Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum

Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: Twinfan on May 20, 2011, 08:40:05 AM

Title: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: Twinfan on May 20, 2011, 08:40:05 AM
Does such a thing exist?

A mate's after one to put in front of a clean amp, and I'm really struggling to come up with any suggestions.  He has an Xotic AC+ which is more of booster, so it doesn't do the job he thought it might.  Tubescreamers and my Klone are a bit middy, and a fuzz pedal is too fuzzy!

ZVex Box of Rock might do the trick?  Anything else?
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: Andrew W on May 20, 2011, 08:45:11 AM
What about a Way Huge Green Rhino Mk II?

http://www.jimdunlop.com/product/green-rhino

If you fundamentally like a TS-808 apart from the mid bias this pedal has controls for dialling bass back in and controlling the mid curve. Also it's true bypass if that's important to you?
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: JacksonRR on May 20, 2011, 08:53:44 AM
Timmy Overdrive or Lovepedal Kanji Eternity, but I'd lean towards the Lovepedal. Those would be my suggestions if you were looking to buy a box. Here's vid of the Lovepedal. I'd stay away from the Zvex from what you are describing as the needs of the guy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjDiD7_0AW0

Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: Ratrod on May 20, 2011, 10:58:01 AM
Definately not the Box Of Rock. Great pedal but it will make your amp sound like an early Marshall.

The Timmy is known for it's transparancy.
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: th3sku11 on May 20, 2011, 11:48:00 AM
What about the Lovepedal COT? Depending on how hot his pickups are the lower gain settings might work for him?

There' a video at :

http://www.andertons.co.uk/electric-guitar-fx/pid17734/cid579/lovepedal-amp-50-pedal.asp?utm_source=googlebase&utm_medium=pricecomp&utm_campaign=GoogleShopping
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: blue on May 20, 2011, 12:02:43 PM
the Danelectro Transparent Overdrive is supposed to be a clone of the Timmy, and it's a lot easier to get a hold of.  not to mention cheaper! 
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: AndyR on May 20, 2011, 01:22:49 PM
the Danelectro Transparent Overdrive is supposed to be a clone of the Timmy, and it's a lot easier to get a hold of.  not to mention cheaper! 

I was wondering about these - but I don't have too much experience of much else in this area. I've got one, don't use it much now, but it did exactly the job I wanted - dirtied up a clean amp for home use in a reasonably inoffensive way (ie didn't seem overly fizzy and let me imagine I was playing something nicer!). It can be very subtle. First I dug out my old Marshall Guvnor to do the job, but that was vile!!! So I decided to spend some "big bucks" on one of these :lol: - very happy with the outcome.

I've since ended up doing something else instead (got a valve amp that crunches nicely at low volume with no added help), but I've found that the danelectro TO would also be a perfect solo boost for me in front of a valve amp set to "blues-rock" if I ever wanted to play out.
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: Twinfan on May 20, 2011, 02:05:59 PM
Cheers guys - Dano TO looks to be just the ticket.  I've sent him the info.

Ta!
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: Telerocker on May 20, 2011, 02:31:12 PM
Have a look at the Emma Stinkbug and the Okko Diablo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8ZuvHO9Da8&feature=related (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8ZuvHO9Da8&feature=related)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFU67iXN24c (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFU67iXN24c)
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: tomjackson on May 20, 2011, 03:27:54 PM

Barber LTD also worth trying

I use my BoR clone for similar duties, it's fine at low low gain but gets too thick when cranked
Dano TO is nice (I have the V1).  Hated the controls though
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: sgmypod on May 20, 2011, 03:32:48 PM
Wasn't version 2 of dano a similar to ocd
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: Twinfan on May 20, 2011, 03:47:21 PM
Nah, I think that was their other OD.  Their distortion is an MI Audio Crunchbox...
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: dave_mc on May 20, 2011, 04:35:13 PM
bear in mind it's only the v1 version (the one with the yellow sticker) which is the timmy clone. So it mightn't be that easy to find.

I haven't tried the timmy, but if the dano version is at all close i imagine it'll do what your friend wants.
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: DavidRees on May 20, 2011, 06:01:08 PM
Rothwell Tornado? :)
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: juansolo on May 20, 2011, 06:07:13 PM
the Danelectro Transparent Overdrive is supposed to be a clone of the Timmy, and it's a lot easier to get a hold of.  not to mention cheaper!  

I was wondering about these - but I don't have too much experience of much else in this area. I've got one, don't use it much now, but it did exactly the job I wanted - dirtied up a clean amp for home use in a reasonably inoffensive way (ie didn't seem overly fizzy and let me imagine I was playing something nicer!). It can be very subtle. First I dug out my old Marshall Guvnor to do the job, but that was vile!!! So I decided to spend some "big bucks" on one of these :lol: - very happy with the outcome.

I've since ended up doing something else instead (got a valve amp that crunches nicely at low volume with no added help), but I've found that the danelectro TO would also be a perfect solo boost for me in front of a valve amp set to "blues-rock" if I ever wanted to play out.

