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Good partner for my OCD?


RABid

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The Fulltone OCD is my favorite overdrive pedal. I use it with a variety of amps and guitars and am always happy with the sound I can get. I'd like to partner it with another overdrive pedal that has a different sound and feel. The problem is, I live in a very rural area and don't have a chance to demo a variety of pedals. Does anyone here have a suggestion based on their experience? I'm looking at Timmy and the Tube Screamer. I really, really don't want to go over $150. What will give me a different sound and stack well with the OCD?

This post edited for speling.

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I've mentioned it before and you'll have to buy used since it is discontinued.

 

Tech 21 Tri-AC. It uses Sansamp tech to go from "clean" Tweed tones to over the top Mesa tones. There are 5 knobs, one 3 way switch (Tweed, British, Calif) and 3 footswitches.

 

Programming is super simple, I've tweaked and saved mid solo at a gig.

 

Choose your "amp" tone, dial in the gain/BMT/level and quickly double click one of the 3 footswitches, done. No menus, no deep-dive and great tones. Runs on 9v battery or the usual power supply.

I still use mine for recording, can get a huge range of great guitar and bass tones - using a battery ensures low noise until you get into high gain territory - then noise is very reasonable under the circumstances.

 

I paid $90 on craigslist 10 years ago, would buy another one if it died.

 

You should be able to match that up with ANYTHING.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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The Fulltone OCD is my favorite overdrive pedal. I use it with a variety of amps and guitars and am always happy with the sound I can get. I'd like to partner it with another overdrive pedal that has a different sound and feel. The problem is, I live in a very rural area and don't have a chance to demo a variety of pedals. Does anyone here have a suggestion based on their experience? I'm looking at Timmy and the Tube Screamer. I really, really don't want to go over $150. What will give me a different sound and stack well with the OCD?

 

If you're considering a Tube Screamer, you might want to look into the multitude of TS clones and copies. Even the Boss SD-1 is a close cousin, and it only runs around $40-50US. The Digitech Bad Monkey, and the BBE Green Screamer are two others, often seen as cheap used pedals.

 

My favorite Boss OD is the Blues Driver; very touch-sensitive and dynamic, the closest thing to having a Roland Blues Cube in your pedalboard, and it's well within your $150 price range.

 

For a chunkier sound, the venerable MXR Distortion+ is really more of an OD than a full-on Distortion pedal. Personally, I much preferred the old Brown Mustard enclosure to the current Yellow Mustard, but WTH?

 

Favorite Clean Boost is the old-school MXR Micro Amp. It's a great "always-on" pedal for the very front of your signal chain. I've noticed that it greatly improves the dynamic response of Filter effects, as well as buffering long lines of pedals.

"Monsters are real, and Ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." Stephen King

 

http://www.novparolo.com

 

https://thewinstonpsmithproject.bandcamp.com

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$150 ... new

 

In front. ... I like:

 

1) Visual Sound Route 66. (Version 3 only I have V1 and it"s good but V3 is mo" better)

- drive is a Reverend Drive Train with a clean blend control. Super versatile goes from Timmy mode to filthy.

- you get a really nice clean blend Ross style compressor as a bonus.

- Crud! It"s $179 now. But you can find it $120 used. Labor Day sales will be here soon...

 

2) The Klon (a clone)

- pairs really nice

- oh hell the J Archer Ikon is $199

- just get the Route 66 or the Timmy is good.

 

PS) I used TS808 Tube Screamers for years in front of a drive pedal section. It works well. Particularly found of the Sparkle Drive. A TS808 with a clean blend. If you have gain on your amp a tube screamer is great for kicking it in the ass because it rolls off low end and makes parts pop more.

 

It"s all good. It"s how you use it.

 

I get good mileage out of the EP booster but it"s not a 'drive" per se.

"It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne

 

"A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!!

