Overdrive/Distortion Stompbox Shootout (Try 2)

[revolead]

The thread Kurt started on distortion units inspired me to write this article on various gain pedals. I am fortunate to be friends with my guitar-playing neighbor who owns many distortion boxes, and between he and I, we performed an overdrive/distortion shootout on dozens of pedals over the course of several hours. Other tests are from years ago, but believe me; I remember the tone of each one very well, not necessarily for a good reason. These are the results I compiled. Enjoy.

 

NOTE: All of these pedals were tested through a Dr. Z Maz Jr. or a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, unless otherwise noted. Guitars used included a Tom Anderson Strat clone, a Tom Anderson Tele clone, a custom shop Gibson '59 RI, a Fender Aerodyne Tele, and a modified Jackson DX-10D (dual 'buckers: APH-1N, JB-4B).

 

Moderator's Note: Please delete the other thread.

[Mudcat]

I think we need a link.

[revolead]

The first products we tested were all what we referred to as non-boutique distortion units. They are much too gainy for most blues or jazz applications, but by no means are they metal machines without character. Most of them lie somewhere in between sweet and nasty, and virtually all have at least one or two practical applications.

 

MXR Distortion + This post-script logo, late 1970s unit is very good at what it does: simple, balls to the wall distortion. It holds no secrets, takes no prisoners, and will get you from Nirvana to Satriani, providing ample color to your signal. Versatility is not this pedals strong suit, but then again, for two knobs it sounds great.

Boss DS-1 Even the most amateur gearheads are familiar with the ubiquitous orange box that Boss introduced as one of its first pedals. Simple and easy to use, the DS-1s greatest selling point is its sound for the price. For $40, no guitarist can possibly complain about a pedal that has been used by almost everyone, and to quote GP magazine, If you can only have one distortion pedal, you cant go wrong with a DS-1. However, outside of generic rock and roll tones, this pedal seems somewhat limited. It offers too much gain for most applications, even on the lowest settings, and does not seem to clean up very well. But what this pedal lacks, Boss has several other products to pick up where it leaves off.

Keeley Boss DS-1 If you take a DS-1 and clean up most of its trouble, most notably the dirt and grime left on your tone, you get a Robert Keeley-modded DS-1. The modifications make the pedal much cleaner and more useable without sacrificing versatility. Like the Barber Burn Unit, the Keeley DS-1 sounds most like a boutique amp, and it is as loud as one as well. Run through a class A tube amp, there is almost no way to reduce the sheer volume of this pedal, but then again, maybe thats what you need. It definitely cuts through bands mixes well, and sounds great even run through solid-state amplifiers. One of the original Boss modifiers, Keeley knows his stuff, and certainly has the customer base to prove it.

Tech 21 Tri-O.D. As far as weird but fun distortion units go, the Tri-O.D. is in a class all its own, with three separate channels that are all quite good. The British setting yields some great Marshall tones, and the California setting produces the best Mesa Boogie Sounds I have ever heard from a pedal. I dislike this pedal for live operations because of a quirk that requires you to press the switch too many times to change channels, but for jamming in your bedroom, you cannot go wrong.

 

[revolead]

This next section involves lower-gain overdrive pedals, boutique and non-boutique, most of them designed to emulate a class A or AB amp after it has broken up.

 

Barber Electronics LTD When I ordered this pedal, I knew not what to expect of it. The Barber Direct Drive received an Editors Pick award from GP, but aside from that, this pedal was a mystery and remains an undiscovered wonder by most guitarist, who usually prefer to flaunt their Fulltone OCDs or Klon Centaurs instead. Again, which of those three pedals works best is a matter of exact taste, but not one of them has ever received a bad review. However, having heard two out of three personally through several different class A and AB amplifiers, this is the greatest piece of equipment to hit the guitar scene since the Fender Twin Reverb. For only $120, it delivers tone equivalent to if not better than the BJF Honey Bee, a similarly designed pedal, turning even a solid-state Peavey into a viable blues amp and a Fender into a cranked Matchless. It spanks; it sparkles; it chimes; but perhaps this units greatest asset is its ability to produce outstanding overdrive at all volumes. As far as low-gain overdrive units go, the Barber LTD is simply tonal nirvana.

BJF Baby Blue This pedal picks up where the Barber LTD and Fulltone LCD left off. It is a ballsy, in your face, natural sounding Swedish overdrive machine, even going as far as to break into the distortion category when the gain is turned past one oclock. It colors the tone of the amp slightly more than an OCD, but certainly not as much as the LTD, and offers greater versatility than either two. If you love the OCD but have always wanted a little more gain out of it, this may be your answer. The problem: they were discontinued and used ones frequently cost in excess of $500.

