NPsD: Overdrive and Doubler

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I've been using my Blackstar HT Dual Overdrive (the one with a valve in it), off and on, for years and have always got some great crunch from it.
But it does have 3 drawbacks.
1. It's a large footprint on the pedal board.
2. It needs it's own power supply, many volts required.
3. It's chrome knobs, with little black dots on, are bloody hard to see.
So I decided to try and replace it, with a non valve, 2 button, overdrive pedal.
When I tried out my most recent acquisition, a Duesenberg Joe walsh, I played it through a MXR EVH pedal, with some nice results.
The obvious replacement was Blackstar's other 2 button overdrive, the LT Dual.
A solid state version of the HT Dual, with all the same controls.
With the exception of the LT only having a tone control, whereas the HT has bass, middle and treble.
And like it's big brother, the LT has Ch1 for lighter crunch and Ch2 for more saturated crunch.

But I couldn't just try out one pedal.
So I also had fun with an EHX Operation Overlord and an EHX Tortion.
Both these EXH pedals are very good, with nice looks and some great sounds.
Unfortunately, neither could get that really heavy rock and into metal crunch.
Though the Tortion got closest.
I do however intend to try and pick up the Operation Overlord, in the future.
It may not have the range I was looking for but it has some great, amp like, dirty sounds, I would love to have fun with.
So it was the Blackstar LT Dual I came home with.
The cheapest of the 3 I tried.
It is so close to the HT Dual, without the 3 drawbacks.
What this pedal lacks in looks, it more than makes up for in twin channel, crunching mayhem.
It only lacks in a tiny bit of valve warmth and girth.
But if anything, it sounds a little nicer than the HT on very mild crunch and seems to get a tiny bit more saturated, at the top end of channel 2.

The second pedal I picked up was TC Electronic's MIMIQ Mini Doubler.
An automatic double tracking pedal, that lets you adjust how accurate the double tracking is, as well as the dry and effected levels.
I have to say, when I first switched it on, I was rather disappointed.
You seem to get a tiny drop in level and what sounds like a very speedy, single repeat.
It took me a while to find a sound I liked.
You have to tune your ear in to what's going on and find the sweet spot, for your guitar/amp, with all 3 control knobs.
Happily, after a lot of frowns, I got there and found out the effect I'd been looking for.
It has to be said, that to my ears, it sounds a lot more convincing with heavy crunch.
I read in one review, that once you switched it on, you'd want to leave it on, all the time.
I don't agree.
It's definitely there to give a thick 2 guitar sound but just once in a while.
Probably a little more than I use my Sub N Up octaver but not on all of the time.

So overall, the Blackstar LT Dual surpassed my expectations.
The Mimiq wasn't quite what I was hoping but will prove a useful addition, to my FX arsenal.

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