overdrive comparo

[scottiK]

I've been on a quest for a new overdrive/distortion pedal. I play through a SF Princeton Reverb mostly clean but occasionally I get a chance to push it where it’s breaking up a bit. Tom recently raved about the barber burn unit…and from his description and their info on the web it sounds like it might be the one. I don't have the opportunity to try one around here. BUT, I was able to spend the weekend with a FD 2 and REALLY dug it.

Here's my question...Have any of you played both of these pedals and how would you say they compare?

Thanks!

scott

[tom]

i've tried both. the full drive was a lot more midrangey. it didn't work for me but i know lots of people dig it. the burn unit goes farther into gain if you need that.

[scottiK]

Originally posted by tom
i've tried both. the full drive was a lot more midrangey. it didn't work for me but i know lots of people dig it. the burn unit goes farther into gain if you need that.

Tom - I was hoping you would get a chance to reply. I thought I remembered that you had tried the FD2.

With the toggle set to flat mids it was very transparent. The just breaking up sound was incredible. The only thing I could have wished for was a bit more gain. From your comments sounds like the BU would cover that need.

Thanks!

[joe1962]

Have you checked out the sound samples of the Burn Unit on the Barber website? They just went up last week and should be able to give you a good idea of what the pedal sounds like.

I'm a big fan of the Fulldrive II and especially like it into a Fender silverface amp like you have.

I used to have one of the older Barber Burn Unit pedals (one of the first ones with 2 channels) and it was a cool pedal as well but tended to color the sound a little more than the FDII. Sometimes that is a good thing but in my case (at the time) I wanted something more transparent so I sold the Burn Unit.

From what I understand the new Burn Unit EQ has controls to allow for a wider tonal range than the old Burn Unit like I had. I'd love to try the new one at some point.

[scottiK]

Originally posted by joe1962
Have you checked out the sound samples of the Burn Unit on the Barber website? They just went up last week and should be able to give you a good idea of what the pedal sounds like.

Joe-I did actually check those out last week. Pretty cool but they don't give you a "with and without" clip to get an idea if it colored the original sound or not.

From Tom's reveiws it sound as if the newEQ unit is very transparent.

Thanks for your input!

sk

[tom]

pedals are very funny. with my stuff, the full drive seemed really colored, while the bu seemed more familiar in tone. some times i think i've lost my mind. i have not messed with the internal eq yet. i'm going to do that with the second pedal to go for a creamier tone. it would be nice to be able to try everything through your own gear. like i said before, so many people love the full drive, i'm not baggig on it, it just wasn't what i was looking for.

[Stan Malinowski]

It always amazes me how different people hear things differently. I actually think my FD2 sounds very transparent especially in the mids, but then again I probably have only half or a quarter of the ability of Tom to hear small differences in tone. I've tried a lot of OD pedals, but I always seem to come back to the FD2 as my personal favorite.

[joe1962]

I think once you get to the level of the Barber and Fulltone pedals they are all great pedals, and it really just comes down to what your ear prefers.

I haven't heard one myself, but from the description on the Barber site the Tone Pump sounds like it would be closer to the FDII than the Burn Unit. I'd love to hear the Burn Unit EQ and Tone Pump with my rig. At the same time I really don't need to get all GASed up over anything else while I'm saving for the next Anderson I want to order. ;)

[tom]

yeah, who needs more pedals when you can get another guitar....just kidding.

[dannopelli]

!LOL!

You know, if I sold all the goop in my pedal board and just used the amp distortion I would have at least 2/3's of a new Andy covered! I mean I probably have a hundred invested in George L cables! UGH!!!!:o