what.. ocd hype??

[hithere]

hey guys I always battle if any pedal touches an amp, but reading the marketing for the ocd (of course make it sounds like the greatest thing) but I know people like them a lot.

Until Fulltone's OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Drive), pedals just couldn't hold up to what a high quality amp could do. You lose all the touch sensitivity and you can forget about those complex Harmonics. It's always been somewhat of a compromise using Overdrive pedals until now. The OCD is designed to replicate the dynamics and harmonic structure of an overdriven tube amp, it uses a unique multi-stage distortion circuit, as opposed to the more common diodes-in-feedback-loop/diodes-to-ground configurations. The designers at Fulltone made this pedal for themselves, but they'll let you use it too. And you'll love it!





Q:The OCD is huge sounding, wide open sounding, why does it make my other Overdrives sound like there's a blanket over the speakers in comparison?
A: Because 99% of all pedals use clipping diodes to achieve their distortion, and the net result is you are lopping off the upper frequencies (harmonics) and most of the lower frequencies, leaving mostly only Midrange.

Q:You're right, but why don't I hear it with other overdrives?
A: Because your overdrives filter out (Lop off ) the upper harmonics, the upper frequencies, and mask your amp's fizziness. Just turn down the OCD's Tone control, which only affects those upper frequencies....or better yet, fix the amp.




is all this stuff really true?

[schenkadere]

I don't like it...and no, I don't need to explain it...my ear doesn't like it...and yes, I've been playing over 30 years...and yes, I can play. But that's just me...tried v3 and v4...just not for me.

[m@2]

i use mine only when i want a more over the top, processed, compressed OD. I almost always pair it with my phase pedal and dig how they interact. As a stand alone OD, I found the Tim, and the zendrive (and yes, the often hated klon) to be superior, but I've kept the OCD around for what it does..

[Rumblefish]

I don't like it...and no, I don't need to explain it...my ear doesn't like it...and yes, I've been playing over 30 years...and yes, I can play. But that's just me...tried v3 and v4...just not for me.

:agree Makes my '68 plexi sound "smaller".Cuts bass response.Maybe good with a saggy mushy Fender.I don't know.I don't get the schtick.

[H_V_C]

The dynamic of the OCD are wonderful, the problem is the voicing. With my amps (fenders) the OCD always sound either too Harsh, or to Muddy/bassy. It always sounds scooped, although I like me some mids...

[H_V_C]

The dynamic of the OCD are wonderful, the problem is the voicing. With my amps (fenders) the OCD always sound either too Harsh, or to Muddy/bassy. It always sounds scooped, although I like me some mids...

[jb1911]

I was more disappointed with the OCD than any other pedal I've ever tried. I'm a big Fulltone fan, too. I love the '69 and the MIni Deja Vibe. I mostly play Fender amps, so maybe that's the problem.

[Ed Reed]

I had a V1 and didn't care for it, too harsh. I now have a V3 and it works very well for me, voiced better not harsh but also not too flabby in the low end.

[wedewer]

Here are my two cents about the ocd.

In front of my super reverb. Terrible. Harsh sounding. flubby, fizzy, everything you don't want in a od pedal.

In front of my straub cantus(plexi circuit) it sounds really good. In front of my explexador with the gain turned down it sounds very good as well. To, me it sounds like the amp when I turn the amp up. The hp and lp setting give you to pretty different sounds to work with depending on how you like your bass response.

[Viscerok]

I keep it on LP, gain around 10:00, volume around 10:00, and the tone straight up high noon. It gooses my VibroKing just a little so when I dig in I get some hair. I like it, granted I haven't tried out too many other od's. I guess ignorance is bliss.

[rob2001]

My favorite OD. V.2. Great for boosting the high input of my JCM 800 or sounds super fat and thick in the low input. Run at 18V, gain low, (never used the gain past noon), tone low, level to taste. (lots of boost available)

[Canon]

I used it as a solo pedal, as opposed to a 'leave on', and thought it was great. Too much gain for me though, I may try another v4 and try to mod it. Very dynamic pedal

[bluesjuke]

I have found the OCD Version 2 to be the best pedal I have ever plugged into. I use it on all tweed amps.

I don't lose any bass, does not flavor the amp at all unless you want to count great clarity and dynamics as coloration.

I have not found it to compress the signal which is something I do not care for at all.
I generally keep my volume around9-10, the tone around 11-12, and the drive at the same 11-12.

It is not fizzy, flubby, flabby or harsh sounding at all.
Those of you that find that may want to fool with it some more in the settings department.

When I first tried one out in the store through one of the same amps as one of mine I thought the same things.
After going to it the third time and using it completely with a different approach I jumped on it as I sure had the wrong impression.

I'm sure most of you have done this and it may be the amp you're using or what you are used to hearing.

