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I found a stupendous deal on Reverb a month or so ago...
First and foremost I need to thank Securb for plugging this thing so relentlessly over the last few years. I'd never been 100% happy with the GT-500 since adding it to my board 4 1/2 years ago; the boost side isn't anything particularly special and I was always fighting with the EQ on the distortion side. There was also the issue of having to pick from one of the several sounds I liked in it. With that said it sounded pretty good and filled a niche in my setup until something better came along.
With two clipping modes, ten MIDI-selectable presets, and a mid-contour EQ, the Dirt Clod is a very different beast. My first preset is an alternate clean sound using the form control and a low drive setting for a bit of compression and low-mid scoop along with treble boost. It's about the same volume as my Cali76, but a completely different tonality and feel. My second preset is an attempt to duplicate my favorite low/mid gain crunch sound from the GT-500. I still have the form control on, but higher gain, relatively flat treble, and a bit less mid scoop than the first preset. The slight mid scoop really helps to avoid mud when stacking with my Tumnus, UFO, or both which is now a usable combination. My third (currently final) preset kind of reminds me of a MIJ BOSS DS-1 with gain around 9 o'clock, slightly scooped mids, and a bit of treble and volume boost. I use it into the lead channel of the Jubilee to get me into Recto / Soldano / Friedman territory. It kind of reminds me of how the Jube itself sounds with the gain completely cranked, though I haven't run it that way for a really long while. I'd kind of forgot the extra aggression, tight palm mutes, and effortless harmonics, and it's cool to be able to get back there with the press of a single button on my Mastermind.
Here's my pedal drawer after swapping the GT-500 for the Dirt Clod:
First and foremost I need to thank Securb for plugging this thing so relentlessly over the last few years. I'd never been 100% happy with the GT-500 since adding it to my board 4 1/2 years ago; the boost side isn't anything particularly special and I was always fighting with the EQ on the distortion side. There was also the issue of having to pick from one of the several sounds I liked in it. With that said it sounded pretty good and filled a niche in my setup until something better came along.
With two clipping modes, ten MIDI-selectable presets, and a mid-contour EQ, the Dirt Clod is a very different beast. My first preset is an alternate clean sound using the form control and a low drive setting for a bit of compression and low-mid scoop along with treble boost. It's about the same volume as my Cali76, but a completely different tonality and feel. My second preset is an attempt to duplicate my favorite low/mid gain crunch sound from the GT-500. I still have the form control on, but higher gain, relatively flat treble, and a bit less mid scoop than the first preset. The slight mid scoop really helps to avoid mud when stacking with my Tumnus, UFO, or both which is now a usable combination. My third (currently final) preset kind of reminds me of a MIJ BOSS DS-1 with gain around 9 o'clock, slightly scooped mids, and a bit of treble and volume boost. I use it into the lead channel of the Jubilee to get me into Recto / Soldano / Friedman territory. It kind of reminds me of how the Jube itself sounds with the gain completely cranked, though I haven't run it that way for a really long while. I'd kind of forgot the extra aggression, tight palm mutes, and effortless harmonics, and it's cool to be able to get back there with the press of a single button on my Mastermind.
Here's my pedal drawer after swapping the GT-500 for the Dirt Clod:
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