Just curious, how many overdrive pedals have people built, and/or own? The next question, is how many do you actually use? I'm coming off a period where I've used only amp overdrive. I haven't used an OD pedal in about 4 years, though sometimes I use a Dallas Rangemaster clone with my AC15. I'm now needing to use more effects and my amps are all old school non master volume, no effects loop, type amps. So, I'm backing off the amp volume to clean the amps up so they will sound good with delay, modulation, reverb etc. I'm needing some OD pedals for the first time in years.
So, how many does a guy need? Kind of a dumb question because the answer is usually "just one more".........
Do distortion pedals count? If so, three with another on the way.
I have a Boss SD-1 that's not on my pedalboard. It's modded like a Monte Allums GT, but with stock clipping diodes. I loan it to friends, or us it for jams when I don't have my board. Bersides, everybody should have at least one SD-1 around the house.
My main OD, after years of experimenting, is a Nutrino. I love its clarity, dynamics, lack of mid-hump. Its tight, chunky low end doesn't overwhelm my 18 Watter clone the way pedals like the OCD and Box Of Rock do.
As my "other" dirt sound, I have a Recto-mod DS-1 on my board. I use it mostly for times when I need really saturated high gain, but without the volume boost I get from the Nutrino. The DS-1's distortion pot is usually almost all the way up, and its volume control really low. (Example: I was forced against my will to cover Journey's "Separate Ways" at the recent band-reunion gig. I used the DS-1 for the arena-rock rhythm part.)
On the bench, I have a Rat clone. It's going to replace the DS-1 on my board for special cases, weird noises, and faux-Ebow parts.
Main board - Barber Direct Drive, Barber Dirty Bomb, Barber LTD, Garage Tone Drivetrain on order
DIY board - Sunking, Deadringer, Neutrino (in the works), Egodriver, Quasar (not in the works yet), Fat Pants Boost
Right now I've got 3 if we are counting distortions as well.
I have a BBE Green Screamer OD that isn't too bad, but it doesn't have the balls to do everything you want.
I also have a Vox Cooltron Bulldog that has 2 channels and uses a 12au7. Sounds good and can get pretty mean too. It's good for kind of making your clean have 3 channels. I may end up selling this pedal down the road though. It can be kind of a chain hog and it doesn't seem to like sitting where you would normally keep a distortion, depending on what else you are running. Almost like a preamp instead of a distortion...
I just built a Neutrino and so far I'm liking it quite a bit.
Going to build a Krunkee as my next project here. I have the board and most of the parts. I just need to wait a little while before I make my next order to pick up a case and the switches.
\,,/ (-_-) \,,/
One of the things I was wondering is how many OD or distortion pedals do folks use on their board at the same time? Not necessarily engaged at the same time but on the board and potentially in the path. The other thing I'm interested in is how many of those do use regularly (not just occasionally like you step on it once in a gig for like a 10 second part). Maybe a better way to ask would be which OD's or distortions are your "go to" pedals, the ones you just couldn't live without?
For rhythm, 95% of the time I have guitar into Tone Press into Direct Drive into Barber EQ into Nova Repeater. For leads I have the same chain with the Barber LTD stacked after the Direct Drive and before the Barb EQ.
I've had a number of people recommend various Barber pedals in the past couple of weeks. I think I'll start looking at them ;)
Umm, I've probably built 20 or so overdrives in the last year or two. :-[ At any time there are probably 3-4 of them on my pedal board. Which ones depends on what way the wind is blowing that day. The Timmy pretty much stays put there, though. Honey Bee, Klon, Barbershop, Screwdriver, Colorsound Overdriver, Hotcake are all favorites.
All of them...
But seriously, probably a dozen or so. I have a lot that I like and use often, and some that I like a little and use seldom.
I've been through soooo many over the years though.
The real question should be though - how many overdrives/dirt/fuzz do you have/use on your pedalboard?!? In that case, I use 2-4 depending on if you count some that are two in one enclosure as one or two. I always have a low gain and mid-high gain that stack nicely. I rarely, rarely have just one. If I were to have just one though, it would be the Timmy clone I built recently. Boy oh boy that thing sounds like it has magic dust in it... Paul Cochrane is my hero.
jacob
I just picked up an AC4TV. It has a very sweet overdrive, and I've just been diming it and using the volume on my guitar to control it. I think one boost and one OD would work well with it.
