Barber Burn Unit vs. Barber Direct Drive

[chasyboy]

I just got my first Barber pedal today...the older LTD...and I am in love. Made my OCD sound like a cheap Digitech pedal....(and I like the OCD for many things).... SO>>> I am seeking more Barber and wanted to know what people think of the Burn Unit, DD, and Tone Pump...

Bud got a tone press and a Launch Pad...and FOR SURE I'm getting a Launch Pad...

Tom, how do you set your Burn Unit?

Thoughts, please. Thanks.

[olectric]

I just got a DD a couple of weeks ago, and I've been using it a lot. The other ODs on my board are a Mosferatu and a Zendrive, and they haven't seen much action. It may just be the honeymoon period since the DD is a new pedal. Time will tell, I guess. To my ears, the DD just sits in the mix better. I tried setting the Zendrive on a lower gain setting and using the DD for solos and harder rocking parts of songs, but I've found that I like rolling the volume knob off on the Direct Drive and just leaving it on the whole time. It's a serious pedal--especially for the money.

I'm using a Classic with single coils, and the DD sounds awesome with this guitar, but I'm not sure I like the pull-out knob. It adds a little thickness, and with single coils, I think it just gets a little muddy.

I've also got a Tone Press, and it's not going anywhere. I'm not a huge compressor nut, and it does about everything I could want out of a compressor.

I am feeling the same way about Barber's stuff--if this one sounds this good, how do the others sound?

[tom]

the burn unit is my go to, and could almost be left on all the time. witha clean amp, the gain is about 10:00, with a slightly breaking up amp a bit less. it responds very well to the guitar volume control. i have the second channel set with the gain much higher and mostly use it for solos or super gainy pads behind ballads. i wish the tone shaping stuff was independant on each channel, it would make it even more versitile. i'm hoping for the ltd/dd in a burn unit box. maybe i better email him about that. i sent my dd to a friend to try and never got it back. i remember it getting just a little creamier thn the burn unit. i have not really messed with the internal trims, cause once it's down on the board, i just use it.
have not tried the tone pump, but between the ltd, dd and burn unit, what else do you need? i do have a zen/mos and a tube zone for other textures.

[olectric]

i do have a zen/mos and a tube zone for other textures.

What do you use the tube zone for?

[tom]

big fat chunky high gain stuff. it does many things well, but you have to tweak knobs to get there.the tone control is not your tipical tone control, it can go from creamy to edgy but in a very musical way. it does not clean up quite as well with the guitar volume as the bu.

[chasyboy]

Ok....Burn Unit sounds like what I would like but it may be too big for my board...unless I get a new one. I'm primarily a clean amp with grit and sustain guy myself.

Right now I'm in love with the 10 Anniversary Fulldrive 2, my RC Booster (otherwise known as my compressor). I use a Fulltone '69 for saggy fuzz and OCD for over the sizzle top....it sounded great with the LTD combined.

I have a Keeley BD-2 and SD-1 (and a Coreyized CS-3) which I like but next to these Barber and Fulltone pedals they sound like a much lower league of fidelity but like you said Tom...it's textures.

How about some wickety wackety stuff? I have a Keeley MM4 for a host of things but is anything out there that just is a must have for cool texturizing?

Signed,

Once who was clean now am addicted to gain (oh, and low gain).

[tom]

i'd say you need to make room for more barber. i have a spare bu if you want to try a sleep over. gain is good.

[BFC]

The new single channel Burn Unit in the standard size box should be out relatively soon. Been waiting for that one.

[GaryMcT]

I'm curious. . do you guys know of a pedal that'll make a clean twin-reverb-style amp channel get more of an overdriven ac30 sound?

[tom]

the twin is lacking in middle to me compared to other fender amps, so you'll probably be looking for something mith a mid hump. i don't have any like that. you may need something like a treble booster that has some gain along with it.
brian, the small fry doesn't really look much smaller to me so i'm really hoping for the dual pedal.

[GaryMcT]

the twin is lacking in middle to me compared to other fender amps, so you'll probably be looking for something mith a mid hump. i don't have any like that. you may need something like a treble booster that has some gain along with it.
brian, the small fry doesn't really look much smaller to me so i'm really hoping for the dual pedal.

Hmmm, wonder if the Vox Over the Top Boost would do it:

http://www.voxamps.co.uk/products/pedals/cooltron.htm

I'll have to see if I can find one of these to try.

[BFC]

brian, the small fry doesn't really look much smaller to me so i'm really hoping for the dual pedal.

Not as long and not as tall, about the same width. I had a two channel version but never utilized both. The new version should be a good option for someone wanting the BU sound with less out of pocket.

[tom]

agreed, i don't use the extra side much, but sometimes.

[chasyboy]

Thanks for the insight guys...

I know it sounds like a small thing but when you can noticeably hear (instantaneously) a difference with a line of pedals, you just wonder if that maker has pedals that can replace your other ones....

Based upon what I heard from the Launch Pad and LTD, it seems that Barber uses the same circuit (that may not be the right term) to 'manage' the beautiful TRANSPARENT nature of his sounds and then gives you gain without impacting that transparency. This was most evident when I set the LTD with Drive at 8:00 (barely on) and hit my Fulldrive and 69 pedals....it was like the a true clean boost (not a faux one like others that I've tried...sparkle, fat boost, etc) but I was still able to 'hear' the LTD when I dug in.

Tom, how do you use your Launch Pad...is it on all the time? If so, why? I'm thinking about using it as the last true clean boost when I just need a bit more...does that make sense.

The Small Fry sure makes more sense to me cause of space...but what do you akin the BU tone like....Marshall, Dumble, Vox, Fender?

[tom]

my launch pad is at the end of my chain just before the volume pedal. the second out runs to the tuner. it's on all the time, with the sensitivity at 9:00. it sounds about like a 3db boost. the buffer makes the vol pedal and tuner not load the signal. to me the boost just makes up for all the other stuff earlier in the chain, and hits the amp with just enough to make it come alive. i have it buried at the back of the board so it would not be convient to turn it on and off. you could certainly use it as a clean boost, but for me i don't need that. the guitar volume works for me. my other gain pedals are set pretty much unity gain so they are pretty well balanced with my cleanest(no gain pedal) sound. since i took the boost out of my gain pedals it has been much easier to balance all my different sounds.

[tom]

the small fry would be very nice by itself, and save some cash over the bu. it is pretty versatile. the dynamics control takes it from pretty aggressive to creamy with however much gain you want. dave has very good ears, and i wholely agree that you could replace other things with his boxes. the ltd got a permanent place on my board this weekend. until he does the ltd/dd combo box of course ;)

[BFC]

Sounds like we use the Launch Pad in a very similar fashion.

[chadmj]

How well does a AC Booster compare to the Burn Unit?

[tom]

i only tried the ac at the shop, never made it to my board, so i can't really say. it seemed more buzzy when the gain was on much at all.