My New Overdrive

[ParaGuitarMedic]

Help fellas!

I've got some serious option anxiety. One of these is going to be my new OD pedal for single coils. I like having different drive pedals for HB's/SC's. With the AC Booster and now the EMMA Reezafratzitz my humbucker needs are covered. Now, I need to cover my SC needs. This will be for my Melancon Pro Artist T (Ash w/ alder cap, Chambered body, rosewood neck, antiquitys) and a yet to be named strat (that will most likely have Lew's Texas Hot Bridge w/ Surfer N and Mid.) I like the TS kind of sound, I want light to medium gain for this setup. I like the versatilty of the FDII. But I like the clean blend function of the Sparkle Drive. One concern I have is that the FDII will be too "Hi-Fi" to really let my Tele Antiquity Bridge snarl. Any users out there? Am I just parnoid? Any suggestions?

EDIT: Amp is a Fender DRRI w/G12H30

_Joel:eek13:

 

[wildstar]

Re: My New Overdrive

Keeley TS9/TS808? Seems like a good one to add to the pedals you already have. The best Tubescreamer-type OD I've come across - and I've tried A LOT.

What about the Keeley Rat? I like it better than the TS kind of stuff, but it might be TOO snarly with single coils. I've only used it with humbuckers, and found it super rich, fat, and almost hi-fi. YMMV

http://www.robertkeeley.com/home.php

Cheers

 

[Gunny47]

Re: My New Overdrive

hey,

I never tried a or my fulldrive II MOSFET edition with single coils, but I'm sure it will be great. It is voiced like a tube screamer with more settings (if you are going to go this way, find the red 10th anniversary MOSFET edition, you can find them for the same price as the normal blue on on the web now). The MOSFET setting cuts through a little better with a tighter bass end, which the standard position is a little softer and spongier in the low ends. The real kicker is the 3 way switch on the left. Comp cut which has more headroom, slightly brighter, sort of like a loud super reverb with the treble a little higher than the bass. The Flat Mids setting is...flat mids, great for blues with neck pickup (I use my burstbucker 1 on my R7 Goldtop, but Im sure a Surfer will sound amazing for your SRV type stuff on the flat mids setting). And the vintage setting is the most amp like. Very much like a fender vibroverb cranked up pretty good. Great mids, most distortion out of all the settings, can even get into your tweed sounds with the right amp.

The Fulldrive II has the boost footswitch too, which I rarely use, in a gig I used it, but I was running a very clean Mesa Boogie Mk. IV that night so I needed the extra gain for a ripping solo I really worked on and needed to nail. The thing I love about the Fulldrive is that it can be used as a clean boost or just like an edge type thing. Comp cut with volume all the way up, overdrive pretty low gets you a big fat right on the verge of a break up sound. Thats probably good for your tele bridge that you were worried about.

I only tried the sparkle drive once and dont have much experience at all with it, but from what I heard, the FDII blew it away. Of course, much different but the overall sound quality and versitility of the Fulldrive seemed much better (Im a big fulltone fan myself). I actually think the FDII was developed with single coils in mind cuz the thing has a great warmth to it and its designed to sound like cranked american amps. I really love mine, so Ill vote for that.

+1 on the Keeley Modded stuff too. I use a Keeley Modded Blues Driver at band practices (its the drummer's dad's) and its pretty damn good. Tube screamer with less mids, more transparent and thick sound tho. I prefer the Tube Screamer tho, the modded TS808 (I never tried the modded TS9), but the modded stuff is so different from the stock stuff, its not even funny. Sounds so much better. So there is a lot of stuff you can go with. Good luck, but my favorite is probably the Fulldrive II for the price. You can find it for $50 less than the TS808 modded with true bypass and the 1982 chip (the most common one).

 

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: My New Overdrive

Most of my friends have the Sparkle Drive (out of the friends who have either of the two mentioned !)

Sorry - i have neither !
I do however have an SD-1 modded to Fulltone Fulldrive spec's !

 

[PUCKBOY99]

Re: My New Overdrive

hey,

I never tried a or my fulldrive II MOSFET edition with single coils, but I'm sure it will be great. It is voiced like a tube screamer with more settings (if you are going to go this way, find the red 10th anniversary MOSFET edition, you can find them for the same price as the normal blue on on the web now). The MOSFET setting cuts through a little better with a tighter bass end, which the standard position is a little softer and spongier in the low ends. The real kicker is the 3 way switch on the left. Comp cut which has more headroom, slightly brighter, sort of like a loud super reverb with the treble a little higher than the bass. The Flat Mids setting is...flat mids, great for blues with neck pickup (I use my burstbucker 1 on my R7 Goldtop, but Im sure a Surfer will sound amazing for your SRV type stuff on the flat mids setting). And the vintage setting is the most amp like. Very much like a fender vibroverb cranked up pretty good. Great mids, most distortion out of all the settings, can even get into your tweed sounds with the right amp.

The Fulldrive II has the boost footswitch too, which I rarely use, in a gig I used it, but I was running a very clean Mesa Boogie Mk. IV that night so I needed the extra gain for a ripping solo I really worked on and needed to nail. The thing I love about the Fulldrive is that it can be used as a clean boost or just like an edge type thing. Comp cut with volume all the way up, overdrive pretty low gets you a big fat right on the verge of a break up sound. Thats probably good for your tele bridge that you were worried about.

I only tried the sparkle drive once and dont have much experience at all with it, but from what I heard, the FDII blew it away. Of course, much different but the overall sound quality and versitility of the Fulldrive seemed much better (Im a big fulltone fan myself). I actually think the FDII was developed with single coils in mind cuz the thing has a great warmth to it and its designed to sound like cranked american amps. I really love mine, so Ill vote for that.

+1 on the Keeley Modded stuff too. I use a Keeley Modded Blues Driver at band practices (its the drummer's dad's) and its pretty damn good. Tube screamer with less mids, more transparent and thick sound tho. I prefer the Tube Screamer tho, the modded TS808 (I never tried the modded TS9), but the modded stuff is so different from the stock stuff, its not even funny. Sounds so much better. So there is a lot of stuff you can go with. Good luck, but my favorite is probably the Fulldrive II for the price. You can find it for $50 less than the TS808 modded with true bypass and the 1982 chip (the most common one).

NICE review Gunny!!!

The FD II 10th is a great pedal....never used the Sparkle Drive.

What amp ya' gonna be using?

The FD seemed to be a great match with a cleaner Fendery type amp.....With a dirty amp, I liked it more as a boost than as a Distortion type box, but that might just be me.

Keep an eye out on the lines for a used one.....they pop up semi-regularly on The Gear Page.

 

[ParaGuitarMedic]

Re: My New Overdrive

NICE review Gunny!!!

The FD II 10th is a great pedal....never used the Sparkle Drive.

What amp ya' gonna be using?

The FD seemed to be a great match with a cleaner Fendery type amp.....With a dirty amp, I liked it more as a boost than as a Distortion type box, but that might just be me.

Keep an eye out on the lines for a used one.....they pop up semi-regularly on The Gear Page.

Sorry, I forgot, amp is a DRRI w/ Celestion G12H30

 

[PUCKBOY99]

Re: My New Overdrive

I think you'd LOVE an FD II 10th w/a DRRI !!! :bigok:

 

[open]

Re: My New Overdrive

I have no experience with the Voodoo lab sparkle drive

i have the overdrive from the same compagnie one and it fatten-up a signal and make the amp brake-up nicely