NPD Reverend Drivetrain II (drivetrain vs. drivetrain II?)

[Jack Clayton]

Yesterday I saw a youtube video from Josh Scott and Rhett Shull on underrated drive pedals. One that particularly spoke to me was the Reverend Drivetrain. Impressed as I was, it was clear these things were too rare, and likely too expensive for me to consider.

Then today I wander into my local shop, and guess what's sitting on the second hand shelf....

A drivetrain II

Wasn't sure what that was, or how it compared, but after a quick demo, I was sold. Same treble and bass control in place of the standard tone knob. Same thick, velvety low end. I honestly think this pedal is gonna make my non mosfet Fulldrive 2 obsolete, which I never thought would happen.

One question for those in the know: how does the drivetrain differ from the drivetrain II? It doesn't really matter, since I couldn't be happier with what I've got. But I'm just generally curious.

 

[regularslinky]

I had an original Drivetrain. Bought it from Joe Naylor at a guitar show probably 20 years ago. Sold it about 5 years ago. Nice pedal. Built like a tank. Seemed to be a TS clone with a bit more gain available. Great cranked through a tube amp.

 

[regularslinky]

Sorry I didn’t really answer your question. In my defense, Im on my second beer. I don’t know what is different about the Drivetrain 2 other than the color.

 

[Grateful Ape]

Love mine. Bought it direct in 2004. I did get the volume pot changed in order to achieve a more gradual onslaught of output vol.

A new, smaller-footprint version with perhaps a little more gain and a mids control... would be perfect.

 

[RetroTeleRod]

A new, smaller-footprint version with perhaps a little more gain and a mids control... would be perfect.

 

[blowtorch]

The DT and the DT II are a bit different, I'll wait til someone like 11gauge comes in to explain how.
I had an original V1 DT but it sounded too nice and too refined to me, so I sent it on it's way.
I since bought this though, which is supposedly the same thing, and my ears do confirm that

 

[11 Gauge]

There's only like 3 or 4 component value differences between the DT I and DT II.

Both have a Tube Screamer 'front end', and the DT I is closer to a stock TS. The DT II will roll off more highs as you crank the drive/gain up, but then it also will let more highs through at the output of of the gain/drive stage. That's the primary difference.

Visual Sound (now Truetone) made the DT pedals for Reverend (prior to the GarageTone DT). Visual Sound has a history of taking popular pedals and altering them with their own tweaks.

So what you have with the DT pedals is basically a TS front end married to a Marshall Shredmaster tone circuit and back end. Or, more accurately, you've mostly got a Visual Sound Jekyll OD/clipping front end married to a Visual Sound Hyde tone circuitry and back end.

 

[11 Gauge]

A new, smaller-footprint version with perhaps a little more gain and a mids control... would be perfect.

I put a thread in the Burnt Fingers forum almost six years ago to this day, with rough directions on how to convert a Marshall Shredmaster to a Drivetrain - https://www.tdpri.com/threads/shred...in-i-ii-garagetone-workaround-project.552559/.

If you can source a compact Shredmaster DIY kit, then you should be able to alter it to be a Drivetrain (or have someone do it for you, if you lack the skills or desire to do it yourself). And if you want a mids control, you can simply leave the contour control from the Shredmaster as is. The contour control basically lets you go from scooped to emphasized mids.

 

[emisilly]

The DT and the DT II are a bit different, I'll wait til someone like 11gauge comes in to explain how.
I had an original V1 DT but it sounded too nice and too refined to me, so I sent it on it's way.
I since bought this though, which is supposedly the same thing, and my ears do confirm that

I have one of these. Great pedal. My favorite TS drive.

 

[Jakedog]

View attachment 834752

I really wish I hadn’t sold my Jet Driver. Such an awesome pedal.

 

[Jack Clayton]

I put a thread in the Burnt Fingers forum almost six years ago to this day, with rough directions on how to convert a Marshall Shredmaster to a Drivetrain - https://www.tdpri.com/threads/shred...in-i-ii-garagetone-workaround-project.552559/.

If you can source a compact Shredmaster DIY kit, then you should be able to alter it to be a Drivetrain (or have someone do it for you, if you lack the skills or desire to do it yourself). And if you want a mids control, you can simply leave the contour control from the Shredmaster as is. The contour control basically lets you go from scooped to emphasized mids.

Makes sense. I figured the difference between the II and the original would be subtle. I sure can't tell a difference from youtube vids.

So far my favorite combo is the JHS Clover preamp into the morning glory into the drivetrain. I set the clover for a more dramatic mid bump, use the MG just to add a bit of extra dynamic, and then dial the bass on the DT all the way up and treble all the way down. The lead tones are absolutely huge. Almost like a Muff, only smoother.

 

[ravindave_3600]

Had this for years and years, bought it as a more versatile TS, still think it's great.

Don't know a thing about v2 or v3.

 

[Ringo]

I've owned a couple of the original Drivetrain pedals, they were going for big bucks at one time so I sold them, I have a VS Garage Tone Drivetrain that I think I paid $30 for, it's a keeper! Great pedal! And it sounds VERY similar to the big box originals.

 

[swijak]

Yesterday I saw a youtube video from Josh Scott and Rhett Shull on underrated drive pedals. One that particularly spoke to me was the Reverend Drivetrain. Impressed as I was, it was clear these things were too rare, and likely too expensive for me to consider.

Then today I wander into my local shop, and guess what's sitting on the second hand shelf....

A drivetrain II

Wasn't sure what that was, or how it compared, but after a quick demo, I was sold. Same treble and bass control in place of the standard tone knob. Same thick, velvety low end. I honestly think this pedal is gonna make my non mosfet Fulldrive 2 obsolete, which I never thought would happen.

