EHX Soul Food query

HAL9000

Liking the look of this but am concerned that it's probably more of a boost than an overdrive, so not sure how well it will work with a solid state amp. Anyone given it a go?

hotpickups

HAL9000 said:

Liking the look of this but am concerned that it's probably more of a boost than an overdrive, so not sure how well it will work with a solid state amp. Anyone given it a go?

I've just bought one here recently but haven't tried it out yet. However, I do have a valve amp so not sure I can help you once I rig it up etc. What I can say is that I mainly bought it for what it's designed for really i.e. to push the amp harder/a clean boost. I was looking for a similar pedal to my Lazy J Cruiser to go on another small board but without the hefty price tag. The Soul Food does seem to fit the cruiser description to a degree. I prefer the natural overdrive of an amp rather than dirt pedals really

not_the_dj

With my amp I did use it as a boost, but I also tried it into my digital Yamaha THR10 and it sounded pretty good into that at low gain settings

EricTheWeary

Which SS amp? I've used my SF into a Valvetronix okay as a general warmer upper for single coils. My little Mustang combo hates anything with too much output so not really worth it in front of that.
Most SS or digital amps react different to valve amps so you probably can't use it to push your amp, you will hear the pedal rather than the amp being pushed.
Back really to my rant the other day about Boss Blues Drivers ( and this also applies to a lot of TS users) - OD pedals are horses for courses and these are pedals designed with a specific use/ course in mind. Put them on a different course you can use them but the outcome of the race won't be the same.

Dave_Mc

I haven't tried it with an SS amp but it definitely does overdrive (generated by the pedal itself) as well as boost. I'd say it's gainier than a tubescreamer, for example. It reminds me a bit of my joyo ultimate drive (allegedly an OCD clone) in terms of the amount of pedal-generated overdrive available.

dogload

It does do overdrive into a SS amp (Peavey Classic Chorus 130 here) but it gets used more with my valve Selmer and Laney amps. To be honest, like most people, I think it sounds a bit better with a valve amp- it seems to have more 'depth' to thwe sound. 

I do tend to use it as a clean boost. It does fulfill this role very well... and I'm almost ashamed to admit that it stays on most of the time.

HAL9000

Thanks all. The amp is a Cube 80XL, usually played clean or with a just a smidgen of overdrive. I've heard samples of the Soul Food on YouTube etc and it sounds nice and transparent which would probably suit quite well. Just need to go and try one out somewhere.

hotpickups

Plugged mine in today and must say for the money it is really good. Perfect for my needs I.e. Pushing an already overdriving valve amp. Not as good as my cruiser but over quarter of the price very gigable indeed

Dave_Mc

^^ Just bear in mind- I think it gets less transparent as the gain goes up. Obviously to a certain extent that's self-evident, but the tone of the thing changes too- it's pretty flat in the EQ when used as a clean boost but less so if using it as an overdrive.

suspiciousminds

Its a cracking little pedal - i've added a switch to mine along with germanium diodes to i can flick between stock and ge, and it sounds great.