DOES ANYBODY BESIDES ME ACTUALLY LIKE INEXPENSIVE OD /DISTORTION PEDALS?

[Twang-ineer]

I am also in deep with the knock off pedals on Amazon.... I keep them in bins on a shelf in my workshop.... my wife calls them "sound legos" as they are colorful and I am constantly complaining that I need more.... and duplicates, I think I now have three of the ISET Dumble Pedals, three of the ISET compressors and a couple of the Flamma pre amp pedals.... and on and on

 

[Synchro]

On the rare occasions when I use overdrive, I use a Nobels ODR-1, which is more costly than an OD-1 or Sd-1, but not my much. The sound is an airy overdrive, like a Deluxe Reverb, just hitting the sweet spot.

 

[1 21 gigawatts]

Any recommendations for a cheap drive pedal that goes from OD to light fuzz? The fuller (bass) sounding the better- since I play by myself, I have no need to cut through th the mix.

 

[Synchro]

Any recommendations for a cheap drive pedal that goes from OD to light fuzz? The fuller (bass) sounding the better- since I play by myself, I have no need to cut through th the mix.

You might try out a Boss OS-2.

 

[Hoodster]

 

[jrblue]

Sure. SD1 and DS1 are used by millions.

 

[Flaneur]

I tend to use the same one, until it craps out. This one has been in the gig bag, for maybe five years, with a couple of substitutes, sitting on the bench.

The bench warmers were inexpensive, too.

 

[thankyouguitar]

I must be missing something because after more than 50 years playing and 40 years gigging, I can’t justify me spending big bucks for boutique OD pedals, let alone getting on a long waiting list to get one! Guitars and amps? Another story altogether, although I’m content with my current residents at this point.

Before I’m accused of judging other’s choices, let me point out that I’m not suggesting anyone is wrong or daft for delving into the high dollar offerings of OD pedals, but is something wrong with my ears? I’m currently using an off the shelf pedal on both my home and gigging boards, a Boss BD-2 with a modest boost in front of it. Oh, I’ve got an OCD and a Petty John Iron on a shelf, but I may sell them both. The BD-2 is to my liking at this point. Does anybody else think this way, not necessarily about the BD-2, but about inexpensive overdrives, or am I just behind the times? BTW, I bought a DS1 the other day locally for $24.00 on a whim, because what the heck? I actually like it!

I'm late to the convo, but yes I also like inexpensive effects. They're even cheaper when I build them myself! XD

 

[Rocky058]

I have probably 8 - 10 of the inexpensive OD knock offs.

This guy has repeatedly made the cut, and sits right after my Klone.

Can't do better for 35 bux.

(I spend the real $$$ on delay, and reverb)

 

[wildschwein]

I have probably 8 - 10 of the inexpensive OD knock offs.

This guy has repeatedly made the cut, and sits right after my Klone.

Can't do better for 35 bux.

View attachment 1000356

(I spend the real $$$ on delay, and reverb)

Yes that is a very good OD.

 

[Wound_Up]

I have about 6 or 7 from Demon FX and just ordered another one. I've got a Behringer distortion. A Danelectro FAB series distortion. A Mosky Golden Horse...

www.demon-fx.com

Not everybody is a pedal snob. Most can be purchased in the US so, you don't have to wait 3 weeks for it to ship from China. Or theyre all on AliExpress.

Oh yea. I've also got a "fuzz face" and an "EXH LPB1" that I built on breadboards for about $20 total for both lol.
.
Yea I'm cheap. I learned how to build pedals so I didn't have to buy a $150 Fuzz Face.

 

[oregomike]

I must be missing something because after more than 50 years playing and 40 years gigging, I can’t justify me spending big bucks for boutique OD pedals, let alone getting on a long waiting list to get one! Guitars and amps? Another story altogether, although I’m content with my current residents at this point.

Before I’m accused of judging other’s choices, let me point out that I’m not suggesting anyone is wrong or daft for delving into the high dollar offerings of OD pedals, but is something wrong with my ears? I’m currently using an off the shelf pedal on both my home and gigging boards, a Boss BD-2 with a modest boost in front of it. Oh, I’ve got an OCD and a Petty John Iron on a shelf, but I may sell them both. The BD-2 is to my liking at this point. Does anybody else think this way, not necessarily about the BD-2, but about inexpensive overdrives, or am I just behind the times? BTW, I bought a DS1 the other day locally for $24.00 on a whim, because what the heck? I actually like it!

 

[JohnnyCrash]

I got cheap ones, boutique ones, homemade ones…

My vote is yes.

Whatever gets you wherever you (in particular) are (particularly) going is all good.

 

[Ed Driscoll]

I have the JHS Bender that I bought a year or so ago, but sometimes, my beat-up ancient band-era Boss Turbo Distortion is perfect for a track.

 

[Wound_Up]

Even cheaper, try the Chinese clones. There not all great, but most are very good. Can you find some minor differences testing back to back? Sure. Do they matter in a mix or to anyone but a guitarist? No.

