OVERDRIVE- J ROCKETT ROCKAWAY ARCHER OD

J. ROCKETT ROCKAWAY ARCHER OD

$250.00USD

Working with guitarist Steve Stevens J Rockett came up with
an incredibly versatile mid gain to near high gain OD.
The key was simple just give it a six band EQ so the player can mod the tone to their own rig and taste.

Even with a heavy low end the pedal is tight. The harmonics jump and even when pushed into natural feedback it iseasy to control ...damn impressive!

AMPLIFIER- BARONI LABS Custom Amp 100... a powerful pedal amp with a decent sound!

 BARONI LABS CUSTOM AMP 100 

$330.00 USD

If you want to keep it small and light or just want a serious backup amp this could be the answer.
3 way EQ, master volume, with a decent gutsy Brit style drive with EQ and volume.
It is 100 watts into 16 ohm 's which is typical of all these amp pedals. They love to rate the amp by 16 ohms  as many buyers do not know they may easily make the wrong choice.The average guy has an 8 ohm cab. If you buy a cab most of the selection out there is 8 ohm. Fortunately the Baroni is 60 watts into 8 ohms. Since 40 to 50 watts is ideal in a band this 60 watts will be fine.
The clean sound is the best I've heard from a solid state amp. Impressive amp just as an amp. Cooler still that it comes in such a small package.




In conclusion the built in OD is easily as good as most pedals out there.
Think of it as a very good OD pedal for $330.00 USD with a hundred dollar amp. It then starts looking like a bargain!

LOVE PEDALS???? THE TWO SAFEST CHOICES OF AMPS TO OWN ...PERIOD!

WHY THESE AMPS ?

They sound good with or without pedals.
They are 100% Pro sounding.
They sound like a great Tube amp because they are.
They have zero down side using them in a band.
They are both not stupidly heavy or large.
They are both easy to use.
If you travel you can rent one or get yours repaired.
If you change your mind they are an easy sell.
They both sell for $800.00 USD a realistic price
for anyone wanting a serious amp.

Are these the very best amps to own to push pedals thru. NO!
They do a great job but as for a Pro sound for an amp to use live in a band pedals or not
they check all the boxes.

Most guys fall into 2 categories with an amp. You love the classic Fender sound or you love the classic Marshall sound.
Those that argue they are different would have to retract the argument if they could read the schematics of some other make of amp they support. It is based off of one of these two.
Any amp under or over 50 watts can cause you a BIG problem. More power and you can not push the amp hard enough to get a good sound without drowning out someone in a band. Less and the drummer will drown you out.
It has always made sense to either mic up the whole band or mic up ONLY the vocals. Any other way gets stupid with problems getting a good band overall balance.


FENDER HOT ROD DELUXE lV

A classic Fender clean sound with the equally classic Fender reverb.
The OD is tolerable but I would NEVER use it over any of 20 pedals I own!
Fender guys may argue but buying any Fender past or present for it's OD
or even crunch sound is in my books pushing it!
I have owned 2 classic Twin Reverbs a Bassman and a Super Reverb.
All originals ...all in mint condition!
So I feel qualified to my conclusions.
Besides it is a single channel amp and just using your pedals is much simpler.

$800.00 USD

MARSHALL ORIGIN 50W

A dead clean Marshall amp is misnomer. A just before breakup sound from a Plexi is what it is all about. This amp has that nailed. It does a stellar Crunch but it is easier with pedals to avoid it as it is a single channel amp. A good argument for a Head with a Marshall 1960A 4x12 cab can be easily made. I myself use an ADA Guitar Cabinet Simulator which does a very reasonable impression.
It is a cheap and practical way of curing  the problem.

$800.00 USD

THE VERDICT
Both amps have features that you may or may not care about.
But the bottom line is both amps will give you a totally pro sound for the least amount of money.
Both amps can get you one of the two most classic and copied sounds ever made.

More money can get you MORE ...but can it get you a better sound or will you really just be getting a different sound???
Both 'sounds' have decades of history of always been desirable.
In my book ...they are equal, and a bullet proof choice of tone.

For the most part it is all about how important a clean sound is to your style of playing or how important is your dirt sound.
Marshall works best if you lean to using a lot of dirt pedals.
Fender if you are primarily leaning towards a clean sound or a bluesy crunch.

OUT OF 400 OD'S I HAVE REVIEWED & BOUGHT WHICH IS THE BEST OF THEM ALL ???

I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS PEDAL TO ANYONE!

