Which Pedal for Blues Overdrive Tone?

[Twang-O-Matic]

Hi folks. I have a Telecaster with 51 Nocasters and I play mostly Traditional Country (chicken pickin) and some Blues. I play strictly clean for Country but want a quality stomp box for a light overdriven blues tone. I am in the market for a new one.

I have owned Tube Screamer, Blues Driver, Bad Monkey and several others. I used to really like the Tube Screamer when I played a Strat but recently tried one with my Tele and didn't like it. So, I don't care for the aforementioned pedals. I want something with light gain for a slightly overdriven sound but where it still sounds pretty clean and where the tone of the guitar is not colored heavily or masked. if it was able to be used as a clean boost too that would be great but its not essential. I also HAVE to have True Bypass, because I mostly play clean. This pedal will just be there for the occasional Overdrive.

I am currently looking at VooDoo Lab Sparkle Drive and Danelectro Cool Cat Transparent Overdrive. If you have any comments about these from experience please be my guest. If you have any other suggestions please do and give details why, thanks!

[schenkadere]

Sparkle Drive is pretty much an 808 circuit, isn't it? Cool Cat is some different territory.

[Chiogtr4x]

For what you want (and more), you can't go wrong with a Boss Blues Driver (at its low Gain settings) , Dano Trans. OD V.1, Barber LTD, LTD SR, and others....

All will keep your Guitar>amp tone (EQ) in the forefront, and give you a pretty natural breakup if you keep pedal level High and Gain Lower- if you take some time with them. These are all pedals you can just leave ON (if you like) and just turn your guitar up to go from rhythm to lead, instead of kicking on an OD pedal that may completely change your sound ( but there are times when you want that too!) Dynamic!

These are all great pedals for any lower Gain dirt needs for R&R, blues, R&B, country-jazz etc.

Put any of these next to a "Tube Screamer" type or stronger OD/Distortion and you have a lot of versatility, IMO

[straightface]

+1 on the Barber LTD

[edipo]

Barber LTD

[valvestate]

You can't go wrong with a Cool Cat Transparent Overdrive (V1). The price is really unbelievable for this pedal that can give you just a touch of grit yet maintain your clean signal... increasing the gain knob will still remain focused and strings will still sound separately.

Another excellent overdrive but not that cheap is Fulltone Fulldrive II. You may set the main channel with drive low for your 'clean' then press the Boost for more drive and gain. Truly a terrific pedal!

Lastly, if you want to go cheaper.... The Joyo Ultimate Drive is just totally another fantastic pedal... Just read the previews comments and video reviews of this pedal and it just blows me away! All of these pedals, I've already used live, btw.

[telerocker1988]

I can't recommend the Way Huge Green Rhino MkII highly enough. It's a fantastic 808 clone and the best 808 type IMO and it's very flexible in the EQ department and is very versatile.

[Big_Bend]

If you still have your BD-2, send it to Machine Head Pedals for the Galaxie mod - turns the blues driver into an AWESOME pedal I promise!

I also love the Sparkle Drive.. I have both on my board. Love both the MHP BD-2 and the Sparkle.

A Pork Loin is also a very nice pedal for blues overdrives.

[OuttaspaceMan]

From the description you're after, I think you will be pleased with a Timmy. It does exactly what you want in spades - from a clean boost to a transparent overdrive! Give it a try!

[Ian]

I really love the OD side of my Visual Sound RT-66.

[Stratburst]

Originally Posted by telerocker1988

I can't recommend the Way Huge Green Rhino MkII highly enough. It's a fantastic 808 clone and the best 808 type IMO and it's very flexible in the EQ department and is very versatile.

This. It's a killer pedal, and the EQ is very versatile. I love mine. At $120 street, it's probably the best bang-for-buck ratio of any overdrive out there right now.



The Fulltone OCD also gets a lot of love but its US retail price is around $160. Personally, I don't think it's worth the extra $40 over the Green Rhino.

[Sean65]

Wampler Paisley Drive will get you a surprisingly credible blues overdrive tone when set to about the 11:00 (gain) mark. It's TS based with some nice mid range voicing mods

[JesterR]

Barber pedals are great. Many great low-gainers.

[tjalla]

Folks OP states he doesn't want a TS variant!

Now my turn to disregard Twang-O-Matic's post

In that, i would give a big thumbs up for Durham Sex Drive - its buffered bypass but it in no way hinders your clean sound. When engaged it adds clarity and overall bigness, with hint of grit, or grit AND compression depending on how you use it. Or it can be a clean boost with the gain off. Don't rule it just because of the bypass.

If you must, must have TB - the Dano TOD V1 is indeed great with teles, as is a Tim/Timmy.

Tim, TOD and Durham all get regular use on my board and they are all excellent in their own way.

[Axis29]

It took me a long time to find a TS variant I liked... I ended up with an MXR Classic Overdrive. The Sparkle Drive is a TS variant, though with the clean signal blend knob, it adds a nice twist.

BUT, before you go there, try the Dano pedal. I have a V1 and it is very transparent and very well with my Fender amps. It adds what sounds like amp gain, without killing the volume... but there is still boost to be had. The controls are a PITA with the knobs on top. But, it's a sturdy little pedal that can be had for a reasonable price.

I am getting ready to call to get my name on the list for a Tim or Timmy... I just can't decide which I want.

You never did mention what amp you're using.... This can have a great effect on what pedals work.

[bigben55]

Originally Posted by JesterR

Barber pedals are great. Many great low-gainers.

I used to use my OCD exclusively for tele dirt, but have switched the tele to the Barber Direct Drive LG(low gain) I just bought. Its got more than light OD on tap, but I set the drive and tone low and it sounds killer.

[uriah1]

Different settings for neck and bridge...
maybe have 2 units/stomps
That dano transparent overdrive is great on neck low drive setting 0-2
you will need diff setting for your bridge picking
imho only

[Tomlin_Guitars]

Give the Boss OD-3 a try. I used Tube Screamers and SD-1s for years and liked them with Strats and Fender amps but when I switched to using P90s through an AC15 the mid hump became too much. The OD-3 is very good out of the box and even better when you change a couple of parts.

[Shidoin]

The Dano V-1 Cool Cat TO is a fantastic pedal; it will do exactly what you want and you can find a used one for around $50.00. Check the forum classifieds.

[nickhofen]

what about okko diablo, or okko diablo + gain

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5G0CHVFpDo
http://www.stompbox.de/diablo_english.html