In my opinion Fulltone has come up with a pedal that doesn't have wha I don't care for in others.

A lot of what I say here is based on my useage of the V2.

The versions 1 & 3 are my least favorites.
V4 is nice but I think Fulltone should have stopped at V2.
Having extolled the virtues of the OCD I might also add that I find no satisfaction in any other Fulltone product that I have tried.

[sanhozay]

I love when Mike Fuller asks Mike Fuller a question and Mike Fuller answers Mike Fuller's questions.

It's a really good pedal, try one you might dig it. Or not.

[Stormbringer]

I love mine (V2) and it sounds great but I use a Marshall and a Soultone with mostly a Gibson Les Paul. No other OD comes near to what it can do in this kind of setup and the pedal is very, very dynamic. It just responds very well to your touch.

With the Strat, I find the Eternity to be a better match so I can understand the All-Fender players - especially those who play with all guitar controls on 10 all the time and who boost the treble of their Twins - not liking the OCD too much.

But it's my go-to distortion pedal whenever all else fails. It never disappoints.

You just have to give it a try and see if it works with your technique and setup.

[bluesjuke]

You reminded me Stormbringer that though I mentioned that I use tweed amps I neglected to include that I play LP's, 335's STrats, and Teles through them uing the OVD V2.

I have success with all of them , having humbuckers, single coil Fender type, and P-90 pups.

[fancychords]

I don't like it...and no, I don't need to explain it...my ear doesn't like it...and yes, I've been playing over 30 years...and yes, I can play. But that's just me...tried v3 and v4...just not for me.

I'm with you on this..I too purchased v-4 and spent two years tweaking every song..I sold it and since purchased the MI audio blues pro..
Perfect for me..Every sound is good...

[JeffOlson]

On my OCD 1.4 (but wth a blue LED), there are two settings that I really like. With single coils, I use LP, volume noon, tone noon, and gain 8:30 (hardly any). With a bridge humbucker, I use HP, volume 9, tone maxed, and gain maxed. Not bad.

[elicious]

I have a v3 which I got 2 Christmases ago and it's the only pedal which I haven't sold.

On the standard 9V setting this pedal is "meh" imho. Take it to 18V and it gets the perfect (for me) amount of headroom, especially on the HP settings.

I don't get that folks say that it colored their tone; what I like about OCD is that it sounds like my amps but more. I had a TIM for the Timmy+boost thing but I had to switch back to a Timmy+OCD setup just because having the OCD is so much mo' betta';). Tried with '69 Deluxe Reverb, '66 Vibrochamp, '66 Bandmaster, '65 Epi Pathfinder (Falcon circuit), and Bad Cat Classic Cat. No other pedal has been this consistent for me across amp platforms.

Yesterday I found a great new setting for my Classic Cat on OCD: 18V, HP, gain at 2 o'clock, amp set to just about breakup, roll back guitar volume until it almost cleans up...when I was picking with light to moderate touch I was getting strong clear clean tone, even with triads and double-stops. When I was soloing and I'd pick harder and sustain the note and in short time it was breaking into the perfect amount of feedback. Nigel Tufnel would be proud!

I like this pedal, it surprises me more and more. I'm a GASaholic like anyone on these boards and have tried to justify replacing it but on my pedalboard it stays. I got lucky:).

[rockguitardude]

I had a OCD v3 and I felt like it had too much of everything frequency wise. Very congested feeling and really lost my playing dynamics.

[playthecray]

The pedal is over-rated IMHO. It does not stack well with other overdrive pedals and to HVC's point, the pedal sounded harsh through my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. I also found the tone knob to be competely useless with lower settings and the pedal overall was way too bassy with the gain turned up beyond 1:00.

[fancychords]

It's like the old saying.."nothing can be all things to all people"..

[macmax77]

Thru my Fender , meh, i can live with it, but it's is nothing to be proud of.

Now, with the Budda SD80 it sounds like a monster, in a good way, in a great way!

I think the pedal likes some amps and hates others

[Seniorspike]

I bought into the beginning hype, and was immediately underwhelmed with V.1 and couldn't wait to unload it. Guess what? I've still got it, unmodded. I like it mostly for single coils and a nasty P-90 tone. A very dynamic pedal to be sure. I've always been hesitant to upgrade to V.2. Anyone else like V.1?

[chuckmoose]

I found the OCD (v2) to be a nice pedal, certainly more responsive and "open" sounding than most things I had tried when I got it. But, since then I have found many pedals I like better. The OCD has a lot of low mids which don't work well with my amp, and the top end can be fizzy and overly bright, though I got used to that eventually.

I think it's a great option, you just have to try it and see if works for your setup and your style.

[Sikor]

I have a OCD v3 and love it a lot. It stays on my pedalboard all the time :AOK
There is something about that pedal I can't find in any other drive box:dunno