Fulltone vs. Fulltone vs. Fulltone....?

[Boogie Bill]

I play mostly classic rock, blues and country covers in a G/B/K/D band. I use Mesa amps, like a DC-3, Mark III or IV, or a Maverick and I'm really happy with my tones. My main guitar is a G&L Legacy, but I also use a Historic Les Paul or 335, 12-string, dreadnought and banjo.

I recently picked up a used Carl Martin Plexi-Tone for a good price to give me some Marshall-like crunch tones.

But I've been looking at the Fulltone Full Drive 2 MOSFET, GT-500 and perhaps even considering the OCD to supplement the Mesa distortions. I tend to not use huge amounts of gain, preferring the fluid, singing tones of the Mesas.

So I'm wondering how to choose between the Fulldrive and the GT-500. I know what the OCD can do.

Which if these Fulltones would be best for me?

TIA,

Bill

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Fulltone vs. Fulltone vs. Fulltone....?

The GT-500 is a terrible sounding pedal IMHO

The OCD can sound good but it's picky about other things in the signal path and again IMHO most of the time sounds pretty bad...

I guess that leaves a Fulldrive 2 but I must ask.

Why are you limiting your search to Fulltone???

There are loads of great pedal out there today that can do what you want.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Fulltone vs. Fulltone vs. Fulltone....?

Out of those, I'd go for the Fulldrive II with or without MOSFET.

I'm mostly a fan of having great sounding amps that don't really need much, so I prefer very subtle neutral OD's that just kick up the volume or gain a tiny bit.

For years, I mostly used a Klon Centaur. I recently got a T Rex Moller which is a little like the FDII, but it's a bit more subtle and neutral sounding. It's got 4 knobs which tailor the gain side, then one knob that simply adjusts it's clean boost volume....and you can combine them. I think I may get a lot of use out of this pedal.

Another couple that are similar are the Xotic BB Plus and HBE Power Screamer. All of them are dual OD's meant to boost an already good sounding amp.

 

[guitarded]

Re: Fulltone vs. Fulltone vs. Fulltone....?

Might want ti check out the Plimsoul. I have a Mark IV. For overdirves I have TS-9 and a Fulltone Plimsoul. The full drive is more like a Tubescreamer and the OCD is kinda transparent. The Plimsoul falls somewhere in the middle.

 

[FretFire]

Re: Fulltone vs. Fulltone vs. Fulltone....?

Fulldrive, no doubt. I have had one on my board for a couple of years now. It can definitely do the TS thing in Vintage mode, but it's more transparent in FM (flat mids) mode, and does a great clean boost in Comp Cut mode.

 

[Powdered Toast Man]

Re: Fulltone vs. Fulltone vs. Fulltone....?

The OCD can sound good but it's picky about other things in the signal path and again IMHO most of the time sounds pretty bad...

I hear lots of guys raving about how much they love the OCD. This is the problem with pedal recommendation threads - they're completely subjective in terms of what the OP actually hears with his ears. I suggest he just go try these pedals out and decide.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Fulltone vs. Fulltone vs. Fulltone....?

it depends on the job really. Ive got all 3 and they all have their strengths and deficiencies. My initial feeling is that the fulldrive would be the way to go for singing lead lines. Cos its really a tubescreamer it works best as an overdrive/boost, whereas the other two i think seem to work better as the main source of drive into a cleaner amp.

 

[Stratman]

Re: Fulltone vs. Fulltone vs. Fulltone....?

ZIM pedal is better than any Fulltone!

 

[phil_104]

Re: Fulltone vs. Fulltone vs. Fulltone....?

Plimsoul is worth a shot. It has a nice quality to the control you get, with the second stage that can be blended in. Very nice and versatile pedal that delivers a really organic sound.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Fulltone vs. Fulltone vs. Fulltone....?

Bill...if you are looking for a dirty sound to supplement the ones you can get from the booger (and your plexitone), why don't you go for a really different texture than overdrive and look into some fuzz?

 

[Bludave]

Re: Fulltone vs. Fulltone vs. Fulltone....?

Out of those, I'd go for the Fulldrive II with or without MOSFET.

I'm mostly a fan of having great sounding amps that don't really need much, so I prefer very subtle neutral OD's that just kick up the volume or gain a tiny bit.

For years, I mostly used a Klon Centaur. I recently got a T Rex Moller which is a little like the FDII, but it's a bit more subtle and neutral sounding. It's got 4 knobs which tailor the gain side, then one knob that simply adjusts it's clean boost volume....and you can combine them. I think I may get a lot of use out of this pedal.

Another couple that are similar are the Xotic BB Plus and HBE Power Screamer. All of them are dual OD's meant to boost an already good sounding amp.

Agreed.... I use a modded TS09 but I use it more as a clean boost in my Shiva in the clean channel. It gives me just a touch of a boost and for mild solos or some drive chords it works great.

 

[B2D]

Re: Fulltone vs. Fulltone vs. Fulltone....?

Fulldrive.

The Plimsoul is worth a try of you haven't taken it for a spin yet. It's a distortion pedal, not an overdrive pedal, but the tone is incredibly rich.