I did a session a few years ago where I brought every OD/Fuzz/Distortion I gad built (9 or 10). I had all the pedals on two boards. One one tune, I turned all of them on. It was absolute chaos...esp. with an Ocatavia.
Anyway, I think two will cover most needs these days :)
BTW Marvin: any chance we could have a couple of guts pics of your Tone Press and EQ? I'm really curious about them. Dave Barber has really well executed designs.
Brian, yes I will try to get those posted for you. David Barber is the man! I love his stuff.
Here is the Tone Press.
(http://i734.photobucket.com/albums/ww345/mjcyates/barber001.jpg)
Here is the Barb EQ
(http://i734.photobucket.com/albums/ww345/mjcyates/barber.jpg)
I have bought two overdrives the fulltone ocd, and the eh lpb-1 (technically a boost), I have built a zvex sho clone, craig andertons tube sound fuzz, son of screamer, rangemaster clone, dirty little secret clone, and the trotsky.
The one I like the best is the trotsky, followed by the dirty little secret (grapevine board). I used to really love the fulltone ocd, and it is a good pedal but I think the dirty little secret is better and has a quieter noise level.
Sometimes I step back and think how many dirt pedals can I have, because it kind of ridiculous and most of them do actually sound the same (at least with my amp and guitar they do).
Three overdrives (Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive, two Ibanez TS7 Tone Lok Tubescreamers) and a Krankosaurus build I call the Marsh Box.
Interested in an overdrive with a different voicing, would love to try the Timmy. Have nearly enough info to build one, just debating if I want to open up that can of worms. Friend of mine has one and loves it, wants a second so he'd be interested if I can build one.
Quote from: pauloman80 on July 28, 2010, 07:29:02 PM
Interested in an overdrive with a different voicing, would love to try the Timmy. Have nearly enough info to build one, just debating if I want to open up that can of worms. Friend of mine has one and loves it, wants a second so he'd be interested if I can build one.
Cloner or Thief? I tire of that discussion. There is nothing new under the sun. I have nothing against Paul Cochrane, or Howard Dumble, or............. If they could patent their product, they would (but they can't). I respect the time, effort, and artistic ingenuity that guys put into effects and amps, but I really respect people like Ken Fisher, and the folks over Catalinbread who don't bitch and moan when someone wants to try to figure out how to build their product so they can understand why it sounds the way it sounds. If they wanted an intellectual property right they could enforce, they should have produced a product they could patent. Now, if someone is stealing their trademark, that's different. I just find it a "little" hypocritical when people (who have borrowed heavily from the design of others, and they all have) treat their gadget like it is the first of its kind.
I say build it (and then tell me how you did it) ;) Here's hoping this site aint like TGP, cause I really like it here and don't want to get banned :D After all of that, I just recently got on the waiting list for a Tim......It never hurts to support the small guys either.
I agree..(not to run the thread off the rails) I'm all about learning. I have a Tim pedal which is kicked off the board by my Lizzy (Serendipity). I didn't wait for my Tim..I'm impatient...I fleabayed it for more than it's worth ::) It's a great pedal, but I don't think it's the Holy Grail like some believe. Just another flavor and it needs plugged in the same as the rest... ;) When I get a little more daring and have more knowledge I'll crack it open and see what makes it tick.
See, I really, really, really like the Timmy I built. It is perhaps the first pedal that I would consider replacing a tubescreamer with. I have always liked (loved) a good TS, and even as I sell them I'm constantly replacing them with new built ones.
Anyway, with all due respect, Paul has shared a lot of the details of how the pedal works, and has made sure the DIY community has access (albeit difficultly) to the right schem of the Timmy pedal. His stance is not to bitch and moan, but rather if people are going to clone his pedal that they better do it right, and they should do it on their own. What he has a big problem with people doing is making money of his design dishonestly. If you can read a schem, make a PCB, gather parts and put them in a box, he says that as long as you call it a timmy, he's fine with you building them. But, if you take that and start making lots of them and selling them - that's a HUGE no no.
I agree with him. I think his, and a few others, are special cases. I don't have a problem taking a DS-1 circuit, building it with better parts, making it a true bypass pedal or tweaking it out, and then selling it for money. Boss is huge, uses inferior parts and methods, and I can do better. Paul on the other had uses premium parts, True Bypass, is a husband and wife operation and pedal making is his sole income (as far as I last heard). Not to make a big deal of it or anything, but truthfully his is one of the most affordable bootik pedals out there and if you really want one and can't build one yourself - buy one. As the above poster made clear, it's often an investment and you can sell it for more money if you tire of it or figure out how to build your own.
