What's the most versatile OD/distortion pedal?

[stratotastic]

I have a Bassman RI on the way and would like to get a hold of a single OD/distortion pedal that sounds great spanning the whole range from blues rock, classic rock, funk, 90's alt rock, etc (no metal). This needs to be versatile enough to play in a cover band, but will be used for a number of other projects as well. Quite a range, and maybe it's an impossible goal, I dunno... I'd like to keep it in the ballpark of $250 or less and am not super picky--I've had no problem using my stock BD-2 for years, although it's getting a little stale.

Some of the ones on my radar are the BB plus, the Tonebone Classic, and the OCD. Any opinions on these or suggestions for others would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

[fenderbender07]

Ocd!!!

 

[rawkguitarist]

A good version of the BSIABII circuit. Don't let the Van Halen moniker fool you. It's simply a great sounding OD/Distortion.

http://wamplerpedals.com/pinnacle_2

 

[Twin63]

Lovekraft Mojo Drive - 3 position toggle gives you Vintage (enhanced tube screamer), Boost, and Crunch (less compressed, Marshall-like). Very versatile, great tone, and around $100 used.

Barber Burn Unit - 2 channel OD/distortion with a dynamics control that gives a ton of great tones. I don't think you can beat Barber pedals for build quality/tone vs. price.

SRB808 2in1 Dual Drive - Similar to the Mojo Drive, but it's actually 2 SRB808's in the same enclosure. Again, very versatile, sounds great and the channels can be use one at a time or stacked together.

I could easily live with any one of these if I was limited to one OD pedal. Also, they all sound great with Fender style amps.

 

[Macaroni]

None of the pedals you mentioned comes close to the new Kingsley Jester...

http://www.kingsleyamplifiers.com/jester/jester.html

It's a real amp preamp in a pedal, with tubes working at full voltage, with BMT + Gain & Level.

You've got 3 Modes of OD - Lo/Med/Hi, with a Gain range in each Mode, as well as 3 Boost Modes - flat/Hi/Mid, with a Level range for each Mode. You can use the Boost independent of the OD or stacked.

The clips are accurate. This pedal will do it all.

 

[blackba]

I think the OCD would be a good choice. Only thing I will add is the MI audio Blues Boy Deluxe is pretty darn versatile for such a small box....

 

[-DC/AC-]

I'd check out the Himmelstrutz Fetto. A little pricey (look for a used one) but it has so many internal controls that can completely change the tone from any kind of rockin' Marshall, to sparkly Fenderish overdrive.

 

[TheFlash]

Foxrox ZIM.

 

[Datsyuk]

None of the pedals you mentioned comes close to the new Kingsley Jester...

http://www.kingsleyamplifiers.com/jester/jester.html

It's a real amp preamp in a pedal, with tubes working at full voltage, with BMT + Gain & Level.

You've got 3 Modes of OD - Lo/Med/Hi, with a Gain range in each Mode, as well as 3 Boost Modes - flat/Hi/Mid, with a Level range for each Mode. You can use the Boost independent of the OD or stacked.

The clips are accurate. This pedal will do it all.

 

[thetangmang]

None of the pedals you mentioned comes close to the new Kingsley Jester...

http://www.kingsleyamplifiers.com/jester/jester.html

It's a real amp preamp in a pedal, with tubes working at full voltage, with BMT + Gain & Level.

You've got 3 Modes of OD - Lo/Med/Hi, with a Gain range in each Mode, as well as 3 Boost Modes - flat/Hi/Mid, with a Level range for each Mode. You can use the Boost independent of the OD or stacked.

The clips are accurate. This pedal will do it all.

Interesting...

 

[shngn7]

I would also suggest an OCD.

 

[Grady]

I'll have to agree with the Jester. It's a little bit more coin. but it's very versatile, and it just sounds damn good.
Works quite well with my Holland Bassman.
I've tried every pedal listed above(except the OCD), and they are all great pedals. But they can not touch the Jester. But that's IMHO.

Grady

 

[norumba]

im a fan of the seymour duncan twin tube classic -- also a dual channel drive, goes from everything to light crunch to short of metal. good thick, powerful tone and sustain, wont color your tone too much but you can if you want it to, also uses tubes at high plate voltage. about $230 new, 100 to 150 used. It sounds surpisingly good through solid states or direct to the board if you have to go down either route in a given situation.

 

[huskerjohn]

None of the pedals you mentioned comes close to the new Kingsley Jester...

http://www.kingsleyamplifiers.com/jester/jester.html

It's a real amp preamp in a pedal, with tubes working at full voltage, with BMT + Gain & Level.

You've got 3 Modes of OD - Lo/Med/Hi, with a Gain range in each Mode, as well as 3 Boost Modes - flat/Hi/Mid, with a Level range for each Mode. You can use the Boost independent of the OD or stacked.

The clips are accurate. This pedal will do it all.

Sounds pretty nice!

 

[amphead777]

The Landgraff DO format from Lovekraft, or SRB.

 

[dorfmeister]

Death by Audio Interstellar Overdriver Supreme has many different sounds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dGx_-1D_mU

 

[iamspartacus]

The most versatile has to be the Small Fry (or Burn Unit EQ for more channels). The dynamics knob really plays a huge role in the character of the drive. Want smooth and fat? Turn the dynamics knob down. Want jangly and loose? Turn up the dynamics. And it's not like an "in-between" dynamics setting is bad. In fact, having the dynamics in a neutral position with the gain high is a really nice touch-sensitive tone that you can really manipulate with the volume knob.

kind of like this (not my video!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBxjt4wq5GM&feature=channel_page

 

[stratotastic]

I really appreciate all the suggestions so far. There's some great stuff to try going on my list. Thanks guys.

 

[BDR1]

Someone else mentioned it. The SRB808+ 2 in 1 is nice because you can swap out chips (I have 5 different chips) stack the two pedals and with the two toggle switches on each channel you have three clipping modes x2 and three boost modes x2. I've set a stock TS-9, Keeley TS-9, Kanji Eternity and Monte Allums BD-2 next to the SRB and it beats them all with range of the knobs and all the different configurations. You can generally find one around here for a good price. Sure, it's a TS clone but with a lot of extra capabilities.

Or you could send your BD-2 in to have Keeley do his mod since you're comfortable with the sound. All IMO of course.

 

[jpage]

How about the single most popular and most copied OD pedal in history?

Give ya a hint...it's green and it goes with a Fender Bassman like Peanut Butter & Jelly or Pride & Joy...