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I've wanted one of these for years, and I finally found a great deal on Reverb the other day. I mostly bought it to reclaim a couple of the 'utility' pedals from my Lead 12 board.
Before buying the ParaDrive, I ran the gain on my Lead 12 around 6 and boosted with a Maxon OD-9 for a typical JCM800 tone, and the Pickup Booster was mostly used as a 'more' switch for leads. Compared to the SD Pickup Booster, the clean boost side of the ParaDrive is pretty tame. When using the Pickup Booster with my Lead 12, it's almost too fat with the gain all the way down and the resonance switch off. The ParaDrive has a much wider usable range, and it also seems to trim the low end a bit which is super helpful with the Lead 12's overbearing, muddy bass. As an added bonus I can get a great plexi-like crunch with just the boost side of the ParaDrive into the Lead 12.
The 'stock' voicing on the OD side of the ParaDrive is very similar to my Maxon OD-9; it was almost difficult to tell them apart. I'm not 100% sure what the diode switch does, but I'm using it in the center position which is less compressed and a bit louder than stock. Fat drive (FD) is a cool option, but I don't need extra low end with the Lead 12. It's probably good that I waited this long to get a ParaDrive, as it isn't really the sort of drive I like with my Marshall Jubilee. OTOH it's even better with the Lead 12 than the OD-9 and Pickup Booster it replaced, and now I have those two back on my pedal shelf for use with my other amps.
Overall the Homebrew Electronics ParaDrive is a highly tweakable TS and independent clean boost in the same box. With HBE out of business they've become a bit hard to find, but they're definitely worth picking up if you can find a good price.
Before buying the ParaDrive, I ran the gain on my Lead 12 around 6 and boosted with a Maxon OD-9 for a typical JCM800 tone, and the Pickup Booster was mostly used as a 'more' switch for leads. Compared to the SD Pickup Booster, the clean boost side of the ParaDrive is pretty tame. When using the Pickup Booster with my Lead 12, it's almost too fat with the gain all the way down and the resonance switch off. The ParaDrive has a much wider usable range, and it also seems to trim the low end a bit which is super helpful with the Lead 12's overbearing, muddy bass. As an added bonus I can get a great plexi-like crunch with just the boost side of the ParaDrive into the Lead 12.
The 'stock' voicing on the OD side of the ParaDrive is very similar to my Maxon OD-9; it was almost difficult to tell them apart. I'm not 100% sure what the diode switch does, but I'm using it in the center position which is less compressed and a bit louder than stock. Fat drive (FD) is a cool option, but I don't need extra low end with the Lead 12. It's probably good that I waited this long to get a ParaDrive, as it isn't really the sort of drive I like with my Marshall Jubilee. OTOH it's even better with the Lead 12 than the OD-9 and Pickup Booster it replaced, and now I have those two back on my pedal shelf for use with my other amps.
Overall the Homebrew Electronics ParaDrive is a highly tweakable TS and independent clean boost in the same box. With HBE out of business they've become a bit hard to find, but they're definitely worth picking up if you can find a good price.
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