy for me even with the drive down and the treble roll off tone does not suit my rig. I do not always want to roll off my high end, I have a StellarTone control in a couple of my guitars that does that better than anything. The original TS got its name mostly from SRV using it, turning the tone all the way down and often using 2 of them to produce a fuzzy circuit drive, hence the Visual Sound Double Trouble dual OD. Not bad pedals those VS, have great buffer circuits. I found that Route 66, the compressor with the OD to be a really great pedal. I would not mind getting another one with that combo. The DVK boxes are impressive but rather expensive and with limited vendors.

I do get a little tired of the typical three knob OD wherein the "tone" is not really a tone but merely a treble rolloff. You roll off the treble but suck w the same bass level, one reason why most OD builders are adding more tone options. And sometimes if you're like me you do not want to roll off the treble.

For that reason I got tired of the older TS type ODs although still a great tone I just think some builders are doing much better designs these days. A Keeley mod would be cool but one is still stuck w the three knobby thing. One reason I really like the Barber's and the HomeBrew ParaDrive is because of the better tone options. Barber really let's you get in there and tweak it to your rig and touch having sometimes 5 trim pots inside.

I have gone back to using my Fulltone FatBoost 3 again, finding a means to power it, to stop the noise floor it tends to get. I've had a love/hate relationship with this pedal but its tone and quality on the signal is just great. Some use it like an OD but it certainly more a clean boost and sounds better with the drive lower or down. It adds a clarity and tonal vibrancy to my tone that also enhances any OD or higher gain.

I recently A/B it and moved it around the chain and just really liked the quality of the tone it puts into the signal no matter where you have it. Seems to work best for me in front of other gains. I do wish it was a buffer circuit pedal as I would prefer to have it front of chain, yet it does well right after my Q Tron as not to screw up the dynamic touch of it. Still pondering putting a transparent Wampler buffer front of chain to condition the line. Due to pedal flow my buffer pedals are in the middle of my amp in chain which is not ideal.

The Fat Boost is a clean boost line driver more so than an OD. I really do not like gainy drives. I prefer a more cleaner tonal result that works well with other pedals enhancing them rather than altering them. A gained tube channel or one near breakup does not need more gain but rather a little push. Running one into a high gain pedal serves to enhance the high gain without over loading it, or running it after which changes the entire voicing, one reason I dropped off the Visual Sound Jekyll&Hyde, when you combine the two pedals everything changes.

I find having the Fat Boost more to the front of my chain really helps the tone. And is a really nice clean boost/line drive which enhances the EQ and tone rather than a flat boost. If I could run only one pedal at this time I would say that one would be the one.

My amp is rigged w 2 footswitchable clean boosts so I have no need to hit a clean boost to bring up the signal level but rather like them in front add some more dynamics to the clean and regular drive of the signal. They do have an OD effect as well but I do not go nuts with the level which can screw up other pedals after them. By itself you can crank it into a tube circuit it is rather a great sound. The MI Audio Boost&Buff really a nice pedal for chain and boost. As most know the overdrive thing started via the old ElectroHarmonix LPB-1 power boost which was a simple clean signal driver boost that killed the front end of the tube amp. We have gone from just killing the input level to closer to a unity level and having the box do the gain and add some tone but that was not really the function of the overdrive, it was not a lesser gain pedal or a full on dist or fuzz. These days most never really use the level to push on the amp or they are not running a tube circuit which was the entire purpose of the overdrive.

Glad to see Barber getting some mention, they really seem to be very versatile overdrives. My current vendor does not have them which makes them harder for me to arrange to get. Same w Hermida and Timmy which always get rave reviews and comments. I do hope the new Klon is not too high priced, the prototype I heard has a really great tone.

DS-1 is really not an overdrive, I had both a stocker and a mod, the voice really did not appeal so much to me as a medium or higher gain. I do have Satchurator in line which seems to remain no matter the A/B or competition from others. It does the Keeley mod thing Satch and Vai were using but it really is a nice pedal as are all the Vox Satriani series.

I like what Keeley does to the Boss or Analogman's mods. Never been a big fan of Boss, not so keen on their buffer circuits as none are true by-pass. As most know true by-pass is desired but a decent buffer front of chain and end of chain w by pass in-between allows for the best signal chain. Of course that is not always plausible or practical unless you use specific buffer pedals. Running a chain of Boss sort of befuddles your clean tone and hides a lot of noise floor and hum that might be there the buffers are squelching. One reason why some get away with running those daisy chain power supply feeds, the buffers are hiding the noise floor and ground loop hum.

