Nobels ODR-1 First Impressions.

[Cosmic Cowboy]

Picked up a Nobels ODR1.

After hearing what some players say about the pedal, decided to give it a try. Trying to get a solo boost that doesn't stomp all over my guitar's pickups.

Needless to say it does that job wonderfully, but also it sounds great as an all around overdrive. It doesn't overly compress, but it feels to my fingers like I am running a comp with the way it covers up my sloppy runs. It seems to 'fatten up' my tone in the room playing solo. The overdrive is fairly transperent, and sustain is superb. I can run my signal a lil dirty but it comes off to my ear as clean.

It doesn't give the mid hump of the TS so cutting through the mix is a concern to me.

It has a 'bass cut' dipswitch in the battery compartment. I don't like the bass cut on..it somehow really f's with the entire eq.

Anyhow, after one unboxing...and a bit of fiddling... it is on the board and headed to rehearsal tomorrow night.

I will report back what I think of the pedal in a full band mix.

Have any of you had any stage time with the Nobels OD1???


Funny how when I switch amps, I rethink my whole pedalboard.

 

[loudboy]

I ordered the mini OD-1 and the Wampler Belle and tried both at a gig - decided to keep the Wampler, due to the adjustable bass roll-off. The Nobels was a little too big in the low end, got a little tubby thru my SFPR.

 

[Cosmicdancer]

Yeah, I have a clone built for me by a good friend and it has a bass roll off knob on the front face. It makes no sense to me that Nobels hasn’t added an easily accessible option for that on their own version. It’s a darn near perfect OD otherwise.

 

[Whoa Tele]

I’ve used a J Rockett Chicken Soup and a Wampler Belle. I love the Nobels vibe and it works well with my BB type pedal (CMAT) Butah

 

[ping-ping-clicka]

Picked up a Nobels ODR1.

After hearing what some players say about the pedal, decided to give it a try. Trying to get a solo boost that doesn't stomp all over my guitar's pickups.

Needless to say it does that job wonderfully, but also it sounds great as an all around overdrive. It doesn't overly compress, but it feels to my fingers like I am running a comp with the way it covers up my sloppy runs. It seems to 'fatten up' my tone in the room playing solo. The overdrive is fairly transperent, and sustain is superb. I can run my signal a lil dirty but it comes off to my ear as clean.

It doesn't give the mid hump of the TS so cutting through the mix is a concern to me.

It has a 'bass cut' dipswitch in the battery compartment. I don't like the bass cut on..it somehow really f's with the entire eq.

Anyhow, after one unboxing...and a bit of fiddling... it is on the board and headed to rehearsal tomorrow night.

I will report back what I think of the pedal in a full band mix.

Have any of you had any stage time with the Nobels OD1???


Funny how when I switch amps, I rethink my whole pedalboard.

I look forward to hearing your conclusions about the pedal.

 

[basher]

I found the OD-1 to be a really nice-sounding general dirtyfier, but not a very effective cut-through/make-my-solos-more-audible pedal, which was what I was looking for. I ended up selling it.

 

[stormsedge]

I have the Mini. It has usurped (we are watching GoT) my Nux Horseman as an "always on", allowing me to drive the gain up on my Horseman.

 

[Cosmic Cowboy]

Update for anyone interested. First Rehearsal with the Nobels ODR1.

Major takeaways....

1. Definately not as pokey as a TS. Both a good and a bad thing. In a mix, I found myself running the ODR-1 on most of the time with gain around 9-10 oclock. This gave the clean channel of my Blues Deluxe a little character and fattens up the tele nicely.

Found myself stepping on the Tumnus (Kloney thing) for solo boosts. (Also Gain around 9 oclock...level up.)

2. Plays nicely when stacked with other overdrives. Whether it was the Tumnus or the Vertex Ultra Phonix...the Nobels complemented well and didn't wash the other drive sounds out.

3. Has way more gain on tap than I use for my sound. I never ran the gain past 10 oclock. Which was a nice dirty that feels dirty but sounds clean to the ear. As you wrap up the gain knob, things get pretty roudy.

