UberMetalDood
New member
Today was a lot of fun because I got to share a ton of high-end overdrives on my pedal board. I used Fender vintage cables and Planet Waves patch cables, Fender SSS American standard strat and Fender HH (PG/Jazz) strat, Fender Blues Junior set on pristine clean. The pedals I compared are as follows:
Fulltone Fulldrive 2 Mosfet
Maxon OD808
Ibanez TS808
Maxon OD820
Cusack Screamer V2
Klon Centaur
Maxon VOP9
Keeley TS9
Radial Texas Bones
Emma Stinkbug
Fuchs Cream
Greer Relic Drive
My least favorite was the Ibanez TS808 and Fulldrive. The bypass on the TS808 reissue sucks, and it has kind of a dull graininess to it that the OD808 doesn't have. The Fulldrive is a great all around pedal, and has a nice boost w2/comp cut setting for clean playing, but it's kind of bland. It's warm and has a soft vintage attack, but less colored than the OD808. Vintage and standard modes were best together, and mosfet boosts the volume too much. It would be cool if you could footswitch the mosfet for a solo boost. It sounds better with an 18v adapter. I'm not saying they're not as great as the other pedals. They just didn't suite my personal tastes.
The Emma Stinkbug is a great overall pedal and I don't have anything to criticize about it. It's not a heavy overdrive, probably comparable to as much gain as the OD808 which seems to have slightly more gain than the TS808. I liked this pedal a lot.
The Fuchs Cream pedal is really cool. It's kind of a smooth, compressed overdrive that's a bit on the dark side. It has more gain than a tube screamer and I really like the warmth and smoothness it gives my more aggressive amps like the Engl and Marshall. The level control isn't powerful and to match the volume of the amp, it has to be set just past 1:00, but it has plenty of boost left in the remaining range of that control. The Tone control doesn't really brighten up a lot until it's past 1:00, but it adds presence rather than increases the treble. The great thing about the tameness of the level control is that it works fantastically before another drive pedal like my OD820 or Relic Drive. It sends a smooth, creamy signal to my overdrive, and my overdrive adds the saturation I need to get a good drive sound.
The Klon Centaur is a really great pedal and I have nothing to complain about. I was offered it for $800 and it's in mint condition, but I don't have that kind of money to burn. It's a lot like my OD820, but to be quite honest, I still love my OD820 more. I want to say my OD820 has a tinge more color and slightly more aggressive. Awesome pedal.
The Cusack Screamer is a pretty nice quality pedal. It's pretty much just a tube screamer clone except it's slightly brighter than my OD808. Overall it's really nice and appealing, but again, it doesn't bring anything new to the table. I like its bypass and tone better than the TS808.
The Keeley TS9 was really cool. With its mod, the bypass is fixed and it has a lot more gain and clarity. Somehow it still sounds like a cheaper version of a Maxon but with more gain. However, it's a nice, warm pedal that is improved leaps and bounds over the stock version.
The Radial Texas Bone is a pretty neat pedal, but it wasn't doing anything new really. It's just a great overdrive with some versatile features and more gain than your average tube screamer. At times it was a bit bright or thin, but there are so many settings you can get and I didn't spend a lot of time tweaking it. There is something kind of natural about it that makes it appealing.
The Greer Relic Drive is a work of art. It has more gain than a tube screamer, it's warm, and feels kind of loose but with an accurate attack. Other Greer pedals I tried get fuzzy or farty low end, but this one is perfect. Something about it agrees with my Engl better than almost any other pedal.
The Maxon VOP9 is basically an OD820 in a different pedal case, but there are a couple of chip differences or something minor. I went back and forth between it and the OD820 a lot but the difference is really hard to tell. The OD820 seems to have slightly more vintage edge to it, and the VOP9 is slightly less colored but also a pale shade more gain. The difference is very hard to tell, but after back and forth so much, I finally started to pick up on it. I have no preference of either.
My OD820(or VOP9) is still king of the hill in my opinion. If I have a single complaint about my OD820 is that the level control is too powerful. It boosts the signal around 10:00, and going less than that kind of weakens the signal. the VOP9 has a better level control so that's not an issue.
All of these pedals are so cool that I want to keep them all, but I already have 5 overdrives and probably shouldn't add more to my collection. My pedal board consistently has the OD820 or VOP9, Fuchs Cream, Greer Relic Drive, and Maxon OD808. I might get a Stinkbug or Cusack Screamer, but not sure yet.
