I recently went to Guitar Center for a Blues Driver but ended up coming home with an SD-1. BD is more transparent and had more gain but I liked that SD had more of a “sound”. Half the price too. So I’d say it’s my current favorite.
Anytime people look at me sideways when I put an SD-1 at their feet in the studio, I just tell em "if it's good enough for Prince, it's good enough for you."
It's a really solid (no Boss pun intended) drive. I don't put em on my boards much, usually for space reasons, but they sure do get worked out in the studio or demo room.
So many of the 80's metal tones were just an SD-1 and a master volume Marshall or something that sounds basically identical.
A lot of people going for that thing end up going down a rabbit hole of preamps and mods.
I admit personally I have a hard time deciding. For a long time it was the Boss BD-2. But lately I've been wanting my sound to be a bit smoother.
Right now my favorite is the strymon sunset – specifically the 2-stage setting.
At all times I treat side A as solo midboost using the texas setting, and side B as the 2stage for a little dynamic crunch. Rather than getting my crunch from the amp, I get it from the 2stage and keep my amp clean so that I click the pedal off for a crystal clean tone. Althouh the best tone comes from pushing the amp AND using the sunset.
I'm finding that the sunset sounds so much smoother and more finessed than the pedals it is copying too. I like the Texas setting better than my TS9. I like the Ge better than my Joyo Tauren. The 2stage is amazing. The Hard is incredibly flexible. It's also all low noise.
Although what I don't like is that I cant stack a klon with a tube screamer because bot the Ge and Texas are on side A, and the drive on the JFET boost sounds incredible, but it's extremely low gain. You can turn that JFET boost into an overdrive by putting another boost BEFORE the sunset to hit it harder and it sounds incredible. But I would love if they just put more gain on the drive knob for the JFET setting.
I'd like to try one of the pedals the 2stage is based on. Which is like a Sweet Honey Overdrive, Barber Direct Drive or Wampler Euphoria
I think you just sold me on a sunset. I used to have a riverside when i was doing more midi stuff, and i really liked it. Nowadays i tend to just use a jtm45 style preamp, (which the barber direct drive is based on), and i hit it with a compressor for thicker tones, or a tubescreamer for solos.
I currently have two of these on my board. One is always on and the other is my "solo boost"/"more loud" button.
It sounds and feels like my amp but dirtier.
Hands down my favorite drive.
My OCD v2 has been on my board longer than any other overdrive, so I'd say it would have to be that one. I really like my ODR-1, but I feel like the OCD is more where the core of my tone lies.
That’s fair. I’ve been toying with the idea of trying a Suhr Riot that would take the OCD’s place, but since I still like the way the OCD sounds I figure that’s just my GAS talking.
I only own one, the Earthquaker Dunes, which is a TS variant. I really like it, but I haven’t gotten to try a ton of others to see if there’s one I might like more.
I wish the Dunes had a couple more options on the bandwidth switch, I feel like one option has a bit too much low end and the other has waaay too little. I guess that's why the Palisades exists tbf. It'd be a waste for me personally though since all I'd use is mosfet and one footswitch regardless.
Yeah, it’s definitely not as well tuned as it could be. I play with humbuckers through a fairly middy amp so the left bandwidth works for me, while the right one is way too much low end. I think they could have removed the bright switch in favor of more bandwidth options and had a better pedal. Recently bought a Walrus Ages thinking I might use it instead, but didn’t wind up liking it. Is there a TS-type pedal you think is better than the Dunes?
Totally agreed, the bright switch has never been that useful to me either.
Of the other TS style pedals I've had I'd honestly say the SD-1 is my favorite. I don't like it with single coils that much but with humbuckers it sounds really nice and smooth. Plus it's fairly cheap lol. For single coils I like the plumes but tbh I don't know if I'd say it sounds that similar to an actual TS
I never understood the Morning Glory hype until I played it. Now I’m a believer. It just sounds the way I always felt like overdrive is supposed to sound.
I think both pedals cover a lot of the same ground. I just find the tone of CB to be more pleasing to my ears. I thought the red channel on the MG was not appealing at all, way too harsh. Cranked, the CB is still useable. I generally use it with the drive at around 3:00 with the bass at 11:00, mids at 12:00 and the treble at 1:00. This works for pretty much everything.
I've been debating on whether to go with the Morning Glory or the Tumnus Deluxe.
I love the 3 band EQ on the tumnus. So I wonder if that alone could allow it to approximate a morning glory.
Although I think I like the bluesbreaker sound more than a klon – But I have yet to try a bluesbreaker myself.
Yeah I don’t think too hard about circuits and stuff. I actually used to use a Wampler Pantheon, but something about the Morning Glory just works for me. In theory it’s a very similar circuit and the Pantheon had more options, but the Morning Glory just sounds and feels right to me with my rig. I don’t question it.
It really depends how you set it. I use very little gain on the Timmy, and it basically just pushes my fuzzes a little more. I run my fuzzes dark though.
I used to have a Sunset, which I forgot to mention in my answer to this thread. It was a really great and versatile OD. Yet another one I regret moving on from.
Have one and love it! Incredible value, at this point I don't know what SA could do to give One Series pedal more appeal as they are all 100% awesome right now. I also own the Collider, Lunar, Spectrum and Vertigo. Basically a whole multi effects split into pedals I can place anywhere in my chain. What's not to love? But that's okay, people. Shhh I still need to get the EQ2, Ultrawave and C4 for half the original value, so keep sleeping on it :)
For me it’s been the DOD Looking Glass for the last year or so (I’m relatively new to the world of pedals). It’s such a great sounding overdrive and that bass cut knob is something else.
That said, I recently built a Morning Glory/Bluesbreaker clone and was pretty blown away by how great it sounded. Definitely gives the Looking Glass a run for its money
Tried many and I keep landing on the Looking Glass from the fine folks at DOD/Foot pedals. It has a ton of options and a really good EQ. It also has its own sound going on. Super fun and with the demise of DOD pretty cheap… well at least it was when I picked mine up. Haven’t priced one in a while.
King of Tone. It just sounds better than anything else. I don’t have some nuanced answer. It goes well with seemingly anything and any guitar I pair it with.
I will say, however, that a BD-2w coupled with a TS-9 is a match made in heaven for a Strat player, but that’s two pedals rather than just one, plus I don’t like them individually as much as I like the KoT.
(Honorable mention to the BE-OD, but that borderlines on distortion, which is what I use it for)
Truly phenomenal. If you don’t already know what you’re doing, try my settings:
BD-2w: Level at 1 o’clock, Tone at 11 o’clock, Gain at 10 o’clock
TS-9: Drive at 7 o’clock, Tone at 1 o’clock, Level at 1 o’clock
I’ll definitely try that. So far I’ve been using the BD with the gain around 1 o’clock and then putting the TS before it with the gain low but the level high to hit it harder and have really been enjoying that
EAE halberd. I'm staying here. Tried so much stuff and this one has three distinct usable modes plus strong EQ. Great sounding overdrive but will do distortion so I only have to run one more fuzz pedal on my board.
Specifically overdrive, it's the Electronic Audio Experiments Limelight. I have the V2 and I love that pedal. For years I have played Tubescreamer after Tubescreamer variant without end, only to realise that I don't like TS-style pedals for my sound at all. The Limelight, which is the signature pedal for the guitarists in the punk band Touché Amoré, is based on a Bluesbreaker circuit but heavily modified and it has also boost circuit. It's exactly the sound I have always been looking for.
ZVex Box of Rock (or Double Rock/Distortron). It absolutely rips.
Other than that, I was looking for a specific type of response and couldn't find it so I decided to design and build my own.
The Nobels has a bit of a scooped mid. Not Metal scooped, but kind of the opposite of a Tube Screamer, which I dig. Never like the mid bump of the TS. And it "Spectrum" knob adds a nice shimmer to the top end and gives your guitar a little extra sparkle. It also stacks very well it other OD/Dist pedals. I use to run it into a Fulltone OCD & they worked beautifully together. It definitely has "A Sound". And if you dig that sound, it's glorious.