All true by pass is a myth and it still loads your signal, too many buffers befuddle your natural signal tone. And all true bypass still loads and pulls down your straight signal. A good quality transparent buffer circuit really helps the signal and retains a natural dynamic and tone if you are able to create a pedalboard sandwich of buffers front and end w bypass in the middle.

Anyway, I used to be a writer so pardon the verbosity, enjoying the various comments. Hope it continues.

[darkhorse]

Originally Posted by AllAboutTone

I tried out a Werewolf today, amazing pedal..

That's a new one, who makes that, do they have a website or who has them?

[Jim Williams]

All of the electric guitars have on-board clean boost preamps, so they drive amps real good, no pedals needed. They even drive headphones for silent playing.

I also have a home made OD/fuzz tone using a TL071 opamp (the same ones I remove from consoles as they are loaded with upper harmonics) with a sliding low pass filter and fet outputs. That gets me that "falling apart" sound.

[Gretsch59]

The best OD pedal is my Crowther Hotcake, it sounds amazing with my '63 AC-30. Let's just say it's the Lord of the Rings!

[darkhorse]

Originally Posted by Gretsch59

The best OD pedal is my Crowther Hotcake, it sounds amazing with my '63 AC-30. Let's just say it's the Lord of the Rings!

Who sells them do they have a website? Are they expensive or a wait list? There's a couple here I am in the process of looking up.

Any use Catlinbread? Heard some good things about their ODs.
I am still drolling over the HomeBrew ParaDrive (check out the demo on PGS) a great sounding drive w separate boost.

i've recently started using my Fat Boost 3 again after I found a means to power it and keep it quiet. Not really an OD but a great tonal clean boost.

Active preamps in the guitar are not really the same. I have active in one of my guitars and 99% of the time I use the passive mode. They do not seem to sound as natural or feel the same.

I dig pedals. No plain guitar and amp can do what pedals can do, the comparison is non-existant. The shear funk and groove of an envelope filter, the expression feel of a good wah, phaser, flange, vibe, chorus, and delay, there is a whole world of sound just in delay repeats. And fun, pedals give one an infinity of options and tones to mess with. My rig is so optioned I can go from a funk Stevie Wonder Superstitious, into an Edge repeat triplet, to a clean chorus delay Eric Johnson into the heaviest of various high gain tones. What a bore to be stuck on one sound.

[mikeyrad]

I have the Visual Sound Route 66 V2 and i love it!!!

I like the compression better than my old Boss CS-2!

And the overdrive is just enough for me, clean like the Full Drive Mosfet but slightly dirtier and more fun to me!

[darkhorse]

Originally Posted by mikeyrad

I have the Visual Sound Route 66 V2 and i love it!!!

I like the compression better than my old Boss CS-2!

And the overdrive is just enough for me, clean like the Full Drive Mosfet but slightly dirtier and more fun to me!

I like the Visual Sound stuff myself. One of the best sounding buffer circuits made as far as I am concerned. I loved that Route 66, would not mind having another one. They say the compressor is the rave of the Nashville compressor crowd. All their dual pedals are pretty nice for the bucks as well ($150). I was not crazy with the Jekyll&Hyde but it was OK if I used either the dist or OD on it separately. I just do not like an OD after a high gain.

Running 2 of their ODs like on the Double Trouble pedal is also pretty sweet. Their OD is a TS clone but had a little better quality than the old Ibanez plus it has a bass boost enhance. I always though that Route 66 had a great SRV vibe to it. There is a similar box by DVK (see AMS music) with a compressor and a drive but it runs almost $300, better quality and tone than the Route 66 but again twice the bucks! That DVK stuff all sounds pretty killer. AMS is the only one I have seen as a vendor.

[AllAboutTone]

Originally Posted by darkhorse

That's a new one, who makes that, do they have a website or who has them?

lol, sorry I have not idea, some is on ebay, maybe they tell who makes them, the guitar shop I was in wanted 300.00 but they are cheaper on ebay.
Killer Pedal for sure.

[darkhorse]

Originally Posted by AllAboutTone

lol, sorry I have not idea, some is on ebay, maybe they tell who makes them, the guitar shop I was in wanted 300.00 but they are cheaper on ebay.
Killer Pedal for sure.

