Overdrive and dirt pedal search

Like all of us I took a long OD journey trying many brands. I have two that I love, are expensive, but worth it to me.

Transparent- Greer Amps Lightspeed. The most truly transparent I've tried. Sounds like my amp cranked w/o having to crank my amp.

Distortion- XTS Winford Drive. Thick but articulate, cleans up awesome.

The are pricey, but for me ...worth it to stay inspired at live gigs.

 

My favorite OD pedal is the Prince of Tone. Clean boost I use a Stratoblaster or my modded Peppermill.

 

Lots of good choices. I like Zen Drives and Blues Breakers. Will also give a shout out to Barber Electronics and Machine Head Pedals. Best of the best if you can hear the sound you're looking for in them.

 

I love my MHP 72 and 98.6 Degrees. Simply excellent with every guitar and amp I use them with for milder to higher (not extreme)- gain sounds. The Jetter Dharma is exceptional but discontinued. And for mild/"transparent" overdrive count me among the Timmy fans.

 

Take a peek at this Route 808. It's what I use with great success.

 

Catalinbread Formula #5 is my favorite overdrive ever. And I own several. Just something magic about it.

 

The MI Audio Crunch Box/Super Crunch Box, or one of its ever-increasing number of clones, is usually a safe bet if you're looking for something mid- to high-gain tone in the Marshall vein. The JHS Angry Chrarlie or AT will also be similar, though a bit pricier.

Several folks have mentioned the Rat, which is another safe bet, though at higher gain levels, I really only like it with a Tube Screamer-type pedal in front to rein in the flabby low end that shows up when you start increasing the gain dial. Though we may have different definitions of high-gain.

I'm not going to be a lot of help with lower gain pedals used as stand-alone dirt boxes, as I typically only use them to boost already overdriven amp or pedal. I have played with the EHX Crayon (a vintage Colorsound clone, I think) a fair bit though, and it seems to do a little bit of everything in the lower gain arena fairly well, and it can do transparent well if dialed in for that.

 

What about an OCD? Mild gain for TS tones and heavy gain for distortion.

My 2¢:
BD-2 (Keeley modded) - Mild OD
OCD - TS and Distortion
Philosopher's Tone - Boost/Sustain

 

I love my Catlinbread Dirty Little Secret MK III. As an overdrive, I leave the pre-amp at 1 and if I want more of a nudge, I'll crank that up a bit. It plays really well with my late 70's MXR Distortion + I run it in front of my MXR and I'll use it to boost the MXR for solos.

Another totally underrated Tube Screamer pedal is the Tokai OD1. I use mine on a second pedalboard, where overdrive & echo is all I need. Apparently it's exactly the same as a vintage Ibanez Tube Screamer under the hood and you can find them used dirt cheap. Try Axe & You Shall Receive site. Scott has loads of good stuff new & used.

 

the route 808 has a little more gain than the ts and it has a very articulate sound, doesnt muddy up like some ts clones. i have it and im gassing for the vs double trouble

 

If you're considering a TS variant, the Green Rhino is pretty solid, especially their latest version with more control over bass. That couple with the Red Llama for more grunt gives you three voices in the Camel Toe. I've been playing with mine over the last week and really am digging it. Add your boost and that's all, folks.

I'd have to say there is a lot of overlap between the pedals in these suggestions, but finding a combination that works well in one box is kind of a treat. YMMV.

 

Personally I think the OCD's distortion tones are oddly constricted sounding but with gain on "0" they're OK asa clean boost.

I agree. It's the best one I know of and actually smoother than any Tube Screamer - *if* you like mid-forward low gain distortion.

 

curious why you say compressor, as the tone workstation has one already. I’m looking at that pedal that’s why I ask.

 

Oops! I sold that pedal a long time ago. It sounded great but I couldn't get along with the tiny footswitch spacing. Not suitable for stage use. These days I use a much simpler rig.

 

My current chain for gain staging is:

MXR Distortion + ->
Timmy ->
BB Preamp ->
MXR Il Diavolo ->
Tumnus Deluxe

The Tumnus is always on, slightly above unity and basically an EQ boost out of the gain stage and into the MOD/DELAY/VERB
I use the Distortion + (my oldest OD/dirt pedal) as a clean boost with just a tiny hint of grit, so max volume & min gain. It really thickening up single coils. Garcia knew what he was doing!!
The Timmy has a little bit of dirt (stage 1) and I use treble/bass cut to craft the sound between single coils vs. Humbuckers (my Tele vs my PRS)
The BB Preamp is a bit more dirt (stage 2) enough to cause early breakup and push the signal a bit harder
The Il Diavolo is my heavier dirt (stage 3) and is a favorite TS style mid bump but I can also contour with the tone control. This pedal can also sound like it want to be a fuzz! versatile and awesome!
Don't really stack them once you get into the higher gain stages, but the combos of the Tumnus, Timmy and Distortion + cover a lot of ground for me.