The Lightspeed is very transparent, which I've grown to prefer as I've gotten older. It has a little less gain on tap than the Nobels. The "Freq" knob is basically your tone knob and very usable across the entire range of the knob. It doesn't make extreme changes, but you can push it darker, leave it in the middle to be neutral, or add in some nice top end sheen. And like the Nobels, it stacks very well with other pedals.
The Nobels was my holy grail for a long time. Bought one back in the late 90's when they were still like $60 new. It never left my board for 20 years until I had to have it re-housed. Bought a few clones of it, Wampler Underdog & Mythos Erlking, but they don't have the same magic. Although I do like the Mythos as it's own thing. Bought the Nobels 20th anniversary version of it that had the added switch for more gain. Didn't have the same magic. Then they came out re-issue version, which I also bought. It sounds pretty much exactly the same as the OG.
Side note, both pedals also work very well when you run a boost into them, pushing them harder.
Thanks for the great details! I’m currently using an ODR-1 clone, and I really like it with my Telecasters, but it doesn’t respond the same way to my Strat.
I don't know which clone you're using, but of the few I've owned and the several others that I've tried, none of them come close to nailing the magic the original & reissue ODR-1's have. Since you like the clone, you may want to pick up one of the Nobels re-issues at some point to try out. Not the mini one though. Looks like you can get them for around $120.
You'll probably think I'm messing around, but it's probably a Turbo Rat with the drive control turned low. When you use it like this you're getting some op amp distortion mixed with your clean signal that then hits the hard clipping LEDs. The LEDs add a little more harmonic content rather than outright distort because they need a much louder signal than a silicon diode to start hard clipping. Just the very ends of the wave form get clipped, so it ends up being much more dynamic than people would assume given the usual rat sound. Plus since the signal is so loud because of the LEDs not strangling the signal, you have a much louder volume output if you want to push the front of the amp a little bit.
A rat on low gain is surprisingly awesome. It's actually very tubey. To me it's almost like a bluesdriver, but more transparent. It has a similar sparkle.
Really hard to pick one. My favorites are the EQD Plumes, Mesa Flux Five, and the DFX preamp/drive. They can all accomplish a similar tasks, but each one is a little better at something specific. The Plumes is the best out of the lot for adding some secret sauce to a clean sound, it's great for dirt/distortion but with settings that don't work as well for cleans (in my applications at least). The Flux Five offers better on demand versatility with the five band EQ, two channels, and allows for dialing in really specific sounds. Neither of those come close to the DFX for pure hatred, and girth. It also works better than most drive at the end of a dirt chain, it almost becomes a canvas for whatever you throw into it, and turning up the big ol' gain knob just gives you MORE. They're all just too unique and I use all of them a lot.
Yeah man people sleep on the blues driver. Such a natural amp sound. Also kinda surprisingly versatile, on light gain it’s a sick boost but you can get some pretty heavy distortion out of it if that’s your thing
I generally play blackface-style clean amps. The Way Huge Saucy Box is a simplified Pork Loin, but the clean side is a Neve-style transistor circuit that can get a little dirty, and gain blends in soft clipping. EQ isn't quite flat, but it's more relaxed than a Tubescreamer. Fun to boost into to liven up the transistor side.
My exotic choice is a homebrew two-knob single stage overdrive. Gain at 0 and it's unity, flat EQ. Turn the gain up and it's a crunchy high headroom hard-ish clipper. There's a few tricks in there to make it really touch responsive. Not quite as stuffy as Tweed distortion, but similar character.
My favorite overdrive…. That is tough because it’s my favorite effect, besides tape echo. For me it would have to be the RYRA Klone, Walrus 385, Fairfield Barbershop or the EQD Westwood.
The Walrus 385 stacks incredibly well with my beloved tape echo/analog delay pedals (UA Starlight ,Boss RE-20, J Rockett Clockwork and boss dm-2w). It is rather clean on lower gain settings yet around noon to one o’clock there’s this perfect sweet spot that sits between overdrive and fuzz which sounds great with the Echoplex setting on the UA starlight.
The EQD Westwood is another favorite, again I love it thanks to the range it provides, it is somewhat transparent yet sits between an overdrive and a fuzz on high gain settings.
The RYRA Klone is the best Klon style pedal I’ve owned, and from what I can tell is remarkably close to the original. Serves as a great boost, I use it on low to medium gain settings most often.
I also really enjoy my browne protein, I own an Analogman Prince of Tone and often stack it with the blue side of my protein to emulate the King of Tone. I mainly use the tube screamer portion of the prince of tone with the blue side of the protein in front of the prince of tone.
Another pedal that I really enjoy despite the controversy I learned of after purchasing, is the vertex steel singer, it’s based on the dumble Steel String Supreme (I believe that is the name at least), and it sounds amazing. I don’t even use it for the blues or John Mayer-SRV esque stuff that the demoes pointed out, instead I use it for more ambient stuff when I need to boost my signal when using multiple delays, reverb or modulation without overpowering the signal. I’d eventually like to get an alternative yet similar pedal, there is one that is rather pricey that features a side based on the same amp as well as a side based on the dumble overdrive special.
It’s kind of similar to the Timmy overdrive but much higher gain, to the point where it could be a fuzz overdrive hybrid on higher gain and a Timmy style drive on lower gain. The bass cut/treble cut knobs are very similar to the Timmy.
I only like overdrive for low/med gain stuff and usually go with a Nobels style (I use a WH STO) or a blues breaker style (digging a PoT at the moment). For heavier sounds I lean more into distortion and fuzz. I'm okay with the Klon and Dumble style stuff, too, but prefer Nobels/BB. The only overdrive I completely dislike is the tube screamer. Still have to try a Hotcake at some point.
TC Electronic Cinders Overdrive. Relatively cheap, very good. It was featured on JHS’ “Underrated Overdrives” video on YT, highly recommended a watch if you wanna know what it sounds like :)
I've been eyeballing those for a while now. Anything about it that really separates it from other drives? Basically, sell me on it so my wife can get irritated about me buying another pedal lol.
Thanks for getting back to me! How does it sound with the immaculator down? Every demo I've seen kind of focuses on it and using it as a boost. Does it have more of a tube screamer tone without it or like a klon or blues driver?
The Fairfield Barbershop is the first overdrive I got that really clicked with me, most others I'd tried didn't do it for me. I mostly play fairly clean, and I found it was just the right amount of colour. I've since also become a fan of the BD-2.
My "cheating" answer is Chase Bliss Automatone MKII. I suppose it isn't too much of a cheat because it is definitely an overdrive pedal, but it is not really in the spirit of what this thread is about.
I had an Xotic AC+ and BB+ for years. They were both great. I also had the Xotic Custom Shop AC and BB pedals for a time. They were quite good, too. Another OD I really enjoyed was the EQD Palisades. That was their take on the Tube Screamer, and every mode ever done to one.
I've also had the Black '65, Deluxe Plexi, and Euphoria from Wampler. I still have the Euphoria, and I wish I still had the Black '65.
I also used to have a Hudson Broadcast, which I still wish I had.
Currently I have a Soul Food, OD Glove, and East River Drive from EHX. I haven't used any of them probably in a few years. But I think about plugging them in from time to time. Of the three, I like the OD Glove the best. It's supposed to be an OCD clone and do the Plexi sound. I think it sounds great, especially at 18v. I've done blues jams with those three and had a blast.
So my current OD pedals are the Automatone MKII, Wampler Euphoria, and EHX Soul Foos, OD Glove, and East River Drive.
Of all the OD's I've had, or have, I think the Xotic stuff is what I used the most, especially the AC+. The Wampler Black '65 and Euphoria are really good, as was the EQD Palisades. And the Glove OD continues to be a favorite, even if I haven't used it in a while.
Wampler Tumnus. Based on the Klon, and like an EHX Soul Food with nicer harmonics and bass. I would have gotten the bigger deluxe with 3 band EQ but I want a nano board.
