Fulltone OCD impedance

benji657

benji657

New member
I just picked up a version 4 OCD.

So far, I like it. I'll give it 3 weeks or so before I decide to put in on the chopping block or not.

I have a question about the impedance though.

"The output of the OCD is an unbuffered volume pot... 100k or 500k depending on which version that you have. The pedal following the OCD will put a load on the volume pot and reduce the overall signal volume, significantly or not depending on the input impedance of the second pedal. A buffered input pedal will not put much load on it and the signal will come through stronger than if the pedal has a lower input Z. The volume drop/boost will be more noticeable with the 500k version than the 100k. This same problem applies to any other pedal with a volume pot on the output. The Fuzzface should produce a similar response..."

"If there's a pedal following your OCD that has true bypass, then the capacitance of the cable between it and the amp will cause noticeable treble rolloff when that pedal is bypassed, but it might not do this when that pedal is engaged. In this situation, it depends upon the output impedance of that pedal's circuit. If it has a low output impedance, then it's a similar situation when that pedal is engaged as when you have a buffered bypass pedal following the OCD."

My setup is as follows: McCarty --> sonic research turbo tuner --> teese walsh sig wah --> fulltone ocd --> mxr carbon copy delay --> laney lc15R

From the dunlop website, it says that the input impedance of the carbon copy delay is 1meg Ohm (on). Is that significant for the delay to affect the OCD?

Anyone running these two pedals together?

From a practical standpoint, I haven't noticed anything strange, but I do wish to know what's actually happening here.

Thanks
 
Re: Fulltone OCD impedance

yea, I hadn't noticed anything weird with mine either...but I'd still like to know what's going on. anyone else?
 
Re: Fulltone OCD impedance

i tried various combinations to make the ocd behave weird...throwing in a few boss effects in the chain here and there, but I don't notice it...by itself it sounds fine, with other pedals it sounds fine. maybe it likes my pedals or something...

still looking for some more explanations!
 
Re: Fulltone OCD impedance

It's not just about the sound...it also affects the feel and response of the pedal too...

Believe me if you run it alone and then run it into a buffered pedal...even run buffered pedals into it it does make some changes...
 
Re: Fulltone OCD impedance

Hmm, I knew nothing about any of this until just now...and I was actually thinking of getting an OCD to fill my OD needs........Might have to reconsider now. I wouldn't wanna have to change around my whole board, to accommodate one pedal.
 
Re: Fulltone OCD impedance

Mine behaves totally wierd with my MXR phase 90... makes my phaser sound bad... so I can attest to it. Shame cuz I really like both pedals... so I'm trying too figure out a solutino... so far it's too use the phaser on my line 6 M9... but I really really like using my MXR... feels different than the model version.

I will say though, the OCD is the only drive pedal that feels like a "more" switch for my JCM 800... doesn't make the amp sound different too much... just more of it. Even my EQ pedal funks up my amp.
 
Re: Fulltone OCD impedance

Glad I ran into this thread. I run a pretty simple setup:
guitar->OCDV.4->MXR Carbon Copy Delay->Amp

I got tired of how weak my sound was getting when I used the delay, so I stopped using it...took it out of my chain. Yesterday, despite common wisdom, I put it in front of the OCD. It sounded very different. So I went back and forth with it. I use it for slap back, so it is fine in front. I was thinking this was an impedance issue.....and here is a thread about it. I'd like to use the delay more, so I look forward to figuring out if this is an issue with the OCD.
 
Re: Fulltone OCD impedance

As the OCD is perfect for my uses, I believe I'll continue to leave the Carbon Copy lying unplugged next to OCD. It is a mighty pretty green... and sparkly. Maybe I'll even leave it on so I can see the pretty blue light. It doesn't add as much to my sound as it does to my looks. I'd prefer to put it in my effects loop any how, but that is a whole nother story of unbufferedness.
 
Re: Fulltone OCD impedance

Studio91 said:
Glad I ran into this thread. I run a pretty simple setup:
guitar->OCDV.4->MXR Carbon Copy Delay->Amp

I got tired of how weak my sound was getting when I used the delay, so I stopped using it...took it out of my chain. Yesterday, despite common wisdom, I put it in front of the OCD. It sounded very different. So I went back and forth with it. I use it for slap back, so it is fine in front. I was thinking this was an impedance issue.....and here is a thread about it. I'd like to use the delay more, so I look forward to figuring out if this is an issue with the OCD.
Click to expand...

see, this is weird, because I'm not experiencing any of these issues, with the same pedals (sans the true bypass rmc and tuner), with the same arrangement...i really wonder what's happening here.
 
Re: Fulltone OCD impedance

hermetico said:
WAIT A MOMENT!

If memory don't fails, the CC has some pushable button just to change between buffered/unbuffered input, just for compatibility with any kind of pedal.

