OD pedals!

[Ravenswerld]

Hey everyone I’m curious as to what’s everyone’s favorite drive pedals and why. I have built quite a few pedals. By no means an expert but I’m starting to see what know what kinds of designs I like. I like pedals with JFETS mostly. Although, I do like op amp designs like the zen drive and the Klon. My favorites so far have been the Fetto, Fairfield circuory the barbershop, Catalinbread formula no.5 and wampler black 65. Anyways, happy building friends!

[PMowdes]

I'm a huge fan of the colorsound overdriver, and the spaceman Saturn V is great as well.

[mug]

Drives and fuzzes I buildt so far:

- Timmy: I love it. Just sounds great IMO on low and semi-drive settings. But I'll always be confused by the tone control
- RAT: classic. However I always expected it to have more extreme capabilities. Maybe I have to mod it.
- Stone Grey: again I expected more from it. Still a cool and versatile distrotion
- OKKO Diablo: didn't like it, sounded muddy and undefined on my rig. Salvaged it for parts.
- Hyperion: Simple build, huge sound. Cannot see why its calles the muff killer, sounds totally different to me. Recommended for great sound/work ratio!
- Muff with tone whiker: everyone should have some version of the BMP. Tone bypass is cool, the TW doesn't do as much as I expected. Installed a feedback loop but will remove it again cause its just muddy
- Fuzz factory: silicon version. Don't like to use it because I f** up the enclosure, once re-boxed it may be of my liking. Hard to control, but massive sounds on tap.
- LAIKA: build using one of Phil's PCBs. Not yet boxed, but already my favortie at the moment. Nasty, sputtery, spitting wall of fuzzy madness...
- EQD Black Eye: build it as a first project to try PCB etching, came out working great and pushes my Lionheart really nicely
- Theremin Fuzz: no idea how I'd ever use it in a song, but amazingly cool! And it's freppo's design - a diy design doing something I've never seen in a pedal before - come on, I HAD to build it

I have parts ready for the Palisades and very excited to see what it will be like...!

Or in short: I think I have to build them all

[Muadzin]

I've built so many OD pedals they all sound the same to me. Just give me a tubescreamer with a standard clipping select switch and I'll be happy for low gain sounds. For high gain a Guv'nor, a Crunch Box, a Dirty Little Secret or a Stone Grey Distortion will do. Overall I tend to prefer IC based OD's and distortions, as I find JFET's to be a pain in the ass to sort and bias.

Fuzzes are something totally different altogether, in which case I prefer silicon fuzzes, because germanium is an even bigger pain in the ass then JFET's. In general give me a good Big Muff, preferably a Skreddy or a Violet Ram's Head, and a Lunar Module and I'm a happy camper.

[Mulekicker]

I really love the ss/bs mini. It's been on my board since I built it a year ago, that's an eternity for me when it comes to od's. I plan on building an EQD westwood and a barbershop in one box soon. I also love DOD 250's. The eqd gray channel is great, although I haven't got mine working (gotta revisit it, I think I fucked up the switching and put it aside.)

[MOPO]

hello
The wampler plexi drive is a safe bet, I expected better from Jan Ray and Timmy who are not bad but surely overestimated .....
The durham sex drive is very good too
I like Demeter pedals especially Fat control.
In the Fuzz the space patrol is great as well as hyperion and red fuzz.
I forget about it because in fact I love it all :-)

[Sensei Tim]

off the top of my heads here are some of the ones that i've built over the years. some of them walk the fine line between boost/overdrives  and OD/distortion

1. timmy.  love it. period.
2. klon. love it two.
3. zendrive.  did nothing for me
4. cornish g2 - meh
5. cornish ss2 - more meh
6. morning glory - don't even remember it.
7. ocd - this was pretty ok
8. sparkle drive - the clean blend didn't really do much for me. basically a modified tubescreamer
9. ts-808/ts-9.  it's a classic for a reason
10. 27v BYOC boost - nice and clean. lots of headroom
11. boss FA-1. was ok.
12. TC electronics spark booster. not bad!
13. TC electronics integrated preamp. lots of headroom. powerful EQ.
14. Rangemaster. it's a classic for a reason. tele + rangemaster + fender amp = godly
15. katana nothing special
16. EP booster. nothing special
17. AMZ mosfet boost. don't like the taper on the boost knob. i've tried different taper pots but i still don't like it
18. colorsound overdriver. this is nice.
19. LBP-1. woulnd't do it again
20. Rat. it's a classic. i like it.
21. ROG Thunderbird.  really liked the sound of this one. i need to build another one.

