Latest and Greatest Drive Pedal Quest...

[ryman150]

Alright guys... what's the scoop? I haven't heard what's the latest and greatest favorites as far as drive pedals are concerned?? I'm probably gonna grab one soon. I have an FDII and love it... might get another.

I've heard the Zen Drive rocks, the Nobels older stuff... anything else I should check into?? :cool:

[Rhys]

I've been through a few in the last few years and I keep coming back to a Tube Screamer (of which the FD is a clone) and PaulC's Timmy. Timmy for lower gain stuff, TS for midsy grind. I also have a Rat for over the top stuff or smooth lead tones, but don't use it that much.

[tom]

still a fan of the barber stuff, although with my new amp i'm not using any pedals. hot cake in the lower gain settings is nice too.

[guitarzan]

I just came back to the Zendrive and am really happy. But I'm with Tom, it's on my travel board and is the fail-safe in case the Egnater gets sick (fat chance...).

Shawn Tubbs was liking the Dual Drive last I read. Might be worth checking out.

[Ray K.]

Personal opinion, of course!

I've been through David Barber's pedals, loved 'em. Various Keeley modified drives. And others.

But I am still in love with my MI Audio Tube Zone. I've got the latest generation - chrome box with six...count 'em...knobs. But, it was easy to dial in. It's my "go to" pedal. :)

Ray K.

[olectric]

hey ryan! ah, OD pedals. got a little gas, eh? it never ends...

i'm diggin the FD2 Mosfet/OCD/SparkleDrive setup on my 'board right now...although the FD2 and Sparkle Drive are kind of redundant...my rehoused and TB'ed SCH-1 will kick the SD off in about two days. i also have a direct drive that i like a lot, but it is not on the board currently.

a friend in town has an Analogman TS-9 Silver that sounds pretty awesome. seems that everyone in town has the FD2 and/or the OCD. those are winners. i heard a guy playing a Tim (Paul Cochrane) that was really nice. the Keeley Blues Driver is supposed to be cool, too, and everyone over at The Gear Page seems to be in love with the BJF Honey Bee. what kind of sound are you looking for? TS clone? Marshall? Vox?

let me know what you find! would love to have a peddle party sometime. :D

[kiko]

Personal opinion, of course!

I've been through David Barber's pedals, loved 'em. Various Keeley modified drives. And others.

But I am still in love with my MI Audio Tube Zone. I've got the latest generation - chrome box with six...count 'em...knobs. But, it was easy to dial in. It's my "go to" pedal. :)

Ray K.


1+ on the barber but get the direct drive SS older version. Its so cool.

[dannopelli]

Got to go with the Hermida stuff. Just such a big sound. Mosferatu and Zendrive for me for soloing and heavy stuff, FDII and BB for rhythm, and a Keely Rat for violin type ballad soloing.

[michaelomiya]

this is my favorite "pedal" at the moment! (for tom, she sounds good at low volume, and great at loud volume:D :p and I understand that your favorite ride can accomodate several band members, who should be more than happy to help you lug this "pedal" from the car to the stage!:D )
http://www.members.cox.net/eddyrox/JVM410H.jpg

[LonestarGtr]

I was wondering if anyone had played through the jvm yet. I just saw it on the Marshall website and thought it looked pretty cool. How is the clean channel with the different voicings? I'm sure the gain channels are pretty great.

Mike

[crash]

About a month ago, I started a thread regarding what overdrive sounds best paired with the FDII (which I love).

Mostly recommended were Alf's stuff and the Xotic stuff, and the OCD. I bought a new OCD because I could get one to try locally, and couldn't try a Zen or Xotic without buying first (or a long wait).

So today, a friend of mine contacted me because his 2-year old slot in Alf's queue for a Zen came up. He's been using a borrowed one and it's not what he wanted, so he offered me the slot. So, I sent payment and have a Zen on the way.

I'll take "Irony" for $1000 please, Alex.

[michaelomiya]

I was wondering if anyone had played through the jvm yet. I just saw it on the Marshall website and thought it looked pretty cool. How is the clean channel with the different voicings? I'm sure the gain channels are pretty great.

Mike

Hey Mike! The JVM cleans are about as good as I've ever heard in a Marshall - real close to my 71 Super Trem (if you can call it "clean":rolleyes:).