Boss BD-2 Designed as a competitor to the midrange-heavy Ibanez TS-9, this is a superior pedal to the Ibanez in almost every way. It does color the tone of the amp more, but again, this is personal taste, and in my opinion, a good thing. Its tones range from dirty to saturated, delivering great results for only $70. However, its drawbacks are its sometimes overbearing treble and mids (especially through a 68 Deluxe Reverb), something not rectified with a twist of the tone knob, and what my neighbor refers to as fizzle, or a certain fake, hissing sound that appears when the pedal is cranked, likely due to the use of some less expensive components. But what this pedal lacks, its cousin makes up for extensively: the Keeley Boss BD-2.

Keeley Boss BD-2 Modifying the BD-2 is in many ways like modifying the wheel: sure, it has its problems, but in general it is a great design, and unless you spend a fortune in research and design, youre not going to get much better. Of course, guitarists understood this, as did Robert Keeley. The result was several modifications which essentially fix everything that was ever wrong with the BD-2. More than 90 percent of its tones are vastly improved, and the tone knob is finally useable. However, my favorite thing about the Keeley mod is its dynamic response to playing. Like a violin, if you play harder, the sound waves distort more; softer playing yields the opposite. If you like your BD-2 but are not totally happy with it, or if a TS-9 just isnt doing it for you anymore, this is the way to go: certainly not the apogee of pedal perfection, but it earns a place among the top ten greatest overdrive boxes.

Boss SD-1 This was the first overdrive pedal I ever owned. The reason it went the way of the dodo, however, is not its tone, but rather my taste at the time. This is not a balls-to-the-grindstone, heavy pedal. Utilizing asymmetrical clipping, this pedal is similar to a TS-808 but with more volume, dynamics, and crunch. It is a very natural sounding and responsive unit that for $60 ($20 used) is one of the best deals in the gear universe. It would make an outstanding back up to any OCD or LTD, and its advantage is Boss reliability and warranty.

Fulltone Fulldrive 2 Michael Fuller desgined this pedal as a very natural, amp-saturating monster. I say monster because of its size, however, when compared to many boutique boxes, it looks quite average. While the OCD is in many ways a better pedal, the one thing this box does that the OCD simply cannot is offer greater sonic versatility for great amps. If all you want to do is milk the existing circuit on your amp, this is your answer. For never have I heard a pedal break up the unbreakable 85-watt Twin Reverb as much as well as the fantastic Fulldrive 2.

Fulltone OCD This pedal rocks. Plain and simple. We all know and love it, and the good Doc raved about it for months, ultimately being supplanted by a Klon Centaur (correct me if that story is wrong, Doc). While I believe the Barber LTD is slightly superior, my neighbor prefers this unit, and with good reason. It has a little more bass than the Barber, and slightly less coloration. However, for me, coloration is the game behind overdrive pedals; for others, it is the opposite. Anyway, there are no complaints about this unit at all, and it delivers massive tone, all while keeping your amplifiers natural tone intact. In a word, this is the apotheosis of a fantastic overdrive pedal.

Ibanez TS-9/TS-808 Tubescreamer Timeless. What more need be said about a pedal used by Stevie Ray Vaughn himself. It does a fantastic job of saturating the sound of a cranked Fender amp, and even the class A Maz Jr. responded well. However, our biggest complaint with this pedal is its obnoxious midrange honk. Some folks love it. We do not. But if all you want to do is SRV covers and blues-rock gigs, dont waste money on more expensive equipment: youll come back to this green machine anyway.

Tech 21 Double Drive Though technically a single-channel pedal, this very unique and way-cool effect uses two different drive stages, one feeding into another, to produce the same effect as using class A and class AB amps in conjunction with each other. The result is a cascading drive that cannot be replicated by any other product on the market, but again: this is a matter of taste. Outside of the limitless tone options, I found each drive channel to be weak when compared to other drive pedals on the market.

Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive If there ever were a way to improve the Tubescreamer but leave its signature tone intact, the tone scientists at Voodoo Labs did it. This incorporates all of the great things about the TS-9 and none of its setbacks: no midrange honk and more subtle gain. The tone controls are exceptional, as noted by D. Fox in his 2001 review of it, allowing tone from every type of amp and guitar. And the coolest factor of this box is its ability to blend the clean and dirty signals, giving way to the best chord definition of any drive box in history. In fact, if the Barber LTD did not exist, this pedal would be my number one. Its that good.