Bogner La Grange - i didn't build it but i had it in for repair and i really liked the sound of it.

[balazs.bencs]

Hugely depends on what type of music do you play, but here is my go-to set.

TS808 - I agree, it's classic for a reason, really good for pushing solos into the outer space.
Lovepedal Kalamazoo - it has a Klon-like response, I really like as a low gain drive, good attack - sounds punchy.
Trex Gristle King - this was posted not long ago, but man, it is a fantastic drive. Became my top used pedal. (freaking loud)
ZVex Distortron - this is more like a distortion than an overdrive, but man it sounds sweet. JTM45 type of tones, it can be clean, and also can be really mean if needed.
Analogman King of tone - well, this one is a little bit overhyped pedal I think but sounds good, really usable (especially in the clean boost setting I find).
Timmy - Really good OD.
AMZ Mini booster - tons of volume, not particularly transparent clean boost, but that is not a bad thing at all.

[Ravenswerld]

Thanks for the replies everyone! Keep em coming. Very interesting!

[KT]

dod250 (super easy but sounds very good)
ss/bs f*
subdecay liquid sunshine

[Ravenswerld]

Muadzin,
    I agree with you about the germanium circuits. They are a pain in th a#$. The only one I have that hasn’t given me problem, that was put in any transistor and it sounds great, was the DAM red rooster. With Jfets I agree they are a little more of a pain. I find that if there is trimpots they are easier.

[kirshman]

I love the zendrive and timmy for versatility and just smooth overdrive.  Agree everything  is built off the 808 for a reason.  The klon I love as a slightly dirty boost.  Lots of other pdeals have been listed and I agree with most assessments.  I recently built the nobels od-1 and think this one's gonna be on my board for a long time.  I can't even put my finger on what I like so much about it, but dang!  I like the eq of the mostortion, and the germanium giant from the forum with a boost tiger (favorite clean booster) after it, makes any set of stacked drives better.  Also just built the bone bender from the forum, still playing with it, but it was way better than I was expecting!  Cant leave off the green russian muff, my favorite muff, love how dark it can get and still maintain clarity.  the list could go on....

[induction]

Harmonic Perk & Jerk

[Strassercaster1]

man i have made over 70 different  od distortions. I still like the jekyll hyde the most. I love dam red rooster the crunch box thunderbird . blues breaker king of tone  java boost.zendrive, crown jewel the guvnor,and the rocket animal was a nice suprise

 i did a tight rock and tight metal in the same box thats pretty handy i used a 3pdt toggle and a 3pdt foot to switch the  parts that are diffent on the 2 pedals ,,I did an extreme Rat with 5 clipping options and ruetz mod I like it a lot better than the stock Rat.the tube screamer 808  9 10. Boss super overdrive. The ocd was just ok to me.T  i did the mxr dist plus ross distortion and dod 250 and mxr micro amp all 4 very similar.  i could have probably just had a rotary for the clipping and a couple 3pdt and done them all in one box ha ha.

the timmy was ok i prefer the maxon od820 over the klon as well.I do like the KLon I made with seperate controls instead of the dual gain pot. It opens up the pedal a lot .

The systech harmonic energizer is great for leads if you peak the EQ to taste .

The pinnacle was a challenge but its pretty good. I really like the Brunetti Mercury its like a distortion into a cranked marshall . I prefer the op amp pedals . The Jfet are a pain to do but also they have a grain about them that doesnt seem right to me. The pinnacle and mercury are my 2 fav jfet pedals. Most of the others i didnt box .i  . I have vintage marshall half stacks and seem to really like pedals in that tone pallet. I am finishing up a triple wreck but havent boxed it because the boost section isnt right for some reason.