Overall. Very happy with the Nobels ODR1 and will have it on the board for upcoming gigs.

 

[telerocker1988]

To me the way to use the Nobels ODR-1 is as a grit pedal for rhythm guitar. The session guys in Nashville who made them famous like Tom Bukovac, all use them for a lower gain rhythm tone for a broken up sound. I rarely see boards with the gain beyond half. Most of them are about 10/11 o' clock on the gain. Level up. The majority of those studio cats are using clean Fender or in some cases Vox/Matchless type amps and getting all of their gain from pedals. For solos they would either stack the ODR-1 into something else like a Ibanez Mostortion or King Of Tone, or turn off the Nobels and use something else entirely like a RAT or a XTS Winford Drive for solos or another high gain box. You might also see them use a boost pedal before the ODR, like a Xotic RC Booster or a Greer Lightspeed, but that's for a heavier rhythm. For leads, they put a OD pedal after the ODR and stack it that way. Or as I said, turn off the ODR and use a standalone higher gain pedal. Occasionally you might see fuzz but not often. They might occasionally crank an amp like a Marshall, but it's not the norm. Usually the tones are low-med gain.

 

[wildschwein]

To me the way to use the Nobels ODR-1 is as a grit pedal for rhythm guitar. The session guys in Nashville who made them famous like Tom Bukovac, all use them for a lower gain rhythm tone for a broken up sound. I rarely see boards with the gain beyond half. Most of them are about 10/11 o' clock on the gain. Level up. The majority of those studio cats are using clean Fender or in some cases Vox/Matchless type amps and getting all of their gain from pedals. For solos they would either stack the ODR-1 into something else like a Ibanez Mostortion or King Of Tone, or turn off the Nobels and use something else entirely like a RAT or a XTS Winford Drive for solos or another high gain box. You might also see them use a boost pedal before the ODR, like a Xotic RC Booster or a Greer Lightspeed, but that's for a heavier rhythm. For leads, they put a OD pedal after the ODR and stack it that way. Or as I said, turn off the ODR and use a standalone higher gain pedal. Occasionally you might see fuzz but not often. They might occasionally crank an amp like a Marshall, but it's not the norm. Usually the tones are low-med gain.

Yes. I own the VS Open Road which has similar properties to the ODR-1. Some say it is a clone or dervived from the ODR-1 but I'm not certain of that. The Open Road however is also full range, kind of thick sounding and it works great for fat slightly dirty rhythm work in front of a clean Fender Twin. The pedal is very amp-like for lack of a better word. For soloing I have a Tube Screamer-type pedal (VS Route 808) set after the Open Road. The 808's gain is set pretty low but its level is set high. Kicking the 808 in on top of the Open Road bumps up the volume a lot and also produces an amazing, well defined lead tone with more midrange definition. It's a great combo.

 

[NM Craig]

Hello, I have both a Wampler Belle and the Nobels Mini ODR. I think they are both amazing Pedals with similar, yet different personalities..Im using the Nobels for mild saturation. The pedal is almost always on. I use the Belle for soloing, set with more aggressive saturation. The two pedals work well together. Here‘s a photo of my settings. don’t laugh at my spike tape with letters. I’m working on a dark stage with aging eye sight (lol)..Best of luck with your pedals..

 

[Edgar Allan Presley]

I used to run an ODR-1 into a Twin Reverb. I liked the gain and response, but not the EQ. This was before they had a bass cut switch. If I ran one now, I might use an eq pedal with it. I replaced my ODR-1 with a Barber Gain Changer, which had similar soft clipping to my ear, but had better tone control.

 

[Whoa Tele]

Hello, I have both a Wampler Belle and the Nobels Mini ODR. I think they are both amazing Pedals with similar, yet different personalities..Im using the Nobels for mild saturation. The pedal is almost always on. I use the Belle for soloing, set with more aggressive saturation. The two pedals work well together. Here‘s a photo of my settings. don’t laugh at my spike tape with letters. I’m working on a dark stage with aging eye sight (lol)..Best of luck with your pedals..

