I'm looking to get a pedal that I can run into a Vox AC15 for vintage crunch tones and smooth lead, and I'm pretty set on the OCD, but I'm wondering if the Fulldrive will be a bit more versatile. I was planning on using the OCD to get a rhythm tone and boosting it with a Bad Bob booster for lead, but I could combine both into one with the Fulldrive. Thoughts?
The Fulldrive is great. Probably not as touch sensitive as the OCD but the overdrive side of the Fulldrive is still quite dynamic. I sometimes use the Fulldrive with my Budda SD18 which, while not a Vox, is Voxy enough to suggest that the Fulldrive should work with your AC15. I highly recommend the newer version of the Fulldrive. When I first got the Mosfet version I thought it was too bright. However, now I feel that the older version is kind of muffled in comparison, even with the tone knob turned up a bit. Terry
Yes. It's compressed, extremely smooth and has good sustain. You can use the boost to add extra sustain for those solos that need it.
That's the thing about the Fulldrive, it's compressed. I hated mine...I wanted to like it but it just didn't work for me. Enter the OCD. What a great sound it has, and it just has this vibe going on that I can't describe. The Fulldrive sounds like every other TS style pedal to me. The OCD is special. You should try both of them before you buy.
It sounds like the OCD will fullfil my immediate needs for more crunch and gain, and then the Fulldrive would possibly work for the more violin sustain lead tone.
I agree with PremiumPlus. I want to love my Fulldrive 2 but the compression kills it for me. Running the OCD and Fulldrive 2 at 18v helps tremendously. If you go with the Fulldrive 2, this is a must IMHO unless you want the compressed sound.
The FD2 & OCD are VERY different sounding pedals IMO. I've been using the FD2 for a long time, and I really like the midrange and compression it has. When run into an amp that is breathing a bit, I find the FD2 to meld with the amps tone exceptionally well. It is very dynamic feeling and organic sounding when run this way. Very versatile pedal with the 3 modes, Mosfet (mine is an earlier pre-Mosfet FD2) and the Boost. I bought the OCD and tried to like it, but couldn't bond with it at all. It had no mids, and sounded too processed and "pedal like" to my ears no matter how I set it. I ended up running the OCD & FD2 together to try to add some midrange to the OCD - which helped - but I still greatly prefered the tone of the FD2 alone, so I sold the OCD. The OCD is really the polar opposite to the FD2 in my opinion, and I can see why many players who love the OCD, dislike the FD2 - and vise versa.
I might add in my experience the non-Mosfet FD2 sounds beter to me with single coils into a brighter amp (like I use it). I can imagine that people who play humbuckers into a somewhat darker amp might prefer the brighter mosfet FD2. I always combine my OCD for crunchy rhythm with a TS (such as the FD2) for leads, both always on 18v. Great combo, although I now use a MP LGW as the TS, placed after the OCD.
I was blown away by the OCD when I first got it years ago, but am liking my FD's more lately. I'm digging the compression. And I think the FM setting on FDII's are not very compressed so if you prefer less compression you can get that from an FDII. Overall, the pedal sounds very good into my EF86 18-watter, which has some Vox flavor, so I think it should work well with your Vox. I don't think you can go wrong either way.
I have an AC15. I have both the FD2 and OCD. I like the OCD better with the AC15. Make sure you try out the GT-500. I'm really liking mine with the AC15. Nice distortion and the boost side can be ran like an OD.
I have both the OCD anf FDII and love them but they are quite different pedals with quite different types of applications. Both are very versatile and can do a number of things but the FDII is like a refined, souped-up TS with many twists while the OCD is more like a OD/Dist with little of the TS-style sound. It's way more open sounding and has more distortion available than the FDII. I use could probably gig with just the two for my distortion/boost needs (The boost side of the FDII works very well, particularly in Mosfet and comp cut modes)
I also run an AC15hw I really enjoy my fulldrive 2 nonmosfet...but I've also owned the mosfet- and it had good tone just was alittle more fizzy sounding compared to the nonmosfet. The OCD is exceptionally great as a booster or stacked lead. make sure your amp is just about to break up. The clean mesh of these two is alright, but not as organic as it can be with a cranked amp! I just sold my GT500...It just wasnt the flavor I was looking for! but give it a whirl and try it out! Best of luck!
I just picked up a Lovekraft Mojo Drive... IMO it does what each of those pedals do but better. The Vintage Mode is like the FD2 but without the colored compression/mid hump (probably more like Flat Mids FD2). The Mojo does have good compression, though... it adds sustain without clogging up my sound like most TS circuits. Also IMO, the MojoDrive is a bit better than the OCD at Marshally sounds. Keep in mind, I'm running through a Blues Jr, which isn't a vox, although it's closer to that sound than a Blackface Fender would be. My killer combo is MojoDrive>TIM. With those two pedals I have every kind of drive one could want minus fuzz or Dumble. (I plan to get a Chupacabra (RAT) and a Zendrive (Dumble)).