I don't know how to make a recording that will do these pedals justice, so you will just have to rely on my opinions. I'd like to hear from anyone else who uses any of these pedals.
Fulltone Fulldrive 2 Mosfet
Maxon OD808
Ibanez TS808
Maxon OD820
Cusack Screamer V2
Klon Centaur
Maxon VOP9
Keeley TS9
Radial Texas Bones
Emma Stinkbug
Fuchs Cream
Greer Relic Drive
My least favorite was the Ibanez TS808 and Fulldrive. The bypass on the TS808 reissue sucks, and it has kind of a dull graininess to it that the OD808 doesn't have. The Fulldrive is a great all around pedal, and has a nice boost w2/comp cut setting for clean playing, but it's kind of bland. It's warm and has a soft vintage attack, but less colored than the OD808. Vintage and standard modes were best together, and mosfet boosts the volume too much. It would be cool if you could footswitch the mosfet for a solo boost. It sounds better with an 18v adapter. I'm not saying they're not as great as the other pedals. They just didn't suite my personal tastes.
The Emma Stinkbug is a great overall pedal and I don't have anything to criticize about it. It's not a heavy overdrive, probably comparable to as much gain as the OD808 which seems to have slightly more gain than the TS808. I liked this pedal a lot.
The Fuchs Cream pedal is really cool. It's kind of a smooth, compressed overdrive that's a bit on the dark side. It has more gain than a tube screamer and I really like the warmth and smoothness it gives my more aggressive amps like the Engl and Marshall. The level control isn't powerful and to match the volume of the amp, it has to be set just past 1:00, but it has plenty of boost left in the remaining range of that control. The Tone control doesn't really brighten up a lot until it's past 1:00, but it adds presence rather than increases the treble. The great thing about the tameness of the level control is that it works fantastically before another drive pedal like my OD820 or Relic Drive. It sends a smooth, creamy signal to my overdrive, and my overdrive adds the saturation I need to get a good drive sound.
The Klon Centaur is a really great pedal and I have nothing to complain about. I was offered it for $800 and it's in mint condition, but I don't have that kind of money to burn. It's a lot like my OD820, but to be quite honest, I still love my OD820 more. I want to say my OD820 has a tinge more color and slightly more aggressive. Awesome pedal.
The Cusack Screamer is a pretty nice quality pedal. It's pretty much just a tube screamer clone except it's slightly brighter than my OD808. Overall it's really nice and appealing, but again, it doesn't bring anything new to the table. I like its bypass and tone better than the TS808.
The Keeley TS9 was really cool. With its mod, the bypass is fixed and it has a lot more gain and clarity. Somehow it still sounds like a cheaper version of a Maxon but with more gain. However, it's a nice, warm pedal that is improved leaps and bounds over the stock version.
The Radial Texas Bone is a pretty neat pedal, but it wasn't doing anything new really. It's just a great overdrive with some versatile features and more gain than your average tube screamer. At times it was a bit bright or thin, but there are so many settings you can get and I didn't spend a lot of time tweaking it. There is something kind of natural about it that makes it appealing.
The Greer Relic Drive is a work of art. It has more gain than a tube screamer, it's warm, and feels kind of loose but with an accurate attack. Other Greer pedals I tried get fuzzy or farty low end, but this one is perfect. Something about it agrees with my Engl better than almost any other pedal.
The Maxon VOP9 is basically an OD820 in a different pedal case, but there are a couple of chip differences or something minor. I went back and forth between it and the OD820 a lot but the difference is really hard to tell. The OD820 seems to have slightly more vintage edge to it, and the VOP9 is slightly less colored but also a pale shade more gain. The difference is very hard to tell, but after back and forth so much, I finally started to pick up on it. I have no preference of either.
My OD820(or VOP9) is still king of the hill in my opinion. If I have a single complaint about my OD820 is that the level control is too powerful. It boosts the signal around 10:00, and going less than that kind of weakens the signal. the VOP9 has a better level control so that's not an issue.
All of these pedals are so cool that I want to keep them all, but I already have 5 overdrives and probably shouldn't add more to my collection. My pedal board consistently has the OD820 or VOP9, Fuchs Cream, Greer Relic Drive, and Maxon OD808. I might get a Stinkbug or Cusack Screamer, but not sure yet.
I don't know how to make a recording that will do these pedals justice, so you will just have to rely on my opinions. I'd like to hear from anyone else who uses any of these pedals.
