Advice for new overdrive pedal

[erictse]

My only overdrive has been my first pedal when I started out 9 years ago: a stock Boss BD-2. Last week, I tried an OCD in HP mode and was amazed at how much better it was, even though it was voiced differently. In the past, I tried to use my compressor after my BD-2 to allow me to use the guitar volume knob to control gain, but it hasn't been working out in live situations. I want to invest in a new primary OD–maybe it should be a dual-channel pedal to cover light and mid-gain since it's a better use of money and less finicky for me than stacking and mis-tapping. All the buzz on the internet is leading me to some kind of Barber pedal! What can you guys recommend for my needs?

I play a near-stock Blackface Deluxe Reverb (I think with a 70s CTS speaker, and new tubes). I play (Hendrix/SRV/John Mayer) blues/rock at home with my strat, but I need to do cover songs for nearby churches that range from the typical U2/Coldplay sounds to harder-edged pop rock. So far, I've been sticking to the Les Paul for more of a versatile rock tone, since I have to rhythm and lead parts. I feel like my Deluxe Reverb is one of those lifetime investments and I don't want to GAS on amps, hoping that I get the best versatility with clean to heavy overdrive on it. I was kind of bummed when someone said, "You have the wrong amp", because I look up to the guy's tone and playing, but can't come to believe my precious amp is the issue.

Here are some of my thoughts on the differently "voiced" pedals based on what I've read.

LTD and LTD SR. Everyone seems to prefer this flatter voicing of SR over regular, but I have no idea what kind of gear and style of music they're talking about. It might be a good always-on pedal, but then, what else do I need to buy for mid to heavier gain? Would using my BD-2 as a clean boost into one of these guys do it for high-gain?

Direct Drive. Is the slight mid-hump that detestable? Why do people dismiss tubescreamers so much?

Direct Drive LG vs unLTD. Thoughts?

Thanks for the help, guys... really. These decisions are killing me and I don't like the whole buying/selling/trading thing. I want to buy now and forget about it! hehehe

[bigal]

For that kind of versatility, I'd go with a Direct Drive. Understand that one OD isn't going to nail all those styles perfectly, but the DD sounds real good in a lot of different settings and its the only pedal you listed that will offer enough gain for the harder-edged rock. I also think it sounds badass through a blackface amp. If you like to tweek, spring for the Super Sport.

[hobbyist789]

LTD and LTD SR. Everyone seems to prefer this flatter voicing of SR over regular, but I have no idea what kind of gear and style of music they're talking about. It might be a good always-on pedal, but then, what else do I need to buy for mid to heavier gain? Would using my BD-2 as a clean boost into one of these guys do it for high-gain?

For mid- to heavier-gain, I like the Direct Drive (or the Super Sport.. essentially the same thing). Personally, for me, I'm not into stacking pedals. If I can have just one pedal on that gets me into the level of gain that I want, I'll take that—rather than stacking two lower-gain ones to get up there.

Direct Drive. Is the slight mid-hump that detestable? Why do people dismiss tubescreamers so much?

For me, it's not the "mid-hump" that's a turn-off, but rather the lack of low-end in the standard tubescreamer. Direct Drive fixes that and definitely keeps the solid lows intact, and has more gain on tap if you want, too. (The Direct Drive also does have a mid-hump, but that's kind of par for the course with higher-gain pedals. There's not really many "flat-response" mid/high-gain pedals out there... except for maybe the unLTD.)

Direct Drive LG vs unLTD. Thoughts?

The DD-LG is indeed LOW gain. Like.. about as low (or even lower?) than the LTD—or at least that's how it seems to me. But it's very nice. I like mine a LOT.

The unLTD, on the other hand, is like taking an LTD-SR and cranking the gain knob about 25-50% farther up the scale. (About 2:00 on my unLTD sounds pretty close to my LTD-SR maxed out at 5:00.) I'd say the LTD/LTD-SR and the DD-LG are close cousins on the low-gain end, and the unLTD and DD are cousins on the higher end. I also think the unLTD is the closest Barber pedal you'll find to the OCD (they're not entirely identical, but in the same ballpark).

[erictse]

Seems like the Direct Drive is a pretty solid pedal given the consensus (and the outright popularity of the pedal). I'm pretty excited to get one now, since I was trying to figure out between a unLTD and Direct Drive to mate with my Deluxe Reverb. I'm interested in the dual-channel units since I kind of want to get the light-mid and mid-heavy gain taken care of in one shot.

The front page posts a Dual Unlimited, which looks like a great value, but is there a "dual direct drive" out there? Is the Dual Unlimited too different from some sort of Dual Direct Drive (if it exists), even with the control knobs set close?

Or maybe a Direct Drive for lead and Dual Unlimited for light and medium gain? (ha, going into two pedal territory like I was trying to avoid. hmm...)

[David Barber]

but is there a "dual direct drive" out there? Is the Dual Unlimited too different from some sort of Dual Direct Drive (if it exists), even with the control knobs set close?

Funny timing, we are prototyping something fun for summer that has had the shop BUZZING!





Click the link below for Hi Rez of interior.

http://www.barberelectronics.com/images/DDDC_inside_large.jpg

[hobbyist789]

I can feel a tingling sensation in my PayPal account already!!!

[davidgrantham]

I can feel a tingling sensation in my PayPal account already!!!

Me too.

[plan-x]

Very interesting. Hmmm, what could that NS trim be? Nice finish!