 

[revolead]

The next section is dedicated to stompboxes that fall somewhere between overdrive and distortion units, many of them up delivering fine tones in both categories.

 

Barber Electronics Burn Unit A versatile distortion/overdrive pedal, the Burn Unit excels by virtue of its namesake: tones most resemble cranked tube amps, especially those of the Dumble and boutique nature. It can get decent Marshall sounds, but certainly nothing I would settle for. Again, if you are looking for a different kind of distortion that is very realistic with gobs of sustain, or even a great lead pedal, look no further: Think Santana.

Boss OD-2 Over the years, Boss has come out with a lot of obscure pedals, especially in the overdrive zone. Some of them were great and I wonder why they got rid of them; others were total duds and can be had for the price of an IHOP breakfast (see the Power Driver). This falls into the former category, offering great subtle tones for a great price. One switch to turbo mode and gobs of gain ensues, allowing its user to create singing, sustaining leads that pedals twice the price still have not figured out.

Dan-Electro Daddy-O Known for mediocre pedals with weird names, Dan-Electro hit the pick on the G-string with this unit. It offers sounds I never would have guessed could come from a low-budget pedal, and while like most mass-produced equipment, it has its flaws (in this case a little too much fizzle), for the price, it is impressive. It covers your basic Blues Driver territory and then stops, but again, for the money, you can do a lot worse.

Hermida Audio Zendrive It took both of us a lot of time to bite the bullet on this unit. Not because it is bad, but because of our disdain for Internet flavors of the month. But when it arrived, we were both very impressed with its sound overall. However, neither of us found anything worthy of months of online hype with this pedal. Essentially, it reminds me of an improved Boss OD-2 with none of that pedals volume issues. But if someone held a gun to your head and said you can only have one overdrive pedal, this is probably the one on which to bite the bullet.

MI Audio Crunchbox My neighbor snagged one of these to compliment his OCD. For that task, it excels. While certainly too much gain for most overdrive applications, the higher gain is actually this units strong point, allowing it to go into half-stack territory. Aside from the Radial Tonebone Hot British and Plexi, this may be the best Marshall in box available, and it only takes up half the pedal board real estate.

Radial Engineering Tonebone Classic GP magazine gave this unit an Editors Pick and with very good reason: even compared to tone snob pedals over twice the price, this unit outperforms everything in its class, delivering great tones no matter what settings you use. Using a single 12AX7 preamp tube, this unit begins in the cranked Fender and Marshall territory, a la AC/DC. And with a simple flick of a switch, you are entitled to as much gain as you could ever need, even to the point that I have no idea what the other Tonebone products entail. The Hot British and Plexitube both claim they better emulate their namesakes, but the Classic emulates those tones so well anyway, the real question is: why bother? This tube-driven wonder is as good of a pedal as ever made and can turn even the most unforgiving amp and guitar combos into tonal goddesses.

Visual Sound Jekyll and Hyde Guitar geeks often knock transistors for their inability to produce clean, great-sounding sustain. However, this dual-channel pedal does that and more. While its price just skims the bottom of the boutique category, its tone outperforms pedals nearly twice the price. For great leads, this distortion/overdrive unit rocks, especially when both channels are run in conjunction. Independently, each channel is also very good. The Jekyll side is a TS-808 circuit without near the midrange hump. The Hyde most resembles a great distortion unit, though seems to lack a bit of character when compared to the Barber Burn Unit or the masterpiece that is the Tonebone Classic.

 

[revolead]

The final category of devices are probably not attractive to 90 percent of the people on this forum, but they all certainly have their uses. They are high-gain overdrive and distortion pedals designed for ultimate saturation and thick lead playing.

 

Boss MT-2 Metal Zone Often heralded by pimple-faced teen guitarists as the ultimate tone machine, this unit is loud, ballsy, and gainy. It was made in 1991, thank God, because just about every attempt to replace it since then has failed and with good reason. Many Boss (and other manufacturers) products introduced with the nu-metal or emo-metal crowd in mind are crap. Plain and simple. Too much bass, no chord definition, and often, the find the store used shelf as fast as they found a home test drive. The MT-2 does none of that. It certainly is not going to be everyones favorite sound, but it isnt supposed to be. Think of Metallica circa-1988, and you know exactly where this pedal came from. It is very adjustable thanks to a partial-parametric EQ system, and can get great Mesa in a box sounds from its dual-stage gain circuit. However, it is not advised to put the gain much past eleven oclock unless you are covering Slayer. Sustain increases only slightly, and every tick it is pushed forward introduces a more and more raspy sound. I keep my gain at seven oclock with the volume increased, and at that setting, this box excels. The Keeley mod has intrigued me, as it is supposed to correct the raspy problem as well as introduce more bass (sometimes, it needs it), but for $75, I dont play enough traditional metal to make it worth my while.

