AC Booster or Barber LTD

[Rob TeleMan]

Been reading a lot of threads regarding low gain overdrive pedals, and am interested in these 2. Am running a Tele with Bardens into a modded DRRI, and am looking for a way to get a sound like the DRRI at 7 without having to turn it up that high. I have a small pedalboard (Barber Tone Press-Carl Martin Red Repeat-Sonic Research Turbo Tuner) and don't have a lot of space for a larger OD pedal. The AC Booster is quite small, but I've heard many great things about the Barber LTD. Any experience and suggestions around these 2, or something I may have missed, would be appreciated. Many thanks!

[RomanS]

I don't have any experience with the AC Booster, but the LTD is the one pedal that I will always keep on my pedalboard - even though I tried some pretty good lower gainb ODs (Award Session JD10, Fulldrive 2, etc.), NOTHING comes close to the LTD when it comes to sounds at the edge of clean and break-up; sounds very natural, "amp-like" (I actually prefer it to my amp's break-up sound), and is really easy to control with the vol. pot on your guitar.

[guitarman_nebr]

i use an AC booster after an RC booster on my board. i LOVE the AC's "edge of breakup" tone.

it is very controllable and has a beautiful mid hump that just jumps out in all the right places. YMMV

[IggyT]

its cheap but could surprise you..the cool cat Transparent OD..I use it in front of my Blues Jr and with a red repeat and an HBE retro compessor...and it works for me!
iggy

[DMace]

I've never tried the Barber, but I've used the AC Booster for a year now and it's a very nice, warm OD pedal. I play in an alt-country/Americana band and the AC does the 'edge of overdrive' thing but also a rich, bluesy overdrive, great for blues and slide. Plus, it fits neatly into a gigbag, which is important to me, as I leg it to the subway for rehearsals and gigs .

[andrenighthound]

i have an ltd. I used to love it a lot more before I got me a Cool Cat TOD. These days I use a TOD with a lil dawg 5E3. Its killer!

[TyPierce]

I used an LTD as my primary dirt box for quite a while. Great tone, very natural and could go much grittier than I ever needed it to. It eventually got bumped off the board by a Menatone Red Snapper, which I can't say enough good things about. It's very uncompressed and wide open-sounding, so it might not be your particular cuppa, but it was exactly what I'm looking for. It seems to go even higher than the Barber as far as gain, but still has enough sweep for putting just a little hair on things if you want.

The good thing is you can grab a used Barber on the classifieds or eBay for around $75 and only loose a buck or two if you don't dig it and need to flip it. The Menatones are a bit pricier used, and not nearly as plentiful.

I haven't tried the Dano TO, but based on the reviews it gets I'd say find a store nearby that carries them, take it home and give it the business while you have the option to return it.

[Rob TeleMan]

Based on the responses, I've decided to try the Danelectro TOD, for 2 reasons: At the price it sells for I can give it away if I don't like it, and I really use the few pedals I have mainly for effects. (I don't leave them on, and normally just prefer the sound of my guitar into my amp; so I've been on the fence about purchasing an OD pedal at all) I'll post another response when it arrives and I can hear what it does. Again, thanks for your suggestions!

[Goldtop78]

I have an RC....is the AC similar but slightly more gain on hand?

[Rob TeleMan]

Well, I've had the Transparent Overdrive on my pedalboard for awhile, and I think it's a good sound. I have it dialed in to just put a little "hair" on the sound, (without having to crank the amp) and it definitely lets the sound of the guitar come through. I cannot imagine that the build quality is super good, but to be expected for the low price. I don't mind the knobs at all; actually appreciate the fact that they're out of the way of getting stepped on. (Plus I tend to just leave the knobs in the same position all the time)
As to the ethical question of whether it's a clone of a more expensive pedal, I tend to agree that the people who were considering the better quality will still go for it, regardless of the price. As for myself, I held off purchasing anything in the way of an overdrive pedal for awhile, because I knew I'd use it sparingly. Of all the other overdrive pedals out there, the Barber LTD seems the most suited to my needs, and if I feel I'd use it, I wouldn't hesitate to spend the extra money. But so far the TOD seems great. Thanks everyone for your input!

[cletus]

If you really want a pedal that sounds like your DRRI on 7 (which you said in your post) then the AC is a good choice. The DR has a natural compression to it the harder you drive it--- the AC has this same character at any volume. Just thought i'd throw that out there. The others are good choices too. Keep pickin'.

cletus