the ultimate truebypass overdrive?

[william]

so, i love OD, and i love my mammoth. but my MXR d+ and mammoth dont play nice together and here's why:

the mammoth likes ot be at the front of the signal chain. im assuming this has something to do with the impedence or something, but i had read zvex talking about it, and i had read it in reviews, and then when i got mine it turned out to be true. it loses its character if i put anything in front of it.

the MXR is not true bypass, and the wonderous fuzzy top end and harmonics are lost when the MXR is put behind the mammoth. it sucks.

so, i want a pretty basic front end set up, just mammoth and OD, really, but the MXR is obviously not going to work out.

one solution i have been thinking about is getting a true bypass loop and putting the D+ in it, leaving it on and just switching it on and off with the loop. i really dont like this idea however because it means like 3 extra cables for just one effect, more to set up, and more junk to lug around. you start to lose the beautiful simplicity of the set up when you start incorporating such devices.

as long as im going to be spending money, i thought maybe id just abandon the MXR outright, start over with a new, true OD. (i love the MXR and ill keep it around, for sure. but my current project requires the mammoth...)

it has to be true bypass, and i like for OD to be almost like distortion at max. gain. i dont mind spending money on good FX, either.

i don't normally go for the most popular devices, but the OCD is so common and so well spoken of that i just cant ignore it. is it really as great as they say?


are there any other OD pedals that anyone can think of?

thanks!

[James]

I don't even like overdrive and I love the OCD. It's a fantastic pedal. Reports suggest that they are better suited to Fender style amps than Marshall. Though I don't know what you play.

[mickie08]

They are great pedals...

James, is that the one I sold last year? I can't even remember at this point.... Are you still digging the TREX...

[william]

I don't even like overdrive and I love the OCD. It's a fantastic pedal. Reports suggest that they are better suited to Fender style amps than Marshall. Though I don't know what you play.

i play a hot rod deluxe. from what ive read it is suited quite well. although i may buy a sovtek mig 50 in the future, which is more like a marshall, so ill look into this aspect further before choosing.

what does the LP/HP switch do? is it highpass low pass? please tell me it changes the function of the tone knob, because thats exactly what i want to hear.

[James]

what does the LP/HP switch do? is it highpass low pass? please tell me it changes the function of the tone knob, because thats exactly what i want to hear.

I think it stands for low peak high peak. It's a tone switch that moves the emphasis in the mids and sounds great in both positions. There is quite a difference, but to be honest whenever I play with the settings and move the switch around I end up just going "eh, it sounds good in both positions" and just leaving it wherever it was when I got to that realisation.

There's a Mike demo of the pedal that will explain with the switch properly.

[James]

James, is that the one I sold last year? I can't even remember at this point.... Are you still digging the TREX...

Yeah I bought it from Mike at Doogfest II (I think). The T Rex is a ridiculously good pedal. I still occasionally think about trading it for the Subdecay delay but thankfully the lack of secondhand availability of the Echobox means I've never had to think about the decision too seriously.

[aphasiac]

are there any other OD pedals that anyone can think of?

Danelectro Transparent Overdrive?



True bypass and inexpensive enough to be worth taking a punt on. It's been discussed on this forum recently:

http://shortscale.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22370

[Mike]

Yeah, I sold it onto James for the same brodeal as you game me Mickie. <3

Loved the pedal and it loved my Tiny Terror but it HATED my Marshall head, sounded so bassy it was untrue, I have no idea what that's all about. It loves EL34 and Fender amps though. If you can find one second hand for cheaps I wouldn't hesitate William. Or you could get someone to make your Dist + True bypass for you.

[mickie08]

James, is that the one I sold last year? I can't even remember at this point.... Are you still digging the TREX...

Yeah I bought it from Mike at Doogfest II (I think). The T Rex is a ridiculously good pedal. I still occasionally think about trading it for the Subdecay delay but thankfully the lack of secondhand availability of the Echobox means I've never had to think about the decision too seriously.

I just recently bought a MXR carbon copy and ended up taking it back because it just was nto as good as the TREX. The next time I have some extra cash or see one used I am gonna pick one up again..

[Mike]

are there any other OD pedals that anyone can think of?

Danelectro Transparent Overdrive?



True bypass and inexpensive enough to be worth taking a punt on. It's been discussed on this forum recently:

http://shortscale.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22370

I'll be demoing it shortly. Maybe this weekend. I like it but I've played better overdrives, it's solid but nothing outstanding in my opinion.