Boss HM-2 People who grew up as teens in the 1980s will recall that overproduced guitar tone that saturated the pop metal scene for a decade. Thats exactly what this pedal creates. I personally find it a bit weak compared to the MT-2, but all in all, it does sound more realistic and natural then its replacement and in many ways, it wouldnt hurt Boss to go back to this design, add a little bass end, and reintroduce it as the HM-3. Because for those of us who enjoy a good Scorpions tune, this pedal is amazing.

Boss PW-2 Power Driver Okay, I must admit, this pedal has its high points: it certainly does the mid-1990s JCM900 sound well and when put in a mix and recorded, actually doesnt sound bad at all, especially for rhythm tones. But thats where its uses stop. It is loud, noisy, and unclean, and will sooner turn away most audiences than it will draw them. I bought it looking for a higher-gain BD-2 or SD-1, but it is has none of those pedals benefits and even more flaws. Within a couple months, this sucker went back to the music store. My ears do not regret ever hearing this pedal in action, but they certainly would not look forward to a reunion.

Dan-Electro Fabtone I will not flat out say this pedal sucks, but it certainly isnt my cup of tea. My punk-playing best friend loves it, but for me, its too noisy, too loud, and too gainy. I can see where a teenage garage band would get some good sounds out of this, but in this price range, the Boss DS-1 is a far superior product.

Digitech Metal Master In many ways, this product is superior to the Boss MT-2. There is almost no fizzle in the sound, even at high gain levels, and it does a Mesa Triple Rectifier emulation very well. However, thats about all it does. It lacks volume entirely, and the only thing that prompted me to bring this home from the music shop is that I was never able to try it at full volume while I was down there. Like many Digitech products, I found the tone to be fake and overprocessed, and while it may record well, so do real amp emulators, rendering this black box virtually useless.

 

[Quixotica]

Thanks for the insight!

 

I've been debating whether I should send my BD-2 to Keeley for the upgrade or just put the $65 toward a Sparkle Drive or an OCD. After reading your opinions, it looks I really can't go wrong with any of those options. Maybe I'll order all three when my receive my tax refund. I can tell my wife that it's our civic duty to stimulate the American economy and I'm just doing my part!

[mdrs]

Exceptionally well done, Revo. You are to be commended for this. What a great review of many of the most popular OD pedals. Informative, and very well written.

 

Is there anyway you could record a simple audio clip of the same guitar and amp playing the same lick, but playing thru each of these OD pedals??

 

Due to having been treated horribly by Mike Fuller himself during a customer service contact I made with him with a question about a Fulltone Tube Tape Echo I bought, I find it painful to admit that I do love the Fulltone OCD pedal. It's a great OD pedal, with great adjustability, helping make it work for virtually any guitar and amp. It will color your amps tone, but not badly, and not excessively.

 

I do prefer the Klon to the OCD. However the Klon is really subtly different than the OCD. The Klon will pretty much NOT change the character and tone of your amp. It realy seems to simply push your own amps sound and tone into as much of it's own tube overdrive as you dial in. But, it seems to let your amp still sound like your amp. In other words, the Klon does not alter the color or tone of your amp...it is tonally transparent.

 

So, if you LOVE the tone of your amp, IMO there is nothing better than a Klon. In fact, I just recieved my second Klon.

[revolead]

Thanks, Don. And thank for the tidbit on the Klon. I never heard one, and as I pointed out, I like a little coloration to my tone, but then again, I haven't found the perfect amp yet either.

 

As for the recording, I'm a writer and a musician, not much of a guitarist or sound engineer. I'm not bad at guitar, but I know my talents are in creativity and musicianship, not in outright playing. I don't think I could replicate the same lick accurately 25 times.

 

Nor do I own any of the required recording stuff. My neighbor does and is a much better guitarist than I, he might be able to with his Boss recording unit, but I don't know if he has the desire. We're both more of bedroom players that like good tone and love to have fun than we are professionals. Plus, we're busy demoing delays and echoes right now. Who knows, maybe I'll right that one up next.

