- Build Rating
When I first started this hobby and began ordering from PedalPCB, I was immediately sold on the boards that fit the pre-drilled enclosures from Tayda (indeed, drilling was a struggle then...still is at times lol), so I bought boards I may not have been super hyped about but figured would be a good way for me to get a good start at some successful builds. I had heard of Barber overdrives, even that Ry Cooder was fond of them, (although I have no hard evidence to back up that claim). Hence, my reasons for the purchase of the Silver board, which had sat in my pile for quite some time.
I didn't really get the itch to build it (even though I had the pre-drilled enclosure ready to go) until I saw @Route14's post on how he modded it to sound more like the original. After reading this I was intrigued; I have never played an actual Barber to compare this build to, but the passion @Route14 showed for it and the reasoning behind his mods sold me on getting this done and seeing what it was all about. The only thing I did differently was add a Silver Mica, which I did just because I have a bunch.
It is indeed a "transparent" overdrive, and I compared it with my Mach 1 and Timmy clone to see how it stacked up and it certainly held its own. Nothing has defeated my Mach 1 when it comes to these types of overdrives, but the modded Silver has a unique brightness to it (as @Route14 also states in post) that makes it stand out. This even kind of fed into the Ry Cooder rumor for me, as this "bright" sound would seem to fit his style of play. This pedal definitely has its uses for me in that regard and would fit well into a country or slide style rig. The tone knob covers an interesting range and the trimmers make this pedal perfect for those who really like to tweak things.
I tried something new and printed out an Avery decal on my laser printer just for giggles. As you can see, it's not ideal (poor measurement on my part) and even with clear coat it looks a bit off color from the rest of the enclosure. That being said, I think it looks good enough for personal use and will probably try this again with a white enclosure to see how it looks with colors other than black.
I highly recommend this overdrive for those who love classics, transparent overdrives, and are interested in this unique brightness I speak of. 5 stars with @Route14's mods. That being said, I have nothing to compare it to (original Barber or stock PPCB build doc board), so keep that in mind. Take a look at his post and build away!
I didn't really get the itch to build it (even though I had the pre-drilled enclosure ready to go) until I saw @Route14's post on how he modded it to sound more like the original. After reading this I was intrigued; I have never played an actual Barber to compare this build to, but the passion @Route14 showed for it and the reasoning behind his mods sold me on getting this done and seeing what it was all about. The only thing I did differently was add a Silver Mica, which I did just because I have a bunch.
It is indeed a "transparent" overdrive, and I compared it with my Mach 1 and Timmy clone to see how it stacked up and it certainly held its own. Nothing has defeated my Mach 1 when it comes to these types of overdrives, but the modded Silver has a unique brightness to it (as @Route14 also states in post) that makes it stand out. This even kind of fed into the Ry Cooder rumor for me, as this "bright" sound would seem to fit his style of play. This pedal definitely has its uses for me in that regard and would fit well into a country or slide style rig. The tone knob covers an interesting range and the trimmers make this pedal perfect for those who really like to tweak things.
I tried something new and printed out an Avery decal on my laser printer just for giggles. As you can see, it's not ideal (poor measurement on my part) and even with clear coat it looks a bit off color from the rest of the enclosure. That being said, I think it looks good enough for personal use and will probably try this again with a white enclosure to see how it looks with colors other than black.
I highly recommend this overdrive for those who love classics, transparent overdrives, and are interested in this unique brightness I speak of. 5 stars with @Route14's mods. That being said, I have nothing to compare it to (original Barber or stock PPCB build doc board), so keep that in mind. Take a look at his post and build away!
