OD/Distortion pedal for smaller BF amps

[stratohiker]

I'm getting a BFPR clone in a month or so. And later I may get a Vibrolux clone as well. Since I've been using channel switching amps for years, the only pedal I have for this is an Analog Man modded Maxon Sonic Distortion (which is a good sounding pedal for sure but...). I was wondering what others' opinions are on what would work well for these amps. I'm goin' for the range of OD up to medium to medium lower distortion. No high gain desired. Playing everything from country to classic rock & blues of course. I have heard postive things from local people on the Fulltone OCD. I would add that I'm on the list for the KOT but, we all know that's gonna be awhile Thanks

[eryque]

I love the OCD, and think it will probably be exactly what you need. There are a whole range of tones available, and I find that I can get quite a few great sounds out of it.

Another thing to consider is a clean boost. The PR will tend to break up relatively easily, so a boost hitting the front end will give you extra grind, and enough of a boost will give you a nice, creamy overdrive. The Bad Bob adds just a little dirt, even though it's a clean boost.

[studio1087]

The Digitech Bad Monkey has been my favorite for a long time (it's like a TS( with more gain) but lately I've been playing my Boss SD-1 more than than the Monkey. The boss has a mid range growl and silightly more gain. I like the color from the Boss.

The Monkey or the Boss pedal will cost you less than 50 bucks new.

If you even want to have fun with a great cheapy...try the Danelectro FAB Distortion...(the red one). Great pedal for 15 bucks. If you keep the gain low, you'll get a nice organic overdrive. If you crank the gain it will get crazy.

All these sale links have sound samples.....


Digitech Bad Monkey Linky

Boss SD-1 Linky

FAB Distortion Linky

[JKjr]

Sounds like we're in the same ballpark. I still haven't picked up an OCD, but I have a couple others that work well for me.
1) Duncan Pickup Booster. Pretty much just a clean boost, will kick your amp into OD, and has a neet little switch that fattens up STRAT pickups without sounding too compressed or processed. And REAL cheap.
2) I get a lot of miles from a BARBER LTD. Pretty much sounds like every guitar I plug in.
3) I'm not familiar with your Maxon...is it a tubescreamer type? I have a TS-9 that I really don't care for much with a strat, which I guess is it's intended purpose. It has pretty much become my secret weapon with a 52RI and my vibroverb. Really thickens up the mids for that Page Richards stuff.

Does anyone else out there use an OCD with a Vibroverb or Super? I'm also wondering how they play with Twins...

[cg73cmc]

Well I have a BF Princeton "clone" that I built based on the original schematics of the BFPR. I deviated in a couple of instances from the original design for easier maintenance and tube swapping ... and of course it's all newer components so it doesn't sound exactly like an old BFPR but ...

I just use a tube screamer (reissue) and it sounds fine.

[stratohiker]

yeah, I believe the Sonic is a higher gain TS type box. I'm gonna wait til I get the clone in and try it with the Sonic but, I'm gathering info now. Been goin' to some of the boutique pedal vendor sites. There are just so, so many choices these days. Hard to make a decision. Especially without being able to sit down with all the options in front of you. And many of the sound samples sound so good on many of them.

[stratohiker]

Has anybody tried out the Fulltone Full drive II Mosfet with these smaller BF's?

[Radspin]

"Has anybody tried out the Fulltone Full drive II Mosfet with these smaller BF's?"

Yes--I use it with a '65 Princeton Reverb and it sounds excellent, with a wide range of usable overdrive sounds. I use it on the Vintage and non-MOSFET switch settings, and everything from light overdrive to maximum overdrive sounds really, really good.

Then again it also sounds great with my SF Dual Showman Reverb/small Bandmaster cabinet combination! In my opinion the Full Drive II MOSFET is an excellent pedal.