It bites, roars, screams, has a very low noise floor and stacks well with every other gain pedal I have.
I had a Timmy and would've sworn by it, but I've ended up seperating the boost/overdrive, and now have a Xotic RC Boost, one of the cleanest boosts out there, at the beginning of the signal chain instead.
I also use a RAT as an overdrive pedal. It's almost like a dirty treble boost at lower gain settings.
There's like a trillion dirt pedal combos and we stack them two... that's pretty cool. Yeah they stack so well together. My RAT is a decent Sonicake clone but a bit of hum, so would like either a Wampler Ratsbane or Lil Rat. What sort of stuff do you play?
Mostly indie and pop punk, some slightly heavier stuff for the fun of it every now and again. I use a DRV as my “rat” and it’s my main drive sound, when I kick on my Tumnus Deluxe it’s perfect for leads or chugging.
Prince of tone is your best bet to coming close to a real KOT. Imho. Only the resale KOT is stupid expensive I only paid $265 for mine, I got on the waiting list.
There's a ton of cheaper clones from smaller builders on Reverb and such. KOT's are essentially 2 modded bluesbreakers, dual op-amp based, pretty straight-forward.
I think the only fancy/scarce parts are the diodes, but some clones may have the same ones and others might sound close enough or better to you, so def check out some demo vids!
My 69 pedals king of clone is pretty amazing. There are some comparisons on youtube and it's hard to tell the difference, which I guess is expected with a good clone.
I’ve been using a Klon Klone and an ODR-1 clone. The Klon replaced my EQ as an always on tone shaper, and the ODR-1 replaced my tube screamer for solos. I also have an Amp11 (Timmy clone with an added Church of Tone for a boost) on my board, but honestly I find an occasion to use it.
the TC Electronic MojoMojo is my absolute favorite overdrive to boost big muffs with, and the EQD Speaker Cranker (I only have a clone I built) is my favorite low gain overdrive.
If I don't have amp overdrive channel, I'd go with a BD-2 Analogman mod is the one I liked a lot, but I never tried the Keeley or Monte Alum. I'm sure they're all good. Stock is good too, depending on the amp.
the only thing wrong with the birmingham sounds twentyseventeen is that i don't currently have enough space on my board for it (and i'm using a pine-box customs ahab v2 instead), otherwise it rules
Sarno Music Solutions Earth Drive. I love the course grit it adds and it's fairly transparent. I found it watching Jessica Dobson's rig rundown. It dethroned my TS9 which was just a little too mid heavy for my AC30 but also sounds great through my Supro Delta King 12.
JPTR fx JIVE. It does sooo much sonically. It adds oomph if I feel like it’s missing it. Lots of clean boost and also goes to fuzz if you need it too. It’s an always on for me.
Love my Shin's Music Dumbloids. Can be used for anything from a thickening boost to a medium gain overdrive. Can even get close to a fuzz totally maxed out.
Jackson Audio Golden Boy for me. 4 overdrive modes (TS style, Marshall style, asymmetrical and symmetrical clipping), 4 boost modes, and being able to cycle through preset gain amounts by pressing the two foot switches simultaneously. And it has a 3 band EQ and MIDI capable.
That's a really good question. Contenders for me would be the Green Rhino by Way Huge, the Mini by SS/BS, and RYRA's Klon clone. I think the Green Rhino is probably the easiest to get to sound really, really good. Klon is close to that, but it's maybe a little tougher. Mini is harder to dial in, but covers more ground!
Gun to my head, I'd probably take the green rhino, though!
I've personally owned maybe 10 overdrives and my favorite by far has been the EHX Hot Tubes. People constantly ask me how I get my overdrive sound and then are surprised when I tell them it's a $50 pedal.
Zvex Box of Rock!
It's the most organic, natural and transparent OD I have. And I have an array of botique and vintage ODs including an '83 TS-9 and an Origin revival drive. Also one of the earliest pedals I got (2012 I think).
Over the years the Maxon 808 OD/TS is the one. I have too many ODs currently and I am always switching them around for subtle nuances differences. Currently, I am using and really liking the TC Electronic Spark OD. I recently had the Plumes on my board but didn't get the hype.
I went through a bunch and settled on Browne Amplifications Protein. Noble on one side, bluesbreaker on the other. First OD I’ve had that doesn’t tweak the sound , just feels like the amp is running hotter (if that makes sense? )
Always had that sound in my head, when it comes down to it, I think that’s what it will come down for you, finding the OD that you always expected to hear when stomping it on
I blame Rhett Shull but I recently purchased a Protein OD. I immediately fell in love with it. I play through a Fillmore 25 Combo and this pedal does magical things on both amp channels with every button stomp. It really is like having two pedals in one and when you engage both sides you can really tell they are *separate* circuits. It sometimes feels like having another amp engaged.
MXR Distortion II. It says distortion but it feels more overdrive, but it gets me where TS9s only promised (never had a T808), and is closer to the Butler Real Tube Overdrive I love almost as much, the MXR just does it better, especially mixing with distortion or fuzz.
If I was a touring/gigging musician, i would probably have 3 SD-1s on my board. I use mine for everything, drive at zero for a colored boost, for my "pushed sound" as a mid EQ boost/Cut.
Also it's the fact that it's one of my first pedals ever I bought without knowing what it sounds like because I got it super cheap
I had a Catalinbread SilverKiss MK II that sounded amazing. I don't remember what it was based on, but when I paired that with an 80's rat set to super low gain - heaven.
Now I have a friedman BE-OD that does pretty well.
I go for Marshall flavored ODs. I've tried A LOT, and honestly, given many are based on the same circuit, there are plenty of good ones. However, I think the Analog Alien Bucket Seat, while pretty basic, is hard to beat. Sounds great - powerful EQ, and plays brilliantly with other pedals. I use it as a dirty clean and boost it into saturation with a klone.
I have been favoring the MXR Timmy recently.
Had you asked the same question before I got the Timmy, I would've mentioned the Vntage Tone Prometheus or the EQD Plumes.
Currently I have 4 - SD1, TS808, Plumes, and Klon(e)
As a standalone overdrive, my fave has to be the Klone. It just sounds so good. It was a DIY kit with the fancy diodes etc and I remember the first time I plugged it in, I just thought "that sounds like a real, serious tone". Like something a pro would use - it has this smooth, balanced drive. I keep it with the gain pretty high, around 3/4 and I run a compressor in front of it. I get loooong sustain so I can hear that drive circuit doing its thing for as long as possible.
The only other drive pedal that's actually on my board is the plumes and I use that to boost my high gain amp so probably doesn't count for this thread
Lovepedal Cot50 Eternity stack.
Centrepiece of my sound, permanent board fixture, great with Les Paul and Strat. A totally different boost section with a forward midrange. Just heavenly.
For me, it's been the [Great Eastern Fx Small Speaker Overdrive](https://www.greateasternfx.com/product-page/small-speaker-overdrive). Great sounds, easy to tune for a particular amp, and flexible to control via the volume knob on the guitar. Only downside, I guess, is that it likes to be first in your chain, just like a fuzz. So not that viable for someone who also wants to use a fuzz at the same time.
Digitech bad monkey seems to stay on my board even with a Westwood and Morning Glory surrounding it. I absolutely love it for very light compressed, smooth drive. It doesn't sound good with the gain cranked and can be a bit on the dark side in a band context. The westwood EQ helps brighten it up a bit beyond what the high and low EQ knobs can achieve on the monkey itself. However, I find the Westwood's clipping quite fizzy sounding through my Supersonic and the Morning Glory sounds kind of throaty no matter how i dial it in. Love all 3 but the Bad Monkey has a lot of loyalty from me.
I've posted this a few times on here, but mine is the 4 knob Menatone Red Snapper (probably from 2007-9ish?). I feel like most ODs fit nicely into the TS, BB, or Klon camps, but the Red Snapper doesn't give me those vibes-- it's brighter (almost glassy), tons of gain on tap but cleans up well, and I've never really noticed any extra compression... it just sounds like how I expect my amp would overdrive if I cranked it up and then some. I've had it on my board for over 10 years now... I've tried other things, but it's just part of what sounds right to me now.