I have to admit I have a problem with the Danelectro stuff morally. Which may sound hypocritical*, but hear me out. Paul C (designer of the Tim and Timmy) makes his bread and butter out of pedals. Dano ripped it and are selling a cheap, i suspect, Chinese made knock off. He's not the only one they've done it to, but he's one of the 'good guys'. In so much as he was not so precious of his design to let other DIYers make it, and indeed he helped them out. Dano betrayed that trust and are actively damaging his livelyhood by releasing a commercial knock off. That's bullshiteeeeee IMO.



*I might make odd clones of pedals for for me, friends and a few people here, but I'm not making a business of it. Indeed other than the Klone (which the real ones go for frankly stupid money) and Darkside (which the way we do it veers away from the original design), most of them are 'open source' designs that I've actually sold.
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: Matt77 on May 20, 2011, 06:36:01 PM
I think it might work the other way. It's a conversation point that puts his name in the right places on the internet and pedal geeks like me get to hear about him. It might drive more customers to him.
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: juansolo on May 20, 2011, 07:26:16 PM
I think it might work the other way. It's a conversation point that puts his name in the right places on the internet and pedal geeks like me get to hear about him. It might drive more customers to him.

Possibly and I kind of hope it does.

Still naughty of a commercial manufacturer to rip of an in-production pedal...
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: Elliot on May 20, 2011, 08:41:57 PM
The Version 2 is even more of a rip off of the Timmy as it includes the internal switching found in Paul Cochranes' design.  As to ethics a) if you condemn Danelectro you have to condemn pretty much the entire industry for their Tubescreamer clones b) Paul Cochrane even after a few years of the Dano clone being on the market has a 4-6 month waiting list (as he always had) so it hasn't made his business suffer c) The Dano is a nice pedal, but it is cheap made with hard to use pots, the Timmy is a high quality pedal that, if you listen to the Youtube demos, smokes the Dano.
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: dave_mc on May 20, 2011, 09:22:55 PM
^ i was under the impression that superficially the v2 was more like the timmy (because of the dip switches etc.), but that the circuit had been changed (ditto with the drive versus the ocd). However, that's just from what I've read about the subject, I haven't done any research of my own. EDIT: yeah... i could easily imagine that the timmy would be better... the dano's nice, but with the qualifier "for the money". That's kinda why I think it's crazy that some people are paying daft prices for it now it's been discontinued... i mean the real thing (as long as you don't mind a wait) isn't exactly that expensive either, why not just get it?

I think it might work the other way. It's a conversation point that puts his name in the right places on the internet and pedal geeks like me get to hear about him. It might drive more customers to him.

i don't know for sure what the final percentages would be, but certainly it might push a certain type of customer towards him- i know that now i have  (presumably) a fair idea of how it'll sound, i'd be much more willing to get on the waiting list.
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: tomjackson on May 20, 2011, 09:48:36 PM

I had the V1, it was nice

I've tried a Timmy, it was very nice.

The problem with the Timmy is the waiting list and the lack of a decent website for easy order from the UK
But they are very good value if you are prepared to wait, they are not massively expensive pedals
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: BigB on May 20, 2011, 10:04:46 PM
Does such a thing exist?

A mate's after one to put in front of a clean amp, and I'm really struggling to come up with any suggestions.  He has an Xotic AC+ which is more of booster, so it doesn't do the job he thought it might.  Tubescreamers and my Klone are a bit middy, and a fuzz pedal is too fuzzy!

ZVex Box of Rock might do the trick?  Anything else?

Having played the Dano CTO-1 low-cost copy, I think the Timmy might works fine here. It (well, the Dano  at least but from the reports and vids I'd expect the original to be quite similar, just better)  doesn't have the TS mid-bump, it can gives really subtle, "just about to break-up" overdrives, and really respects both the guitar and amp tones.

Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: d1dsj on May 20, 2011, 11:39:27 PM
My favorite pedal of all time is my Keeley Time Machine Boost. I sold my BB Pre Amp which was good but not really working well to goose my MK50 and got the black ltd edition TMB and it works a treat. If retains so much clarity and definition ... amazing.
http://www.robertkeeley.com/product.php?id=37
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: juansolo on May 21, 2011, 06:42:28 AM
We're veering O/T with this, but legally you cannot copyright a circuit. You can copyright PCB, but if they reverse engineer their own from the schematic (can use exactly the same components), then in the eyes of the law, you're fine. Which is what Dano have done.

But yes, you're right, the entire pedal making industry is built on clones. The number of pedals out there that are variations on old tube screamer, muff or fuzz face circuits is astonishing (covers the vast majority of ODs and fuzzes). But at least they are usually variations where people have used different components rather than a like-for-like copy. I suppose the same could be said for the amp industry. So maybe my point is bollocks...  hmmmm... I think I've argued myself into a corner.

