The best drive pedals are the classics!

timmysoft

After probably blowing the best part of £600-£800 on drive pedals the last few years, i've come to the conclusion that its the classic designs that are still the best.

Rat2

MXR D+

Boss SD1 & DS1

Ibanez TS9

Marshall Guv'nor (mk1)

I've owned things like Suhrs, LovePedals, Fulltones but for me nothing really gets close to the classics! Now i just need to find the classic delay, reverb and wah and i'll be set. I think the whole "boutique" thing has got a bit out of hand and for someone like me, a touring musician, the availability of the mass produced classic pedals is a real bonus. I know that on the road i can easily pick up one of these units for under £100 in most decent guitar shops.

Anyone else gone through the same journey?

frankus

Thing is ... what pickups are you using? I find a massive (read mahoosive) difference between single coils and humbuckers.

mike_l

frankus said:

Thing is ... what pickups are you using? I find a massive (read mahoosive) difference between single coils and humbuckers.

And from different pickups of the same type (S/C or 'bucker)

digitalscream

I disagree...as the current owner of an AMT C-2, and an ex-owner of a Bogner Ecstasy Red, I haven't heard anything that comes close for drive on its own.

The Valvesporker 2 was my favourite overdrive pedal, though, so I guess I kinda come down on the TS side of things. Ish.

timmysoft

i use both, my touring guitars over the past two years have all had a humbucker in the bridge and a p90 in the neck. Spend most of my time on the bridge though

menamestom

It's not so much that the modern alternatives need to be boutique, but why would most people not prefer a tube screamer with a better EQ or a boss SD-1 with a better bypass (be it decent buffered or true bypass). All they are are refined classic designs anyway.

Look, here's an improvement over a TS 9 for £55

http://www.gak.co.uk/en/hardwire-cm-2-tube-overdrive/19836?gclid=COT_pNbetLsCFa3KtAodwCAANg

And here's a real TS9 for double the price

http://www.gak.co.uk/en/ibanez-ts9-tube-screamer/3535
Which one is better value?

Another advantage of some of the modern versions is that they often work better at lower volume and suit the home player more.

timmysoft

I'm not into the whole, "home player/low volume" thing, when i practice or write at home i have a little Crate GX15r amp that does the job just fine, it doesnt need to be as quality as my touring rig because nobody else ever hears it!

I like old buffers, i dont really see them as a problem. My DS-1 isnt true bypass and i believe they're still dirt cheap to buy! There are a lot of TS clones/copies out there but i've yet to find one that actually sounds exactly like a TS9, doesnt matter if its cheaper or more expensive, if i want the TS9 sound, i'll buy a TS9!

koss59

I agree to a certain extent, although my old Fulldrive 2 isn't going anywhere, nothing can beat that.

gusman2x

For me, the boutique pedals matter to me more whe I'm playing in my bedroom. When I play with the band, a RAT or a Muff do the job more than adequately. But at home I just think they're a bit meh. The differnce in tone can in some cases be undeniable, but once you're in a band mix (especially live), then I think the impact of the distinction is greatly diluted.

frankus

but that's just an SD-1 isn't it?

guitarfishbay

This is basically how I feel about all gear.

The standards are already well established, widely available, and have been 'road tested' by many people before.  If something functioned poorly or was unreliable you'd know about it.  If you just want stuff that works and sounds good I don't really think there is a lot of merit in going 'off piste', unless you know why the standards don't work for you and what you want from something alternative.

menamestom

timmysoft said:

I'm not into the whole, "home player/low volume" thing, when i practice or write at home i have a little Crate GX15r amp that does the job just fine, it doesnt need to be as quality as my touring rig because nobody else ever hears it!

I like old buffers, i dont really see them as a problem. My DS-1 isnt true bypass and i believe they're still dirt cheap to buy! There are a lot of TS clones/copies out there but i've yet to find one that actually sounds exactly like a TS9, doesnt matter if its cheaper or more expensive, if i want the TS9 sound, i'll buy a TS9!

Some old buffers are fine but the SD1 is terrible.  I think the DS1 is okay.  I'm not fussed about true bypass and don't listen too closely but some of the classic pedals change your bypass tone significantly.  I remember in the 90's having a pile of pedals that I could only use for recording (SD1, Micro Synthesizer, Crybaby etc), but not you can have modified versions that get round it, which is not a bad thing IMO.

With regards to the 'TS9 sound', I don't think there is one sound for every TS9, depends on when it was made and the components used.  Some builders are trying to recreate the earlier versions rather than the reissues which use different chips.  My point being is the many of the boutique builders started out becuase Ibanez couldn't make a TS9 pedal that sounded like a TS9! 

This is interesting http://www.analogman.com/tshist.htm

koss59

frankus said:

but that's just an SD-1 isn't it?

Not sure if that was aimed at me about the Fulldrive. I believe it was based on the SD-1 originally but it doesn't really sound the same, I also use it only in comp cut mode which an sd-1 can't do and it doesn't have a boost.

Dave_Mc

I wouldn't say the only good pedals are the classics (there are at least a couple I really like which aren't), but I do agree that most of the classics (the ones I've tried, anyway) are classics for a reason.

Babones

I agree. When not getting dirt/drive from my amp, my favourite drive pedals are an old 1978 MXR D+ (or the vintage script logo RI) and a WFRAT RI.

stickyfiddle

Has there been a drive pedal since the Timmy/Zen that's considered (or even a contender to be) a classic?

Axe_meister

Klon?

frankus

Freakish Blues Alpha Drive?

Dave_Mc

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ThePrettyDamned

Jan ray