where to go from here? (drive pedal blues)

S

slowpogo

Active member
I love trying and building new pedals, but I've reached a point where I'm kind of at a loss with drives. It feels like I've tried most things and anything else will just be a slight variation of something I've already played.

Below is an exhaustive list of all drive circuits I have owned, either original pedals or DIY builds (bold are currently on my board). As you can see it covers lots of ground.

Can anyone spot a hole in my drive history? something worth trying that will be at least somewhat different from what's on this list? (preferably available at pedalpcb of course)

Boss BD2, DS1
DOD 250
EHX Soul Food
ss/bs Fuck, Team Awesome Fuzz Machine, Buzzz, Mini
EAE Halberd v2, Longsword, Limelight v2, Model FET, Dagger
Greer Lightspeed
Fairfield Barbershop V2
Ibanez MOStortion
1981 DRV
Devi Ever Hyperion
SUF Astoria (Rams Head Muff)
JHS Crimson, @, Morning Glory, Solo Boost
Crowther Hot Cake
Sarno Earth Drive
Shnobel Daily Driver
Zero G IOD Algernon (Turbo RAT)
DOD Looking Glass, Carcosa
Tone Bender mk3
Yellowcake Furry Burrito
TAPE Audio Two
Fulltone Full-Drive 2 Mosfet
Swamp Witch Silver Birch
Black Mass Missionary Fuzz V2
FuzzHugger Algal Bloom
Mythos Golden Fleece
OBNE Alpha Haunt
Beetronics OctaHive
Kasleder Toxic Twins
 
scheffehcs said:
I love the Boss OD-3.

Not familiar with all the pedals on your list, but I don’t see an Nobels ODR-1 style pedal on there. I’m a fan of that one too.
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Agree on the Nobels ODR-1! Really a wide range on tap, from light, spanky OD, to full distortion. The only mod I'd add (which the ODR-1 reissue includes) is a bass cut switch. As you boost the tone, not only does it get brighter, but also bassier - the bass cut keeps that in check.

And another fantastic pedal is the Barber Direct Drive.

But, as I'm sure you're finding with so many builds, a lot of them start to sound the same, or quite similar. As much as I love building ODs and distortion pedals, you kind of get to a point of diminishing returns, in terms of finding something truly unique.
 
While I would recommend the Dane, Horse Meat (it really is worth building IMO) and the Mojito, for me most of the fun comes from taking a circuit which comes close to what you really want and tweaking it until it is what you really want. This of course assumes that you have a sound that you're chasing in your head.

Simple examples might be adding a bass pot to a Rat or Expandora. Doing that opens up a whole host of new sounds.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions, certainly some intriguing things to explore. I forgot to put the Nobels ODR1 on the list, it was actually the first pedal I ever built (the AionFX version). Definitely a good one, I should revisit it.
 
Box of Rock
Timmy
Zen Drive
Tube Screamer (and the superior SD-1)
Red Snapper
Red Llama
EHX Hot Tubes
Barber Gain Changer


I'm sure I could think of a couple more, but that was just some classics off the top of my head
 
Brett said:
@slowpogo, can you try to describe what it is that you aren't getting with the drives that you've tried?
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That's not really the issue, I love many of the drives on my list and am not in need of anything in particular. I just love the exploration of trying new things, and was wondering what holes I might still have in my "pedal curriculum"
 
slowpogo said:
That's not really the issue, I love many of the drives on my list and am not in need of anything in particular. I just love the exploration of trying new things, and was wondering what holes I might still have in my "pedal curriculum"
Click to expand...
I assumed that you were looking for something you couldn't find when you stated:
slowpogo said:
but I've reached a point where I'm kind of at a loss with drives
Click to expand...

The overdrive rabbit hole is a deep one. I haven't tried many of those you've listed but of the drives I have tried, some of the standouts were:

Providence SOV-2 (Free the Tone Custom Shop Version)
I picked this one up on Guitar Center's website in the used section for $120 if I recall correctly. They didn't know what they had. I'm not sure how much it differs from the regular Providence SOV-2, but this drive was incredibly special. I regret selling it but when I saw they were fetching upwards of $400 on the used market, I just couldn't justify keeping it. Some say the Providence SOV-2 is just a beefed up tube screamer but it definitely had its own thing going on. Very dynamic and powerful. Not a transparent pedal but it sounded very amp-like. PedalPCB has a board for the Providence SOV-2 with a more user-friendly power supply (the original used a stupid expensive Murata DC converter to get +-15VDC). I haven't tried the PedalPCB version yet but I'd imagine it probably the same or at least very close to the one I had.
- PCB is available here: https://www.pedalpcb.com/product/bullrush/

Free the Tone String Slinger
This one also has something special going on that's hard to pin down. The EQ on this one is a smidge more defined in the lower mids and takes a minute to get dialed in, but it's also very dynamic and feels great to play. If I recall correctly, I think it was @Dan0h that mentioned also really enjoying this one. PedalPCB has this project available as the Comprehensive Drive.
- PCB is available here: https://www.pedalpcb.com/product/pcb423/
My build report: https://forum.pedalpcb.com/threads/comprehensive-drive.8107/#post-72658