Ones i didnt like wampler 57
 65 and throback coloursound booster .

i made a vox tonebender that i set like an overdrive and kick my hyde on after it to get some low end back its noce for roll off and good glassy cleans

[Zerikin]

So far the only OD I've built is the Timmy but I think its great.

[Ed Nice]

So many Overdrives, so little time....

I've always been a bit 'Venn' about Distortions and Overdrives. I haven't studied the circuits involved enough to understand the subtleties of the various gain and clipping methods, preferring to just listen to the results, but after a bit of a hiatus from building, I'm back with a vengeance. And a soldering iron... :)

This thread is perfect timing!

I'm just building a Stone Grey Distortion (I'm confident that's a distortion) which will hopefully replace my PlimSoul that I've fallen out with after it broke, I fixed it and it didn't quite seem the same.

The thing is, there are so many variables from your fingers to your ears, that the whole premise is subjective. That being said, there are many smart and experienced guys on here that, filtering between the lines of taste and opinion, I've always managed to get close to what I think I'll like.

A big important factor of course, is the gear we are using. I recently dumped my Engl 50 in favour of a blackstar ht40, which has a totally different response to what I put in my signal chain. Then there is the issue of 'tone suck' and position in the pedal order and the length of leads. Then I start to wonder about the quality of the components I'm using, the quality of my build, the slight irregularities of using a 220k 1% because I can't find a 200k. Yes, I do overthink a little...

A demo of something on its own, from an LP, into a blues junior, is probably going to sound different to my tele, 60 foot signal path, 10 pedals of indeterminate quality, into a ht40. Doesn't mean I can't get close, especially with the great input I always get on here and of course the joy of building half a dozen different things just for shits and giggles... :)

[Muadzin]

Ravenswerld wrote

Muadzin,
    I agree with you about the germanium circuits. They are a pain in th a#$. The only one I have that hasn’t given me problem, that was put in any transistor and it sounds great, was the DAM red rooster. With Jfets I agree they are a little more of a pain. I find that if there is trimpots they are easier.

The Wampler school of thought has it that using trimpots does not quite deliver the same results as using carefully selected and properly biased JFET's. Which is why I consider them such an rectal gain of pain. And that's excluding the fact that they've become either unobtainium, or you have to mess with SMD trannies and adapter boards.

[Marbles]

i like JRC4558 od's.

Don't know why, probably just a coincidence, but it's in my favorite drives.

Lovepedal Kalamazoo
Barber GainChanger
and the mighty Demo Tape Fuzz

Are my favorites OD wise. The Distortron is very nice too but more gain I guess.

Drives I did not get along with are the ones you love, so you might want to not go with my suggestions.

Thougth a Zendrive would be great wit a strat, but sounded lifeless to me. Too shiny, smooth, just no.

Formula 5 had that weird grainy sound I'm not a fan of. I'm always wanting less of that harsh grain but can't dial it out unless I turn it of.


Disclaimer: Maybe it's my building skills ;)

[anders]

I prefer mostly higher gain stuff but some of these pedals is capable of great od tones with the gain knob rolled back.
-Mid Fi demo Tape Fuzz
-Harmonic Percolator with single coils.
-Colorsound Overdriver
-Apocalypse Audio Naga FuzzDrive
-Apocalypse Audio Dirty Boots V5
-Himmelstrutz Fetto
-BJF Emerald Green Distortion Machine
-ProCo Rat at minimum gain
-Any Fuzz Face circuit with guitar volume knob rolled back.
Edit. Can't believe I forgot my favorites
-SM/BS Mini
-Faitfield Barbershop

Haven't played any bad overdrive yet except for DBA Interstellar Overdiver which sounded like a over compressed and abused transistor radio.

[nocentelli]

Muadzin wrote

...using carefully selected and properly biased JFET's. Which is why I consider them such an rectal gain of pain. And that's excluding the fact that they've become either unobtainium, or you have to mess with SMD trannies and adapter boards.

Same, Ge transistors + diodes also.