The “barrel” mode is a classic distortion tone, with plenty of gain and a high amount of note definition that makes it perfect for lead guitar shredding. Some overdrive pedals thrive when they’re playing with a tube amp that’s already on the edge of breakup. With the right settings, the best overdrive pedals can really get your amp singing. Some also pair incredibly well with other pedals – for example, a Tubescreamer feeding into a Klon style OD is a classic pedal combo. What is a transparent overdrive?

If you're looking for that type of touch sensitive, transparent overdrive and boost that keeps your core sound intact, the Soul Food delivers it. It just doesn’t make sense for me to chase another Timmy v2. Not when this pedal from MXR is widely available. What Is A Timmy Pedal? The three-way clipping switch provides you with even more options and different headroom settings. Overall, the MXR Timmy Mini is a really good take on a classic pedal - it keeps everything that players love about the original, and houses it in a smaller casing.The best overdrive pedal for one person might be something that pushes their tube amp into a more natural overdrive and retains all the tonal characteristics of the guitar, however, someone with a solid-state amp might prefer something that adds a bit more ‘something’ to their existing sound. You can even get overdrive pedals that offer the breakup sound of some classic tube amps. Overdrive can be a great effect to always have on, or it can be used to boost a clean sound for solos, or it can be paired with other pedals – there are seemingly limitless ways they can be used. One awesome feature of the new Octavio is the ability to turn the “octave up” effect on and off, which doubles the effectiveness of the pedal. You can use this for super gnarly riffing, or use the octave-off mode as a “standard” fuzz pedal. While Jimi Hendrix’s massive fuzz tone is well known and associated with his use of the Fuzz Face pedal, another one of his famous sounds is the “octave” fuzz sound that he achieved using the Roger Mayer Octavia pedal. While the TC Electronic Mojomojo might sit at the more budget end, it’s still absolutely one of the best overdrive pedals out there. It’s been used by none other than virtuoso Paul Gilbert, and offers a dynamic, smooth overdrive with lots of headroom. It won’t give you massive amounts of gain on tap, but, if you’re running it through a clean amp, it does give you a very nice cranked tube amp sound.

I would guess Paul had MXR use the slightly smoother LM1458 IC chip in this version like he did with his v3. I replaced my standard JRC4559s with them and the tones I was getting were identical. First, it has a flatter base EQ profile, leaving you freer to use its EQ controls, or indeed those at the amp end, to sculpt your tone. Gone is the kind of mid bump that you see on the Tubescreamer, and to some degree, other drives like the Klon. Do you need another overdrive pedal? Well, yeah, you probably do, since tone is a never-ending quest! The original TIMMYs are almost never up for sale second hand, and it would be a shame to miss out on such a tasteful and useful pedal, especially when MXR have 100% nailed the sound, character and behaviour of the original circuit. It really is a benefit to most of your tonal applications, so we recommend the TIMMY without any hesitation. TweedTone: How Does The Wampler Tweed ’57 Pedal Compare To A Real Tweed Deluxe Amp? – HomeToneBlog.com on New Arrivals For August 2019If nothing else on this list has piqued your interest yet, or you’re just looking for something more unique than your standard “fuzz” pedal, the Fuzzolo is a fantastic option! While many of the pedals on this list try to emulate certain amplifiers or are essentially “unique” circuits that have been downsized, the Ibanez tube screamer mini doesn’t really need any explanation. The pedal’s right-side booster derives from the Dane’s clean boost circuit, employing a ‘lows’ knob for thinning or fattening up signals as needed. This all functions the same on the left side booster, with the only exception being that the left boost equips germanium diodes for added grit.

If you’re looking to drive a tube amp without colouring your sound, then this could be one of the best overdrive pedals for you. The EQ has been designed in a clever way too - the bass and treble are cut-only, so you’re not adding in frequencies but keeping your tone ‘truer’, plus the controls are wired pre- and post-overdrive to help maintain your low end, and smooth out the top.Related to this is also how you plan on using the pedal. Using an overdrive pedal on an already distorted amp will sound very different to using it through a clean amp. You’re more likely to hear the characteristics of the pedal (if it has some) in the latter case. Some feature more tone-shaping controls than others too. If you have a specific sound in mind, then look for something with more EQ controls, as these will give you more ability to fine-tune your sound. You can also use these to combat troublesome frequencies within your amp, for example, many metal players use a Tube Screamer, or something similar, to push the front end of an already distorted amp a little more, and to tighten up the bottom end. If you’re using an overdrive pedal for solos, then dialling in more high-mids and top-end can help you cut through a live mix better. Can I use multiple gain stages or overdrive pedals? The Timmy overdrive is a boutique modern classic overdrive pedal that has loads of fans in the guitar community.

As a result, many players are using the Klon at relatively low gain settings. This may seem counterintuitive, given how much thought has gone into structuring the pedal's gain response, but there's a final reason the Klon is so prized - its buffer. Buffers are useful for preserving the tone of the guitar, especially high frequencies, across multiple pedals or longer cable runs. Our pet theory is that the Klon's buffer would often be in a chain of true-bypass pedals, and so would result in a audibly more robust tone when in the chain.In terms of sounds, the Klon is often described as 'transparent', but we've always found it to be distinctly colored, chewy in its drive tone at lower gain settings, and crunchy and dry with the gain up – these qualities are also true of the Tumnus. The controls couldn’t get any simpler, with one knob for fuzz amount and one knob for output level. But the simplicity of the controls here is made up for by the extremely responsive nature of this pedal.