Low gain OD? What is it? Barber LTD

[wanderingscot]

I saw some TDPRI posts regarding the Barber LTD. The Barber site mentions that it is a low gain overdrive. Curious about the difference between a low gain OD and a high gain OD?

Thanks,
Scott

[graphs]

Gain, in this context, usually refers to the amount of distortion available. So a high gain overdrive is going to be able to provide more distortion than a low gain one.

[mrbdxmpl]

I have an LTD Silver and really like it. In practical terms, what it means is that I generally have the gain set somewhere between 1 - 3 o'clock (ie: well over half way up) vs. around 9:00 o'clock on a Boss OD-3 for the same amount of gain.

[GuloGulo]

I would probably guess that "low gain OD" affects the low to mid frequencies more then typical high gain OD which drives the mid to high range.

[RomanS]

Nope, doesn't exactly have anything to do with frequency range - "low/high gain" only refers to the amount of overdrive/distortion available.

Low gain means it sounds like a slightly overdriven tube amp - just beyond clean, just a bit of dirt; high gain means lots of dirt, kinda like a fully cranked tube amp or even a fuzz or distortion pedal.

The Barber LTD, which is my all-time favorite OD pedal, covers a range from completely clean, over subtle break-up, slightly overdriven sounds, to an overdrive sound that's sufficient for most blues or country rock stuff, but would not satisfy someone playing metal (or even classic hardrock). It is very open-sounding, un-compressed, and you can clearly hear all the single tones in a chord, yet it always remains warm sounding.