There is only one thing unique to it.
IT IS A LIVING BREATHING THING!

check out 'What's New'

OVERDRIVE-DYNAMO ELECTRIC AUDIO Century of Progress Analog Distortion Modeler

 CENTURY OF PROGRESS ANALOG DISTORTION MODELER 

Whoa!!! What a mouthful!!!

$275.00 USD

Still nice pedal. A tone control that is 'all' sweet spot.
A fuzz circuit to add to the mix.
A real treble booster.
A 'Brown' control to emulate low voltage.
Lots of gain.

Result... versatile yet more important fat and balzy.
Not cheap!

OVERDRIVE-PIGTONICS Disnortion Micro...parallel OD with Fuzz

$130.00 USD

PIGTRONIX DISNORTION MICRO     

The cool thing with this little monster is it has a 6 stage CMOS overdrive and and a really nasty diode clipping to add a harsh fuzz sound. Both sounds go out parallel to the output.
You are not driving one into the other. This is great as you can push hard on the gain but still keep a lot of definition in
with your chords. The tone control ha a 6 stage filter that in effect gives not just 'more of' but gives you 6 EQ curves. It is separate from the traditional low pass filter that gives you that fat bass.
All this and it keeps your guitars true sound and give you good picking  dynamics.
This little guy is quite an achievement
All this and it has a small footprint, as well as a small price.
A worthy addition to anyone's board.

OVERDRIVE- ROTHSTEIN GUITARS Krunch Monkey

$200.00 USD

ROTHSTEIN GUITARS KRUNCH MONKEY OD

This has been around for a long time. It is Rothstein's from Denmaks pedals. They make two. LOL
There main biz is making pre wired harnesses for
guitars.

A toggle switch lets you switch between zener diodes for a very cool raunchy sound and silicon transistors for a smoother tube like sound.

I find it's the diodes that make for all the fun of this pedal. They make a great sound that keep it from being just another dirt pedal.

Distortion LTD.

 Distortion LTD.

It's a new online magazine about pedals.
I thought you guys would enjoy checking it out.
Just google Distortion LTD.

Issue #1
It has a small mention of the Byrd Song pedal that I was instrumental in having made.     
I also named it.  :-)


A full review should soon be in Premier.

ISSUE #24 just came out!
check it out!

OVERDRIVE- JAM PEDALS Rattler & Rattler +...Distortion ...Blusey but aggressive

$225.00 USD

 JAM PEDALS RATTLER & RATTLER + ...DISTORTION 


Bright and  crisp the Rattler is a medium gain OD pedal.
Very transparent. It loves a Strat.
The Rattler + has virtually the same voicing but it a high gain pedal.
 The controls could not be simpler just level gain and tone.
A switch on the 'plus' a lets you go between a higher and lower gain.
Aggressive balzy and bluesy!

The secret is at it's heart is a rare NOS DS-1 chip. In short it
started life as a Boss DS-1 Distortion pedal

$285.00 USD

OVERDRIVE- OKKO Diablo Dual OD ....still going strong for 15 years ...and this new version takes yet another leap foward!

 OKKO DiABLO DUAL OD 

Yes 15 years but many versions later is the new dual. The unit is primary a very transparent low gain drive that can be pushed into a medium drive.
A great attention has been put into it being very dynamically sensitive. There is also a lot of control over it's headroom and dynamic range. You can even change it's voltage so this headroom is real!
The transient response is very impressive. The Dual will  leave the sound of your guitar and amp almost untouched.
It's most important new feature is much more control over the lows and a mid range that can be tuned to match your amp. In effect it gives your guitar and amp a sense of being nearly alive just from your touch.
All this is done so well that only the guy playing it knows
what is happening. It is near invisible to the listener. There is not a sense of some drastic change in tone. It is often used as an always on pedal as if it were part of the amps preamp.

This new version has not yet been reviewed. There isn't even an in house demo???
But the GH Diablo gives you a good idea of what to expect.

OVERDRIVE- FOXPEDAL Wrath Distortion ...a classic with a boost!!!

 FOXPEDAL WRATH V2 

From Russia comes Foxpedal with a fresh take on the classic
ProCo Rat. They start with the original NOS LM308 Op-Amp
but increase the gain far beyond the Rat.

The original 'Rat' was the original. The very first OD pedal ever made! It was so new even ProCo felt it would be overlooked if they did not market it as a Fuzz.

Shortly after the Tube Screamer came out and took over the market. Even so there were so many Rat fans that word of mouth kept sales
strong enough for Pro Co are keep going strong with the Rat.

