OD pedal with different voicings

ArnaudS1979

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I have got this idea of an OD pedal in my head, it probably already exist but I can't find it so far.

I would be interested in an OD pedal that would have different voices, different flavours of overdrive, that could give you classic OD sounds but also fuzz sounds, fat overdrive, more metallic sounding OD, modern OD a bit out there.

I think Seymour Duncan used to do one, one of their first ones about a decade ago. Otherwise, I guess this is pretty much the territory of digital modelling pedal / amp but I am generally not too impressed with those. Am I just running after the five-legged sheep?
 
BYOC has a "Crown Jewel" that has numerous circuit options inside.
 
I like the Way Huge Saucy Box, it does a lot of subtle Klon-style mild to moderate OD tones. It can push a lead tone, but I mostly use mine to push a barely hairy clean channel into a nice, pick-responsive sort of crunch. They make a harder clipping version now, but I haven't tried that one yet. Andy Aledort did pretty nice demos on YouTube of both versions.
 
I have no idea what circuit option would suit me best. How complicated is it to assemble your own pedal? I used to re-do the wiring of my guitars with relative success... Would it to be much harder?
I'd check out YouTube. I would just about bet money that somebody, somewhere has filmed himself soldering together an effects pedal, complete with situational cursing.
 
I try not to buy extremely versatile OD pedals... it hinders my ability to be a gear slut.
He's being sardonic. The truth of the matter is, it's the other way around -- the reason us gear sluts buy a lot of pedals is because you can't get that kind of versatility in a single pedal. I mean, how would you do it? Would you keep count of the number of times you stomped the stomper and cycle through the different flavors? That makes no sense. You could have a digitally controlled analog dirt pedal -- and they do, look at TC Electronic's G-System, that has multiple buttons and a display that tells you what program you're on (and the dirt is analog).

You could also put EQs both before and after the dirt pedal -- and the EQs can be digital, so therefore multiple programs -- because the tone profile going into and out of dirt make a big difference.
...I guess this is pretty much the territory of digital modelling pedal...
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...actually, when I first heard about the Kemper, I had this fantasy that it could replace all my pedals, but you have to realize, each model is one setting. So, no, I think we're a long way off before digital modeling will suffice for anyone other than Steven Wilson (who is literally a magician* with digital plugins).

Honestly, I think the best use case is the Mesa/Boogie JP-2C -- not only does it have 3 channels (clean, "crunch", and "lead" gain), it has multiple flavors in each channel with EQ, and then on top of that, it has a shred mode for ... I want to say the two dirty channels. So there's a lot of variety, plus, you're doing the dirt in the amp, which is best place to do dirt.

If you don't need the ability to switch flavours on-the-fly, then just get something like the Tone Workstation or the EQD Palisades.

*If magic is "sufficiently advanced technology to fool anyone unfamiliar with the technology", then a magician is someone who uses technology well enough to fool anyone who doesn't understand what the magician is doing. Which is kind of a cyclical definition, but whatevs.
 
I have no idea what circuit option would suit me best. How complicated is it to assemble your own pedal? I used to re-do the wiring of my guitars with relative success... Would it to be much harder?

It's not "hard" but if you haven't done it before, that's probably not one to start on. You can buy them built though. That pedal has a whole bunch of pedals built in.

When you say you're not sure what would suit you best though, it's best to know A) what you want to use it with and B) what you want out of it. I used to be a "clean amp plus pedals" guy before I started buying amps with great gain channels. I also hung out at BYOC forum and other DIY forums and built some pedals (and amps, and moded both). I decided as interesting as that was, I'd rather spend what time I have playing than building or tweaking pedals and amps.

That said, there are a metric crap-ton of pedals out there. Best place to start is what you want from the pedal. If you want to add something you don't have (like smooth gain pedal to an amp that has clean and aggressive gain) or M flavor to an F voiced amp, or a solo pedal that boosts mids, or one that boosts upper mids, or whatever. Do you want fuzz, overdrive, or distortion, and how much of it? That type question will get us a better start. Then you can get better suggestions from those of us who have had a bunch. If you are just starting this journey, then I hate to say this but the best thing to do is get a few tips then start pedal flipping to try some. If I know what you want, I can at least point you in a good direction to start though.
 
...actually, when I first heard about the Kemper, I had this fantasy that it could replace all my pedals, but you have to realize, each model is one setting.

This isn't actually correct. In a sense, it is, you do get a particular "setting" of that amp that's being profiled. That recorded amp, that is. Once you chose a profile you can change that "one setting" however you like. You're using that profile as a starting point and can dial in anything from EQ settings, gain, master volume, add/remove pedals. etc. Heck you can even set the voltage sag. Once you've done all that, you can save that as a new profile.
 
Quite a few nice pedals recommended here, most of them on the pricey side though.

This is not going to give you much purchase, but I want something sounding different. I have played a Marshall valvestate, a Laney LC-15 and the Little Tweaker. And While I love the classic sounds you can get out of the last 2, sometimes I want something a bit different, like when you listen to people like Tom Morello or Dave Navarro. But I guess it is not so much the OD that differs but what other effects they are using in addition. A couple more hours spent on the net doing research and maybe what I really want is on octave pedal to have a myriad of choices of overtones.

I am a bit all over the place at the moment as I need to rethink my whole rig to make it work for my current situation. From finding a good amp that can be used with headphones or a cabinet to replacing the FOD-1 which I don't really seem to gel with anymore. So I can of like shooting in the dark at the moment with very limited budget, probably only what I can get from selling my current equipment.
 
I also hung out at BYOC forum and other DIY forums and built some pedals (and amps, and moded both). I decided as interesting as that was, I'd rather spend what time I have playing than building or tweaking pedals and amps.

I ear exactly where you are coming from... I used to spend quite a bit of time on modding my guitars... Comes a point you need to re-focus your mind on what matters, playing the damn thing!
 
I like the Way Huge Saucy Box, it does a lot of subtle Klon-style mild to moderate OD tones. It can push a lead tone, but I mostly use mine to push a barely hairy clean channel into a nice, pick-responsive sort of crunch. They make a harder clipping version now, but I haven't tried that one yet. Andy Aledort did pretty nice demos on YouTube of both versions.

I like the sound of the HC version :cool:
 
I like the sound of the HC version :cool:
Man, looks like it's out of production already. This is the one frustrating thing with Way Huge: their pedals tend to come out in limited editions and disappear as fast as they come, like crocuses. There's one on Reverb for $79 with free US shipping, but it's missing the little screw-in feet. Way Huge pedals use the exact same feet as a Dunlop Crybaby though, so you could probably replace the feet for like $3 or $4.
 
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