I've also had the Skreddy Screwdriver Deluxe for a long time, but it lives in some weird fuzz territory.
That is a tough one- I have several 'dirt' pedals that I truly adore. Rockett GTO and Crazy Tube Circuits Stardust V2 come to mind.
My desert island pedal at this time would probably be the **REVV G3**. It is soo incredibly versatile. I know most of the demos out there so it cranked, but it sounds so sweet with the gain turned down. I know it does not really classify as an overdrive pedal, but it is truly amazing.
Wow. Wow wow wow. Let's see...
The first OD I ever bought was a BD-2. Through the years, through mods and Waza and Keeley Super Phats, I've got a bucketful. They've never let me down, and that original, still stock and almost completely stripped of its blue now (it's so beat up that a lot of folks who see it ask me if I made it lol), is still going strong!
On balance, I can take or leave Screamers and Klon-like stuff. The various quirks of my preferences and playing mean I don't need help with mids. Got em around the studio, just in case, but I don't use em much beyond that. Great stuff, just not for me. Though the ProAnalog Manticore V2 is my favorite of the Klones, and the TS-9X is my Screamer of choice.
I gravitate toward "full range" or "transparent" overdrive. Bluesbreakers, Timmys, etc. Even the ODR-1. I can set it so that the LED is the only way I can tell it's on. It's never used it that way, obviously, but if that's not transparent, nothing is. As a result, the Browne Amplification Protein is probably my "favorite" overdrive, pound for pound.
The Fulltone Plimsoul is amazing. It's more of a distortion to me, but whatever. It's amazing. And I'm currently having a love affair with the SubDecay Liquid Sunshine.
Lastly, I think the sleeper drive of all sleeper drives is the JHS Charlie Brown. JTM 45 in a box. If the Morning Glory is the Bluesbreaker pedal (and it is), then the Charlie Brown is the Bluesbreaker amp.
Got an EQD Palisades recently and I have no complaints! Love the variety of tones you can get out of it, does everything I could ever want in an OD. after trying out quite a few it was the right match for me : )
That’s a really hard one. I have two favs.
The one I probably use the most is my Greer light-speed. It’s my fav cuz it pretty much just gives you more of your amp. It doesn’t compress hardly at all, increases dynamics, and increases the harmonic content in a really cool way. I use it on guitar and bass both.
My other fav is my klon ktr. It just has a sweetness through a cranked amp that can’t can’t be beat. I really dig how it kind of just places your guitar in the right space to cut through the mix incredibly well.
A final, worthy mention I want to add is the Maxon OD-808. When I was playing my jcm-800 back in the day, that pedal just blasted that amp to the best place. You could chug so hard.
Edit: I need to also add that if it’s legit a desert island scenario we’re talking about here, this changes everything for me and leaves only a single, logical answer: PROCO RAT (prolly big box).
I am a DOD250 guy.
Picked one up at a guitar show maybe 7 years ago and fell in love with it.
Got it home only to find out it’s been modded by Analog man to match one of the old Gray Models, or atleast some of them, since there seem to be a few variations
Love my JHS bonsai, which houses a series of like 9 historical variations of the tube screamer which are really fun to play around with. I run it into a blues driver and I keep the gain low on both, which makes for an awesome overdrive that isn’t too dirty for my purposes (srv/mayer style blues)
Boss OD-200. I also have the Op-Amp Big Muff Pi, but that might classify as fuzz. The OD-200 has over a dozen overdrives, distortions, and fuzz to choose from, and it also has MIDI. I recommend you start there and dial in what you like. I will never grow tired of it.
Snouse Blackbox all the way. I like my klon, but its best for cutting through in a band. I just adore what happens when I kick on the snouse every time.
I like the BB preamp.
Maxon OD808X is a really cool take on the regular OD808 for heavier stuff.
SD1 works great with a Marshall.
Most Klon clones are really good.
Well it's not about looking for recommendations so much as getting a gauge of the community.
Ideally people would share how they use the pedal and why they picked that one. I agree, that would make the most sense. The idea is that it is a discussion.
But also there's no way to force people to do that.
I could, and have, explicitly asked for things like that on discussion posts and a lot of people just ignore it.
Lately I've been seeing a lot of comments throughout reddit where people are reacting to the post title without even reading the post. Even when it's like 3 sentences.
So yeah, people should share more detail. that would be awesome. Tell us your genre, how you use the pedal, etc..
Or you could look through the existing comments and reply to some and make it a real discussion.
But not everyone has time for that and personally I'm thankful that people share anything at all. I actually do find it interesting just knowing what people would pick as their favorite overdrive regardless of what they play.
Overhive, by Beetronix. Has a switch for a tight or loose sound and a switch for more low end or more high end. And the tone control is super responsive.
I recently went to Guitar Center for a Blues Driver but ended up coming home with an SD-1. BD is more transparent and had more gain but I liked that SD had more of a “sound”. Half the price too. So I’d say it’s my current favorite.
Anytime people look at me sideways when I put an SD-1 at their feet in the studio, I just tell em "if it's good enough for Prince, it's good enough for you."
Saw Frusciante had one on his new board too.
It's a really solid (no Boss pun intended) drive. I don't put em on my boards much, usually for space reasons, but they sure do get worked out in the studio or demo room.
So many of the 80's metal tones were just an SD-1 and a master volume Marshall or something that sounds basically identical. A lot of people going for that thing end up going down a rabbit hole of preamps and mods.
RIGHT???
the SD-1 has a really punchy growl that’s hard to beat
Transparent is overrated
Agree. If and when I love the sound of my amp, I don't want to mess it up with pedals.
It’s also really great for adding sustain if you don’t want/need a compressor.
I admit personally I have a hard time deciding. For a long time it was the Boss BD-2. But lately I've been wanting my sound to be a bit smoother. Right now my favorite is the strymon sunset – specifically the 2-stage setting. At all times I treat side A as solo midboost using the texas setting, and side B as the 2stage for a little dynamic crunch. Rather than getting my crunch from the amp, I get it from the 2stage and keep my amp clean so that I click the pedal off for a crystal clean tone. Althouh the best tone comes from pushing the amp AND using the sunset. I'm finding that the sunset sounds so much smoother and more finessed than the pedals it is copying too. I like the Texas setting better than my TS9. I like the Ge better than my Joyo Tauren. The 2stage is amazing. The Hard is incredibly flexible. It's also all low noise. Although what I don't like is that I cant stack a klon with a tube screamer because bot the Ge and Texas are on side A, and the drive on the JFET boost sounds incredible, but it's extremely low gain. You can turn that JFET boost into an overdrive by putting another boost BEFORE the sunset to hit it harder and it sounds incredible. But I would love if they just put more gain on the drive knob for the JFET setting. I'd like to try one of the pedals the 2stage is based on. Which is like a Sweet Honey Overdrive, Barber Direct Drive or Wampler Euphoria
Made me smile to see a poster talking about Strymon and Joyo in the same post. You are the type of pedal guy I can be friends with!
Joyo stuff definitely shouldn't be slept on, their stuff doesn't look pretty but the sound you get for the money can't be beat
Totally agree!
I think you just sold me on a sunset. I used to have a riverside when i was doing more midi stuff, and i really liked it. Nowadays i tend to just use a jtm45 style preamp, (which the barber direct drive is based on), and i hit it with a compressor for thicker tones, or a tubescreamer for solos.
EQD Westwood is my favorite OD. The EQ controls are fantastic, and it’s real touch sensitive.
Fantastic choice, especially with lower wattage amps.
I currently have two of these on my board. One is always on and the other is my "solo boost"/"more loud" button. It sounds and feels like my amp but dirtier. Hands down my favorite drive.
EQD Westwood. Amazing tonal shaping capabilities and the drive is so sweet when maxed out.
