Auditioning Overdrives, opinions welcome . . .

[Winston Psmith]

I'll get right to the point - I want a low- to mid-gain OD for my Novparolo 'board, something that isn't a Tube Screamer or a near cousin.

 

I have a handful of OD's, but my current favorite is the Walrus Messner. It's as close to "Transparent" as you can realistically get, this side of a pure Clean Boost. Bear in mind that the Guitar pedals in my Novparolo 'board are meant to add just a little depth and liveliness to the Guitar tone; most of my sound is from my Guitar Synth. This is not the sonic space for a high-gain Distortion, much less a Fuzz.

 

As to why NOT use something else that I already have, well, most of them are really pushing the edge of Distortion, rather than Overdrive. They tend to add noticeable tone coloration and dirt, even at low settings. For my own sound, they're all good, in slightly different ways, but for Novparolo, they just don't quite give me the sound I want.

 

I don't want to spend more than $150, and I'd rather find something close to home, so I can audition it IRL. Demo videos don't convince me. Having said that, my FLMS has almost any major brand we can think of, and my FLUMS has just over 200 used OD/Boost pedals in stock, so there are lots to choose among. Among the current contenders at my FLUMS are the Barber Gain Changer, Keeley Super Phat Mod, or Keeley Katana Blues, Boss BD-2, and Friedman Golden Pearl.

 

Any recommendations?

[Caevan O’Shite]

6 hours ago, Winston Psmith said:

I want a low- to mid-gain OD for my Novparolo 'board...  I don't want to spend more than $150.

I highly recommend that you test drive that used Keeley Super Phat Mod at your local stomping grounds. If a Boss BD-2 will do at all, a Super Phat Mod will do far more betterer yet, and then some indeed. You'll find its Flat/Phat switch to be very useful- Phat Mode is VERY fat, yet not muddy, while Flat is fairly standard stock Blues Driver EQ. Both are great, though personally I never turn Phat Mode off... (Mine is a gainier variation on the Super Phat Mod, the Retro Super Germanium Phat Mod.)  Coupled with the Tone and Drive controls, it can be very smooth, natural, and unobtrusive. You'll find your "Goldilocks Zone" quite easily.


Another recommendation: the Xotic SL Drive. "SL" referencing vintage Marshall Super Lead (and Super Bass) amplifiers, which it's voiced like.

Tiny, mighty, inexpensive, an internal mini DIP switch giving it a lot of versatility along with its topside controls. It works well with my Uni-Vibe without getting muddy, flubby and throbby, it'll work with your synths.

[desertbluesman]

My favorite was a Nady TD 1  Discontinued  long ago but some can be found used on the Net. I still have mine although I rarely ever use it because My Super Champ X2's have the sweetest overdrive I have ever had in any amp or stomp.

 

Guitar in one hand amp in the other, one trip in one trip out was my goal for gigging out anyways I have the 2 SCX2's but if one goes belly up I still can use my TD-1 through my Egnater Tweaker with an Eminence hemp cone 12 " speaker.

 

[Larryz]

@Winston Psmith, I like the Boss BD-2 that you are thinking about.  There have been a lot of postive comments on this forum over the years.  I'm not really using pedals anymore but I still remember my Boss Blues Driver OD.  It did a very good job for a reasonable price.  Boss pedals have always been a dependable work horse.  I really like the large pad footswitch that kicks in silently on all the various Boss pedals.  😎👍

[CEB]

There are lots of good options. The big thing is the guitar and platform behind the board.   I like the Timmy which MXR is now cloning for less money but I’m not a huge fan of the Timmy with humbuckers. I also have not laid hands on MXR’s version of the Timmy.    
 

The Wampler Euphoria is great but a lot of guys don’t understand the tone controls.    

 

For use with a wide variety of pickups I like the Bluesbreaker family, I’m using a Pantheon, great Swiss Army drive. The Morning Glory is good too but you don’t need to spend that much money for this.  Both are $200 and $200+. 
 

Of your list I like the gain changer.   Another drive that doesn’t break the bank is the newer ODR-1, but they really vary depending on variances in pot values.  
 

Warm Audio does a nice clone of the Zen Drive.  I think they are $200 new. 
 

It all depends on platform.  Currently I’m playing out with a smaller EL-84 amp. For a lower gain sound I’m fond of the amp and a MXR Micro Amp.  It is far from transparent but the hi pass thing it does cleans up the drive sound nicely when the preamp is pushed. 
 

I would strongly consider the Gain Changer if you can get one for the right price.  A new ODR-1 is $120.  If you can find a used Euphoria cheap get it.  There are tons of used ones because people don’t understand the tone controls. Especially the bass control. 
 

You want to audition all this stuff just due to swings in part values.  They are all different and you can’t always dedicate a 10 band EQ to fine tune your drives.  Thankfully I have two great shops locally. 

[surfergirl]

The only OD I own, except a TS, is an EHX Crayon. The Crayon is a nice all around OD/boost. I've used it a bass boost, a mid boost and now as treble boost. I've never tried any of the Keeley ODs, but they are currently on sale. I may look into them myself.

