Best cheap overdrive pedals for AC30

[Strat-tastic]

Hi guys, I'm new to the tele forum and I'd like to know you guys's opinion on what's the best cheap and versatile overdrive pedal. Im playing mainly a strat or tele through an ac30 (with Alnico blues) and ive been interested in the pedals joyo has to offer, such as the vintage overdrive, ultimate drive, and sweet baby overdrive... Please give your opinion (doesnt have to be joyo I'm just trying not to break the bank) Thanks.

 

[Guitarteach]

EHX Soul Food is nice with my amp I made with a Vox style circuit.

I use mine as a strong dirty boost to keep the amps character. It boosts the upper mids a lot and keeps the bass tight making for a good cutting lead tone.

 

[surfoverb]

Soul Food or klon

 

[bparnell57]

Soul Food^^^

 

[Bettyboo]

There are so many options that a lot more info is needed...

EHX do lots of drives at decent prices. MXR pedals seem better to me in both sound quality and build quality, but are more expensive. The MXR D+ is just an OD, and can be used at low settings where it's very nice. Second hand MXR pedals would be a great option.

The Soul Food will do strange (horrible?) things to your treble with the gain above halfway, and I didn't find it flexible, so I replaced it - but with more expensive pedals.

An OCD isn't expensive, but it's a great pedal.

I like to support UK/US small and medium sized businesses, so I'd rather spend more for one of those, but you could get a secondhand pedal rather than a new Joyo (and the Joyo is cheap for a reason; switch, case, quality control).

Tell us what sounds you want, and it'll be easier to make suggestions. Personally, I love germanium fuzz type ODs, and they work great with a Tele, but that's not everyone's cup of tea.

For around $100, try to find a secondhand one (not easy, as folks don't wanna sell them) or wait for a promotion from Prymaxe, etc, an MXR Custom Badass Modified OD is exceptionally versatile.

If you must do Joyo, and I wouldn't, then their copy of the superb Mad Professor (and superbly expensive...) Sweet Honey sounds ok although many have a poor footswitch.

Fulltone OCD for $70 here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fulltone-OC...-Overdrive-Guitar-Effects-Pedal-/252280098412
(These stack brilliantly with tube screamers.)

 

[Monotremata]

The EHX LPB-1 does an awesome job of knocking an AC into searing overdrive. Paid $20 for mine used at Guitar Center..

 

[Bettyboo]

^ that's an often overlooked pedal, but very good and sooo cheap. Excellent suggestion.

There are loads of options, going from boost upto drive with heavy colouring of sound.

 

[Nick Fanis]

and ive been interested in the pedals joyo has to offer, such as the vintage overdrive, ultimate drive

I have both & they work Great with my AC4 HW.

 

[Strat-tastic]

Thanks. I sorta want to replicate a Billy Gibbons tone (if thats possible) or some of the throaty classic rock tones such as Mark Knofler's in money for nothing. Im not really interested in many of the fuzz pedals as I want a pedal to sound like a pushed tube amp as its breaking up without me having to shake the house down.

 

[ricardo1912]

I used an Ibanez TS9 for ages - the black plastic cheap one. Recently I bought the Joyo Vintage Overdrive to get the same kind of overdriven tube type boost and it works really well. It seems quite sturdy too and doesn't get through lots of batteries. Defintely a decent budget pedal.

 

[richey88]

There are so many options that a lot more info is needed...



EHX do lots of drives at decent prices. MXR pedals seem better to me in both sound quality and build quality, but are more expensive. The MXR D+ is just an OD, and can be used at low settings where it's very nice. Second hand MXR pedals would be a great option.



The Soul Food will do strange (horrible?) things to your treble with the gain above halfway, and I didn't find it flexible, so I replaced it - but with more expensive pedals.



An OCD isn't expensive, but it's a great pedal.



I like to support UK/US small and medium sized businesses, so I'd rather spend more for one of those, but you could get a secondhand pedal rather than a new Joyo (and the Joyo is cheap for a reason; switch, case, quality control).



Tell us what sounds you want, and it'll be easier to make suggestions. Personally, I love germanium fuzz type ODs, and they work great with a Tele, but that's not everyone's cup of tea.



For around $100, try to find a secondhand one (not easy, as folks don't wanna sell them) or wait for a promotion from Prymaxe, etc, an MXR Custom Badass Modified OD is exceptionally versatile.



If you must do Joyo, and I wouldn't, then their copy of the superb Mad Professor (and superbly expensive...) Sweet Honey sounds ok although many have a poor footswitch.