 

Again, thanks for the compliment.

[Scott Fraser]

Awesome, Revo! Well done.

 

Scott Fraser

[The Geoff]

Ahhhh. So you didn't get round to the Marshall Guv'nor or Bluesbreaker II?

 

It's not complete, then.

 

G.

[rickygclef]

I'm sure everyone could come up with additional ones to add.

The Guvnor is definitely worthy

DOD Overdrive 250 (Yellow-original)- very overlooked IMHO

 

However it's nonetheless an awesome and fairly comprehensive list and obviously some work went into it.

 

 

[Rhino Madness]

Thanks for this awesome review revolead.

 

Were these observations based on playing the pedals through strictly clean amps or through already distorted amps?

[revolead]

Ahhhh. So you didn't get round to the Marshall Guv'nor or Bluesbreaker II?

 

I understand the facetious mood in this comment, but I will simply add that neither of us have ever owned one of the Marshall pedals, and access to them in Colorado Springs music stores is somewhat limited. GC always seems to be out.

 

Were these observations based on playing the pedals through strictly clean amps or through already distorted amps?

 

We used a Dr. Z Maz Jr., and 18-watt class A tube amp set to netural control for almost 95 percent of these. Any remaining boxes were tested at a different time through one of the following, all set to a neutral, clean tone: 1965 Fender Super Reverb, 1968 Fender Deluxe Reverb, 1959 Bassman Reissue, Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, Dr. Z Stang Ray, for the digital folks, a Vox ToneLab, a Yamaha DG Stomp, or for the younger, unable to afford a tube amp folks (like me ), a Peavey Bandit 112.

 

However, as I am the one with a solid-state amp (it's actually not the end of the world, just inferior), I was surprised at how good the Barber LTD, the Keeley BD-2 and DS-1, and the Tonebone sounded through it. In fact, the Tonebone was so sweet for my style, I bought it off my neighbor last week.

 

We also tried testing an original 1995 Bioxnic Expandora, but it was in need of repair.

[Greg B.]

Great job, Revo! My only complaint is that you are fuelling my GAS fire. And my wife is still not completely over my last GAS attack! I am anxiously awaiting your delay and echo reviews. After that may I suggest a chorus/rotating speaker shootout?

[Rhino Madness]

Were these observations based on playing the pedals through strictly clean amps or through already distorted amps?

 

We used a Dr. Z Maz Jr., and 18-watt class A tube amp set to netural control for almost 95 percent of these. Any remaining boxes were tested at a different time through one of the following, all set to a neutral, clean tone: 1965 Fender Super Reverb, 1968 Fender Deluxe Reverb, 1959 Bassman Reissue, Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, Dr. Z Stang Ray, for the digital folks, a Vox ToneLab, a Yamaha DG Stomp, or for the younger, unable to afford a tube amp folks (like me ), a Peavey Bandit 112.

 

Thanks revo.

[Gifthorse]

Hey Doc why did you buy 2 Klons?

[MILLO]

Whoa. Nice assignment.

 

Love the Hermida, like the OCD, and even though the FD-2 is rather versatile, I don't own it anymore. I liked it, though; plus if I were a SRV clone, I'd get that, a Strat and possibly a Fender Deluxe or Twin and I'd be set. Great collection of amps--are they your neighbor's? How's that Maz Jr.? Do you like it?

 

Heard great things about the Radial Classic--I had considered the Tri-Mode as well. I don't see an entry for the Radial Hot British and Plexi, yet I see a reference to them being great "Marshall in a box"-type-of-units. Have you tried them before, just not in this shootout?

 

The SparkleDrive has intrigued quite a bit before. Keeley also has a mod for it, right?

 

Another one that's rather interesting is the George Dennis King Bee.

 

Overall, thanks, that's a cool project.

 

Don: I guess there's no way you'll ever compare the Fulltone Fat Boost to the Klon, huh? Then again the Klon is an OD, right?

 

I just sold an extremely transparent and quiet boost pedal, the Creation Audio Labs MK. 4.23... can't remember if those were the numbers. Anyhow, if anyone out there wants a transparet and quiet CLEAN BOOST rather than a transparent OVERDRIVE should give that a try.

[revolead]

Great collection of amps--are they your neighbor's? How's that Maz Jr.? Do you like it?

Yeah, they are all my neighbors. He's been around much longer than I, and his collection looks like Ellwood's, lol.

