Re: New MXR 5150 Overdrive pedal - have you tried it ?
Personally, I'd recommend either the Bogner Ecstasy Red or Uberschall Pedal over the 5150 pedal. The Bogners have foot-switchable boost functions (on the XTC pedals you can even fine tune how much gain and volume you get from the boost), while the 5150 boost function isn't foot-switchable (seriously, what's the point of having a boost function then?), but the 5150 does have a built in noise gate. The Uberschall is either a love-it-or-hate-it sound. It has a lot of gain, but it doesn't feel like it, because the gain isn't real aggressive in the high end. This is most people's gripe with it, and why they say they're disappointed with its 'lack of gain'. They're just not used to it. The EQ is also very finicky, and it is easy to add too much of any EQ band when you're trying to compensate differences in the EQ. I like it, and use it when I need it - it sounds darker and throatier than the Ecstasy pedals. It works phenomenally well for heavy rhythms - especially when multitracking. The Ecstasy Red is best described as "Jerry Cantrell in a box". It sounds exactly how you'd think - a Bogner styled Marshall sound going balls to the wall. It's also pretty versatile, and it could easily do Van Halen.
As always, it's worth testing them all and seeing what you'd like best, and what has the features you want.