Can you tell us how the Belle and Mini differ. Which would you choose if you had to pick between the two . Thanks

 

[NM Craig]

Can you tell us how the Belle and Mini differ. Which would you choose if you had to pick between the two . Thanks

Both pedals are very similar. If I had to choose between the two I’d probably go with the Belle. I trust the way Wampler builds its pedals. Nobels is new to me and I’m still unsure about reliability. Secondly, I like being able to eq the pedal. The Belle offers more in this area. Lastly, I simply like the way the Belle sounds, particularly in heavier saturation. The pedal sounds wonderful and reacts wonderfully to your guitar, and how one uses the volume…

If budget is an issue or if you are unsure if you will like either, go with the Nobels. I love this pedal. If you are needing to add edge and grit (as described above) when playing rhythm, this is your pedal. It’s fantastic at lower gain. If you are a country or blues guy this really is great for those styles of music. I’ve not used this pedal for higher saturation so I can’t really give you an opinion on cranking up the gain..

Good luck ..and happy pedal hunting..

 

[Whoa Tele]

Both pedals are very similar. If I had to choose between the two I’d probably go with the Belle. I trust the way Wampler builds its pedals. Nobels is new to me and I’m still unsure about reliability. Secondly, I like being able to eq the pedal. The Belle offers more in this area. Lastly, I simply like the way the Belle sounds, particularly in heavier saturation. The pedal sounds wonderful and reacts wonderfully to your guitar, and how one uses the volume…

If budget is an issue or if you are unsure if you will like either, go with the Nobels. I love this pedal. If you are needing to add edge and grit (as described above) when playing rhythm, this is your pedal. It’s fantastic at lower gain. If you are a country or blues guy this really is great for those styles of music. I’ve not used this pedal for higher saturation so I can’t really give you an opinion on cranking up the gain..

Good luck ..and happy pedal hunting..

Thanks . I already have a Belle and J Rockett Chicken Soup. I was thinking of picking up a Nobels mini but will probably hold off . Thanks

 

[johnnylaw]

I recently played through a Belle, and really enjoyed. The pedal imparted an open breathy sort of halo to the sound of the tighter modern sounding amp. Kind of like a tweed costume for cleaner nfb circuits.
I’d love to hear a comparison with the Wampler ‘57 Tweed pedal.
I think the ODR style boxes would be great for rootsy sounding bands. The notes remained very clear with a nice kind of shimmer. I could imagine that quality being lost in a loud raucous band. But, who knows? Other beneficial characteristics could emerge with tweaking and a good ear.
I’d love more commentary from those gigging this sort of pedal.
I can’t think of a reason to not keep something like this in a busy studio.

 

[cousinpaul]

I had problems finding an EQ setting that worked well for all 3 pickup positions. If I set it for the bridge picickup, the neck position would be too dark. Visa versa for a setting that favored the neck. I was playing the mini. No idea about the low cut. Even so, I agree that it could be a good studio tool.

 

[igor5]

I had problems finding an EQ setting that worked well for all 3 pickup positions. If I set it for the bridge picickup, the neck position would be too dark. Visa versa for a setting that favored the neck. I was playing the mini. No idea about the low cut. Even so, I agree that it could be a good studio tool.

Same for me. IME it is a telecaster bridge pickup only.

 

[johnnylaw]

I tried out the Belle twice in a band setting through a GA 20 RVT. Fantastic results. I wound up the gain higher than I would have expected. The bass control let me find “the spot” for both ends of the Tele.
It might not be for everybody, but it sat really well in Alt-Country and Americana zone. Really controllable, and very quiet.

 

[telemnemonics]

I’ve never tried one because I always had the impression its kind of a TS without the mid hump and with a bit of bass boost where I prefer a bit of bass cut.
Makes some sense to add a cut to the boost but I’m not sure why you give a pedal a character than add a character delete option.