A tale of two Drivetrain Pedals

After about 6 months of checking Ebay daily, I finally scored an old Reverend Drivetrain II pedal. I have been raving on this forum about the Visual Sound Garagetone Drivetrain for quite some time, and it is supposed to be based on (or an exact clone of) the Reverend Drivetrain II.

So I wanted to get the original to see how it stacked up against the "reissue" version. Here they are together...sorry about the crappy pic.

http://www.tdpri.com/telephoto/data/500/medium/DT-Pedals.jpg

I can tell you right off the bat they sound different. Not worlds apart, but different. I don't know if the difference is due to component tolerances, or differences in circuits or parts, or something else. I haven't spent enough time comparing them to give a detailed description (only about 2 hours).

Not sure which one I like better, but the DT2 seems to sound more natural right now (might just be the honeymoon phase!). The DT2 seems to have less fizzy "artifacts" than the Garagetone and sounds a bit more "rounded off" if that means anything. They both have similar drive characteristics, with the DT2 having slightly less available gain than the Garagetone.

Will try to get hold of a decent video cam some time soon and upload a shootout.

They look cool.

After about 6 months of checking Ebay daily, I finally scored an old Reverend Drivetrain II pedal.

Excellent! I've been pulling for you with your quest on this - glad it finally worked out.

Yours looks like it has the cool knobs from possibly close to the end of production - I remember seeing that style on someone's Hellhound. A pic of mine is below. Mine had really cheap looking Davies knockoffs, so I put a pair of more decent Davies with the Eagle style mini knobs that come on stuff like the Zendrive.

I can tell you right off the bat they sound different. Not worlds apart, but different. I don't know if the difference is due to component tolerances, or differences in circuits or parts, or something else.

Interesting that they sound as similar as they do. Mine has a linear taper level pot, and it gets loud early on the dial. That is one thing that I hope they changed with the Garagetone, and I believe they did.

Not sure which one I like better, but the DT2 seems to sound more natural right now...seems to have less fizzy "artifacts" than the Garagetone and sounds a bit more "rounded off" if that means anything. They both have similar drive characteristics, with the DT2 having slightly less available gain than the Garagetone.

Interesting that the DT2 seems to have less gain - mine has what seems to me to be a monstrous amount of gain, but I guess it's all relative to other pedals, and most of my traditional OD's just don't have grind like that.

I'm not big on 4+ knob pedals, but the DT2 is a good'un. I like that the bass and treble don't have a super obnoxious range.

Glad you finally pinned one down!

Excellent! I've been pulling for you with your quest on this - glad it finally worked out.

Yours looks like it has the cool knobs from possibly close to the end of production - I remember seeing that style on someone's Hellhound. A pic of mine is below. Mine had really cheap looking Davies knockoffs, so I put a pair of more decent Davies with the Eagle style mini knobs that come on stuff like the Zendrive.

Interesting that they sound as similar as they do. Mine has a linear taper level pot, and it gets loud early on the dial. That is one thing that I hope they changed with the Garagetone, and I believe they did.

Interesting that the DT2 seems to have less gain - mine has what seems to me to be a monstrous amount of gain, but I guess it's all relative to other pedals, and most of my traditional OD's just don't have grind like that.

I'm not big on 4+ knob pedals, but the DT2 is a good'un. I like that the bass and treble don't have a super obnoxious range.

Glad you finally pinned one down!

Well you don't want to know what I paid for it :oops:

Yes the volume knob on the DT2 has tons of gain compared to the Garagetone.

The amount of Drive is very similar, but in my case the Garagetone has a touch more...splitting hairs on this one really, they are close. They both seem to have more gain than a generic TS type pedal IMO.

The bass effect is very similar on both, nearly identical actually.

The treble is DEFINITELY the dividing point between the two. The Garagetone has some sort of high frequency that I cannot dial out. This doesn't bother me until I get in a situation where I have to crank out my amp...then it sizzles my eardrum a wee bit. I think the DT2 will be the winner because of the way it shapes the treble frequencies, I like it.

My pedal has the smooth cap install...does yours? Check here...

http://www.reverendguitars.com/reverend/archive/manuals_tech/tech_bulletin_5.html

IMO this pedal is the perfect match for single coils into a blackface amp.

JMHO

The treble is DEFINITELY the dividing point between the two. The Garagetone has some sort of high frequency that I cannot dial out. This doesn't bother me until I get in a situation where I have to crank out my amp...then it sizzles my eardrum a wee bit. I think the DT2 will be the winner because of the way it shapes the treble frequencies, I like it.

Since the GT is SMT, I wonder if the surface mount equivalent part(s) might be responsible for what you are hearing. Even the chips, which I don't typically think have much of an impact, could be a deciding factor in this. The DT2 uses a 4558 for the distortion/OD part and a TL072 for the EQ part.

My pedal has the smooth cap install...does yours?

It did. :wink: I cleaned mine up and ended up fixing wires that fell off, and moved that cap to a "permanent home" on the topside of the board. It also used tiny little mult-layer ceramic caps which are great in pedals that don't have a lot of room, so I replaced them all with common mylars. No tonal differences between the two IMO. If anything, the SMT caps and stock ceramics in the DT2 (because the SMT's are ceramic) kinda indicate that they sound good with whatever type is used.