So check it out!!! The first OD with balz and now a Rat with ...
well you know? Don't-cha!!! More!

OVERDRIVE- MALAY SOUND M-200 OD...Ritchie Blackmore heaven!!!

 MALAY SOUNDS M-200 

From Spain we have Manlay sound.
This is a pedal that reproduces the Marshall Major sound used by Mick Ronson with Bowie and is still favoured by Ritchie Blackmore.

Nick named 'The Pig' this 200 watt Marshall was a total crusher!
It had so much power if used clean it had the most headroom of any amp before or since.
So when pushed with a Fuzz. a boost or an OD you would get your dirt but you also got a huge dynamic range.

Not to everyone's taste but a great option as it is
a very powerful and not overused sound!!!

OVERDRIVE- VS AUDIO Royal Flush Distortion/Overdrive...

$265.00 USD

 VS AUDIO ROYAL FLUSH OD 

From Greece comes another 'new kid' VS AUDIO.
The pedal is intended to be a preamp 2 channel box.
It has both a low gain and medium gain in the same pedal.

Except a nod to the King of Tone they started fresh trying just to make a great sounding pedal
that kept that but gave it a bit more aggression.
I think they pulled it off. It has bags of personality and a fat, fat chunky sound with some great aggressive tone without having to make the sound with masses of raw clipping.
Definitely not a tone that gets tedious to the listener after
playing a half dozen tunes with it.
WELL DONE!!!

OVERDRIVE- 6 DEGREES FX Sally Drive ...the worlds best pure ts808 Tube Screamer

 6 DEGREES  FX SALLY DRIVE 



This is a point to point hand wired state of the art pure TubeScreamer ts808.

The absolute best and/or original components are used to not tamper with the sound.
You get nothing but that small mid kick with a bit of gain.
It has a clean boost to get that to your amp with zero signal loss.
If you have a great amp and guitar and you want nothing to tamper with your sound.
This is it BULLET PROOF!

Simplicity at it's very best!

The Tube Screamer???
... every time someone makes one with a hot rod beef up I buy it! Bad idea.
I always have it for a month or 2 and sell it. LOL
Have I learnt my lesson. Hell NO!
I have a CMAT MODS SIGNA OD which is closerto a Fuzz then a ts808. But my 'techie' friendtell me it is based of a ts chip. LOL
I have a Plexi amp now so maybe the classic combination will work this time. Maybe?

OVERDRIVE-IGNATER Goldsmith ...still a goodie !!!

 IGNATER GOLDSMITH 

$200.00 USD

This is the first of 3 pedals.The Silversmith is high gain and the Metal is ...what else ...Metal.
It is a medium gain Plexi pedal. I have always argued except for shredding the medium gain pedals always have the best sound. High gain has too much clipping which
turns a pedal into a near Fuzz. Low gain pedals often
keep shifting between breakup and near breakup and
loose any smoothness to their tone.
The key to a great OD is in the 'voicing' or fixed sound before you start tweaking. My favourite OD is a Clemo Pimento Sardine a French pedal with one little switch a level and a gain.With that and my Plexi I am in heaven!

I won't break down the bells and whistles. The initial
voicing is excellent. Enjoy the vid.

OVERDRIVE- GREENHOUSE FX No Brainer.

 GREENHOUSE FX NO BRAINER 

From Israel come a company with a nice selection of OD's.
I thought today this Marshall 80's style Metal pedal is worth a look.

With 4 controls they it has level and gain active tone and mids. They went for mids over the usuall bass. Mids so you can fatten the sound with more control. One thing it is ...is fat.
It has aggression plus! The range goes down to near Tube Screamer up to modern Metal. The whole thing has sustain and more sustain with controllable feedback without having to go for tinnitus levels to get it.
You get a big open sound with lots of headroom.
Then to top it off it is tight without thinning out the sound!!!!
What's missing.
Nothing!

OVERDRIVE- TC ELECTRONICS Dark Mater...suddenly it got better!!!

 TC ELECTRONICS DARKMATTER DISTORTION 

Like it's companion the MOJO a rather average pedal had it's price
plumet and suddenly this pedal is looking good.

It has some plus points. It is harmonically really smooth and very
touch sensitive. On the down side it is wimpy and has no balz.

The voicing is quite good. It is a high gain pedal. Stacked with a very aggressive drive it would be more useful. It does have a nice wash effect. I would not call it fat as that conjures up something at least a bit in your face. I think the word full is better. Think of a wall of sound that you heard from a distance.
I think in situations where your sound needs to be laid back it may be useful. I find it better in in it's lower gain settings.