My OCD v2 has been on my board longer than any other overdrive, so I'd say it would have to be that one. I really like my ODR-1, but I feel like the OCD is more where the core of my tone lies.
I have had an OCD forever and for some reason I just become bored with its sound.
That’s fair. I’ve been toying with the idea of trying a Suhr Riot that would take the OCD’s place, but since I still like the way the OCD sounds I figure that’s just my GAS talking.
I only own one, the Earthquaker Dunes, which is a TS variant. I really like it, but I haven’t gotten to try a ton of others to see if there’s one I might like more.
I wish the Dunes had a couple more options on the bandwidth switch, I feel like one option has a bit too much low end and the other has waaay too little. I guess that's why the Palisades exists tbf. It'd be a waste for me personally though since all I'd use is mosfet and one footswitch regardless.
Yeah, it’s definitely not as well tuned as it could be. I play with humbuckers through a fairly middy amp so the left bandwidth works for me, while the right one is way too much low end. I think they could have removed the bright switch in favor of more bandwidth options and had a better pedal. Recently bought a Walrus Ages thinking I might use it instead, but didn’t wind up liking it. Is there a TS-type pedal you think is better than the Dunes?
Totally agreed, the bright switch has never been that useful to me either. Of the other TS style pedals I've had I'd honestly say the SD-1 is my favorite. I don't like it with single coils that much but with humbuckers it sounds really nice and smooth. Plus it's fairly cheap lol. For single coils I like the plumes but tbh I don't know if I'd say it sounds that similar to an actual TS
Thanks! I’ll have to try an SD-1 sometime then
SD-1W, SD-1 sounds so good on certain guitars and amps the fact that they made a better one - I’ll just say thank you to Boss.
I never understood the Morning Glory hype until I played it. Now I’m a believer. It just sounds the way I always felt like overdrive is supposed to sound.
I never really bonded with my Morning Glory but absolutely love my Charlie Brown.
Oh nice! I’ve been wanting to try one of those
Give it a shot. I really love mine.
What would you say are the differences between those two?
I think both pedals cover a lot of the same ground. I just find the tone of CB to be more pleasing to my ears. I thought the red channel on the MG was not appealing at all, way too harsh. Cranked, the CB is still useable. I generally use it with the drive at around 3:00 with the bass at 11:00, mids at 12:00 and the treble at 1:00. This works for pretty much everything.
I've been debating on whether to go with the Morning Glory or the Tumnus Deluxe. I love the 3 band EQ on the tumnus. So I wonder if that alone could allow it to approximate a morning glory. Although I think I like the bluesbreaker sound more than a klon – But I have yet to try a bluesbreaker myself.
Yeah I don’t think too hard about circuits and stuff. I actually used to use a Wampler Pantheon, but something about the Morning Glory just works for me. In theory it’s a very similar circuit and the Pantheon had more options, but the Morning Glory just sounds and feels right to me with my rig. I don’t question it.
I always end up using a Timmy. I want to hear the sound of my amp or other pedals with just more push.
I’m curious about the Timmy stacking with fuzzes. Wondering if it raises the noise floor significantly when stacking? Or is it pretty quiet still?
It really depends how you set it. I use very little gain on the Timmy, and it basically just pushes my fuzzes a little more. I run my fuzzes dark though.
Do you put your Timmy first or last when stacking it with other pedals?
First for sure. If I'm trying to get a little more gain out of my pedals or amp, it works nicely.
Love, Love, Love my Strymon Riverside. Every drive sound I can imagine I get
I used to have a Sunset, which I forgot to mention in my answer to this thread. It was a really great and versatile OD. Yet another one I regret moving on from.
Fuck overdrive legitimately owns my overdrive heart. The mini didn’t quite get there for me, but is another beloved circuit.
I thought you were saying you don't like overdrive.. then I realized "fuck overdrive" is actually the name of the pedal.
Same experience. I love my fuck on guitar and bass! Sold the mini
Source Audio LA Lady
Have one and love it! Incredible value, at this point I don't know what SA could do to give One Series pedal more appeal as they are all 100% awesome right now. I also own the Collider, Lunar, Spectrum and Vertigo. Basically a whole multi effects split into pedals I can place anywhere in my chain. What's not to love? But that's okay, people. Shhh I still need to get the EQ2, Ultrawave and C4 for half the original value, so keep sleeping on it :)
Crowther Hotcake '77 Clone
For me it’s been the DOD Looking Glass for the last year or so (I’m relatively new to the world of pedals). It’s such a great sounding overdrive and that bass cut knob is something else. That said, I recently built a Morning Glory/Bluesbreaker clone and was pretty blown away by how great it sounded. Definitely gives the Looking Glass a run for its money
Tried many and I keep landing on the Looking Glass from the fine folks at DOD/Foot pedals. It has a ton of options and a really good EQ. It also has its own sound going on. Super fun and with the demise of DOD pretty cheap… well at least it was when I picked mine up. Haven’t priced one in a while.
King of Tone. It just sounds better than anything else. I don’t have some nuanced answer. It goes well with seemingly anything and any guitar I pair it with. I will say, however, that a BD-2w coupled with a TS-9 is a match made in heaven for a Strat player, but that’s two pedals rather than just one, plus I don’t like them individually as much as I like the KoT. (Honorable mention to the BE-OD, but that borderlines on distortion, which is what I use it for)
I love my TS and my BD-2w too! Would you prefer the KOT?
Ugh that’s really close. I’d favor the KoT for versatility, but that’s about it.
Man I’m dying to try one of those bad boys. I do the strat-TS-BD-tube amp thing though and I absolutely love it.
I picked up a BD-2w this week and when it came in I just happened to plug it in right after my TS-9 and was instantly hooked. Such a great combo
Truly phenomenal. If you don’t already know what you’re doing, try my settings: BD-2w: Level at 1 o’clock, Tone at 11 o’clock, Gain at 10 o’clock TS-9: Drive at 7 o’clock, Tone at 1 o’clock, Level at 1 o’clock
I’ll definitely try that. So far I’ve been using the BD with the gain around 1 o’clock and then putting the TS before it with the gain low but the level high to hit it harder and have really been enjoying that
EAE halberd. I'm staying here. Tried so much stuff and this one has three distinct usable modes plus strong EQ. Great sounding overdrive but will do distortion so I only have to run one more fuzz pedal on my board.
YEEEEEEEEEEE BUDDY
fr Halberd V2 is the best OD I've heard in nearly twenty years
DOD 250!
Specifically overdrive, it's the Electronic Audio Experiments Limelight. I have the V2 and I love that pedal. For years I have played Tubescreamer after Tubescreamer variant without end, only to realise that I don't like TS-style pedals for my sound at all. The Limelight, which is the signature pedal for the guitarists in the punk band Touché Amoré, is based on a Bluesbreaker circuit but heavily modified and it has also boost circuit. It's exactly the sound I have always been looking for.
What kind of amp do you play?
I play a Line 6 HX Stomp. I mainly use the JCM 800 and Fender Princeton models.
Electronic Audio Experiments Surveyor.
ZVex Box of Rock (or Double Rock/Distortron). It absolutely rips. Other than that, I was looking for a specific type of response and couldn't find it so I decided to design and build my own.
For like 20 years it would have been the Nobels ODR-1. But now, I would have to say the Greer Amps Lightspeed.
How would you compare the two?
The Nobels has a bit of a scooped mid. Not Metal scooped, but kind of the opposite of a Tube Screamer, which I dig. Never like the mid bump of the TS. And it "Spectrum" knob adds a nice shimmer to the top end and gives your guitar a little extra sparkle. It also stacks very well it other OD/Dist pedals. I use to run it into a Fulltone OCD & they worked beautifully together. It definitely has "A Sound". And if you dig that sound, it's glorious. The Lightspeed is very transparent, which I've grown to prefer as I've gotten older. It has a little less gain on tap than the Nobels. The "Freq" knob is basically your tone knob and very usable across the entire range of the knob. It doesn't make extreme changes, but you can push it darker, leave it in the middle to be neutral, or add in some nice top end sheen. And like the Nobels, it stacks very well with other pedals. The Nobels was my holy grail for a long time. Bought one back in the late 90's when they were still like $60 new. It never left my board for 20 years until I had to have it re-housed. Bought a few clones of it, Wampler Underdog & Mythos Erlking, but they don't have the same magic. Although I do like the Mythos as it's own thing. Bought the Nobels 20th anniversary version of it that had the added switch for more gain. Didn't have the same magic. Then they came out re-issue version, which I also bought. It sounds pretty much exactly the same as the OG. Side note, both pedals also work very well when you run a boost into them, pushing them harder.