...

I love my DTII!!! I have had it since I purchased mine from Joe Naylor in 2002/3 at a guitar show. It has pretty much been my main OD since then. I just got the Truetone Route 66 V3 which was upgraded to include the DT circuit. I just posted about that on the gear page:
https://www.thegearpage.net/board/i...route-66-v3-to-replace-drivetrain-ii.2257309/

The bottom line is RT-66 V3 is the real deal for me. Even though they call it something else it is a Drivetrain to me! While I don't have an Original Drivetrain, I have the DT II and GarageTone Drivetrain. They are great pedals! and Truetone will still fix Reverend Drivetrains if needed!

 

[Jack Clayton]

View attachment 859272

I love my DTII!!! I have had it since I purchased mine from Joe Naylor in 2002/3 at a guitar show. It has pretty much been my main OD since then. I just got the Truetone Route 66 V3 which was upgraded to include the DT circuit. I just posted about that on the gear page:
https://www.thegearpage.net/board/i...route-66-v3-to-replace-drivetrain-ii.2257309/

The bottom line is RT-66 V3 is the real deal for me. Even though they call it something else it is a Drivetrain to me! While I don't have an Original Drivetrain, I have the DT II and GarageTone Drivetrain. They are great pedals! and Truetone will still fix Reverend Drivetrains if needed!

Since it looks like you've got one of everything, how would you compare the DTII to the others?

 

[swijak]

Since it looks like you've got one of everything, how would you compare the DTII to the others?

The DTII is my emotional favorite; It has been through a lot of gigs and was my only OD that used for a very long time. The DT II is very dynamic and responds to pick attack/volume knob changes very well. These days I have been running a EP Boost (or JRAD Archer Ikon) --> Drivetrain --> JHS Morning Glory --> Keeley Oxblood and running each individual or stacking into each other. The DT II (now RT66 V3) into the Morning Glory is my go-to lead tone.

I compared the others with the DTII settings at gain min/10:00/max, treble 11:00, bass 10:00, Volume 10:00.

• Reverend Drivetrain - Sadly, I don't have the original. I'm still on the lookout for a reasonably priced one to try out.
• Visual Sound GarageTone Drivetrain - gain ~12:00, treble 10:00, bass 10:00, Volume 1:00. This pedal is very close in tone to the DTII. At first I failed to bond with this pedal but that was more bias on my part than the pedal. I put this pedal on my board for about a month and really enjoyed it. Like the RT66 V3, this has less gain and volume than the DT II. This pedal also has very slightly less sparkle/openness that the DT II or RT66 V3 but that is only noticeable with headphones and direct comparison. With the gain at minimum there it does not get as clean as the DTII but pretty close. Max gain is a bit less than the DTII.
  
• TrueTone Route 66 V3 - gain 11:00, treble 11:00, bass 10:00, Volume 12:00, mode "A", clean mix full CW. So far the this pedal nails the DT II tones. The only differences sonically that I can hear are the DTII has more volume and a bit more gain. Surprisingly these pedals are so close I can't hear any thing significant and I really tried. The DTII at minimum gain settings also makes a great clean boost. The RT66 with the clean mix knob can get completely clean as well. Max gain is a bit less than the DTII.

I'm still in the honeymoon phase with my RT66 V3 but this an amazing pedal. The clean mix control is really usable. I've been playing around with increasing the gain and setting the mix to 12:00. I really the like the compressor as well the clean mix control really makes this compressor useful; I can increase the compression without losing my pick attack and still get really good finger dynamics. The separate I/O for the OD/Comp sides is very handy as well. This pedal is now the #1 in rotation and I don't see it leaving anytime soon.


The only other pedal that I have tried that compares favorably to the VS/TT versions of the DT is a Kraucyk Effect Pedals (KEP) Mostortion clone (from reverb.com). Since the Ibanez original is pricey I went with this clone. This pedal is very dynamic and amp-like even more so than the DT. The gain is a slightly different character (FETs?) but this is an immensely toneful and useable pedal and sees a lot of time on my board. The EQ is pretty flexible, and does not have the big TS mid hump. This is closer to the VS GT DT in sound but has it's own thing. With the EQ this does a great low gain boost.

There are other pedals I have tried that have been recommended as similar to the DT II. These were close but not the same as the DT

• Xotic BB Preamp - Great sounding pedal with different tone stack and slightly more compressed gain sound. I really like the sound of this pedal and it stacks well with the my DT. It also sounds better with bass/baritone guitar. Does not have the sparkle that the DT has but has it's own thing.
• EHX HotWax - This is an EHX Crayon (BB Preamp clone) and Hot Tubes combo. I liked the Crayon side as much as the BB Preamp and the Hot Tubes side as well. Again not a DT but I'm going to be exploring this pedal more in the future.
• Cochran/MXR Timmy - I have not had a chance to try this pedal. I hope to in the future. I understand the Vemuram Jan Ray is similar to/derived from the Timmy.

The Visual Sound RT66 V1.0 - From what I understand Visual Sound/TrueTone changed the drive section in the RT 66 to the DT-style in V3. My version is is the V1 and there is really no comparison to the DT. FYI: There are two "V1" pedals, the first "V1.0" has a plain "V" logo on the front and the later "V1.1" as the "V" Swirl logo. I'm describing my V1. I used this OD before I purchased my DT II. This pedal is a great sounding Tube Screamer and compares favorably with my TS-9 but is not even close to the DT II. The compressor is wonderful.