So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt

 

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+1 on Winston's Boss Blues Driver...a great OD pedal that can be pared or use as a stand alone. I also like running a compressor in front of any OD and/or Distortion pedal. Really pumps them up and increases sustain. :cool:
Take care, Larryz
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@RABid - If you look back over that GC/Used Pedals link I posted in your other thread on cheap pedals, select Distortion & OD pedals, and you'll see pages of OD pedals under $100. There are a few Blues Drivers right around $55+/-, a handful of those DanElectro FAB OD's for around $15 each, and even a few Ibanez TS models well under $100. There was allegedly one FAB OD model that called itself a Transparent Overdrive, which many users have claimed is a super-cheap Timmy clone, or at least a very close relative.

 

FWIW, I've had very good luck ordering used pedals online through GC, and even found some serious bargains through diligent hunting. One pedal no one had mentioned, but that's well worth checking out if you see one is the DanElectro Daddy-O Overdrive. I've seen them as cheap as $25-30 used, just watch out for the knobs (pot metal, plastic, IDK?), they're pretty fragile for something that was meant to go under your Doc Martins, Fryes, or even Converse kicks.

"Monsters are real, and Ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." Stephen King

 

http://www.novparolo.com

 

https://thewinstonpsmithproject.bandcamp.com

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Did they change the FAB? I bought one of those blind for $15. Big metal case but with plastic jack panels. Look like a maroon Cadillac. Sounds like a chain saw even with the gain all the way down. ð. Could never find a use for it. But it looked cool.

"It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne

 

"A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!!

So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt

 

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Did they change the FAB? I bought one of those blind for $15. Big metal case but with plastic jack panels. Look like a maroon Cadillac. Sounds like a chain saw even with the gain all the way down. ð. Could never find a use for it. But it looked cool.

 

@CEB - You're thinking of the Dano Fab Tone, which was a ghastly mid-90's Distortion pedal. Same series as the Daddy-O Overdrive and the Cool Cat Chorus. Yeah, it was nasty-sounding.

 

The FAB series came later, and a few of them are still current. They were all housed in small plastic enclosures, like Danzilla described, about half the size of the metal Fab Tone, and they were all under $50, IIRC. After further digging, it seems there was also a Cool Cat series, also in small plastic boxes, which included the Transparent Overdrive. There was also a DJ series of small plastic pedals, all named for diner foods, Hash Browns, Grilled Cheese, PB&J, you get the idea. Some of them were fun.

 

I have the Daddy-O, and it's a nice OD, not really a clone of anything I can tell? You don't often see an OD with three Tone knobs, Bass-Mid-Treb.

"Monsters are real, and Ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." Stephen King

 

http://www.novparolo.com

 

https://thewinstonpsmithproject.bandcamp.com

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Did they change the FAB? I bought one of those blind for $15. Big metal case but with plastic jack panels. Look like a maroon Cadillac. Sounds like a chain saw even with the gain all the way down. ð. Could never find a use for it. But it looked cool.

 

@CEB - You're thinking of the Dano Fab Tone, which was a ghastly mid-90's Distortion pedal. Same series as the Daddy-O Overdrive and the Cool Cat Chorus. Yeah, it was nasty-sounding.

 

The FAB series came later, and a few of them are still current. They were all housed in small plastic enclosures, like Danzilla described, about half the size of the metal Fab Tone, and they were all under $50, IIRC. After further digging, it seems there was also a Cool Cat series, also in small plastic boxes, which included the Transparent Overdrive. There was also a DJ series of small plastic pedals, all named for diner foods, Hash Browns, Grilled Cheese, PB&J, you get the idea. Some of them were fun.

 

I have the Daddy-O, and it's a nice OD, not really a clone of anything I can tell? You don't often see an OD with three Tone knobs, Bass-Mid-Treb.

 

Yeah. Fab Tone. The name made me think of Beatles The Fab Four. So I thought maybe some sort Vox in a box. Boy that was not it. ð

"It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne

 

"A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!!

So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt

 

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The Boss Blues Driver 2 is one of that company"s home runs. I don"t have one, but I own a Keeley Karana Blues, a close cousin. You"ll sometimes see BD2s with the 'Keeley Mod' for sale on the used market- from what I understand, those are somewhere between the unmodified BD2 and Keeley"s own pedal.

 

Bonus: a lot of blues-rock guys combine some kind of a Tubescreamer variant with a BB2 or similar pedal as a core of their 'dirty' tone.