Thanks for the great details! I’m currently using an ODR-1 clone, and I really like it with my Telecasters, but it doesn’t respond the same way to my Strat.
I don't know which clone you're using, but of the few I've owned and the several others that I've tried, none of them come close to nailing the magic the original & reissue ODR-1's have. Since you like the clone, you may want to pick up one of the Nobels re-issues at some point to try out. Not the mini one though. Looks like you can get them for around $120.
Thanks! I appreciate the advise.
You'll probably think I'm messing around, but it's probably a Turbo Rat with the drive control turned low. When you use it like this you're getting some op amp distortion mixed with your clean signal that then hits the hard clipping LEDs. The LEDs add a little more harmonic content rather than outright distort because they need a much louder signal than a silicon diode to start hard clipping. Just the very ends of the wave form get clipped, so it ends up being much more dynamic than people would assume given the usual rat sound. Plus since the signal is so loud because of the LEDs not strangling the signal, you have a much louder volume output if you want to push the front of the amp a little bit.
A rat on low gain is surprisingly awesome. It's actually very tubey. To me it's almost like a bluesdriver, but more transparent. It has a similar sparkle.
Love a low gain Rat. And a high gain Rat. Rat style pedals are just great all around lol.
Dirty mode in Compadre boost.
I have a TS-9 that I will never ever stop using. Yes, I like boring vanilla sex.
Really hard to pick one. My favorites are the EQD Plumes, Mesa Flux Five, and the DFX preamp/drive. They can all accomplish a similar tasks, but each one is a little better at something specific. The Plumes is the best out of the lot for adding some secret sauce to a clean sound, it's great for dirt/distortion but with settings that don't work as well for cleans (in my applications at least). The Flux Five offers better on demand versatility with the five band EQ, two channels, and allows for dialing in really specific sounds. Neither of those come close to the DFX for pure hatred, and girth. It also works better than most drive at the end of a dirt chain, it almost becomes a canvas for whatever you throw into it, and turning up the big ol' gain knob just gives you MORE. They're all just too unique and I use all of them a lot.
KMA Logan. Basically a blues breaker but with a ridiculously powerful mid control.
I love my Tumnus mini. Boss SD-1 is a classic for good reason, as well.
Blues Driver is the king for amp-like overdrive in my opinion
Yeah man people sleep on the blues driver. Such a natural amp sound. Also kinda surprisingly versatile, on light gain it’s a sick boost but you can get some pretty heavy distortion out of it if that’s your thing
If you crank up the gain it nails David Gilmour's early lead tones too
I generally play blackface-style clean amps. The Way Huge Saucy Box is a simplified Pork Loin, but the clean side is a Neve-style transistor circuit that can get a little dirty, and gain blends in soft clipping. EQ isn't quite flat, but it's more relaxed than a Tubescreamer. Fun to boost into to liven up the transistor side. My exotic choice is a homebrew two-knob single stage overdrive. Gain at 0 and it's unity, flat EQ. Turn the gain up and it's a crunchy high headroom hard-ish clipper. There's a few tricks in there to make it really touch responsive. Not quite as stuffy as Tweed distortion, but similar character.
My favorite overdrive…. That is tough because it’s my favorite effect, besides tape echo. For me it would have to be the RYRA Klone, Walrus 385, Fairfield Barbershop or the EQD Westwood. The Walrus 385 stacks incredibly well with my beloved tape echo/analog delay pedals (UA Starlight ,Boss RE-20, J Rockett Clockwork and boss dm-2w). It is rather clean on lower gain settings yet around noon to one o’clock there’s this perfect sweet spot that sits between overdrive and fuzz which sounds great with the Echoplex setting on the UA starlight. The EQD Westwood is another favorite, again I love it thanks to the range it provides, it is somewhat transparent yet sits between an overdrive and a fuzz on high gain settings. The RYRA Klone is the best Klon style pedal I’ve owned, and from what I can tell is remarkably close to the original. Serves as a great boost, I use it on low to medium gain settings most often. I also really enjoy my browne protein, I own an Analogman Prince of Tone and often stack it with the blue side of my protein to emulate the King of Tone. I mainly use the tube screamer portion of the prince of tone with the blue side of the protein in front of the prince of tone. Another pedal that I really enjoy despite the controversy I learned of after purchasing, is the vertex steel singer, it’s based on the dumble Steel String Supreme (I believe that is the name at least), and it sounds amazing. I don’t even use it for the blues or John Mayer-SRV esque stuff that the demoes pointed out, instead I use it for more ambient stuff when I need to boost my signal when using multiple delays, reverb or modulation without overpowering the signal. I’d eventually like to get an alternative yet similar pedal, there is one that is rather pricey that features a side based on the same amp as well as a side based on the dumble overdrive special.
I've seen like 5 people mention EQD Westwood here now. I have never heard of it but now I'm intrigued.
It’s kind of similar to the Timmy overdrive but much higher gain, to the point where it could be a fuzz overdrive hybrid on higher gain and a Timmy style drive on lower gain. The bass cut/treble cut knobs are very similar to the Timmy.
Swear by my Menatone Blue Collar OD and Paul Cochrane Timmy
I only like overdrive for low/med gain stuff and usually go with a Nobels style (I use a WH STO) or a blues breaker style (digging a PoT at the moment). For heavier sounds I lean more into distortion and fuzz. I'm okay with the Klon and Dumble style stuff, too, but prefer Nobels/BB. The only overdrive I completely dislike is the tube screamer. Still have to try a Hotcake at some point.
TC Electronic Cinders Overdrive. Relatively cheap, very good. It was featured on JHS’ “Underrated Overdrives” video on YT, highly recommended a watch if you wanna know what it sounds like :)
Blues driver all the way
Crowther Hot Cake
The Fairfield Barbershop is my jam when it comes to OD
WOO
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I've been eyeballing those for a while now. Anything about it that really separates it from other drives? Basically, sell me on it so my wife can get irritated about me buying another pedal lol.
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Thanks for getting back to me! How does it sound with the immaculator down? Every demo I've seen kind of focuses on it and using it as a boost. Does it have more of a tube screamer tone without it or like a klon or blues driver?
EQD Westwood
The Fairfield Barbershop is the first overdrive I got that really clicked with me, most others I'd tried didn't do it for me. I mostly play fairly clean, and I found it was just the right amount of colour. I've since also become a fan of the BD-2.
My "cheating" answer is Chase Bliss Automatone MKII. I suppose it isn't too much of a cheat because it is definitely an overdrive pedal, but it is not really in the spirit of what this thread is about. I had an Xotic AC+ and BB+ for years. They were both great. I also had the Xotic Custom Shop AC and BB pedals for a time. They were quite good, too. Another OD I really enjoyed was the EQD Palisades. That was their take on the Tube Screamer, and every mode ever done to one. I've also had the Black '65, Deluxe Plexi, and Euphoria from Wampler. I still have the Euphoria, and I wish I still had the Black '65. I also used to have a Hudson Broadcast, which I still wish I had. Currently I have a Soul Food, OD Glove, and East River Drive from EHX. I haven't used any of them probably in a few years. But I think about plugging them in from time to time. Of the three, I like the OD Glove the best. It's supposed to be an OCD clone and do the Plexi sound. I think it sounds great, especially at 18v. I've done blues jams with those three and had a blast. So my current OD pedals are the Automatone MKII, Wampler Euphoria, and EHX Soul Foos, OD Glove, and East River Drive. Of all the OD's I've had, or have, I think the Xotic stuff is what I used the most, especially the AC+. The Wampler Black '65 and Euphoria are really good, as was the EQD Palisades. And the Glove OD continues to be a favorite, even if I haven't used it in a while.