[KuruPrionz]

I favor the Tech 21 Para Driver EQ. You will have to find a used one to meet your budget but I did exactly that. 

There are 2 versions, be sure to get the second one. 

https://www.tech21nyc.com/products/sansamp/paradriver-di/

 

The features are robust and different from most overdrive pedals. The separate Level, Drive, Blend and quasi-parametric Mid EQ provide a palette of tones from subtle to insane. Until you get up into ripping distortion, it is very low noise too. 

 

[Caevan O’Shite]

14 hours ago, Winston Psmith said:

Bear in mind that the Guitar pedals in my Novparolo 'board are meant to add just a little depth and liveliness to the Guitar tone; most of my sound is from my Guitar Synth.

Winston- will your Guitar Synth signals be hitting the proposed Overdrive pedal, as well as the 'straight(-ish)' signal from your guitar's magnetic pickups?

And will those be humbuckers. single-coils, or some of both?

[Winston Psmith]

1 hour ago, Caevan O’Shite said:

Winston- will your Guitar Synth signals be hitting the proposed Overdrive pedal, as well as the 'straight(-ish)' signal from your guitar's magnetic pickups?

And will those be humbuckers. single-coils, or some of both?

 

No Synth sounds going through the Guitar pedal effects. There's a dedicated, discrete S/R loop for Guitar pedals or MFX on all of my Guitar Synths.

 

For Novparolo, I mostly use my Godin Freeway SA, which is an H/S/H PU configuration, and I tend to use the 2nd position on the 5-position switch, combining the Neck HB with the Middle SC. By itself, the Neck HB gets a little punchy, but the SC trims it back a bit. I never use the SC by itself.

 

Remember that Novparolo is loosely modeled on some of the Synth Duos of the 80's, so the idea is that my sound should blend in with Bev's Synth sounds, and the whole mix should sound like one big Synth array. In many of our recordings, you might not realize that you're hearing a Guitar at all.

 

For Novparolo, I mostly use my Godin Freeway SA, which is an H/S/H PU configuration, and I tend to use the 2nd position on the 5-position switch, combining the Neck HB with the Middle SC. By itself, the Neck HB gets a little punchy, but bringing in the SC dials everything back just a bit. I never use the SC by itself.

 

 

[Winston Psmith]

Thanks to everyone for replying! As I expected, some great suggestions, including a few things I hadn't thought of.

 

The Keeley pedals, Gain Changer, and Blues Driver are the top of my list, and I could easily grab a new Blues Driver at my FLMS, which is a much shorter drive on a hot day than my FLUMS.

 

In the meantime, I have had a truly ass-kicking month of work, so today, much as I'd like to go gear-hunting, I'm not certain I'm going any further than my own back yard. It's early yet, so I'll see . . .

[Dannyalcatraz]

Pretty much all of the ones foremost in my mind that could suit your purposes have already been mentioned.  I’ll add these two, though:

 

 

 

The Peacekeeper is probably the most flexible low/medium gain OD I own, but it IS an UK import.  So it may not be readily available where you are.  But if you see one, try it out.

[Caevan O’Shite]

13 hours ago, Winston Psmith said:

In many of our recordings, you might not realize that you're hearing a Guitar at all.

I've listened, and it was in fact often hard to tell which lines were yours and which were Bev's. Having an idea of what you might be likely to play, your personal style and tendencies, was a bigger clue than the sounds themselves!

[Winston Psmith]

9 hours ago, Caevan O’Shite said:

I've listened, and it was in fact often hard to tell which lines were yours and which were Bev's. Having an idea of what you might be likely to play, your personal style and tendencies, was a bigger clue than the sounds themselves!

 

I also think differently about what I'm playing when I play with Novparolo. In many ways, it's about what I DON'T play, or do. I really try to think in terms of 80's Synth Duos like Soft Cell, Blancmange, or Erasure; you don't hear any screaming Guitar solos in their Music, mostly because you don't hear any GUITARS in their Music.

 

I've seen the Keeley Oxblood, but I've also read VERY mixed reviews about what it really sounds like? The Peacekeeper is just the kind of thing that MIGHT show up at my FLUMS. I've seen some truly weird, and truly rare stuff show up there, so nothing is out of the question.

 

FWIW, I didn't get out gear-shopping yesterday, BUT I had great success in finding some clothes for my new bartending gig, as part of the rotating staff for one of the Embassy Residences in D.C.! It is a VERY nice job to have, and of course, you've gotta look the part, so . . .

 

Today I'm heading to a weekend-long local Music Festival, where Bev is performing, and where I'll get to see a bunch of friends I haven't seen in a while. More live Music tomorrow, then back to work. Somewhere in there, I'll get back to checking out gear.

[Dannyalcatraz]

I always find it amazing to look back at 80s synth & new wave music and see how many bands actually had guitarists as part of the standard lineup or as frequent studio musicians. 
 

As for the Oxblood, I can’t say for sure. And one of the hazards of posting one of Andy’s demos is that he WILL make it sound good if not great. 😁