Durham Sex Drive vs Xotic EP

[spazmonkey]

Looking to buy one this week, anyone had/have experience with both?

[AndrewPDarling]

I do have and have used both in numerous recording sessions. While they are both "clean boost" pedals, they are kinda different. The EP (to me) is more like a MORE pedal...it makes things fuller and kind of hypes out the sound...especially with clean tones.

The Sex Drive has more gain available and can be almost transparent...all the way to really hitting the front end of the amp hard to get more natural overdrive, etc. Also, the secret weapon of the Sex Drive is the compression switch. It's great for getting some extra sustain on clean or slightly broken up tones.

The EP isn't transparent...it really affects the sound, even at it's lowest setting. Having said that, it colors things in a really great way.

It's best to try both and see what you think. But don't be surprised that you'll want to buy BOTH.

Hope that helps!

-Andrew

[spazmonkey]

Thanks man! I'll probably use the boost most of the time to push the front end of an already distorted amp for a little more "high gain" and try to retain some clarity.

[Seektone]

The Sex Drive is amazing for adding hi-fi clarity and sparkle to your tone. I used one for a while to boost my amp into high-gain shred-ness and it worked perfectly.

[el duderino]

Haha! I went through the exact same thing last week! I have a tele going into an already overdriven goodsell and wanted a pedal to do more high gain stuff as well as a lead boost. Started with the EP, which as another poster said colors the sound in a very good way, ended up exchanging it for the sex drive. I really wish the EP had a gain knob and a volume knob. I thought the EP had more gain than the sex drive, and cranked up through a hot amp it sounded fantastic but it was way too loud.

The sex drive is a pedal i don't ever see myself getting rid of. It really just makes every thing sound better and the compression switch really adds a lot to the pedal. But I don't get nearly as much gain as the EP, the sex drive sounds so awesome at what it does though that it was the winner for me! Now I'm thinking about getting a mucho boosto to go with the sex drive for more gain!

[archtop]

I'm contemplating this same thing... but I can't decide what to use as an "always on boost" for a bit of hair and compression, and what to use for a "solo boost". It seems that lots of these pedals can do either job well.

I've been looking at the EP Booster, RC Booster, Sex Drive, and Klon (when it was available).

[Sandro]

Did anyone compare the Ep Booster to the RC Booster?

Sandro

[62Tele]

I have both the EP and the SD and agree with Andrew's comments. The EP is nice, great sound, but it's a one trick pony. If that trick is what you're looking for the you're golden. I tend to prefer it pushing other gain pedals more than at the end of the chain. I would bond with it more if it had a tone control though.

The SD is very transparent and I agree, the compression option is stellar. The tone control is helpful but pretty subtle until you get to extremes of the settings. I have on my board Screw Driver > Jetdrive > Sex Drive and I can cover anything from Jim Messina to Nels Cline. They are all great sounding pedals and seem to love each other. The SD adds a really nice buffer to the chain as well.

[spazmonkey]

Thanks guy's, I tried the Durham SD and it does sound good! Haven't tried the EP yet. Also, I met Mr. Durham a while back and he's a real nice guy...might be leaning toward the SD...

[kurt1981]

I've had all three EP sex drive and RC. I like them all for different things, though the EP won out in the end. the sex drive can be prety bright, so into a bright amp you'll have to be carefull. It excells at the country tele thing, just kind of grits the tone up a bit but still has that bite, but I didn't like it into other dirt boxes so much, just kind of gave things a sheen that I didn't like as much. I agree, the compression is a nice option, not shat folks would consider real compression but more of a slight gain thing and a smoothing of your attack, in a super subtle way if that makes sense. The RC has this quality too but is much more neutral sounding, has a nice amount of low gain on tap or can be crystal clean, I like it for a clean boost where you want no tone change just more. I like what it does to other overdrives too, but ultimately, the EP just gave me more of what I wanted, it has a fatness to it that the other two don't have. If they made it with a gain knob it'd be even better, and the only drawback is you can't ever get it down to unity gain or lower, it's always a boost, so keep that in mind.
Hope that helps, all three are great pedals,
Kurt

[Seektone]

I have both the EP and the SD and agree with Andrew's comments. The EP is nice, great sound, but it's a one trick pony. If that trick is what you're looking for the you're golden. I tend to prefer it pushing other gain pedals more than at the end of the chain. I would bond with it more if it had a tone control though.

The SD is very transparent and I agree, the compression option is stellar. The tone control is helpful but pretty subtle until you get to extremes of the settings. I have on my board Screw Driver > Jetdrive > Sex Drive and I can cover anything from Jim Messina to Nels Cline. They are all great sounding pedals and seem to love each other. The SD adds a really nice buffer to the chain as well.

+1 on the buffer. Really excellent.

[spazmonkey]

Is the Durham MUCH brighter than the Xotic?

[62Tele]

Guess that's a matter of perspective. The SD is very transparent where the EP adds a fair amount of coloration which translates into a fat boost. In my rig (Allen amp, EV 12) I don't find the SD particularly bright with the tone knob at noon. I do find the EP can get boomy.