Which EHX overdrive?

Dave Locher

Dave Locher

New member
I'm running a late '70s Randall rg100es head. I play punk/alternative music with a classic rock crunch sound (green channel with gain pegged; puts me into AC/DC territory sound-wise) using Gibsons with moderately high output pickups (Super Distortion, etc).

I am looking for an overdrive to boost my solo volume & sustain. I've watched dozens of YouTube clips and read a lot and when push comes to shove I like ehx because of the size, shape, price, true bypass (which is important to me to preserve my tone the 95% of the time it won't be on) and made in USA.

Now my problem is, Which one? Glove? Log? East River? Soul Food?
I thought I wanted an East River Drive because it's supposed to be an 808/TS-9 knockoff but with true bypass, but today I watched a "TS-9 vs Soul Food" video and the supposed Klon knockoff sounded more like the TS-9 to me & just overall beefier than the East River Drive does.
No local shop will let me try out several models so I'm seeking advice based on experience: any reason to choose one model over the others?
 
Re: Which EHX overdrive?

I haven't tried them but the Glove is an OCD knockoff and from what I can tell, the Crayon is an Xotic BB knockoff if that helps any.
 
Re: Which EHX overdrive?

They won't let you try out several pedals in the store?
 
Re: Which EHX overdrive?

It's tough to know what you will prefer with your guitar and amp. What about ordering all three from musicians friend, trying them and then returning the two you don't like?

What other pedals are you using, and how often will this new overdrive be engaged?
 
Re: Which EHX overdrive?

I guess i left out a key detail: I plan to buy one used. I have found several for $39-49 but dont want the hassle of flipping the unwanted ones on eBay. My music equipment budget is very limited. I kind of spent a lot last fall & need to keep it under $50 this time around.

My only other pedal besides a tuner is a DOD eq pedal. I have been using it as a boost for years but want something with more saturation & compression.

I haven't been in an active band since 2001, but I have managed to talk the last two bands I was in into doing "reunion" shows so now I will be playing out a few times a year. Otherwise it's just me in my basement. I don't even bother with a solo boost then but last month I played two shows, one with the eq boost & one without, and my single-note runs just did not jump out of the mix like I want. (Mainly because the other guitar player has MUCH better equipment than he used to!)
 
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Re: Which EHX overdrive?

Is it is an already crunchy amp and you are using the pedal for a lead boost and sustain then definitely the east river.
Dont get too hung up on the true bypass thing. With two longish cables, you can often sound better with a simple boss buffered pedal like an sd-1 or a tubescreamer.

Any of the above will do the job for you and put a smile on your face.

The glove is a kind of OCD clone, which is really a standalone distortion generator and you will find it too mushy and fuzzy in your configuration. What it does best is adding some hair and raunch to cleanish amps to get them more towards the classic marshall midrange type crunch. If you already have amp crunch then the OCD is overkill.
The soulfood is a klon which is best with single coils into clean or cleanish fender type amps to put a slight edge and harmonic brilliance. Again, given that you are using buckers and a crunchy amp and you want some extra push for leads, a tube screamer type pedal is the best choice. The klon is more pf a full range kind of deal and might cause your low end to get a little loose.
The east river will cut some bass out of your signal for sure, but when it comes to getting your single note leads to really sing through a dirty amp with humbuckers, that particular eq curve an excellent recipe and just what the doctor ordered.
 
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Re: Which EHX overdrive?

With the setup, sound, and needs you listed, I would really think about getting an LPB-1 instead of an overdrive. It's a simple boost pedal, which will leave the fundamental characteristics of your tone the same, but just cause your guitar to hit the amp harder, leading to more compression/saturation. Perfect for a solo boost on a Marshall/Randall with the green channel dimed.

I owned the Hot Tubes for many years. It is easily the best EHX overdrive IMO. It's incredibly tasty, yet also versatile. Expensive, though. I sold mine used for over $100 after putting over a decade of use on it.
 
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Re: Which EHX overdrive?

Ima gonna hit up a local store & try an LPB-1, an East River, and a Hot Tubes (they reissued it & its actually cheaper than the East River Drive). This endless mulling has got to end! Guess I will haul in my head.
Thanks, everyone, I truly appreciate the feedback & words of wisdom.
 
Re: Which EHX overdrive?

Note that my comments on the Hot Tubes were about the big version that actually had hot tubes in it! I have no experience with the Nano version, but it can't possibly be as good.
 
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Re: Which EHX overdrive?

yeah the new hot tubes sound like a wet fart. nowhere near as nice as the sul food or the east river drive.
 
Re: Which EHX overdrive?

If you are running the crunch channel, have you tried pulling the treble knob out?

Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk
 
Re: Which EHX overdrive?

ItsaBass said:
Note that my comments on the Hot Tubes were about the big version that actually had hot tubes in it! I have no experience with the Nano version, but it can't possibly be as good.
Click to expand...

I tried the new Nano version, and it stunk. It was like looking at a picture of a Marshall instead of playing through one.
 
Re: Which EHX overdrive?

Demanic said:
If you are running the crunch channel, have you tried pulling the treble knob out?

Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk
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Ugh. I absolutely hate what that does to the otherwise lovely crunch of my amp! I am hoping to add gain and sustain without losing the character of the amp.
 
Re: Which EHX overdrive?

Dave Locher said:
Ugh. I absolutely hate what that does to the otherwise lovely crunch of my amp! I am hoping to add gain and sustain without losing the character of the amp.
Click to expand...

Based on this, I say look into an LPB-1 also. That's exactly what it's supposed to do. It's a clean boost so the only dirt to be had is from the amp itself receiving a hotter signal and it boosts all frequencies, not just the mids or treble.

Of course, where you are trying to cut through the mix and stand out from another guitarist, a pedal with a mid bump might work to your advantage, although I don't find they preserve the sound of the amp. If you go this route I suggest keeping the gain knob low and crank the volume so it's more of a clean boost with a mid bump.
 
Re: Which EHX overdrive?

gibson175 said:
The soulfood is a klon which is best with single coils . . .
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I don't want to hijack the OP's thread, but I love my Soulfood with Slash AII Pro's. And since we're talking about EHX, the Nano Big Muff PI is like the Soulfood squared. Suweet! :headbang:
 
Re: Which EHX overdrive?

I tried an LPB-1 yesterday at a local shop. Didn't care for it. Boosts the low end too much relative to other frequencies, which did something odd that my ears don't like into distortion. If I played clean or lightly breaking I'd love it. The guy helping me loved it (I don't think he'd ever heard one used?) and it was nice for chords but it did something odd to single notes that I didn't care for.

They did not have a Soul Food in stock for me to try but they should be able to get one in soon.
 
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