Off Topic what's your od poison?

[mikeller]

I use:

M/I Audio Blues Pro (low to medium gain)
M/I Audio Chrunchbox (high gain)
Barber Dirty Bomb which easily covers both grounds and sounds killer good.

 

[Voo]

+1 for the OCD but may I add that in my opinion the version 3 has more punch then the previous 2 versions. I searched Austin and San Antonio for all 4 versions and dragged my gear from 1 store to the next trying them all out. For me version 3 was the better choice.

Another recommendation is the Fuchs Plush Drive, great little pedal, pricey but worth it

 

[whitestrat]

which one would you get?

You asked about OD, yet your listings are all about Distortion? I'm not sure how well a distortion pedal would work with an already overdriven amp. I would have thought you'd need an overdrive to further saturate the amp and not a distortion.

In that vein, I'd recommend the Digitech Hardwire Tube Overdrive. It's a great booster and highly versatile, giving traditional TS9 tones as well as a modified version with more grit and definition.

If you're looking for just a distortion pedal, then I'd recommend the MI Audio Crunchbox from down under... That one kills.

Since you listed the SC-2 from Digitech, then I'd have to tell you that it's a great pedal. It'll give you what you need when you're into serious heavy rock. But if you're using low output pickups, then be prepared for the classic "can I get the gain on 12" syndrome, as it's a very very transparent pedal. You'll get a lot of dynamics on low output pups. The best I've heard that pedal work with for full blown chugga chugga tones is using DeActivators or X2Ns. Anything less, and you sound like Slash.

 

[zombi]

Are you incapable of reading and comprehension? NOWHERE did I say "the more gain an amp has, the better it is" Seriously, you're really grasping for straws there.
I will say it AGAIN, if his amp doesn't have enough gain for him, then he needs to get a new amp. If your amp can't provide you with what you need (obviously outside of effects like delay, etc.) then why would you own it?
I have a $3,000 power amp, and you can be damn sure I made sure it had everything I wanted before I spent that much on it so I wouldn't have to go out and buy pedals to make-up for what it was lacking. There's no way you can tell me there are NO amps out there that could make the guy happy without having to buy a pedal.
And if he can't afford an amp in that price range, then I hate to break it to you, but throwing an overdrive pedal in front of whatever amp he has isn't going to make it sound any 'better'. It amounts to putting lipstick on a pig.

I like my pedals. I run a clean head. I've invested a lot of money into quality pedals. I love the way my amp breaks up but to get there you have to be so loud it'll cover a band. I've searched high and low to find the tones I have. I'm not trying to fight I'm just posing another possible set up.

And come to think of it, the blue light OCD I thought was a v4 could have been a v3. We opened it up and based the v4 guess due to where the epoxy had been placed. Could easily have been mistaken. Either way, the blue light heavier drive was my favorite version so far.

 

[whitestrat]

And if he can't afford an amp in that price range, then I hate to break it to you, but throwing an overdrive pedal in front of whatever amp he has isn't going to make it sound any 'better'. It amounts to putting lipstick on a pig.

I wouldn't say that. It mainly depends on the tonal characteristic this current amp he's using is delivering. If the tone is already wrong (think Laney VC30 used for Metal) then nothing you throw in front of it in the gain stage will work, since the amp's characteristic would be off.

Yet, if you're using a nicely saturated amp, where the tones are already correct (say a Fender Hotrod Deluxe) but feels is doesn't saturate enough, then by all means, throw a TS9 in there, and it'll work.

You have to remember, there isn't anything out there that is a 100% do-it-all. There are no serious drive amps, tube or otherwise, that deliver that classic shimmery Fender tone, yet drives like an Uberschall. You may get close, but A/B an Uberschall's clean tone with a Fender 65 DRRI, and you'll hear the difference.

This is why I chose a really clean amp to begin with; Fender 65 Princeton Reverb Reissue. No on-board distortion, and no overdrive. I rely on pedals for that. (and the Vox Satchurator is working great for me). I use this amp for anything from Blues to Metal (think SymphonyX styled gain), just varying the pedals. The amp delivers...

I agree with you that if the current amp is already wrong, then a new amp would be the correct example. But if the current amp is already correct, then there's no point in getting a new amp.

 

[Larry]

Check out Build Your Own Clone. I have about 13 of their pedals and I absolutely love them. I've been meaning to post a thread showing them off but haven't gotten around to it

BYOC - The World's Finest DIY Guitar Effects Kits

 

[zombi]

Well, I like my pedals and haven't really felt like investing in an attenuator.

