Boss OD-20 Drive Zone pedal and a tuner pedal

[Joel66]

I want to get back to a few stomp boxes instead of a multi-fx unit that has more than I need. I'm thinking of the OD-20 because I can set 4 different OD settings for it, but I was wondering if any of y'all had any experience with it. I like the traditional Boss overdrive but also need something to get the "hard rock" drive. I thought about a Rat for that, but if I can get that from the OD-20 that's good too.

Also, I'm needing a tuner pedal. Can y'all recommend anything other than the Boss. I found a Johnson and a Fender that both weren't real expensive. I have nothing against the Boss except the $90 price tag. *L*

Thanks,
Joel

[telel6s]

Joel,

I picked up an OD20 when I was playing in a pop/hard rock cover band. It does a lot of good things. Makes a tele and Super Reverb do a reasonable impression of a PRS and Mesa. The setup is easy enough to use and even tweak for a given location. You can easily switch from over-the-top metal tones to just-a-little-grit r&b. (I've strangely found the HM2 to be great for blues leads.)

On the other hand, I don't think it does the suttle stuff as well. The basic sound is OK but I think you loose some playing dynamics. I don't feel the change from neck to bridge pickup as much as with my Marshall BBII pedal.

Bottom line, if you need to cover a lot of different overdrive sounds, this is a bargain. If you're trying to find "your" sound, I'd look at finding a one or two good overdrives and a distortion pedal. It will cost you more but I think you'll be happier in the long run.

All that being said, do you want to buy mine? I've moved on to doing country, alt-country, blues and folk and really don't need the OD20 any more. I'll sell it for exactly what I paid ($99) plus shipping.

Joe

[RKeeley]

I thought the OD-20 was a pretty fun pedal. I have a schematic on order so that I can see what there is to possibly change. Most of it is loaded into huge silcon apartments so there will be little that can be done to improve the sound...but heck, you neve know!
rk

[Lance]

Hey Joel,
While the Boss tuner is pretty expensive...I'd hold out until you get the funds for it. It's really the best on the market by far.
Lance

[Joel66]

Thank y'all for your input. I'm going to try my Tube Driver, my bandmate's Boss OD, and possibly a TS-9 Reissue this weekend. What I'm looking for is a decent sounding OD and also something that'll give me a decent "crunch" when I need it. I don't know if any of these will do it or not, but I reckon I'll find out tomorrow night.

Lance,

You're right about the Boss tuner. I was also told that I could power other Boss pedals off of it. So that's a plus too. Now if I can just find a decent compressor and an analog delay at a decent price I'm on my way. *L* I wish I'd have kept my old DOD pedals now. Oh well, when money gets tight things that aren't being used are the first to go. *L*

Joel