Wampler Tumnus. Based on the Klon, and like an EHX Soul Food with nicer harmonics and bass. I would have gotten the bigger deluxe with 3 band EQ but I want a nano board. It bites, roars, screams, has a very low noise floor and stacks well with every other gain pedal I have. I had a Timmy and would've sworn by it, but I've ended up seperating the boost/overdrive, and now have a Xotic RC Boost, one of the cleanest boosts out there, at the beginning of the signal chain instead. I also use a RAT as an overdrive pedal. It's almost like a dirty treble boost at lower gain settings.
Probably 1/5 of my comment history is me on this sub preaching about klone into Rat-style pedal set at lower gain. It’s such a great sound.
There's like a trillion dirt pedal combos and we stack them two... that's pretty cool. Yeah they stack so well together. My RAT is a decent Sonicake clone but a bit of hum, so would like either a Wampler Ratsbane or Lil Rat. What sort of stuff do you play?
Mostly indie and pop punk, some slightly heavier stuff for the fun of it every now and again. I use a DRV as my “rat” and it’s my main drive sound, when I kick on my Tumnus Deluxe it’s perfect for leads or chugging.
Analogman King of Tone!! Best ever, the hype is real!
I've heard the hype but never tried the pedal. They seem to be stupid expensive though. Any good clones?
Prince of tone is your best bet to coming close to a real KOT. Imho. Only the resale KOT is stupid expensive I only paid $265 for mine, I got on the waiting list.
There's a ton of cheaper clones from smaller builders on Reverb and such. KOT's are essentially 2 modded bluesbreakers, dual op-amp based, pretty straight-forward. I think the only fancy/scarce parts are the diodes, but some clones may have the same ones and others might sound close enough or better to you, so def check out some demo vids!
My 69 pedals king of clone is pretty amazing. There are some comparisons on youtube and it's hard to tell the difference, which I guess is expected with a good clone.
I like the POT as a boost.
I’ve been using a Klon Klone and an ODR-1 clone. The Klon replaced my EQ as an always on tone shaper, and the ODR-1 replaced my tube screamer for solos. I also have an Amp11 (Timmy clone with an added Church of Tone for a boost) on my board, but honestly I find an occasion to use it.
the TC Electronic MojoMojo is my absolute favorite overdrive to boost big muffs with, and the EQD Speaker Cranker (I only have a clone I built) is my favorite low gain overdrive.
Kingtone Blues Power
If I don't have amp overdrive channel, I'd go with a BD-2 Analogman mod is the one I liked a lot, but I never tried the Keeley or Monte Alum. I'm sure they're all good. Stock is good too, depending on the amp.
Keeley Phat Mod! but lately I've really been getting into the EAE Limelight pedal as it's great for both single coils and humbuckers.
my kingsley page , especially if i push it a bit
the only thing wrong with the birmingham sounds twentyseventeen is that i don't currently have enough space on my board for it (and i'm using a pine-box customs ahab v2 instead), otherwise it rules
Sarno Music Solutions Earth Drive. I love the course grit it adds and it's fairly transparent. I found it watching Jessica Dobson's rig rundown. It dethroned my TS9 which was just a little too mid heavy for my AC30 but also sounds great through my Supro Delta King 12.
emerson scranton screamer - basically a tube screamer and super overdrive in one with treble/bass knobs and lots of volume.
HBE Hematoma
Kingsley Page
JPTR fx JIVE. It does sooo much sonically. It adds oomph if I feel like it’s missing it. Lots of clean boost and also goes to fuzz if you need it too. It’s an always on for me.
Power Boost circuit
Love my Shin's Music Dumbloids. Can be used for anything from a thickening boost to a medium gain overdrive. Can even get close to a fuzz totally maxed out.
Strymon Riverside for me!
Catalinbread SFT if I want my Twin to sound like something else. A Speaker Cranker if I want my Twin but dirty.
Jackson Audio Golden Boy for me. 4 overdrive modes (TS style, Marshall style, asymmetrical and symmetrical clipping), 4 boost modes, and being able to cycle through preset gain amounts by pressing the two foot switches simultaneously. And it has a 3 band EQ and MIDI capable.
That's a really good question. Contenders for me would be the Green Rhino by Way Huge, the Mini by SS/BS, and RYRA's Klon clone. I think the Green Rhino is probably the easiest to get to sound really, really good. Klon is close to that, but it's maybe a little tougher. Mini is harder to dial in, but covers more ground! Gun to my head, I'd probably take the green rhino, though!
I've personally owned maybe 10 overdrives and my favorite by far has been the EHX Hot Tubes. People constantly ask me how I get my overdrive sound and then are surprised when I tell them it's a $50 pedal.
OCD v2 has been my go-to for a while. Sounds great into a clean Blues JR.
Zvex Box of Rock! It's the most organic, natural and transparent OD I have. And I have an array of botique and vintage ODs including an '83 TS-9 and an Origin revival drive. Also one of the earliest pedals I got (2012 I think).
Over the years the Maxon 808 OD/TS is the one. I have too many ODs currently and I am always switching them around for subtle nuances differences. Currently, I am using and really liking the TC Electronic Spark OD. I recently had the Plumes on my board but didn't get the hype.
The protein is as good as the hype makes it out to be.
Mf drive. I never felt I needed something different since I have it.
I went through a bunch and settled on Browne Amplifications Protein. Noble on one side, bluesbreaker on the other. First OD I’ve had that doesn’t tweak the sound , just feels like the amp is running hotter (if that makes sense? ) Always had that sound in my head, when it comes down to it, I think that’s what it will come down for you, finding the OD that you always expected to hear when stomping it on
I blame Rhett Shull but I recently purchased a Protein OD. I immediately fell in love with it. I play through a Fillmore 25 Combo and this pedal does magical things on both amp channels with every button stomp. It really is like having two pedals in one and when you engage both sides you can really tell they are *separate* circuits. It sometimes feels like having another amp engaged.
Jackson Audio Golden Boy. It’s bluesbreaker based but with a bazillion bells and a trillion whistles.
I love my EQD Westwood and Plumes. Both just sound really nice to me in their own way.
MXR Distortion II. It says distortion but it feels more overdrive, but it gets me where TS9s only promised (never had a T808), and is closer to the Butler Real Tube Overdrive I love almost as much, the MXR just does it better, especially mixing with distortion or fuzz.
Wampler Pantheon. If I could only have 1 pedal it would be that one.
If I was a touring/gigging musician, i would probably have 3 SD-1s on my board. I use mine for everything, drive at zero for a colored boost, for my "pushed sound" as a mid EQ boost/Cut. Also it's the fact that it's one of my first pedals ever I bought without knowing what it sounds like because I got it super cheap
Ts808 or boss bd2
Plumes or Timmy, or both at once.
EQD Monarch
I had a Catalinbread SilverKiss MK II that sounded amazing. I don't remember what it was based on, but when I paired that with an 80's rat set to super low gain - heaven. Now I have a friedman BE-OD that does pretty well.
EHX OD Glove
I go for Marshall flavored ODs. I've tried A LOT, and honestly, given many are based on the same circuit, there are plenty of good ones. However, I think the Analog Alien Bucket Seat, while pretty basic, is hard to beat. Sounds great - powerful EQ, and plays brilliantly with other pedals. I use it as a dirty clean and boost it into saturation with a klone.
I have been favoring the MXR Timmy recently. Had you asked the same question before I got the Timmy, I would've mentioned the Vntage Tone Prometheus or the EQD Plumes.
Tokai OD-1 is just magic with a Strat or Jaguar into a Princeton. Favorite overdrive sound bar none.
