overdrive petals

[inverseroom]

This is like the fourth time I've posted this, but buy a DOD Juice Box. People assume it sucks because it's DOD, but in fact it's my #1 go-to overdrive, and I have lots (including the Sparkle Drive). All the pedals people are recommending sound great, but the Juice Box costs about $40 on eBay.

[norton]

go to www.tonefrenzy.com


they've got mp3 clips of hundreds of overdrive/distortion pedals .... and just about everything else under the sun.

you'll be able to hear exactly what the boxes do to your tele.


happy hunting

[sad iron]

I have tried a lot of OD pedals and like the Full Tone Full Drive 2 the most.

[stooge]

Tele through a twin? check.
Don't want "metal" sounding distortion? check.
Don't want it to sound like ass when you engage the pedal? Check.

Here are a few suggestions:

Tube Screamer reissue: I bought a recent Tube Screamer RI from an independent shop dealing in used and vintage gear. The owner pulled out an original TS 808, an original TS-9, and the reissue and we plugged each of 'em in. To make a long story short, there *is* a difference in sound...the originals both sounded a *little* warmer. However, the reissue sounded great and the difference in tone was nowhere near worth paying an extra couple of hundred for.

I've been overjoyed with the reissue.

DOD 250 overdrive: This is the (don't laugh) "Yngwie Malmsteen" pedal. It overdrives a little more than the Tube Screamer but still lets the tone of the amp come through. I really like this pedal, and they just reissued it. Look for the yellow 2 knob version with the real stompbox switch (i.e. before DOD went to the big plastic switches). You should be able to find one for about $50 used.

Real Tube Overdrive: This is the big black one with 5 knobs. Uses a 12AX7 as the driver, and the tone controls are very, very interactive. It takes a little bit of time to dial this one in (you'll have to work with it) because it seems to compress everything as well. Once you get it dialed in to work with your guitar and amp, however, this pedal is magic. You can find them for $60-70 used.

Vox Distortion/Booster: This is one of the pedals they came out with a few years ago. Pretty cool pedal, but it basically has one good sound to it. Tends to give a little more "chimey" sound (think Queen), but it's useable.

ProCo Rat: Another pedal you have to work with a little. When you first plug it in, you're automatically gonna turn the gain up and it will give you the "hey, I'm playing through a stomp-box in my bedroom" sound. The trick with these things is to dial the gain WAY back, set the level up so you're hitting the amp pretty hard, and set the filter control at about 3:00 so you're letting mids and bass in. I've used both the "vintage rat" (bigger box, no LED) and the "Rat II" (smaller box, LED), and they both sound about the same. This setting, by the way, is one of my personal favorite stompbox sounds.

Stooge.

[cashed checks]

Want something that isn't going to make my guitar sound like crap as soon as I step on it like the boss super overdrive I'm using now.

amazing. when i saw the topic that's the exact pedal i was going to recomend. then again, i like my distorted sound to be on the "shitty" side of things. like any piece of gear you have to play with it for a while to see what it does "best." when used right the SD-1 rules. i had been searching high and low for the right kind of "crappy" OD and finally found it just a few months ago. all other gear you're using also factors in, of course, guitar, amp eq and such.

for your tele/twin combo maybe a Fulltone Fat Boost or the MXR pedal it's based on(still in production, anyone remember what it's called?) would do the trick.

~eric

[cashed checks]

oh yeah, for another great tube driven OD, check out the Budda Zen line of pedals. i think they're in the $200 range but you could probably score one on ebay for less.

[teleharmonium]

For what you want to do, I like the Vox Valvetone or other decent tube screamer type of thing. I'm not into paying big bucks for boutique pedals that are almost as good as original ones but the Vox isn't that expensive and I've heard some of those Maxons that sound good. I also like a good Rat pretty well for that (they vary sonically more than you might think) but I think they work best with humbuckers. I wouldn't use a Klon for that, they are best with an amp that is already distorting a bit on its own, which you would be crazy to do with a Twin.
I don't think that approach is ever going to get you to an unapologetically killer sound like you would want on your album, but it can sound good and I could see using them for live shows where you only want to haul one amp.

[kayagum]

I think most overdrive pedals chop the bottom end too much. That's why I like pedals like the Sparkledrive (overdrive mixed with clean), Fulltone Bassdrive (doesn't chop the bottom octave) and the SIB Varidrive (preserves the bottom end).

[Catoogie]

I think most overdrive pedals chop the bottom end too much

Ya know, that's what I used to think but I go the other way now. If your guitar has too much bottom you end up fighting with the bass and other instruments for space.

If you're playing in a power trio fine, but other than that I don't know.

"In the studio, I prefer cheap, small acoustic guitars. Big, expensive Martins tend to sound boomy and boring. Most of the guitar sounds I like are very thin. Sometimes I use high-pass and low-pass filters to remove bass and treble from the guitar tones, which makes it easier to find room for the guitars in the mix. It's a typical beginner's mistake to try to make guitars sound too big. It's better if you leave some frequencies for the other instruments."

[omegatr0n]

This is like the fourth time I've posted this, but buy a DOD Juice Box. People assume it sucks because it's DOD, but in fact it's my #1 go-to overdrive, and I have lots (including the Sparkle Drive). All the pedals people are recommending sound great, but the Juice Box costs about $40 on eBay.

I bought a DOD Juice Box from Ebay a while ago thanks to inverseroom's recommendation. It has greatly improved my live setup...oh, and the price is right because it is such a sleeper pedal. Seriously, disregard the DOD name as it is a good pedal.

[squizo]

original sans amp....the one with the li'l DIP switches....kinda hard to find.... cheap anyways.... i found mine at a pawn shop for $50 !!!!!!

[red cross]

Boss Turbo Overdrive, with the Turbo switch off. The usual Overdrive and Super Overdrive pedals do suck ass though.

[jamoo]

I just spent the night with my Tubescreamer (the sunrise is great when you've been up all night, even though it's overcast today). I'd have to add my recommendation for it. Not once did I have that 'this is solid-state distortion' feeling.

I basically leave the tone and level knobs alone, adjusting the drive (and flicking the pick-up switch). Even with the drive all the way down you can hear break-up. This is good for note distinction. Keep 'em ringing. Noon works for a mix between rawkin' out and hearing individual notes (you know how when you're truly fuzzed-out, there's no point in picking chords because there's no distinction?). And full bore with the Drive isn't overkill whatsoever, it's a good ballsy lead tone.

The only thing I'd knock it for is the switch. For this reason, I'd say don't get a TS7. Pony up the extra for the TS9 or 808 or whathaveyou.

Reading all the other recommendations here has piqued my interest, but I'm happy with what I've got, so I'm trying to be a little less green. I guess if I didn't have what I'm looking for I'd check out the Tubeworks pedal, the DODs, or a Proco.

'morning all