The Werewolf Overdrive is a DIY kit that is a tube OD config. Do not think it is a high voltage circuit. Parts are minimal cost but requires the savvy to build the circuit. Not sure I would drop $300 on it. They say it is a great sounding drive.

The Ibanez Tube King TK999OD (white box) goes for $125 and runs a 100v internal real tube circuit. The HT units run a 300v internal and run close to $250-300. ODs that run low voltage on the tube cannot really get the valve hot enough to really make use of the warmth characteristic and compression quality.

I have the higher gain Ibanez Tube King TK999HT (red box) and it is a great high gain box, my current fav. I am tempted to get the white OD model as well. Not sure it cleans up well unless you roll off the guitar volume. If it sounds half as good as the higher gain red box it would be worth a shot especially at $125, was $150. I dig the red one, it is my main high gain pedal at the moment. (Requires high current feed special power wart, a brick cannot give it enough juice. They include it so no big deal.) What impressed me about the new Tube King unit is that it is so heavy, feels like a solid quality build with that step up transformer in there. Comes w a EH 12AX7 which is comparable to a Tung Sol.


WEREWOLF - 6205 SUBMINI PENTODE OVERDRIVE

Crowther Audio Hotcake Overdrive Pedal $189
Similar to an OCD but cleans up as well. Sounds like it would be a really nice tonal unit.
Crowther Audio Hotcake Overdrive Pedal at Fat Tone Guitars

[darkhorse]

Originally Posted by Ash Telecaster

I have four on my board and like them all for what they do.

Boss sd-1 for adding just a touch of hair for shuffle groves.

Fulldrive 2 for bluesy tones

OCD Drive for heavier stuff. I use this instead of a distortion pedal.

Blues driver I keep the distortion all the way down and just use this as a solo boost.

Got to love the options. I tend to run 2-3 ODs and 2-3 high gains on my board. Right now I have a Fat Boost 3 and a ICE 9 for drives and a Satchurator and a Ibanez Tube King TK999HT for high gains.

I actually have two boards, one for amp-in and one for the amp loop. Love a lot of sonic possibilities on my rig.

[prophet]

Dirk Baldringer's Dual Drive - best-sounding and most flexible OD pedal out there.

Paul Cochrane's Tim/Timmy - very open-sounding.

[darkhorse]

Originally Posted by prophet

Dirk Baldringer's Dual Drive - best-sounding and most flexible OD pedal out there.

Paul Cochrane's Tim/Timmy - very open-sounding.

Cool I will check them out.

I know the Timmy. They say the Lovepedal Amp Eleven is a mod of the Timmy circuit with an added boost. One reason I dug on the HomeBrew Paradrive so much is that it sounds better than the Lovepedal 11 and the boost can be used independently.

Dirk Baldringer's Dual Drive seems to be an out of production model some are trying to come up with a DIY kit. I just saw a kit for a Zen Drive clone, I wish I had the savvy to get into that sort of thing. Maybe something to work into, you sure can build a lot of cool boxes with all the DIY wizards out there. Kits are a fraction of the cost. I do good to make my own cables and wire my own guitars.

[Kaigen]

Klon, the first version. Very expensive, though...

[Ryan Coke]

Some good mentions here--most of the ones that need to be mentioned already have been here, but i'll mention one that may not be: Fuchs Valve Job. It's not a TS styled clone (though it does have a slight bass reduction though, without the mid hump boost), and does some fairly wooly and more overdriven sounds pretty well. It's got a Ruby 12AX7 tube in it, and it's about as close as i've ever heard (in pedal form) to getting a good tube amp sound out of a stompbox. The only downside is that it doesn't do bright sounds that well, even at the most extreme EQ treble ranges, it's still a fairly dark sounding pedal, and it's not cheap. But it's got great overall sound, great harmonics--if I could have just one OD pedal, it would be the one. I used to really like the TS styled circuits, but find them a tad too grainy and a bit more processed to my ears now.

[Iggy Poop]

You guys should check out these german made pedals.

WEEHBO Effekte || Modern Technology meets Vintage

I first saw the JCM Drive on Jack Black's gearmanndude page and thought it sounded awesome. The Helldrive sounds nice too. Check it out.

[chrispick]

My favorite is the H&K Tube Factor.

Products - - Hughes & Kettner

It's a two-stage OD/distortion pedal. It's neither small nor inexpensive, but it sounds great with all of my guitar/amp set-ups.

A pretty thorough review:

Hughes and Kettner Tube Factor Overdrive/Distortion Pedal