 

[Norrin Radd]

Sounds to me if you really like the tone of your amp and are just seeking more gain out of it and you're 90% there - then really, a clean boost is what you're after. Seriously. Any OD or distortion pedal is going to mess with your tone and the EQ - and if you're running that Thunderverb - why would you want to mess with that tone?!? Those are awesome sounding amps. Did you get a 50 or 200? Love the attenuator on those - freakin' spectacular!

If you truly want to do it justice - and sticking to your poll choices - I'd go for the 1st choice - the MRX boost (the black one) and I'd throw it right in that effects loop. Set the level for the gain you are after and you're done. Honestly - the much cheaper white one will do the same job for a lot less money. Don't f@#$ with the tone of your amp - get a clean boost!

I play an RV50 - I use a Seymour Duncan pickup booster for the exact same purpose. I happen to have it out front - because I like using the frequency changes as well - and it needs to be out front for that. I've used a SHO in the loop before, as well as a Sex Drive - they all do the job in that loop rather well.

 

[agt]

I haven't tried them all but I've tried many and I like the Damage Control Liquid Blues. Then again, I'm not into massive distortion.

The Liquid Blues has a control that allows a blend of compressed clean and overdrive signals. You can get the harmonics and saturation from the overdrive and the clarity and attack from the compressed clean.

It's true bypass, and the compressed clean by itself obviates the need for a second compressor pedal.

My $0.02.

 

[ScoobySteve]

No matter what, the end resulting tone is ALL that matters to the tone seeker. That does not force him to fall into a hole devoting everything on an amp. If he can get there by way of pedals, and he likes his tone, then all the power to him. There's no reason to say that he must get a new amp, it's simply another alternative method.

Best to consider all options, and this thread is about OD Pedals.

I use a lot of Keeley stuff. TS9 MOD+, Fuzz Head, BD-2 Phat. On top of some decent gain settings you can pull off some hairy and thick crunch with the right type of dialing. My 2cents, as it has worked for me.

 

[whitestrat]

Sounds to me if you really like the tone of your amp and are just seeking more gain out of it and you're 90% there - then really, a clean boost is what you're after.

Like the Xotic AC or RC Boosters? Those are nice!

But I thought clean boosts are usually meant as a volume/headroom increase tool when placed AFTER the gain stage? Unless you mean a clean boost before the gain stage would serve as a gain boost as well? I've not really tried this.

I would have thought this would be a good tool for the OP for his use... http://www.xotic.us/effects/ac_booster/

 

[JMB27]

OD poison?

Xotic BB Pre or Xotic AC are very cool ... as is the Diamond J-Drive .... and some of the Lizard Leg Effects pedals when used with J-Drive

 

[petruccirocks02]

Xotic BB Preamp is amazing! It has endless sustain, very warm and fat sounding. It boosts the heck out of an even moderately distorted channel. And it sounds amazing for blues on the clean channel...but I dont think you care about that hehe.

+1. Those pedals are so good sounding that I have two: the regular BB and the Andy Timmons Signature one.

-Phil

 

[JoeDogInKC]

I'll throw my $0.02 in for the Line 6 M13. It has a multitude of different OD/Distortion/Tubescreamer choices, all of which sound great in front of my Rebel 20. Throw in the different "scenes", auto-saving (if preferenced), and reverbs, choruses, delays, etc. and you have a very versatile set of choices to throw in front of a clean or slightly dirty gain stage. You can even mix/match where the effects will lie, either inline, or in the effects loop, and you can add on volume/expression pedals to control certain aspects. IMHO, you get a LOT for the money and it's upgradeable to boot!

 

[DrGonzo5150]

+1. Those pedals are so good sounding that I have two: the regular BB and the Andy Timmons Signature one.

Do you notice much difference between the two?
A BB looks like it might be on the cards for me at some stage this year, wondering if there is much in it.

 

[petruccirocks02]

Do you notice much difference between the two?
A BB looks like it might be on the cards for me at some stage this year, wondering if there is much in it.

There definitely is a big difference between the two. To my ears, the Andy Timmons BB is fatter sounding, more compressed, and has a bit less gain. The regular BB is compressed, but not as much as the AT BB, it has more gain and the tone seems a bit more crisp.

