(I hate to even ask)... Fattest, Smoothest, Creamiest OD

[ruger9]

For years now I have been looking for my "fat, creamy, smooth" overdrive. I have an FD2 that is my al-time fave, best OD ever IMHO, but for that extra-fat, I guess we'll call it "dumble-ish" tone, the FD2 can't do that.

I had a Zendrive, Brad Paisley seems to get great sounds out of it but I never bonded with it. Hard to describe why.

I had a (two, actually) Pork Loin, and it was better than the Zen - BUT it was actually TOO compressed. I run my amps overdriving already, and when I step on an OD pedal it's not so much for more gain, it's for either more sustain/smoothness/compression (FD2), or for a really fat, creamy tone (changing the CHARACTER, not the gain so much)... and the Loin just couldn't handle it... it just squashed.

Alot of reading has brought up these:

Jetter GSR
Fuchs Plush & Plush Cream
G2D Cream Tone
FET Dream
...and a few others, but these are the front-runners...

I'm SO tired of buying & selling OD pedals. Like I said, I'm done with my "standard" OD search. The FD2 is my swiss-army knife, and I love the thing. But it won't get thick enough sometimes, for some tones.

[I was actually considering modding the tone pot on my FD2 to cut even more treble, thinking that might get me where I want to go...]

[vjf1968]

I thought the tone knob on the FD2 is more like a "presence" knob than an actually tone knob? What kind of amp are you going through?

[ruger9]

It's a Genz Benz Black Pearl 30 (EL84) which is a Vox AC-30 type. BUT it has a very active EQ & a voicing control, so it'll do more than just a Vox tone. It can also cop Fender tones quite well, and veer a bit into Marshall territory as well.

The tone knob on the FD2 is described as a presence knob, but I doubt it's the same thing as a presence knob on an amp... it's probably just a treble-cut like all OD pedals...

[Whoa Tele]

I like the Jetter GSR but Jetter JetDrive is good as well. Also, the Barber Small Fry can deliver smooth to my ears but it is also very versatile.

[ruger9]

I had the Small Fry. Not bad, but same problem... I wanted to be able to roll back the tone knob even MORE...

[thessandman]

I think a lot, maybe most of it depends on your guitar/amp setup. I've got three tubescreamers, only one of which I like through my Boogie MkII with a Strat. But, I like them all through my 68 Bandmaster. I've played them through a Deluxe reverb with a Strat and Tele, and thought they sounded great.

[Tonemonkey]

I agree re: guitar/amp combination and how it takes a pedal, so I'm surprised your AC30 based amp doesn't take the ZD. I find Tele, ZD, Matchless Lightning (AC30 ish) very creamy.

Maybe you don't have the amp for "your tone".

[ruger9]

Actually, I LOVE my amp. I can play straight into my amp & love it. No problems there. Just looking for a pedal that I can step on sometimes for a really thick, Eric Johnson/Joe Bonamassa thing. Basically, I'll have 2 drives: my "normal" drive, for pushing my amp just a little harder for more sustain (doesn't change amp character), and then a "thick" drive for the EJ/JB thing. That's my dream anyway. The FD2 & Timmy both excel at #1, but neither can do #2.

[hwestman]

I've probably honked this horn way too many times but the Tonebone classic distortion and the Trimode could be what you need.

They have all the gain you could possibly need plus extremely flexible hi eq which allows you to get a smooth top without loosing definition which often is the case with "one-knob-tone-control-pedals". In addition you have two different midrange boosts to work with....

It's insanely flexible...

[Budda]

Maybe run a Comp into the FD2?

Also, sandwiching a short Delay between 2 ODs, is a great way to cop some of EJ's thing.

Smoothest? Well, I think the Lovepedal Eternity may be your ticket. I run mine into a Timmy, when I want even more.

[klasher]

I have the Fuchs Extreme Cream. It's smooth, but I wouldn't describe it as fat. On low and medium gain sounds it goes from OD to distortion, but when you really crank the gain up it takes on a distinctly fuzz like character. A lot of the reviews mentioned that as well.
I like it, but it's not what I think of when I hear you're description.
For fat and creamy maybe the Menatone Howie?
There's a German company that makes a variation on the tube screamer that some people rave about also. They're called Rodenberg. Those things sounded fat and creamy like all get out and they come in a lot of variations. Check out their website:
http://www.rodenberg-amplification.c...h/index_e.html
You might want to do a youtube search for a clip of someone playing one. I heard one a while back it sounded awesome. Very fat and creamy and could get very dark.

[surfco]

Maxon OD9 Pro +

[Jakedog]

Toadworks "Lil Leo" Badass American Overdrive.

Except no substitute.

I have heard hundreds of pedals over the years that claim to cop a pushed tube amp sound. This is the only pedal I've ever heard actually do it. It sounds like a cranked amp. No joke. It sounds like power tube distortion. As in, it's scary how close it nails it.