At $50.00 USD it is worth a listen. So I give you both a guarded  and a glowing review.

OVERDRIVE-TC ELECTRONIC MOJO MOJO OD...from blah to aaah? or not?

 TC ELECTRONIC MOJO MOJO OD 

$50.00 USD

Straight off when this came out I heard it and did not think
it was good enough to review. It was of course at that time selling
for an average pro price and there are hundreds of choices.
In a word 'character' it had none!
I still think it doesn't. But the price has been dropped to
$50.00 USD. At this price it becomes a different pedal???
Well no ....but!!
It plus points is it is versatile you can get low gain sounds up to
medium gain sounds. It is very transparent and the harmonics are as smooth as glass.
What I think it does best is in its low gain stages.
Not surprising with TC the bass and treble are excellent with both a cut and boost. The drive/gain is quite variable and is useful over it's entire range.
If you need to take the metallic edge off a clean sound and smooth over the odd buzzes and clicks it is quite good. It will sweeten and fill out the sound in a very pleasant way.
So it is worth a listen.

Check out it's high gain brother the DARK MATTER... although it has much the same faults but the higher gain I find pushes it a couple of notches.

OVERDRIVE- MR BLACK BB-74x ...a classic 1966 Marshall sound NAILED!!!

    MR BLACK BB-74x    

$ 140.00 USD

In 1966 Marshall brought out the 1974X 18 watt combo with a single 12" Celestion 1221T speaker.
Pushed hard it is one of the sweetest and fullest distortions ever
to come straight from the amp alone. In the studio ...nothing is easier to record and get a great sound.
Mr. Black never does the obvious but picks oddball amps and renditions.
But Mr, Black always does an excellent job of nailing the sound.

I have their JDS-50 which captures Angus Young's Plexi that he runs with all the knobs on 4 which is borderline crunch. It is a clean sound much more then a dirt sound. Other Plexi's give you full crunch and beyond but not  this clean dirt type sound. I have one. It is great for any busy chord work you can strum on it
like an acoustic and never get a trace of mud or mush.

So again I am pleasantly surprised by the BB-74x
a great medium gain OD that will shine behind a vocalist.
Mr. Blacks pedals are incredible for the sound standing out
but never overwhelming a singer.
I have said it many times before. At the gig most of the time you are playing
an accomniment part for a singer. Nothing is more important then having a
great sound that you can enjoy playing all night.
Just backing off that cool OD you already own
does not cut it! Your present OD is great but only when
your guitar is front and center.
In the real world a pedal like this is heaven sent.
Another winner!!!

OVERDRIVE- BUFFALO Evolution ....is it a Fuzz or an OD or both? ...it is definitely a mad dog!

$285.00 USD

 BUFFALO EVOLUTION OVERDRIVE 

A different  take on an OD from France's Buffalo FX.

What's the  different? A four stage OD/Distortion?
This is another pedal under the radar. Born in 2014 and still a contender. They started with a 70's Big Muff adding 50's germanium transistors to the circuit and
voicing the pedal to suggest a Marshall like OD
Controls are basic with level, tone and gain/drive.
The contour knob allows you to sweep the mids to make find your own sweet spot. Not a new idea but definitely a welcome one.



The sound is hardly typical of realistic Marshall but who cares! The pedal is all about aggression. It is all about ripping the face off your listener. LOL
You can push it has hard as you want and the attack of the note chops down like a meat cleaver!
You could stack it or push a crunch setting on an amp into never-everland!
Love it!!!

OVERDRIVE- LOVEPEDAL CUSTOM EFFECTS Purple Plexi ...a serious contender

$220.00 USD

 LOVE PEDAL CUSTOM EFFECTS PURPLE PLEXI 

This one has been around for awhile. It ain't broke so
Lovepedal are not going to fix it.
Just the standard level, tone and gain. This works OK if
the maker has nailed the voice on it. They have done
well but I have a few as good and this is not unique.

There are lots of other great choices. 

BUT.. give it a listen this is still a contender.

No shame in choosing this. It is fat full and rich. Even flat out 
there isn't any nasty fizz or nasty overtones. The only down side I like a bit of grit in the lows and a bit of punch. 

But one pedal can't do it all. I would not have 18 plus of the little beauties. Yes ...I got to edit some more out and send them to Reverbland! LOL

Not bad but you really have to compare to the DHDK No. 1 which I feel has more definition and definitely more punch!

OVERDRIVE- KHDK No.1 Overdrive... an American sounding OD ...