Mad Professor Royal Blue Overdrive
This one is new to me so I may just be in the "honeymoon phase", but it has a lot of the characteristics that I find desirable. It's powerful, retains bass, and is super dynamic. @Robert says that this one shares some similarity to the Zen Drive but with eq changes. I like the Zen Drive, but this one seems less "woolly" and feels a bit more dynamic, both of which are good things.
- PCB is available here: https://www.pedalpcb.com/product/pcb517/
My build report: https://forum.pedalpcb.com/threads/...ive-mad-professor-royal-blue-overdrive.15473/

Barber Electronics Gain Changer SR
As @cdwillis mentioned above, this is an excellent overdrive to try if you haven't tried one. David Barber did a wonderful job tuning this circuit and between the toggle switches, you have a huge range of gain and EQ to shape your breakup. Unfortunately, @Robert doesn't yet have a PCB for this one, but you owe it to yourself to try this one if you haven't already. According to Mr. Barber, the Gain Changer is supposed to be more "American/Fender breakup" sound and the Direct Drive is supposed to be more "British/Marshall breakup" sound. Barber also makes the Burn Unit which is supposed to be a bit more "raw" sounding and capture the Dumble tones better. The first two you'd have to either perfboard yourself or buy the commercial version. If you're interested in the Burn Unit, PedalPCB has a board for the Small Fry Burn Unit that you may be interested in trying. It's not exactly the same as the current production Burn Unit, but it should get you very close.

scheffehcs said:
I love the Boss OD-3.
Click to expand...
cdwillis said:
Timmy
Click to expand...
These are great recommendation as well. The OD-3 is one of only a few commercial pedals I own that have not been modified and still gets used from time to time. The Timmy is also one that is often imitated or copied by boutique manufacturers because it's such a solid drive. I don't currently have one, but I still strongly recommend trying one if you haven't already.

There are so many options available for overdrives. I'd really like to try some of the current high-voltage valve-based overdrives myself.

Good luck! I hope that you find what you're looking for!
 
Sorry if my post was unclear, what I hoped to convey in context was “at a loss with what to try next because it feels like I’ve tried most everything.”

Anyway thanks for the detailed recs! lots to investigate.
 
Brett said:
I assumed that you were looking for something you couldn't find when you stated:


The overdrive rabbit hole is a deep one. I haven't tried many of those you've listed but of the drives I have tried, some of the standouts were:

Providence SOV-2 (Free the Tone Custom Shop Version)
I picked this one up on Guitar Center's website in the used section for $120 if I recall correctly. They didn't know what they had. I'm not sure how much it differs from the regular Providence SOV-2, but this drive was incredibly special. I regret selling it but when I saw they were fetching upwards of $400 on the used market, I just couldn't justify keeping it. Some say the Providence SOV-2 is just a beefed up tube screamer but it definitely had its own thing going on. Very dynamic and powerful. Not a transparent pedal but it sounded very amp-like. PedalPCB has a board for the Providence SOV-2 with a more user-friendly power supply (the original used a stupid expensive Murata DC converter to get +-15VDC). I haven't tried the PedalPCB version yet but I'd imagine it probably the same or at least very close to the one I had.
- PCB is available here: https://www.pedalpcb.com/product/bullrush/

Free the Tone String Slinger
This one also has something special going on that's hard to pin down. The EQ on this one is a smidge more defined in the lower mids and takes a minute to get dialed in, but it's also very dynamic and feels great to play. If I recall correctly, I think it was @Dan0h that mentioned also really enjoying this one. PedalPCB has this project available as the Comprehensive Drive.
- PCB is available here: https://www.pedalpcb.com/product/pcb423/
My build report: https://forum.pedalpcb.com/threads/comprehensive-drive.8107/#post-72658

Mad Professor Royal Blue Overdrive
This one is new to me so I may just be in the "honeymoon phase", but it has a lot of the characteristics that I find desirable. It's powerful, retains bass, and is super dynamic. @Robert says that this one shares some similarity to the Zen Drive but with eq changes. I like the Zen Drive, but this one seems less "woolly" and feels a bit more dynamic, both of which are good things.
- PCB is available here: https://www.pedalpcb.com/product/pcb517/
My build report: https://forum.pedalpcb.com/threads/...ive-mad-professor-royal-blue-overdrive.15473/

Barber Electronics Gain Changer SR
As @cdwillis mentioned above, this is an excellent overdrive to try if you haven't tried one. David Barber did a wonderful job tuning this circuit and between the toggle switches, you have a huge range of gain and EQ to shape your breakup. Unfortunately, @Robert doesn't yet have a PCB for this one, but you owe it to yourself to try this one if you haven't already. According to Mr. Barber, the Gain Changer is supposed to be more "American/Fender breakup" sound and the Direct Drive is supposed to be more "British/Marshall breakup" sound. Barber also makes the Burn Unit which is supposed to be a bit more "raw" sounding and capture the Dumble tones better. The first two you'd have to either perfboard yourself or buy the commercial version. If you're interested in the Burn Unit, PedalPCB has a board for the Small Fry Burn Unit that you may be interested in trying. It's not exactly the same as the current production Burn Unit, but it should get you very close.



These are great recommendation as well. The OD-3 is one of only a few commercial pedals I own that have not been modified and still gets used from time to time. The Timmy is also one that is often imitated or copied by boutique manufacturers because it's such a solid drive. I don't currently have one, but I still strongly recommend trying one if you haven't already.

There are so many options available for overdrives. I'd really like to try some of the current high-voltage valve-based overdrives myself.

Good luck! I hope that you find what you're looking for!
Click to expand...
Dang it @Brett my wishlist just magically grew even longer.......
 
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