DID YOU TRIED IT?
Click to expand...

Nope...the push button is for modulation on and off...

The Melekko ekko 616 has a button for buffered/true bypass...
 
Re: Fulltone OCD impedance

I had the same issue with my OCD v4. In fact, the same goes for Lovepedal Eternity.

Using a Boss TU2 in my setup before these pedals was my cure. Because that it is not true bypass but buffered, the tone did not get brittle when I hit my MXR CC.

Nevertheless, got tired of it, and sold mine. Love the Lovepedal AMP50 way more!

:)

Anyways, if you have a Boss pedal lying around, try it in front of OCD, and see if that helps.

B
 
Re: Fulltone OCD impedance

Would you think a Boss GE-7 eq would work. I think I have one of those noisy buggers in a closet somewhere.

I'll check it out when I find it.

I'm sure there's a simple impedance explanation for this, but I love my OCD for how it makes my guitar volume and tone controls function better. I use it without any drive...as a boost since it does something awesome to the signal. Especially with 18volts power.
 
Re: Fulltone OCD impedance

Studio91 said:
Would you think a Boss GE-7 eq would work. I think I have one of those noisy buggers in a closet somewhere.

I'll check it out when I find it.

I'm sure there's a simple impedance explanation for this, but I love my OCD for how it makes my guitar volume and tone controls function better. I use it without any drive...as a boost since it does something awesome to the signal. Especially with 18volts power.
Click to expand...

Dunno.

The best way is to try, no? :)

As I've said, in my case TU2 saved the day. And the funny thing is that I found it by accident. Of course there are tons of people on TGP talking about Peter Cornish's solutions and stuff, but those "solutions" involve more than a 100 dollar bill, which I find kinda weird especially for a non-professional guitar player like me, even though I play with my band in some local clubs like once every two weeks or so.

I simply was trying to use TU2 as a buffer for a 6m cable from my pedalboard to my amp. But then, all of a sudden I realized that it solved this impedance issue as well. Later, I found out that I was not Einstein or anything, and that cheap solution is quite common among the people of TGP. I just did not read well enough.

:)

B
 
Re: Fulltone OCD impedance

Studio91 said:
Would you think a Boss GE-7 eq would work. I think I have one of those noisy buggers in a closet somewhere.

I'll check it out when I find it.

I'm sure there's a simple impedance explanation for this, but I love my OCD for how it makes my guitar volume and tone controls function better. I use it without any drive...as a boost since it does something awesome to the signal. Especially with 18volts power.
Click to expand...

You have to be careful with the GE-7 because it does add alot of extra hiss to your setup...I used to use the GE-7 in the effects loop with great results.
 
Re: Fulltone OCD impedance

Bro,

I think he is talking about using it in bypass mode, simply just as a buffer.

B ;)
 
Re: Fulltone OCD impedance

dr.barlo said:
I had the same issue with my OCD v4. In fact, the same goes for Lovepedal Eternity.

Using a Boss TU2 in my setup before these pedals was my cure. Because that it is not true bypass but buffered, the tone did not get brittle when I hit my MXR CC.

Nevertheless, got tired of it, and sold mine. Love the Lovepedal AMP50 way more!

:)

Anyways, if you have a Boss pedal lying around, try it in front of OCD, and see if that helps.

B
Click to expand...

hi!:)
can you describe in more detail about the symptoms? I too, use both the ocd and CC, and according to your post, it should behave weirdly and result in a brittle sound. Just to make sure, the delay comes AFTER the ocd, as I assume that's how you run your pedals as well...

I stuck a boss chorus in front of the ocd, and it makes no difference. Probably because there wasn't a problem in the first place? But how could it not? You said the ocd got brittle with the CC after it, and I'd bet our CCs and OCDs aren't too different...
 
Re: Fulltone OCD impedance

My setup used to be:

McCarty --> RMC6 --> Pitchblack --> some other pedals --> OCD --> MXR CC.

What happened was: When I adjust the tone of my OCD without the MXR CC (it sounds quite fine alone), and hit the CC later... all of a sudden I get much more highs the second CC is activated. If I adjust the tone of my OCD with the CC active, then the second I deactivate the CC, OCD sound really dull no highs...

See?

And using a Boss TU2 instead of the pitchblack saved the day.

By the way, I bought mine from LA Guitar Center in early 2009. I dunno if they changed the K value of the volume pot they are using meanwhile. And of course this problem vanishes if you use your OCD with the volume all the way up. Because then the K value of the volume pot will not be important.

B
 
Re: Fulltone OCD impedance

By the way the amps are either a 18W TMB clone or a Marshall JTM30. And the same thing happens with my Lovepedal Eternity (Roadhouse version) as well. But, I generally crank the volume all the way up on that pedal, so it's not a big deal.

B
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top