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Hey guys,
I'm looking for some pointers in the direction of a new OD to try. I spent most of the weekend trying all the different pedals I own, in different places in my chain, to try and find the best combination of what I've currently got.
I'm fairly happy with most of what I have on my board now, I've taken off a couple of pedals so my board is less cluttered too. What I feel like I'm missing is a tight and warm overdrive to give me a gain boost into my amp channel, and the last OD in my pedal chain. I've currently got a Dano TOD V1 and also a Tim clone, which both sound good. They sound really good in fact, but I feel that when I try to give them a bit more bottom end or more gain, my sound becomes a bit flabby.
I've got a Kingslayer Klon clone, which is much tighter, but doesn't have much mids/bottom end.
What can people suggest I have a look at?
I'm using a Marshall JVM as my amp, low/medium gain and the last OD pedal I have is a Wampler Ace Thirty set to edge of breakup. Love them both on their own, just need something warm to give me more gain, but keeps the low end tight and responsive, and ideally maybe tweakable on it's own as opposed to a "tone" knob
I also have a modded SD1 that sounds decent, but was beaten by the Tim clone
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Comments
Are you wanting a low-gain drive to go into a clean amp? If so maybe an MXR Distortion3 (ignore the name) and set it fairly low. Failing that, a Marshall Guv'nor Mk1, or 2, Shredmaster would again do nicely.
If you want a gain/volume boost into a dirty amp, personally I like a Bad Monkey, or an SD-1. Although an MXR Zakk Wylde OD is pretty similar to the SD-1 (basically the same circuit IIRC).
Ringleader of the Cambridge cartel, pedal champ and king of the dirt boxes (down to 21)
For some smooth uberfuzz the Boss Heavy Metal (strange but true), or Little Big Muff Pi - Think Isley Bros Summer Breeze, or Edwin Collins' Never Met a Girl Like You Before
Feedback
Whilst a great pedal, I totally agree with @Hymnal. The HotCake is one of the most marmite pedals around and for what they cost I would either try or buy second hand with a view to shifting on if it's not for you.
Band Stuff: https://navigationofficial.bandcamp.com/album/silhouette-ep
So, Ive got my Ace Thirty set on the edge of breakup, and my JVM is on low/medium crunch gain (probably fairly low, going by how much gain the amp has).
I think my issue is, that I'm trying to find ONE pedal that will work well with both, whereas befoe I was using one pedal to boost the Wampler, and one to boost the Marshall.
I tried my SD-1 and it worked fairly well with the Marshall, but just not as good as the Tim - it just didn't have the tweakability. The seperate bass/treble knobs worked better for scultping what I wanted to hear.
My Klon worked brilliantly with the Marshall and very well with the Wampler, but again, I was looking for slightly more control.
You know, I've got a modded Guv'nor 2 and never even thought to try it!! I know this should sound great into the JVM, but the jury is out on how well it will work with the Wampler.
I'd prefer a smoother OD than fizzy/fuzzy - something that lets me retain a lot of the characteristics of the amp/pedal that it's boosting
i've tried a fwe TS variants, but not since i've had the JVM. I did use a Boiling Point for a while, but was using it as a stand alone OD, rather than for boosting purposes.
I've also just realised that I could have tried using my Dr. Scientist Elements to boost them and see how they sounded, but I've got that set up for my fuzzy tones at the moment, and I don't like to change things up too much with pedal settings. I prefer having each one for a dedicated job, as it's too easy to forget to alter the settings when playing live!
Band Stuff: https://navigationofficial.bandcamp.com/album/silhouette-ep
Well, I wondered whether it was the clone I have, is maybe not 100% correct match to the actual Tim.
When I say flabby, it's not OVERLY noticeable, and I'm betting most folk wouldn't notice it at all. It's just that it wasn't as tight as the Kingslayer, which I liked.
The Tim is currently at the end of my chain, before the Ace Thirty, as I want it to be pushing this pedal. Although I guess with the Tim being transparent, it might work after it too.
Pedals I tried - Tim Clone, Kingslayer OD, modded SD-1, OCD, EP Boost clone, Dano TOD V1, Box Of Rock
I'll give it a bash!
I've also wondered about moving my compressor to the end of my chain too........