Just be careful if you have it (totally) apart, especially because of the input and output wires. I recall that this was the reason VS moved production to China. They were claiming better build quality (all/mostly automated). If you paid a bit of a ransom for it, I could see how that might be aggravating (wires falling off).

The cool thing is the "pot tabs" - VS didn't remove them (most other times they are removed). They had the box drilled for them - visible on the left hand side of the pot/knob. Since the pots are board mounted with "pin mount standoffs" as opposed to flying leads, it helps keep them from shifting around and potentially flexing the circuitboard. And if the pot nuts come loose, it helps to keep them in place, too.

One of these days I mean to give the circuitboard a proper trace to see exactly how this one differs from other "TS extra" types of pedals. I commented on it being something of a "poor man's BB Pre," and there were similarities that I noted simply during cleanup.

...I think that part of the design was also derived from grafting together a Marshall Shredmaster (H side in the J&H) with a TS, just basically how some of the other gain stages are handled (a little differently from many drive boxes).

VS designs neat stuff, and Naylor was smart IMO to have them handle the DT2. I just really like pedals that I don't end up having to tweak for sonic reasons (I don't mind the maintenance part so much), and as you say yourself, this is a really good one.

The treble is DEFINITELY the dividing point between the two. The Garagetone has some sort of high frequency that I cannot dial out. This doesn't bother me until I get in a situation where I have to crank out my amp...then it sizzles my eardrum a wee bit. I think the DT2 will be the winner because of the way it shapes the treble frequencies, I like it.

That "sizzles my eardrum" comment concerns me - can you elaborate? And, did it bother you before you got the DT2 to compare it to? Any more trebly than your basic tube screamer?

Thanks.

That "sizzles my eardrum" comment concerns me - can you elaborate? And, did it bother you before you got the DT2 to compare it to? Any more trebly than your basic tube screamer?

Thanks.

First of all, I don't think you should let anything I say concern you :lol:. I have to put this in context for you...I'm anal retentive when it comes to pedals, it's in my nature to find something wrong however small it may be (Holy Grail quest and all...). The Garagetone Drivetrain is THE best TS-style pedal I've ever used for an "always on" type drive sound, and I've tried a LOT of different pedals. I call it a TS-style because it has a bit of mid hump, but I don't know if the circuit is actually a TS or not.

I can diss just about every pedal I own. I have never been "completely" satisfied with ANY pedal. So yes, the presence in this pedal bothered me a little bit even before comparing to the DT2, but frankly if that's the worst thing I can come up with then that's not bad at all...I'm sure most people wouldn't even notice.

I tried them both again tonight for a couple hours again. I dunno, I started liking the Garagetone more tonight for certain stuff. They are slightly different beasts, but still in the same ballpark. I noticed a bit more upper mids in the DT2 which beefs up some of the higher notes, and there's a touch more compression to my ears. The Garagetone sounded maybe a tad more scooped and open in comparison, but again, very slightly.

I did try stacking them...with less than stellar results. The gain became sputtery which I hate (which is why I couldn't bond with my Boss OD-3 for example). But I goosed the DT2 with my Klon clone and WOW...almost "Dumble Overdrive Special" territory...very smooth and compressed but still articulate.

I really should stop reviewing pedals before I've gigged with them. :mrgreen: Unfortunately the band is having a dry spell this year.

Having owned a couple original Drivetrains, the VS Garagetone model and the Xotic BB Preamp, which is supposedly another clone of the Drivetrain, I have to say that I liked the BB the best of all of them, mostly for the clean construction and smaller size.
They all sounded VERY similar to my ears, the taper of the pots on the Garagetone seemed a bit different.

Thanks Chris.

So it's been over a year since I updated this thread. I have had the original DT2 on my board ever since. I just love it in between my 60s style Strat and my Fender 4x10 Concert. Think Hendrix/Kotzen/Bramhall, et al.

I still think the Garagetone Drivetrain is a fantastic "bang for the buck" OD pedal...but the original DT2 wins in a live setting...it has no unnatural sounding artifacts at all once dialed in correctly.

I still have my Caline OD as a stacking pedal for compressed leads...and they sound great together IMHO.

YMMV.

So it's been over a year since I updated this thread. I have had the original DT2 on my board ever since. I just love it in between my 60s style Strat and my Fender 4x10 Concert. Think Hendrix/Kotzen/Bramhall, et al.

I still think the Garagetone Drivetrain is a fantastic "bang for the buck" OD pedal...but the original DT2 wins in a live setting...it has no unnatural sounding artifacts at all once dialed in correctly.

I still have my Caline OD as a stacking pedal for compressed leads...and they sound great together IMHO.

YMMV.

Awesome!! Been eyeing the GT Drivetrain for a while now..

Can you use it as a stand alone drive? Are the knobs flimsy when you turn them?

Awesome!! Been eyeing the GT Drivetrain for a while now..

Can you use it as a stand alone drive? Are the knobs flimsy when you turn them?

Yes I think it excels as a stand alone drive, there is a decent amount on tap...just take the time to dial in the right amount of bass/treble for your rig and you will be rewarded with the results.

The knobs on the Garagetone Drivetrain work fine but they do turn easily with little resistance and they can be knocked out of position fairly easily. I fixed that by cutting some small pieces of foam and placed them under the knobs to add resistance. Now they stay put.

The original Reverend Drivetrain II (which I prefer) doesn't have that problem.