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Which OD pedal should I get?

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lincolnbluelincolnblue Frets: 294
edited January 2018 in FX
For ages I have only had one overdrive pedal. I have swapped and changed a lot but ended up with the EHX Soul Food which is great. I have a Laney Cub 10 amp and like my amp to be clean with pedals providing the gain. I mainly play in church and so my requirements are not too dirty gain wise. I want to have 2 drives - the Soul Food for cleaner drives/boost and then something to either stack with it or use instead of to give me slightly heavier gain sounds. I'm not talking distortion or fuzz, but just a good overdrive.Think John Mayer sort of tones.

I have no problems with buying used and think my budget will be around £50-60. I did come across the Nine Volt Surfing Bear but not sure what opinions are of that? I am after something like the King of Tone but obviously not that expensive (I am on the waiting list though (!) )

Any suggestions of what is worth looking at? 
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Comments

  • XVive Golden Brownie is in your budget and seems to get a lot of love- it's a JCM flavoured "Marshall In A Box".

    The Nine Volt Surfing Bear is basically a tubescreamer as I understand it, so might not be all that different from your Soul Food (which isn't necessarily a bad thing).

    Don't talk politics and don't throw stones. Your royal highnesses.

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  • Winny_PoohWinny_Pooh Frets: 7731
    KOTs are a bit fizzy. Try the Guvnor2
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  • Snouse Blackbox
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  • You do realise every post will provide a different answer? 
    The Bigsby was the first successful design of what is now called a whammy bar or tremolo arm, although vibrato is the technically correct term for the musical effect it produces. In standard usage, tremolo is a rapid fluctuation of the volume of a note, while vibrato is a fluctuation in pitch. The origin of this nonstandard usage of the term by electric guitarists is attributed to Leo Fender, who also used the term “vibrato” to refer to what is really a tremolo effect.
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  • Something like a KOT? - you could try the Tone City King of Blues ? 
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  • Fishboy7Fishboy7 Frets: 2178
    Boss blues driver? In budget and Mayer uses one I think. 
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  • solarsolar Frets: 166
    Mayer's tone (at least in the early days) is closely associated with the Marshall Blue Breaker Mk I. They are pretty expensive now, so a Snouse Blackbox (as suggested by @colourofsound) or - within your budget - the Mooer Blues Crab. I've A/Bed the Blues Crab against the original Marshall and it's essentially indistinguishable. My Marshall stays safely at home and the Blues Crab is on the gigging board :)
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  • steersteer Frets: 1159
    Any one of a thousand Tube Screamer clones - or even an actual Tubscreamer? 

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  • kurtrowe2000kurtrowe2000 Frets: 22
    edited January 2018
    There’s a load of decent overdrive pedals about and it’s a bit of a journey. I’ve had a T-REX Michael Angelo Batio overdrive, Ibanez mini tube screamer, bad monkey, Ibanez TS808, Blackstar tube o/d to name a few. My current overdrive is the Maxon VOP9 and it is a truely special overdrive. Check it out. 
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  • EricTheWearyEricTheWeary Frets: 16253
    XVive Golden Brownie is in your budget and seems to get a lot of love- it's a JCM flavoured "Marshall In A Box".

    The Nine Volt Surfing Bear is basically a tubescreamer as I understand it, so might not be all that different from your Soul Food (which isn't necessarily a bad thing).

    The SB is a fatter voiced TS from what I've seen. Sometimes TSs or Blues Drivers can sound very boxy through small combos so a fatter one or one with a bass control ( like the Garagetone Drivetrain ) probably isn't a terrible idea. 
    Tipton is a small fishing village in the borough of Sandwell. 
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  • Mark1985Mark1985 Frets: 234
    Have you tried the nobels odr-1? Nice warm phat od with tons of gain if you need it. Definitely worth a look!
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  • stickyfiddlestickyfiddle Frets: 26749
    The Surfing Bear is a "breathed on" Tubscreamer circuit, and stacks nicely with a Klon (ie your Soul Food) for the Mayer solo tone thing. It would well for what you're after
    The Assumptions - UAE party band for all your rock & soul desires
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  • Snouse Blackbox
    This.
    Trading feedback | FS: Nothing right now
    JM build | Pedalboard plans
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  • CabicularCabicular Frets: 2214
    It’s difficult.. there is a real lack of options on the overdrive market but if you were really pushed maybe an OCD second hand
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  • Cabicular said:
    It’s difficult.. there is a real lack of options on the overdrive market
    True.  You'd think some enterprising person would take an existing circuit, make a couple of minor mods and sell the result.  It can't be that hard.  And if more people got on board, just imagine the exciting panoply of choices we might one day have.
    Trading feedback | FS: Nothing right now
    JM build | Pedalboard plans
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  • Danny1969Danny1969 Frets: 10356
    I'm looking myself at the moment and having watched a shit load of demos I think it really hinges on what amp your gonna use it with. I personally don't think any of them sound great through a totally clean amp .... you can hear some elements of the guitar signal are clipped and some aren't through a totally clean amp whether if you use the overdrive to further push a slightly dirty amp that effect isn't as apparent. 
    I think I'm gonna build a Timmy and modify it a bit ... that's a pretty good starting point where overdrives are concerned 
    www.2020studios.co.uk 
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  • Tc mojo. Good for blues leads. Have one if you want it

    Instagram is Rocknrollismyescape -

    FOR SALE - Catalinbread Echorec, Sonic Blue classic player strat and a Digitech bad monkey

     

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  • AlvinAlvin Frets: 412
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  • KebabkidKebabkid Frets: 3301
    Ibanez TS Mini - cheap and decent.

    Use it on its own for a JM type sound or stack it with your Soul Food for something bigger.

    Also, whatever pedal you choose, if you are going stack, experiment with the placement.
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  • Maxon VOP9. Like a tube screamer but better. 
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