[skeksis]

had the best luck with tele/PR using a Boss OD-3. warms it up nicely. I just never much liked the TS or closely related pedals with that particular amp... call me crazy, but it doesn't work for me. the Dano FAB overdrive was surprisingly good, too. if I had the $, I'd try the next tier up of near-boutique boxes... but alas. but give the OD-3 a listen - it's better than you'd expect.

[11 Gauge]

Originally Posted by stratohiker

And later I may get a Vibrolux clone as well.

I have heard postive things from local people on the Fulltone OCD. I would add that I'm on the list for the KOT but, we all know that's gonna be awhile Thanks

I have a '71 Vibrolux Reverb, and I might just have picky ears, but that amp just doesn't sound right with many different OD pedals...

Regarding the OCD and KOT - if you've had an opportunity to play a Voodoo Labs Overdrive, it's the basic foundation for the OCD. If you've had an opportunity to play a Marshall Bluesbreaker pedal, that's basically what a KOT is, with 6 changes in component values, and 3 additional parts.

Back to the Vibrolux - I've tried everything (it seems) through that amp, but it really seems to prefer pedals that at least have the Tubescreamer foundation. Granted, the stock TS mid hump can be overkill, but there are plenty of TS clones out there that address the issue. I've personally found the "sweet spot" to be right smack in between a stock TS and any of the flatter mid clones. It's so nice to get the VR barking and growling with the volume on 4 or less...

[Axis29]

I use an OCD with my DRRI. It can get downright dirty. But plays nice as a light overdrive or as a clean boost as well.

I have used it with a Twin and it sounds pretty darn good! I think I was using my Nashville Tele... but it might have been my CP 50's strat. But it sounded good nonetheless!

[nevadacalifornia]

I use the Fulldrive 2 blue one, with my DRRI. Still like it a lot. Also combining that with a bad monkey, is a nice mix. I have a 69 Fuzz and a Keeley Blues driver, but always come back to the fulldrive.

[Radspin]

I use the OCD (V3) as well as the Full Drive II MOSFET and I also like the OCD a lot. It sounds great through my '65 Princeton Reverb as well as my Dual Showman Reverb/2-12 Bandmaster/re-issue Jensen speakers setup.

I could not decide between the Full Drive II and the OCD so I wound up buying the Full Drive II first, and then getting the OCD a few months later. I can cover a lot of sonic ground using both of these pedals in my setup--sometimes at the same time.

[stratohiker]

Thanks for all the replies so far guys..........Whoever wants to chime in .........please do.........I'm still prowlin the web, here, etc. on the search

[bluende]

Might want to check out Catalinbread Silver Kiss MKII. Very open (i.e., not too compressed) with a great, super-usable 3 knob EQ and nice range up to medium/med+ gain.

Mine works well with a blackface Deluxe and also a 5e3....also stacks well with other boosts, ODs, fuzzes. Very nice with the Hartman germanium fuzz....

Also, no affiliation, but proguitarshop.com has some great pedal demos on youtube you might want to check out, too.

[JimiBryant]

it's not an OD but I like the Z-Vex SHO
although it may be too much for a small BF
same thing for the Colorsound orange box
Power Boost which seems like it could
overpower transformers into meltdown!

also the Crowther Hot Cake which is more
of an OD than a distortion effect, IMHO.
some folks here seem to have dumped on 'em
but I think that it's a fabulous and versatile box!

MXR Micro Amp and Visual Sound Route 66,
I like those as well..

another nice trick is to use a fuzz with the volume
maxed and the fuzz/distortion at a bare minimum!

[franchelB]

I also love Digitech's Bad Monkey, but I need more gain...so I traded it for a friend's Boss DS1. Then I had the DS1 modified to "indyguitarist's specs"...it just "what the doctor ordered".
A have friends, and each of them uses:
1. Fulltone's Fulldrive II MOSFET
2. Fulltone's OCD
3. Maxon OD-9

Each pedal sounds good...to my ears. Personally, though I believe you get what you pay for, I prefer to find the "best bang for the buck".