-Phil

 

[bkrumme]

I will say it AGAIN, if his amp doesn't have enough gain for him, then he needs to get a new amp.

And I will say it again. Just because it doesn't have the gain he wants for a few passages, that doesn't mean he *needs* a new amp. There's more than one way to do this. A new amp is one, albeit expensive way. An overdrive pedal is another.

If your amp can't provide you with what you need (obviously outside of effects like delay, etc.) then why would you own it?

Here, you're assuming his amp doesn't provide what he needs. Maybe it provides 95% of what he needs and there's a $100 pedal out there than can give him the last 5% In that case buying a new amp would be a bit pointless. Especially considering there's not a "perfect" amp. Like I said, it's subjective in nature and each set of ears will hear something different.

I have a $3,000 power amp, and you can be damn sure I made sure it had everything I wanted before I spent that much on it so I wouldn't have to go out and buy pedals to make-up for what it was lacking. There's no way you can tell me there are NO amps out there that could make the guy happy without having to buy a pedal.

No, I can't tell you that. I'm sure there is a perfect amplifier out there for him, but I can tell you it's a whole lot easier to add an overdrive than to rebuild an entire amp/effects rig. I get what you're saying, but I'm really just trying to answer the question Dante asked. He asked about overdrive pedals so I'm going to talk about overdrive pedals. If he'd asked about a new amp, I would talk about a new amp.

And if he can't afford an amp in that price range, then I hate to break it to you, but throwing an overdrive pedal in front of whatever amp he has isn't going to make it sound any 'better'. It amounts to putting lipstick on a pig.

You're right. It won't neccessarily make it sound better, but as with the amplifier argument, this is subjective and what you think is better might not be what he thinks is better.

 

[Astrofreq]

It amounts to putting lipstick on a pig.

I would argue that pigs do look better with lipstick.

 

[Ripper]

Hey Dante, dont know about the rest of the pedals u listed, but my take on the mxr boost here:

I use a mxr cae boost/od in front of my mesa dc-2. The dc-2 cant do metal gain too well, and I need something to drive it into more gain. The mxr cae boost/od did not enjoy much positive review - the od on its own sounded crappy. But when paired with a distorted amp - mine o mine, it brings out the true chararcter of your amp without coloring your tone. Really!

I learnt something about this pedal - if its too much of a character of its own as a dist pedal (which it is not as the 1st place) it would sound just like any boss dist pedals out there. These type of pedal can pair up with any amp, and you would get the common boss/digitech/ibanez dist voice. But the mxr cae focus more on the gain control, the eq'ing part remains with the amp itself. I would say the boost is superb and the boost/od would give you more options to drive your amp's front. Give it a try, you will not regret - clean boost, up to 20db.

(btw, it will be good too if mxr decide to do something to the eq section of this mxr/cae boost/od pedal)

 

[Dante]

Sounds to me if you really like the tone of your amp and are just seeking more gain out of it and you're 90% there - then really, a clean boost is what you're after. Seriously. Any OD or distortion pedal is going to mess with your tone and the EQ - and if you're running that Thunderverb - why would you want to mess with that tone?!? Those are awesome sounding amps. Did you get a 50 or 200? Love the attenuator on those - freakin' spectacular!

If you truly want to do it justice - and sticking to your poll choices - I'd go for the 1st choice - the MRX boost (the black one) and I'd throw it right in that effects loop. Set the level for the gain you are after and you're done. Honestly - the much cheaper white one will do the same job for a lot less money. Don't f@#$ with the tone of your amp - get a clean boost!

I play an RV50 - I use a Seymour Duncan pickup booster for the exact same purpose. I happen to have it out front - because I like using the frequency changes as well - and it needs to be out front for that. I've used a SHO in the loop before, as well as a Sex Drive - they all do the job in that loop rather well.

^ this here man get's what i'm saying. (norrin, my gear is on my sig )
Norrin, the reason i've thrown disto's and OD's in there is because they usually have a tone knob that the clean boosts miss. i'm not sure what my impression of the boost is gonna be. you're right about one thing, i'm pretty darn happy with my tone right now. but the TV just misses "overkill". or should i say, the shrill and weedy tone used for modern metal?

btw, why do you run a clean boost in the effects loop, doesn't the pedal clip like hell?

EDIT: i forgot to mention, what i'm missing are the harmonics you get with EMGs, but using the JPs stock pickups.