Zendrive or Fulltone OCD?

[Lucidology]

I have a Fulltone OCD which works very well... however, I would like it even better if it was a bit silkier in sound... How would those of you who own or have tried both a Zendrive and a OCD compare them in terms of smoothness?

!. Are they quite similiar to each other... or would you say there are obvious distinguishable differences...?

2. And in addition, would you say there is a pedal out there which is smoother then either of them?

Thank, Joseph
Monterey...

[Lucidology]

I love how this thread has been so politely ignored... :o The reason I posted this is because the other threads about the OCD and the Zendrive were totally derailed... going way beyond the intial subject matter :rolleyes: ... so was simply hoping folk could be a bit more specific when comparing the two...

It doesn't matter though... there's such a wealth of great gear info on this website... it's highly appreciated and addictive ... keep coming back for more :)

[tom]

ok, here's my take. i have only played the ocd for short tests, so don't put too much weight on my comments. the zen is darker sounding and does the robben ford pinched harmonic thing well. the ocd went way farther, and was edgier to me.
hey guitarzan, you're using the zen, what do you think?

[olectric]

I love how this thread has been so politely ignored... :o


Sorry, man. It's not you--it's probably that there's just a shortage of forumites who have extensive experience with both of those pedals. I've never played an OCD, but I have played a Zendrive; Tom's comments on the Zen are spot on.

[bud]

Comparing the two (IMHO) the Zen was darker, as Tom said. The OCD covered some of the same ground (edgier than Zen is also an accurate description to my ears), but the OCD had a broader range of sounds (low and mid gain) and was more transparent (Zen had more of a signature). Both were great pedals. I did not get a Zen because it was too dark for my rig at the time and was too similar to the OCD.

[MapleGuitar]

I owned both, and sold both. (Actuallly, my OCD is on eBay right now.) The Zen just didn't do anything for me. Different strokes. And the OCD was one of those pedals that I could never get to work "in the mix." I agree with Tom's word: edgy. I keep coming back to Barber pedals. Love the Small Fry and Tone Pump. Those consistently work well for me, week after week, in rehearsal and on stage. If you're looking for something noticeably smoother, the Maxon OD9 might fit the bill. True bypass, great tone, records very well for me. So many choices.

[sonsop]

OCD & Zendrive both deal the Marshall-esque type tones. The Zen is smoother but I like the clarity {chime?} and openness of the OCD better, especially for roots rock like the Jayhawks, early Wilco, Stones. I greatly prefer the Hotcake to either one.

A smooth and very versatile pedal - from TS to Supro Blues to Robben Ford - is the MI Audio Blues Boy Deluxe; $139. Small footspace {about the size of the Hotcake} and very, very tweakable. The Hotcake pushing the BBD is quite a rig.

[guitarzan]

hey guitarzan, you're using the zen, what do you think?

There was a time when I was trying hard to find an OCD and the deals kept falling through for one reason or another. Having said that, I only have exerience with the Zendrive. My take on it is that it's very dark, round, and growly. It doesn't have the nasal midrange like a tubescreamer would, and you can't really make it do the crunchy distortion thing (or at least it doesn't show up in my tweaking through my rig). But if you're looking for thick, thick overdrive that's smooth, I'd go with the zendrive. I have yet to pair it up with an amp that it doesn't like

[westex]

I have a Fulltone OCD which works very well... however, I would like it even better if it was a bit silkier in sound... How would those of you who own or have tried both a Zendrive and a OCD compare them in terms of smoothness?

!. Are they quite similiar to each other... or would you say there are obvious distinguishable differences...?

2. And in addition, would you say there is a pedal out there which is smoother then either of them?

Thank, Joseph
Monterey...

I own the Zen, and have heard the OCD, and I would pretty much agree that the Zen is smooth, somewhat dark, works well with whatever amp, and puts a sort of mid coloration on your tone, but it is a good coloration. The OCD has way more gain (or distortion) on hand, is more transparent, but more "edgy" as Tom says. I have seen it work well for blues with a strat in lower gain situations. My favorite OD pedal (right now) is the Seymour Duncan SFX-03 Twin Tube. On the low gain side it is an awsome overdrive, adds a transparent girth and fatness and is very smooth. The distortion side of it is not too bad either, especially if you keep the gain knob below 3 oclock. After that, at least in my experience, it gets a kind of nasally tone I dislike, but is present in a lot of overdrives. For full on distortion "Marshall in a box" I am VERY impressed with the MI audio Crunchbox. Sounds as good as a lot of amps IMO. HTH

Wes

[m_lance]

I use the OCD a lot and really like it's transparency. I usually use the LP ("Fender") mode with gain at about 1:00. I hear most of the bandwidth of my Classic coming through (I love my Classic & am not into ODs that cover up it's inherent character ... except for the occasional tubescreamer songs).

No experience with the Zen, but I also use the Analogman KOT (hard to get, but also very transparent ... somewhat different character than the OCD) and have a Foxrox Zim with VT & T9 (tubescreamer) cards.

[dannopelli]

I personally found the OCD just too powerful. Could not dial in a tone I liked without too much boost to my signal.

My suggstion is that you order a ZEN. You will wait eight weeks to get it. You can find OCD's everywhere, so get one now and enjoy it. If you don't like the Zen sell it and make $100!

[West]

Sorry to go ot,but could anyone chip in how a fulltone fulldrive 2 compares to the zen and the ocd?

cheers West.

[sonsop]

My stab at it:

The Fulldrive II is pretty different. In comp cut mode it's a nice transparent boost but the other modes are all tube screamer derived {think compressed, bass loss, mid boost and not as open sounding}. It colors the sound much more than the OCD but in a pleasing way. It's a classic pedal and rips with a Strat. The Zen is way smoother.

[riffmeister]

If we're talking smoothness, I'd say the Fulldrive II is smoother than the OCD.

Never played a Zendrive.

[bluesman69]

My stab at it:

The Fulldrive II is pretty different. In comp cut mode it's a nice transparent boost but the other modes are all tube screamer derived {think compressed, bass loss, mid boost and not as open sounding}. It colors the sound much more than the OCD but in a pleasing way. It's a classic pedal and rips with a Strat. The Zen is way smoother.
I really like the mosfet version of the Fulldrive II. Not as nasally sounding to me as the standard FDII mode. I like both the mosfet and standard modes with this pedal.

[chasyboy]

FullDrive II Anniversary with Mosfet is the better choice for options and fidelity. Make sure to try it at 18V...much more transparent and dynamic. I LOVED the OCD when I first got it but after trying to gig with it, it was just too square a wave and the distortion was a bit antiseptic. I first responded to the 'umpf' of the push it gave me on a neck strat but grew to hate how raspy it was by itself. It played GREAT with others though and with the FD 2 made for a nice combo that cut. I tried Tom's Zen once and wasn't my cup o tea, I guess...but after playing the LovePedal Eternity...I must say...what I liked and like about the OCD (clarity and dynamics), ZenDrive (smooth distortion) and FD 2 (perfect for strats...and great two channel pedal), the LovePedal has all of that and more.

Another fun one to try....G2D Creamtone...reminds me a lot of the Barber LTD (make sure you pick the internal switches for less drive and more bass).

I'd like to know how the Timmy compares? Still waiting on mine.

[guitarzan]

chasy, what amp are you playing through these days? Did you even get the Duende you wanted from NAMM? And if you did, doesn't it have enough gain on tap or do you like to stack gain stages for different flavors?