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Fulltone vs. Fulltone vs. Fulltone....?

Thanks guys, getting some good information. I had a chance to pickup the Fulldrive and the GT-500 at a good price, but it sounds like they might duplicate what I already have. I will give the Plimsoul a try. And the idea of a fuzz is a good one, too...any fuzz pedal recommendations?

Bill

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Fulltone vs. Fulltone vs. Fulltone....?

We can talk fuzz all day, or at least I can but if you're wanting to use it in conjunction with your amps for a "more of what I have tone" a fuzz...any fuzz is a bad idea.

Fuzz sort of takes over your amp and does what it does and they are full of issues all of their own...

They don't work well with wah pedals
They don't play well with buffers
They don't work well with wireless
They don't work correctly wiht active pickups
They often require a slight change in your playing technique
Many of them don't "track" correctly in some situations
Many of them are temp sensitive


They are overall a huge pain in the back side but well worth it once you figure them out.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Fulltone vs. Fulltone vs. Fulltone....?

Christian, I love ya but sometimes you're just to harsh. My Fulltone 69 sounded wonderful with my Wah Wah. I've got a bunch of them and it sounded great with any of them. I liked it best with the Wah Wah in front of the 69 and it sounded like Jimi Hendrix was in the room. No kidding.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Fulltone vs. Fulltone vs. Fulltone....?

I'm just saying that a vintage wah pedal with no impedance matching buffer into most vintage (style) fuzz pedal simply doesn't like most folks think it's going to...the impedance mismatch created makes a lot of noise and feedback plus it makes the sweep of the wah VERY narrow.

If you run the fuzz first it works fine but it's not the sound most folks want to hear plus it also greatly exaggerates the sweep of the wah since it is not at full square wave clip due to the fuzz box and that makes it harder to use.

A buffer like Teese, Fulltone or Wilson use makes life easier but they do tend to sound a little different as well...

Jimi was able to make it work on some occasions with a stock Vox wah and a Fuzz Face but since Jimi's gear was made at a time when things varied so much more than today and since those old Ge Fuzz Faces had bias issues due to simple temp changes some days it worked and other days it didn't...in fact some days it worked and 15 minutes later it didn't!

My point to my above post was letting Bill know that a fuzz is not a plug and play device like a Tubescreamer or a Rat...

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Fulltone vs. Fulltone vs. Fulltone....?

Back in the old days (60's/70's) I used to always run the fuzz first and then the wah, but I'm pretty sure it was YOU who suggested reversing the order. And it sounded better.

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: Fulltone vs. Fulltone vs. Fulltone....?

I need to listen to some clips of Eric Johnson..I think he was using the "69" pedal when it first came out? I had an early version,but I don't like a fuzz because of the way it acts with a wah..Even with a buffered wah,I just never cared for it..I just don't use a fuzz!

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Fulltone vs. Fulltone vs. Fulltone....?

Well, I do have some experience with fuzz boxes back in the day...from the original Gibson Maestro fuzz ("Satisfaction"), a pair of vintage Fender Blenders (both stolen!), an original Big Muff Pi, and the built-in fuzztones in Vox Super Beatles and Acoustic Control 260 amp heads.

Yep, I am that old! LOL! I was using those pedals 40 years ago!

I know that the vintage fuzz boxes can be variable, unreliable and frustrating as all get out. But it's such a different tone that it might be the thing to augment the Mesa overdrive tones I have. I could see using that edgy buzz like in The Doors "Hello I Love You" or the Stones "Satisfaction" or the single sustained note Pete Townsend gets in "Won't Get Fooled Again". But I would like to have something that would be more consistent than the vintage fuzz pedals; more repeatable.

Thoughts?

Bill

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Fulltone vs. Fulltone vs. Fulltone....?

Almost any new production fuzz box will be more consistent than the oldies simply because most guys are now building them with matched and tested parts!

I like Fuzz Faces myself and have several slightly different versions of the Fuzz Face but they are not for everybody for sure...

These days believe it or not Guitar center actually has a few cool fuzz options to look into...

I'd start at GC and see what you find that you like and if you find one you love get it, if you like it but want something slightly different bring it back to the forum and we can start there as a reference point...

GC should have the standard Dunlop Fuzz Face, the Bonamassa Fuzz Face, the Eric Johnson Fuzz Face, the Hendrix Fuzz Face, the Fulltone stuff (69, 70, Ultimate Octave, Octa Fuzz, etc) as well as the ZVex Stuff (Fuzz Factory, Mastotron, Wooley Mammoth, etc) plus a few others

If you want a few to start looking at the Ultimate Octave is a cool unit...lots of gain and not temp sensitive plus it has a tone control and a fat/bright toggle that helps with various rigs plus the built in octave up is cool too but you can run it just as a fuzz!

The ZVex Mastotron is killer as well...super small, also silicon, lots of gain, tone control plus the extra controls add lots of flavors that can be very usable.

I am also a BIG fan of the blue Hendrix Fuzz Face...great gain structure, killer midrange content, good amount of gain...killer build quality too plus they are cheap!!!