In answer to the original question though, the last tube pedal I made (the Boob Tube), probably is as close to brief as I've ever got. It's a tweaked valve caster that overdrives my new very clean amp in a very natural tubey way. I really, really like it. Just going to tweak it a little more at the weekend. But it's nigh on spot on.
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: sgmypod on May 21, 2011, 07:21:26 AM
So question is how much would a great named boob tube cost?
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: juansolo on May 21, 2011, 09:55:51 AM
Would have to work it out. Also I'd need to make it a little more robust for someone using it in anger. I'll get back to you.

Twinfan if you fancy a trip over the pennines to try a few things out, all my stuff is over at cleggy's at the mo. Youre welcome to come over and have a play tomorrow if youre free.
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: Twinfan on May 21, 2011, 10:21:25 AM
Cheers dude, but I'm busy this weekend and it's for a mate not me!  I've sent him the TO details, which being cheap will be right up his street at the moment.

He uses an Ibanez 335-a-like with Stormy Mondays into a Fender Blues Junior...
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: juansolo on May 21, 2011, 10:44:14 AM
Cheers dude, but I'm busy this weekend and it's for a mate not me!  I've sent him the TO details, which being cheap will be right up his street at the moment.

He uses an Ibanez 335-a-like with Stormy Mondays into a Fender Blues Junior...

He could bring them over and try a few things if he liked. I'll be over tomorrow doing pedally shiteee anyhow.

Offer is open to anyone else who's bored and in the huddersfield area tomorrow also as long as you don't mind the stench of solder as I crack on whilst you play.
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: dave_mc on May 21, 2011, 11:51:41 AM

I had the V1, it was nice

I've tried a Timmy, it was very nice.

The problem with the Timmy is the waiting list and the lack of a decent website for easy order from the UK
But they are very good value if you are prepared to wait, they are not massively expensive pedals


yeah, exactly. I mean if I could order a timmy right now at the current price (i realise the wait is because the prices are low), I'd do it. The problem is I'm not sure I want one enough to wait a year (maybe more) for one, plus as you say, it's not exactly terribly easy to order one even if you do want one.
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: sgmypod on May 21, 2011, 11:55:32 AM
Didn't realise you was in huddersfield may have to pay a visit at some point and try a few of your creations
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: juansolo on May 21, 2011, 08:48:09 PM
No worries fella. Drop me a PM when you fancy a trip over.
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: sgmypod on May 21, 2011, 10:39:06 PM
cool have had a go on the fuzz you did for horsehead havn't tried the klon yet......you done any clips, vids of valvcaster or similar
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: juansolo on May 22, 2011, 07:33:20 AM
I haven't the facilities sadly :( Better to test them out in person anyhow. It surprises me sometimes what people like and don't like. It's certainly not something you can predict easily on a forum!
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: sgmypod on May 22, 2011, 10:07:18 AM
Cool not a problem trying out guitar stuff
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: andyg_prs on May 22, 2011, 04:34:39 PM
I guess it's very subjective in terms of the sound he might be looking for.  I recently got an MI Audio Crunch Box v3.  With single coils it does everything from extremely subtle warmth / drive to extreme marshall tones.  Not as keen on it with humbuckers though.

What guitar does he play?

Cheers,
Andy

Does such a thing exist?

A mate's after one to put in front of a clean amp, and I'm really struggling to come up with any suggestions.  He has an Xotic AC+ which is more of booster, so it doesn't do the job he thought it might.  Tubescreamers and my Klone are a bit middy, and a fuzz pedal is too fuzzy!

ZVex Box of Rock might do the trick?  Anything else?
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: sgmypod on May 22, 2011, 04:48:22 PM
You adjusted the trim pot inside crunch box, acts like a presence(works opposite to how expect)open up the pedal for me
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: andyg_prs on May 22, 2011, 05:17:28 PM
Not yet  - is on my list of things to do...can only do in rehearsal room - and I already drive the band mad constantly trying out new pedals and sounds etc!  :)

Where is it inside the pedal?  Is it easy to see how it is set (if I want to put it back to how it was) and how does it change things moving one direction or the other?  How far does it adjust in either direction?

Cheers,
Andy
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: sgmypod on May 22, 2011, 05:28:28 PM
Mine was too dark before adjusting(even with tone full up)
was a small blue screw adjuster, full clock wise was very dark, turning anti clock wise added more life and treble. I went for 12oclock on mine
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: andyg_prs on May 22, 2011, 05:31:41 PM
Cool - cheers
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: Elliot on May 25, 2011, 03:36:37 PM
Another pedal that does this is the Toadworks Leo Jr -  I use one all the time as a subtle OD for my 63 Vibroverb.
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: sgmypod on May 28, 2011, 07:47:56 PM
Love my lovepedal amp 50
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: dano on May 29, 2011, 03:01:47 PM
Subdecay Liquid Sunshine is a great'transparent' overdrive and can do very low gain really well.
Title: Re: Clear, transparent, subtle-ish overdrive pedal with no fizz?
Post by: shobet on May 29, 2011, 03:11:08 PM
A Nick Greer gheto stomp might be worth having a look at as it's fairly low gain. Not sure if I'd describe it as transparent though.