 

Heard great things about the Radial Classic--I had considered the Tri-Mode as well. I don't see an entry for the Radial Hot British and Plexi, yet I see a reference to them being great "Marshall in a box"-type-of-units. Have you tried them before, just not in this shootout?

 

No, I have no first-hand experience with them, which is exactly why I mentioned them: supposedly they deliver awesome Marshall tones, but when I own the Classic, I see no point. I get great Marshall tones. I assume they can only get better, however.

 

The SparkleDrive has intrigued quite a bit before. Keeley also has a mod for it, right?

 

Yes, but only if you already bought the Sparkle Drive. He just adds more gain, as far as I can tell, and to be honest, I don't see the point. The Sparkle Drive is what it is, and if you need more gain and bass, get an OCD.

[mdrs]

Hey Doc why did you buy 2 Klons?

 

Because one is not enough.

[mdrs]

Millo....I'll not personally purchase anymore Fulltone products. I contacted Mike Fuller with questions about the TTE right after I had bought it. I already had an OCD, and raved about it on this forum. Mike was gratuitously rude to me. When I told him I didn't like being treated that way, he was rude again!!! Here I was, supporting his company and products, and he acted like a horses behind!! So, he'll not get another penny from me. So, unless someone were to give me a Fat Boost, it's unlikely I'll be able to do that comparison.

 

I do have a bunch of OD pedals, and would like to do a comparison with audio clips IF I can ever get to it.

 

BTW...I've played a Dr. Z "Maz Jr." and loved it. I need a new amp like I need a new orifice in my head!!! But, it came close to joining the team... And, take this with a grain of salt, but I have it from a totally reliable source that the guy that owns Dr. Z is apparently in the same "club" as Mike Fuller. The story I got was that a friend of my friend had bought a Dr. amp, and was having a problem with it. He called Dr. Z, and this Dr. Z told the guy that he wasn't worthy of his amp, and just send it back!!!

 

So much for customer service......LOL

[Dr. Ellwood]

Yes, a very nicely done job REVO!! a great resource and I vote to have it added to the stickey thread that we put together for buying guitars! We can see what Craig and Reif think, it is a nice piece of work!!

[MILLO]

He called Dr. Z, and this Dr. Z told the guy that he wasn't worthy of his amp, and just send it back!!!

 

So much for customer service......LOL

You think this Dr. Z is really Howard Dumble?

 

Mike Zaite, I think his name is.

 

I was planning to go to the boutique shop that carries them here to try a few for the heck of it, never went.

 

So, you need another orifice in the head? Piercings now, Doc?

[mdrs]

He called Dr. Z, and this Dr. Z told the guy that he wasn't worthy of his amp, and just send it back!!!

 

So much for customer service......LOL

You think this Dr. Z is really Howard Dumble?

 

Mike Zaite, I think his name is.

 

I was planning to go to the boutique shop that carries them here to try a few for the heck of it, never went.

 

So, you need another orifice in the head? Piercings now, Doc?

 

LOL...yea, a Dumble WANNA BE.......He wishes. I don't know why amp guys seem to have this reputation for shall we say marginal behavior???? LOL.... The funny thing is, the greatist amp guru and maker of the Trainwreck amps, Ken Fisher, was supposed to be a really friendly, good guy.

 

It's hard for me to tolerate someone in any retail endeavour who is rude to the very customers that put food on his table.

 

That's just B.S..

 

Millo....I did have an ear ring for about a year, while in Med School. I was the very same horses behind I ever was....but, I got more "girly action" with that ear ring than I could believe.

 

One night, in some bar, this beautiful nurse (who happened to be engaged, and NOT TO ME!!) offered to give me a diamond earing of hers!!! It must have been my charm!!! LOL

 

It just goes to show ya how superficial starting a relationship can be!! I got rid of that ear ring when it was time to work in the hospitals......And, the women left me too!!! LMAO!!

[skipclone 1]

That is a great breakdown. I got real hung up on this topic last year. That sucks about the Baby Blue OD being discontinued, must have happened recently. It was high on my list of choices. At least the Dyna Red Dist. is still available but acting sooner rather than later is probably a good idea. Also a box that seems to have a lot of satisfied customers and not ridiculously expensive, is the Crowther Hot Cake. It would mostly be in the middle of the three categories. The Blackstone Appliance unit is interesting, it has a circuit that can be fine-tuned to one`s taste but you have to be willing to get under the hood and do it-also, U.S.A. made for folks that pay attantion to that sort of thing.