I've had people ask me to make them Timmy's, and I always say no. I will build them anything else, but never a Timmy. I think Brian has the same stance.
Jacob
I've only got the one TS Clone on my board right now, but that's going to be joined by a Mysterioso Jr. and a Neutrino very soon. I really like the sound of two Tube Screamers in series for the wild, wailing stuff, can't wait to have that back.
The Blackstone is a different animal; if I could have just one OD pedal, it would be that one, even over the TS variants.
too many
I've owned a ton of od's over the years, but have sold nearly all (Including a klon, bjfe honey bee, zen, 2 kot's and tim and timmy)of them since I have gotten better at building. there is so much Interesting stuff to build that I have gotten to the point where the stuff I have built is best for how I play. more often than not If I acquire something new. It's fun for a week or two then I'm ready to get rid of it. Ihave dozens of drive pedals but I usually only have 1 or two on my board at any one time, fuzz is a different story though. fuzz's seem to have a greater difference between their personalities.
How many I have depends on if I am chasing others' sounds (usually many pedals) versus creating my own (usually less). I like chasing the Plexi sound in a pedal since it's a bit harder to tame a 50W Marshall at home. If I had to pick 3 ODs/fuzzes I would go with the Aristocrat (single), MI Audio Blue Boy Deluxe and MI Audio Neo Fuzz.
Off the board - Sonic Titan (clone), DIY Big Muff, BSIAB2, Eternity (clone), Zen Drive (clone), Dirty Bomb, modded DS-1, COT50 (clone), Purple Plexi (clone).....I have built ~ 20-30 others which I have traded or salvaged for parts.
On-board - BYOC TriBoost, MI Audio Neo Fuzz, MI Audio Blue Boy Deluxe, Aristocrat, Sun King, Boneyard (currently trying this one out)
Next to build - Cosmopolitan, LaVanche, Boomstick
I dont have any fuzz pedals in the chain at the moment or ever, I was hoping to build a zombii since it seemed like the most versatile and most usable imo, but it turns out I waited too long. I'll have to learn how to etch now (sigh). I use my egodriver primarily which is boosted by my Monte modded SD-1 (gt mod must try). I built a neutrino but pawned it off on my rythm guitarist, it wasnt as transparent as the sd-1. I also just ebayed my keeley/mut modded ds-1, which no matter what I did could not sound decent enough to use. Drives take up too much real estate.
I've got six. A modded Rat, a TS9, a Serendipity, a Sunking, a Yellow Shark, and a Son of Screamer Variant I etched and built back in 1998. I'm currently using two (the Serendipity and the Sunking), but that changes pretty frequently depending on what guitar or amp I'm using or what band I'm playing with. I just used the Rat and the SOS through a twin for a long time (like 8 years or so), then I went guitar->cord->amp for several years. Lately I've been experimenting with building different overdrives trying to get that cranked amp vibe happening in a more consistent way without being constantly asked to turn down. So far the Serendipity with an old JRC4558D seems to be getting me the closest.
-Aaron
Im rocking 5. Aristocrat, Sunking, Timmy V1, Hotcake, and modded Rat. They all get it done, for now..
Garrett
I would probably only practically use two (maybe three). I've run through a few; the ones I have now are the Timmy, a Fulldrive 2, a Sunking, a Lavache and a Screwdriver. Disassemble my yellow shark because it was too bright with my strats. If I had to pick one out of the lot I would say the Fulldrive 2, just unparalleled smoothness and great sustain. Ones I have tried or built for other people and really like are the SFT (on humbuckers only), the OCD and the RC booster.
Update from previous post. Lemme see... counting OD, distortion and fuzz?
Seven.
- SD-1 w. C6 mod (presently on board)
- SD-1 w. homegrown HAM mod
- Eternity clone
- DS-1 Recto mod
- DS-1 stock
- RAT clone (presently on board)
- BBE Free Fuzz
Quote from: Rich_S on June 29, 2011, 07:00:21 PM
Update from previous post. Lemme see... counting OD, distortion and fuzz? Seven.
- SD-1 w. C6 mod (presently on board)
- SD-1 w. homegrown HAM mod
- Eternity clone
- DS-1 Recto mod
- DS-1 stock
- RAT clone (presently on board)
- BBE Free Fuzz
Totally off topic...but...I wonder if the BBE Free Fuzz is hiding in the Freekish Blues Coily Fuzz ::)
DLS and fulldrive 2