And the guitarist is exactly who they should matter to. You wanna play something that sounds like **** and doesn't inspire you to keep playing? I don't. I'm betting the crowd doesn't wanna hear that crappy tone either.

If it didn't matter to us, we'd all use Boss HM2s, sound like a**, and never sell out a single venue. Or wouldn't care if anyone even showed up.

I don't get why so many of you act like that's wrong. That's EXACTLY HOW IT SHOULD BE.

 

[nickmm]

The unobtainium 80's TS-808 was the cheapest pedal on the market $49au in 1984. That is $160au in today's money.

Yes I own an original TS-808 sits in a draw after the case broke and was rehomed. Nothing special that 1000 cheap copies can't do.

 

[ReverendRevolver]

I am also in deep with the knock off pedals on Amazon.... I keep them in bins on a shelf in my workshop.... my wife calls them "sound legos" as they are colorful and I am constantly complaining that I need more.... and duplicates, I think I now have three of the ISET Dumble Pedals, three of the ISET compressors and a couple of the Flamma pre amp pedals.... and on and on

They're $13 in some cases. Occasionally with cool names (found an acoustic sim pedal called the woodent, with a tree man silhouette on it today). They're like potato chips, it takes insane self control to buy just one.


But I don't like regular dirt pedals. Now fuzz, it can be the same circuit ina different box and it seems worth it....

 

[NoTeleBob]

And the guitarist is exactly who they should matter to. You wanna play something that sounds like **** and doesn't inspire you to keep playing? I don't. I'm betting the crowd doesn't wanna hear that crappy tone either.

If it didn't matter to us, we'd all use Boss HM2s, sound like a**, and never sell out a single venue. Or wouldn't care if anyone even showed up.

I don't get why so many of you act like that's wrong. That's EXACTLY HOW IT SHOULD BE.

My point was that the differences are so small that no one is going to hear them when you play - especially in a mix. I don't really care if my clone Timmy requires me to set the treble to 3 o'clock to get the same sound I get on the original at 2 o'clock.

But if you think you hear differences, and you want to spend the money for the original, have at it. To each his own.

 

[Synchro]

My point was that the differences are so small that no one is going to hear them when you play - especially in a mix. I don't really care if my clone Timmy requires me to set the treble to 3 o'clock to get the same sound I get on the original at 2 o'clock.

But if you think you hear differences, and you want to spend the money for the original, have at it. To each his own.

Distinctions without actual differences seem to be common among various groups. I’ve seen it in many fields of interest, where a certain status is self-attributed to a group of people that feel they possess a unique understanding of the significance of some minor detail, that almost everyone else dismisses as trivial.

Obtaining a good sound doesn’t strike me as all that difficult. A Tele with quality pickups and a Deluxe Reverb amp will get me through any gig imaginable, unless it’s a larger venue, in which case I need to mic’ through a PA, or maybe use a Twin. That’s it. I can play Rock, Country, Blues, Rockabilly, Chet Atkins style or Jazz with a Fender guitar, a Fender amp and a patch cable.

With that in mind, the rest is icing on the cake, or maybe sprinkles on the icing. I’m certainly not going to obsess about some detail. In my case, I use two reverb pedals (which allow me to foot-switch between two reverb levels), an analog delay, a chorus and a rarely used Nobels ODR-1 overdrive. The thing is, none of this is critical, because my initial sound, just the guitar and amp, is good.

My main amp is a Winfield Tremor, so there’s no built-in reverb, which is the main reason I even use pedals. The delay is just for variety, the chorus is used for one song per gig and the OD pedal is used for one song per gig. But the base sound is great, so I’m not dependent on any external effect.

An earlier comment mentioned sounding like [crap]. If your guitar sounds like crap, it can be the player, the effects, the cable, the amp, or the guitar, and I’d trouble shoot in exactly that order. I fought for years to get a good sound, but when I spent a year woodshedding scales with a critical eye on technique, I experienced a miracle and all of my gear started sounding better … spontaneously.

What I find Most interesting, is that in 45 years of playing in public, I have had precisely one complaint about the sound of my guitar, and that complaint was that my Bass VI wasn’t loud enough (at 350 watts, full up). This is on a range of instruments from a top of the line Gibson Johnny Smith to $300 MIM Fender and amps from an original (early) Silverface DR, to a Yamaha G50 solid state.

As I see it, pedals are like a seasoning in the food world. I’ve never heard of anyone wanting a meal of paprika, but paprika certainly adds to the flavor of Deviled Eggs. If you’re out of paprika, Deviled Eggs are still good, however.

If an overdrive sounds like crap, take it off your board. I’ve seen interviews where impressive artists used DS-1s and SD-1s; both low priced pedals that are decades-old designs. With the possible exception of some very low end pedals, I wouldn’t blame the OD for “crap” sound.

 

[SparkleFart]

I received this knockoff recently for my birthday...haven't had a chance to try it out yet but it kind of looks fun.