$200.00 USD

 KHDK No.1 OVERDRIVE 

KHDK are relatively new to the pack but all their pedals
are well made and really well thought out.
The No.1 is a medium gain OD.
You have a gain volume, high low switch.to switch between high and low gain and a treble control.
The bass has a second gain drive.
I reminds me of the famous M.I. Audio Crunch Box. Both give you that 'Wall Of Sound' thing.
This however is much fuller and with some nice balz in the lows.
The quality of DHDK is excellent. At $200.00 USD the price is
fair.
I have a lot od good OD that cover this very nicely. BUT!
Had I not this pedal would be hard to resist!

OVERDRIVE- EMERSON Paramount... a low gain OD with a nice slicing edge and no nasty fizz

$180.00 USD

 EMERSON PARAMOUNT OVERDRIVE 


A very nice clean low gain OD with a very crisp edge to the dirt no
nasty fizz or drop outs on cusp of the dirt.

Standard volume gain and tone. Beautifully hand wired.
Great for fast tempo rhythms and intricate arpeggios and finger style
playing.

CHORUS- NEUNABER Inspire TRI-Chorus Plus ...the best you can buy! Period!

 NEUNABER INSPIRE TRI-CHORUS PLUS           

$260.00 USD

This was a studio rack mount effect from the '80s
Neunaber have put it in a box. I believe they are taking advantage
of using high tech parts that have only recently being sold at
discounted prices because of the newest generation.
Keep in mind what was 'the best' yesterday gets a 9.5 out of 10
in quality over today's 10.
In short awesome sound yet a reasonable price
The Plus is using the modulation in the circuit for other
fresh effects that are new to our arsenal.

The sound is in short stunning. I feel it is the best chorus avaiable
period.

The company has made a name for itself selling high tech digital
with analog soul.
Their Immerse Reverb crushed the cost of a very high tech reverb
and yet gave us everything you have to have both for your board and the studio at the same time.
Add to that there equipment is always intuitive and easy to use. I already have the reverb.

I am sure at some point I will be getting one of these.
Yes pricey but none of it's padding ...you get value for money
it's worht saving for. It will take years for something to be noticeably better!

OVERDRIVE- TROOPER ELECTRONIC Wardog ...very, very interesting company

TROOPER ELECTRONIC WARDOG DISTORTION 

$55.00 USD

Trooper are an Indonesian company that have been making pedals for about 10 years. Formed and run by Adianus Ardy H. the idea was to make the poor man's gourmet pedal.
Hand made but utilizing cheaper but robust Asian parts. The pedals are designed around these parts and do sound damn good. The prices are excellent. The only problem is communication. They can not be found online in English.
His personal favorite pedal is War Dog.
On a final note he is a big Iron Maiden fan.
The first video shows that it can do very good 'classic' high gain sounds and the second is all about it's Metal sounds.
Pro pedal sound and for the price are a steal!!

DELAY- BYANG Classic AD12 Delay...long delays really clean but warm

 BYANG CLASSIC AD-12 DUAL CHIP DELAY 

$48.00 USD

This isn't really new it is their old Tonefancier AD-8 in a more contemporary cast box.
Every analog delay is built around the Panasonic delay chip!!!
Think about that??? You can pay a lot of money for a bit of filtering and EQ in the big brand name pedals.

So if you need a nice clean but                                               warm analog delay this is IT.

If you can get by with just one chip and therefore shorter delays check out the Mighty Sound M5. Totally pro yet
only $23.00 USD.
YES YOU READ THAT RIGHT!
I have over 50 pedals on my board 99% are the big bucks gourmet jobbies.
BUT!
I have and use the M5 often.

MARSHALL PLEXI- this is 'IT' .... just got one!!!!

MARSHALL ORIGIN 50H ....
50 watt head

YES I FINALLY GOT MY AMP.

I wrote and just updated the POST from Jan.27

MARSHALL ORIGIN SERIES-  NEW!!!  ...REAL PLEXI AMPS ...gotta have one!!

the little box on the top of the amp is an
ADA GCS-2
speaker emulator.
It makes my one speaker sound like a stack!

I had it on and in just one second  ECSTASY!!!
You can not do anything to it to make it sound bad...
move the knobs around forever and no matter where you leave them it just sounds like every Plexi on every record made by every great guitarist!
Mind you I now have Jimmy Pages sound dialed up on it. LOL
Check out the Post ...updated video's and more info!!!

The perfect demo...just a Les Paul and the amp going through all it's classic sounds ...no dB pedal overkill ...but no sanctimonious B.S. or hushed tones to try and over dignify it.