 

A few years ago, VisualSound changed their name to TrueTone. Most of the OD pedals they sell (under either name) are based on the Tubescreamer circuit. But the VS-XO double OD has one TS circuit and one Nobels OD circuit. Personally, I want a VS-XO, but tracking down an actual Nobels would work for you, since you"re in a budget.

 

A bit on the high end...ThorpyFX OD pedals are well made and have a lot of tone-shaping possibilities. Their medium/high gain Gunshot and low/medium Peacemaker are VERY flexible.

 

Timmys are excellent at what they do. I don"t own one, but I know too many who do to say otherwise. My clean boost pedal is a Magnetic Effects Satellite (renamed 'Sandare' in the current production line), and I have my eye on an ARC Effects Klon. Then again, Robert Keeley offers the Katana clean boost which has a very good reputation.

Sturgeon's 2nd Law, a.k.a. Sturgeon's Revelation: âNinety percent of everything is crapâ

 

My FLMS- Murphy's Music in Irving, Tx

 

http://murphysmusictx.com/

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I put an offer in on a Daddy O. They are all $80 and up delivered on Reverb.

 

WOW, they've gone up! I'd seen used ones for as low as $25, not long ago. Mine was less than $80 bought new.

"Monsters are real, and Ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." Stephen King

 

http://www.novparolo.com

 

https://thewinstonpsmithproject.bandcamp.com

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I put an offer in on a Daddy O. They are all $80 and up delivered on Reverb.

 

WOW, they've gone up! I'd seen used ones for as low as $25, not long ago. Mine was less than $80 bought new.

 

I got an older, metal case unit, mint, in box off of Ebay. I'm happy.

 

One thing that is confusing with Danelectro. I saw a Cool Cat chorus, same era. 50's retro. Seafoam green. Decided to check it out on YouTube. Looks like in later years they put the Cool Cat name on a distortion pedal. Couldn't they think of more names?

This post edited for speling.

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I have or had (not sure if it's in a box somewhere) a Danelectro cool cat chorus in seafoam green with cream on top. It had an 18volt wart that came with it. I had a small AC strip on my pedal board and plugged it in with my OneSpot to run the other pedals. I also had the Boss Blues Driver. Both were/are good pedals. The cool cat had a metal body and is built solid like a brick sh*t house! Not like the other cheaper Danelectro pedals. Very cool retro vibe. I'm not a big fan of chorus pedals, but the Danelectro is a good one with a cool retro vibe! :cool:
Take care, Larryz
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I put an offer in on a Daddy O. They are all $80 and up delivered on Reverb.

 

WOW, they've gone up! I'd seen used ones for as low as $25, not long ago. Mine was less than $80 bought new.

 

I got an older, metal case unit, mint, in box off of Ebay. I'm happy.

 

One thing that is confusing with Danelectro. I saw a Cool Cat chorus, same era. 50's retro. Seafoam green. Decided to check it out on YouTube. Looks like in later years they put the Cool Cat name on a distortion pedal. Couldn't they think of more names?

 

Yeah, they brought back the "Fab" and "Cool Cat" names, but assigned them to the plastic pedal series?!?!?

 

The Cool Cat was supposed to be a decent Chorus unit; there was also a Dan-Echo in the series, light purple box, not sure of that one was 9 or 18 volts, and a Tuner pedal, which just looked awkward. The Daddy-O is the only one of that series I've had.

 

Be careful with the knobs and the plastic components, otherwise, you're good. With the Drive dialed back, you can almost use it as a Boost pedal, although for experiment's sake, I might also put it after the OCD. The OCD has both Germanium and Silicon diodes, and IME, Germanium wants to be as close to your Guitar as possible.

 

Hope you enjoy it!

"Monsters are real, and Ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." Stephen King

 

http://www.novparolo.com

 

https://thewinstonpsmithproject.bandcamp.com

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Unless you are playing a strat most of the time, I wouldn't go with the Tube Screamer. They have a hump in the midrange I don't like with humbuckers.

 

Have you considered A Zvex Super Hard On? The are a really good semi-clean boost. They will overdrive the front end of your amnp nicely.

Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else.

 

 

 

 

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