Fulltone OCD for $70 here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fulltone-OC...-Overdrive-Guitar-Effects-Pedal-/252280098412

(These stack brilliantly with tube screamers.)

OCD clone into my AC 10 works great. I use less gain than when I had a Deluxe 'verb.

 

[RetroTeleRod]

My favorite low cost overdrives were bought secondhand and they were the Visual Sound Open Road and the Cool Cat Transparent Overdrive (version 1). Both are out of production but readily available used. I got my Danelectro for only 25 bucks and it sounds better with my Vox and Tele than several pedals I paid a lot more for.

 

[ranjam]

The EHX LPB-1 does an awesome job of knocking an AC into searing overdrive. Paid $20 for mine used at Guitar Center..

I bought a few, just because they're cheap and plentiful. I have a hunch guys buy them, realize they're not very clean or linear like the name promises (like that's a bad thing! ), and unload them. You can go the 'British' route and have one turned into a treble booster quick and easy. *WARNING!* The little boards for the footswitch 'feature' lousy thin-as-a-politician's-promise ribbon cable. I put some hot glue around the cable ends before I take the pedal all apart. Make it into a Rangemaster.

Thanks. I sorta want to replicate a Billy Gibbons tone (if that's possible) or some of the throaty classic rock tones such as Mark Knopfler's in money for nothing. 'Im not really interested in many of the fuzz pedals as I want a pedal to sound like a pushed tube amp as its breaking up without me having to shake the house down.

That's apples and oranges there. Knopfler's is easier to get; it's cleanish with some compression and chorus. Well, that's the Sultan's Of Swing tone for starters. Money For Nothing is a cocked wah, some overdrive, and likely a little slapback. But he usually likes his compressor and chorus pedals.
Billy always baffles me. For someone who is purported to be a 'King Of Tone', he gets some............. interesting tones I wouldn't use on a dare. I sure as Hell don't hear a '59 les Paul into some vintage Fender or Marshall. There's rumors and magazine stories about all types of gear, including pedals like hooking a few Expandoras together. But the Youtube video of Billy and a Crate amp really scared me away from ever wanting to sound like Billy.

Take the LPB-1 and turn it into a Rangemaster, or try the Joyo Vintage Overdrive, or try the Boss Blues Driver (stock and Keeley mods). One of those should be your 'inexpensive' ticket.

 

[RetroTeleRod]

Since you seem to be searching for some tones on the heavy overdrive side, get a Rat. Seriously, my Rat loves the Vox AC-15 I have. Moreover,(pun intended) a Rat can cover overdrive/distortion and fuzz chores depending on how it's set.
Check out this Rat 2 with a Tele demo...
and you can get a new Rat 2 for around 70 bucks!

 

[Spaceboy]

DEFINITELY the Rat 2. It's cheap as anything else, and you can buy an LM308 chip on eBay to swap in for $5. The chips are socketed so no soldering or anything needed, and it's 90% of the way to an original Rat. For the money there is not anything better you can find for the AC30. That combo can do light breakup to high gain, even into fuzz territory. The high gain sounds are so smooth and natural sounding that through a closed back cabinet, I now prefer the AC30 to my Orange Rockerverb, which is a much more expensive amplifier and has been my main for the past few years. The RV is on the market because of a cheap Rat 2.

 

[ranjam]

Most of my dirt boxes are modded. Maybe more gain, sometimes less, more bass, whatever. The only pedal I can't seem to decide what to mod is a big box Rat. It's been bone stock since day 1. It is that versatile, and works with single coils as nice as it does humbuckers. But it is a drastic change to your tone. I'd also have a simple OD or booster to stack with the Rat, and have a lot of tone options. The booster gooses the amp, and the Rat violates it.

 

[artdecade]

AC30 and a Hotcake
Everything else and a Proco Rat

 

[omahaaudio]

Mythical Overdrive
(link removed)
For what you get in terms of tone and quality of construction, $150 is cheap.

Paul C Timmy
https://reverb.com/item/1397871-paul-cochrane-timmy-pedal-in-surf-green
Same as above. $137 is cheap.

You have (potentially) more than $1000 invested in your amp and (possibly) another $1000 or more in guitars. My experience tells me that you shouldn't cheap out when it comes to pedals as it'll be more expensive in the long run as you search for something that sounds great.

 

[artdecade]

Mythical Overdrive
(link removed)
For what you get in terms of tone and quality of construction, $150 is cheap.
.

Klon into an AC30? That is sounds like it will get flubby pretty fast.

 

[MilwMark]

Klon into an AC30? That is sounds like it will get flubby pretty fast.

Why would it get flubby - the Klon circuit shaves bass.