[James]

I just recently bought a MXR carbon copy and ended up taking it back because it just was nto as good as the TREX. The next time I have some extra cash or see one used I am gonna pick one up again..

Whilst I love it, I would consider selling it. Part of it is I look at it sat on my pedal board and think "that little box costs £300" and feel guilty about owning it. I know I paid much less than that, but knowing the ebay value is guilt enough.

If you want it I'd sell it back to you for what I paid for it. It was an awesome deal and I've had great fun with it. But I haven't been using it as much lately and knowing you're after one it seems like the logical thing to do.

Holy crap there's a dinosaur picture version without the white oval and it looks great.

[william]

ah! ill look for that demo. thanks!


what makes it better than some other similar OD pedals on the market? there are TONS of them, including








that MXR one seems like alot of funtionality for cheap, although i guess it doesnt really do alot more than the OCD.

the trotskydrive is just dead sexy. i love that motif. the acid etched ones are even better.



but i dont know anything about them. i do know that the deluxe switches between different diode options.

[Mike]

I'm guessing you're going for them based upon looks.

The Maxon is a Tubescreamer. If you like a mid humpy overdrive and bass loss - then go for it.

God knows what the others are, but since they're probably boutique pedals, I reckon there's a firm chance they're Tubescreamer Derivatives.

[James]

Sorry for the derailing there.

Have you watched Mike's OCD demo? I'd definitely keep an OCD in mind if you have the budget for it. That red Russian pedal looks great - it's got to be worth a look just for the case design. I get the feeling it will be a bit mild though for some reason.

[mickie08]

I just recently bought a MXR carbon copy and ended up taking it back because it just was nto as good as the TREX. The next time I have some extra cash or see one used I am gonna pick one up again..

Whilst I love it, I would consider selling it. Part of it is I look at it sat on my pedal board and think "that little box costs £300" and feel guilty about owning it. I know I paid much less than that, but knowing the ebay value is guilt enough.

If you want it I'd sell it back to you for what I paid for it. It was an awesome deal and I've had great fun with it. But I haven't been using it as much lately and knowing you're after one it seems like the logical thing to do.

Holy crap there's a dinosaur picture version without the white oval and it looks great.

No, keep it or sell it. If you can make some $ go for it. I can get one over here used for a decent price and not deal with shipping/etc. Plus it is kind of a vanity thing for me to as I don't really use delay that much...I just loved the sound and flexibility of that pedal..

[william]

I'm guessing you're going for them based upon looks.

The Maxon is a Tubescreamer. If you like a mid humpy overdrive and bass loss - then go for it.

God knows what the others are, but since they're probably boutique pedals, I reckon there's a firm chance they're Tubescreamer Derivatives.

i am going off of looks and mojo sloganeering, i guess. mid humpy overdrives are no good, and bass loss is even worse. thanks for the heads up.

i can write off the MXR thingy because it seems like all it offers extra is a clean boost, which ive heard the OCD does fine.

the trotsky drive is just intoxicatingly sharp looking, but since nobody has one that can tell me anyhting about it ill just let it go.

i wish there were guitar shops in town where i could go try this kind of stuff out, but there isnt. guitar center is across town, out in the burbs, and fuck them anyway, and nobody else carries fulltone, etc. so im left going off of secondhand accounts and looks, basically. if you guys tell me something is great, at least i feel somewhat confident about it, because nobody here has steered me wrongly in the past.


this board is an invaluable resource.



why is the OCD better than a tubescreamer? it preserves low end, doesnt exaggerate mids, etc, but why?

[Mike]

It's a different design. It sounds like a Marshall amp. Overdrive with a healthy low-end thump to it. The switch can excite the mids or not, your choice.

You really should just watch some demos of it. Plenty of volume and gain on tap. Tone control very useful, dynamically responds to your pick attack. It's a good pedal.

[william]

It's a different design. It sounds like a Marshall amp. Overdrive with a healthy low-end thump to it. The switch can excite the mids or not, your choice.

You really should just watch some demos of it. Plenty of volume and gain on tap. Tone control very useful, dynamically responds to your pick attack. It's a good pedal.

it sounds like its just what im looking for.

right,im off to check out the demo.

[mickie08]

because Mike Hates tubescreamers......

Personally I have had the Maxon pedal in both green box shown there and there more expensive bigger box version (a friend was sponsored by them) They were good pedals to get a blues tone or to push the amp a little bit, but I don;t think they would mix as well with a mammoth. The OCD is great sounding and fairly versatile.

[robert(original)]

im a loser, i use the boss super overdrive -1
its not a bad pedal, its still got that boss sound tho.