Seriously, the amp takes pedals as well as my Herbert, which is as bloomy and warm as any BF Fender, IMHO. (Disclaimer: the Herb is 180W, so there's A LOT of headroom, which Fender purists dislike.)

Regarding the OD1/OD2 modes - what can I say, but "There's toooo much gain!":eek: :cool: :D

Gotta run right now, but I'll post more later......
m.

[entraind]

Ryman, you may want to look into the Lovepedal Eternity and/or COT 50, they are both unique takes on OD pedals. These two pedals are indispensable for me.

The COT is a lower gain boost pedal that is plexi-like and very interactive with the volume knob. It's a great one to leave on all the time and to stack with other drive pedals.

The Eternity is a better for single note singing/sustaining lead stuff...Not as congested in the mids as TS-style pedals and very touch sensitive, which is a nice change from alot of other OD's...

You can get both of these pedals used on TGP and then flip them if you don't dig them.

I'm getting a Zen soon after 1 1/2 year wait, I'm interested to see how it compares to the Eternity.

Go to www.lovepedal.com for more info.

[michaelomiya]

....back, and apologies for the thread hijack.....:cool:

Clean channel is very usable. The Keeley SEM sounds real close to a real tube OD (with the assistance of a KRK EQ). In the Clean Orange and Red modes, the introduction of a Bad Monkey, OD-1, Barber Burn or the Xotic pedals bring out the additional sizzle necessary to cop the SRV and Bonnamassa-type gain. This head is very, very flexible - more so than many, if not all, of the current Hi-gain 2/3 channel heads (101B, JSX/5150, SLO, VHT PBUL/CLX, Herbert/Einstein, Powerball/SE, Rectumfrier/Tremoverb, Cornford MkII, OD100, Splawn QR, etc.). In addition you get the midi CC and some degree of programmability. This amp is the swiss army knife of Marshall tone.

[LonestarGtr]

Thanks for the feedback on the Marshall JVM (no pun intended). And this just in, with regards to the overdrive pedal quest...

I just got an M.I. Audio Blues Pro Overdrive. Does anyone else have one of these things? I've only used it briefly, so it hasn't passed the years on the road test, but it sounds phenomenal. We just taped Emeril Live! today (which to me is silly because it's far from live... it won't air until the Fall) and I used a backline Shiva combo. I put the Blues Pro on my board for the gig, in which we were basically the "house band" playing into and out of commercial breaks. I went back and forth between the dirty channel of the amp and the Blues Pro and was blown away by the sound and feel of the pedal. It has qualities of a tube screamer but not as compressed, but the midrange was so smooth and musical, it just sang. I liked the pedal so much when I got it the other day that I also found a Blue Boy Deluxe (their lower gain pedal) on the gear page, so I'll probably have the MI trifecta on the pedalboard (I already have a crunch box) and send the fulldrive 2 packing. Anyway, just thought I'd share.

Mike

[crash]

Just got the Zendrive that my friend waited so long for, and then let me buy (good friend, great guy...).

Anyway, it sounds amazing. Not a high-gain pedal; plays in the same space gain-wise as the FDII. However, it is more transparent and amp-like. It does lose a bit of bass when engaged. But it definately knows how to light up a pair of EL84s. Holy cow.

[tom]

i have one of those mike. it didn't work for me in my old rig which was a clean amp, but it might be good with the egnater. i remember it having a pretty big bottom end unlike most of the lower gain pedals. will have to break it out and give it a listen.

[LonestarGtr]

Yeah, it's definitely thick tonally, but for a lead tone for me it's perfect so far... we'll see if it stands the road test.

Mike

[John Price]

I'm still lovin' my Xotic BB Preamp pedal!.....:cool:

[FFOGG]

Lovepedal Eternity IMHO

[guitarzan]

The Red Llama and Hellbilly are both cool because they're kinda like fuzzy OD pedals. The Hellbilly is a little closer to fuzz than the RL, I think. I think the Keeley Fuzz Head pedal is OD flavored as well.

[tom]

gave the blues pro a try this weekend. it sure does like an amp that's already being pushed. didn't lose bottom end like most od's. still gotta say i like the od of the egnater better than any of my pedals.