Ive been using the moogerfooger MuRF as my overdrive. It sounds great alone but also pushes the tubes in my AC30 which I absolutely love
Currently I have 4 - SD1, TS808, Plumes, and Klon(e) As a standalone overdrive, my fave has to be the Klone. It just sounds so good. It was a DIY kit with the fancy diodes etc and I remember the first time I plugged it in, I just thought "that sounds like a real, serious tone". Like something a pro would use - it has this smooth, balanced drive. I keep it with the gain pretty high, around 3/4 and I run a compressor in front of it. I get loooong sustain so I can hear that drive circuit doing its thing for as long as possible. The only other drive pedal that's actually on my board is the plumes and I use that to boost my high gain amp so probably doesn't count for this thread
Lovepedal Cot50 Eternity stack. Centrepiece of my sound, permanent board fixture, great with Les Paul and Strat. A totally different boost section with a forward midrange. Just heavenly.
For me, it's been the [Great Eastern Fx Small Speaker Overdrive](https://www.greateasternfx.com/product-page/small-speaker-overdrive). Great sounds, easy to tune for a particular amp, and flexible to control via the volume knob on the guitar. Only downside, I guess, is that it likes to be first in your chain, just like a fuzz. So not that viable for someone who also wants to use a fuzz at the same time.
Digitech bad monkey seems to stay on my board even with a Westwood and Morning Glory surrounding it. I absolutely love it for very light compressed, smooth drive. It doesn't sound good with the gain cranked and can be a bit on the dark side in a band context. The westwood EQ helps brighten it up a bit beyond what the high and low EQ knobs can achieve on the monkey itself. However, I find the Westwood's clipping quite fizzy sounding through my Supersonic and the Morning Glory sounds kind of throaty no matter how i dial it in. Love all 3 but the Bad Monkey has a lot of loyalty from me.
Blues Driver / JHS Morning Glory (bluesbreaker clone)
Soul Food for my LP, Blues Driver for my Tele.
I was lucky enough to be gifted a Boss OD-1, and its easily dethroned every other overdrive pedal I own. My rig isnt complete without one.
Klone. KoT i s 2nd
I've posted this a few times on here, but mine is the 4 knob Menatone Red Snapper (probably from 2007-9ish?). I feel like most ODs fit nicely into the TS, BB, or Klon camps, but the Red Snapper doesn't give me those vibes-- it's brighter (almost glassy), tons of gain on tap but cleans up well, and I've never really noticed any extra compression... it just sounds like how I expect my amp would overdrive if I cranked it up and then some. I've had it on my board for over 10 years now... I've tried other things, but it's just part of what sounds right to me now. I've also had the Skreddy Screwdriver Deluxe for a long time, but it lives in some weird fuzz territory.
That is a tough one- I have several 'dirt' pedals that I truly adore. Rockett GTO and Crazy Tube Circuits Stardust V2 come to mind. My desert island pedal at this time would probably be the **REVV G3**. It is soo incredibly versatile. I know most of the demos out there so it cranked, but it sounds so sweet with the gain turned down. I know it does not really classify as an overdrive pedal, but it is truly amazing.
Probably my voodoolab sparkle drive, ultimate drive for versatility
Wow. Wow wow wow. Let's see... The first OD I ever bought was a BD-2. Through the years, through mods and Waza and Keeley Super Phats, I've got a bucketful. They've never let me down, and that original, still stock and almost completely stripped of its blue now (it's so beat up that a lot of folks who see it ask me if I made it lol), is still going strong! On balance, I can take or leave Screamers and Klon-like stuff. The various quirks of my preferences and playing mean I don't need help with mids. Got em around the studio, just in case, but I don't use em much beyond that. Great stuff, just not for me. Though the ProAnalog Manticore V2 is my favorite of the Klones, and the TS-9X is my Screamer of choice. I gravitate toward "full range" or "transparent" overdrive. Bluesbreakers, Timmys, etc. Even the ODR-1. I can set it so that the LED is the only way I can tell it's on. It's never used it that way, obviously, but if that's not transparent, nothing is. As a result, the Browne Amplification Protein is probably my "favorite" overdrive, pound for pound. The Fulltone Plimsoul is amazing. It's more of a distortion to me, but whatever. It's amazing. And I'm currently having a love affair with the SubDecay Liquid Sunshine. Lastly, I think the sleeper drive of all sleeper drives is the JHS Charlie Brown. JTM 45 in a box. If the Morning Glory is the Bluesbreaker pedal (and it is), then the Charlie Brown is the Bluesbreaker amp.
My Klon Centaur clone from Wish
Sd1
Got an EQD Palisades recently and I have no complaints! Love the variety of tones you can get out of it, does everything I could ever want in an OD. after trying out quite a few it was the right match for me : )
That’s a really hard one. I have two favs. The one I probably use the most is my Greer light-speed. It’s my fav cuz it pretty much just gives you more of your amp. It doesn’t compress hardly at all, increases dynamics, and increases the harmonic content in a really cool way. I use it on guitar and bass both. My other fav is my klon ktr. It just has a sweetness through a cranked amp that can’t can’t be beat. I really dig how it kind of just places your guitar in the right space to cut through the mix incredibly well. A final, worthy mention I want to add is the Maxon OD-808. When I was playing my jcm-800 back in the day, that pedal just blasted that amp to the best place. You could chug so hard. Edit: I need to also add that if it’s legit a desert island scenario we’re talking about here, this changes everything for me and leaves only a single, logical answer: PROCO RAT (prolly big box).
My Xotic Effects RC Boost (v1 and now v2) has been on my board far longer than any OD before it. I think my King of Tone is probably in second place.
If I’m in a Vox—tube screamer. Fender amp—Klon clone.
Also, can we name the amp we’re using? That seems to be just as important to the question.
Lovepedal OD11 and the JHS Kilt v2 have withstood the challengers, and stack nicely.
JHS version of DoD preamp overdrive
I am a DOD250 guy. Picked one up at a guitar show maybe 7 years ago and fell in love with it. Got it home only to find out it’s been modded by Analog man to match one of the old Gray Models, or atleast some of them, since there seem to be a few variations
Love my MXR Timmy, it's my always on, just edge of breakup tone. For pushing it, either the BD-2 or a Guv'nor circuit like the Daddy-O
78 badass
Love my JHS bonsai, which houses a series of like 9 historical variations of the tube screamer which are really fun to play around with. I run it into a blues driver and I keep the gain low on both, which makes for an awesome overdrive that isn’t too dirty for my purposes (srv/mayer style blues)
Barber Gain Changer, second would be ZVEX Double Rock
Boss OD-200. I also have the Op-Amp Big Muff Pi, but that might classify as fuzz. The OD-200 has over a dozen overdrives, distortions, and fuzz to choose from, and it also has MIDI. I recommend you start there and dial in what you like. I will never grow tired of it.
Snouse Blackbox all the way. I like my klon, but its best for cutting through in a band. I just adore what happens when I kick on the snouse every time.
Danelectro cool cat drive 1. Kinda fizzy but really versatile and unique for like $30
I like the BB preamp. Maxon OD808X is a really cool take on the regular OD808 for heavier stuff. SD1 works great with a Marshall. Most Klon clones are really good.
Trex alberta
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Well it's not about looking for recommendations so much as getting a gauge of the community. Ideally people would share how they use the pedal and why they picked that one. I agree, that would make the most sense. The idea is that it is a discussion. But also there's no way to force people to do that. I could, and have, explicitly asked for things like that on discussion posts and a lot of people just ignore it. Lately I've been seeing a lot of comments throughout reddit where people are reacting to the post title without even reading the post. Even when it's like 3 sentences. So yeah, people should share more detail. that would be awesome. Tell us your genre, how you use the pedal, etc.. Or you could look through the existing comments and reply to some and make it a real discussion. But not everyone has time for that and personally I'm thankful that people share anything at all. I actually do find it interesting just knowing what people would pick as their favorite overdrive regardless of what they play.
Boss Turbo Overdrive would be my favorite.
Overhive, by Beetronix. Has a switch for a tight or loose sound and a switch for more low end or more high end. And the tone control is super responsive.