some_dude
Raging BB Gunologist
So... the other day I picked up an EHX Soul Food. I've wanted to try a Klon for awhile but couldn't justify the money for one, however it was pretty easy to justify $67 for a Klone.
Anyway, the Soul Food is awesome. I now totally understand what Klon owners meant when they said, "It takes the sound you already have and gives you more of it". Pretty much every OD I've ever played has sounded and felt to one degree or another like you're using a pedal to overdrive an amp. Whereas this little bastard sounds and feels like you've gone over to your amp and kicked it into overdrive. The way the pedal feels to play through is so good that I frequently forget to turn it off and just keep playing.
...and therein lies the problem. I don't really need a "more" pedal. I play through Mesa's... the one thing I'm never lacking is "more" of anything. If anything Mesa's need a "less" button, but I digress...
Normally, I use a Full-Drive 2 and while it isn't necessarily the sweetest sounding OD it is very clear, adds compression and makes certain frequencies pop. I don't even use it to overdrive anything, it just shapes the sound so that when I kick it on notes pop and solos scream.
The Soul Food on the other hand doesn't really make any frequency pop... nor does it really make any frequency not pop... nor does it really add (much) compression to help things sustain. It just sort-of takes what you already have and gives you more of it.
It's kind of cool that it goes about this in two ways... you can either use it as a clean boost, which has a good feel to it rather than the stiff and sort of bland vibe I've gotten from other clean boosts... and you can use it as a more traditional overdrive and add a bit dirt to your sound, which remains relatively uncompressed and doesn't kill the dynamics or bottom end of your guitar if you're banging out fat ass riffs.
Either way, I'm leaving it on my board for awhile to see what happens with it. Right now the Full-Drive 2 is hitting all the right notes but I'm thinking that maybe some day I'll figure out a use for this "more" button.
Anyway, the Soul Food is awesome. I now totally understand what Klon owners meant when they said, "It takes the sound you already have and gives you more of it". Pretty much every OD I've ever played has sounded and felt to one degree or another like you're using a pedal to overdrive an amp. Whereas this little bastard sounds and feels like you've gone over to your amp and kicked it into overdrive. The way the pedal feels to play through is so good that I frequently forget to turn it off and just keep playing.
...and therein lies the problem. I don't really need a "more" pedal. I play through Mesa's... the one thing I'm never lacking is "more" of anything. If anything Mesa's need a "less" button, but I digress...
Normally, I use a Full-Drive 2 and while it isn't necessarily the sweetest sounding OD it is very clear, adds compression and makes certain frequencies pop. I don't even use it to overdrive anything, it just shapes the sound so that when I kick it on notes pop and solos scream.
The Soul Food on the other hand doesn't really make any frequency pop... nor does it really make any frequency not pop... nor does it really add (much) compression to help things sustain. It just sort-of takes what you already have and gives you more of it.
It's kind of cool that it goes about this in two ways... you can either use it as a clean boost, which has a good feel to it rather than the stiff and sort of bland vibe I've gotten from other clean boosts... and you can use it as a more traditional overdrive and add a bit dirt to your sound, which remains relatively uncompressed and doesn't kill the dynamics or bottom end of your guitar if you're banging out fat ass riffs.
Either way, I'm leaving it on my board for awhile to see what happens with it. Right now the Full-Drive 2 is hitting all the right notes but I'm thinking that maybe some day I'll figure out a use for this "more" button.