[FFOGG]

duplicate post ..sorry

[MEP]

If you can get a Tim or Timmy by Paul Cochrane. They are definitely worth checking out.

They sound like your amp with more gain. The tone controls are very touch sensitive and they are cut controls rather than additive, allowing you to dial in the bass and treble very easily. They don't have the mid-range bump on a tube screamer. So far, I have tried them on a Carr Rambler and a Dr Z Maz 18Jr and they sound great on both amps.

I waited for a year to have my order filled but they are great sounding overdrive pedals.

I also like the sound of the Barber Silver LTD for low gain stuff and the Barber Direct Drive for a more Marshall like sound.

[Janine Doubly]

I am still in love with my Pete Cornish pedals. His stuff just sings!! SS-2, G-2 and P-2. His clean boost is awesome (NB-2) as well. I have had mine on my board for well over two years now and have no desire to take them off. I've stopped looking for anything else. They make me sound like, ME!

[tom]

mike, good call on the blues pro. used it a bit this weekend with the egnater. keeps the bottom in and cleans up nice with the guit vol knob. who knew?

[LonestarGtr]

Tom,

I'm glad that's working for you. I had a pedal shootout during soundcheck the other day and I tried a gazillion pedals (ok, maybe not a gazillion, but I tried (Ryan's) Mosferatu, MI Crunch Box, MI Blues Pro, MI Blue Boy Deluxe, Nobels ODR-1, Menatone Fish Factory, Xotic RC Booster, Fulldrive 2... I think I might be forgetting one). My Fish Factory ended up on my board for the next two nights and it sounds great. I did miss the Blue Boy Deluxe for the tube screamer-like sweetness. It's definitely like the best tube screamer clone ever if you don't need a ton of gain. The FF is very uncompressed and spanky on the top end, kinda like having new strings all the time, so it sits really nicely in a mix... you can hear all the notes of the chords. The Blues Pro and the Crunch Box both sound great. The CB has a little more Marshall JC800 type gain and the Blues Pro is a little thicker in the lower mids. Both sounded great out of the speaker, but got a little too boomy in my ear monitors. The Nobels adds a little bass so it goes well with the FF and makes the FF a little warmer. The RC goes great with the MI stuff because it adds a sheen and clarity to them.

Bottom line... they all sounded good and they all would work fine for me. I tried not to like the Mosferatu because it's not mine and I need another gain box like I need a hole in my head. I could actually dial in a pretty close approximation of the Mos with the FF blue side. I'll probably swap pedals out all summer and anyone at our shows would not be able to tell the difference. I think I just drive myself crazy with it. I'm in the process of building a switching box to switch my /13 and my Shiva channels so I'll have the added option of using the amp distortion, just not at a low volume like you Eg-heads (and I mean that in the nicest, most jealous way!)

that's it for now!
peace!
Mike

[guitarzan]

When does the pedal lust ever end??????:confused:

I think it's directly proportional to the speed at which one purchases an Egnater. :)

[tom]

i'll second that. i've totally lost interest in my pedals. it has been fun to think about other things to fill the space on the pedalboard though.

[Suriel Zayas]

I think it's directly proportional to the speed at which one purchases an Egnater. :)

;) ;) ;) ;)

[kiko]

For me the Barber Direct drive and my Modded TS9 with TB mod and 808 mod sounds hevenly with my JTM45. It can't get any better.

[tom]

the dd is a great one. i loaned mine out and haven't seen it since. always wanted dave to make a combo dd and ltd pedal.

[kiko]

the dd is a great one. i loaned mine out and haven't seen it since. always wanted dave to make a combo dd and ltd pedal.

Tom that will be awsome. Hope they do that soon.

[tom]

i think it will happen some day, dave's just real busy trying to keep up with the regular stuff and he has a couple other new pedals that are a bigger priority for him.

[olectric]

here's the new overdrive/boost part of my signal chain:

sparkle drive --> nobels odr-1 --> proco rat --> mi audio blues pro --> rc booster


lots of great options there, but i'm sure it'll change soon...

btw, the blues pro has a really cool fuzz setting!

[MEP]

You might want to check this out. New from Fulltone the GT-500.
http://www.fulltone.com/stpframe.html It looks to be pretty cool and I bet it sounds good.

[Suriel Zayas]

two of my favorites are the barber direct drive sport and direct drive.