The Tone Thread

[Greg_L]

I like it man, seems like it's pretty transparent compared to the SD-1 & TS pedals...There's not much if any low end taken away with it like the other 2 pedals too, which is something I don't care much for...All the EP clips are pretty consistent, they do get dirtier & raunchier, but not like the od/boost pedals I'm used to hearing...It sounds more natural compared to the other 2 to my ears...

Yup, you hear it like I'm hearing it. The EP is way more open and transparent than the ODs.

[Minerman]

Here ya go. I had it still all set up, so I knocked it out quick while the kids tried in vain to watch TV.


Same everything as yesterday's EP clips.

Interesting man, to me, these actually sound quite close to the boosted EP clips...I'm assuming you were using gtr > eq >amp, into the front of the amp, right??? Of course I've heard about using an eq in the loop for a volume boost for live playing, but I think this is the first time I've heard an eq used as a boost like this...Pretty cool...

[Greg_L]

Interesting man, to me, these actually sound quite close to the boosted EP clips...I'm assuming you were using gtr > eq >amp, into the front of the amp, right??? Of course I've heard about using an eq in the loop for a volume boost for live playing, but I think this is the first time I've heard an eq used as a boost like this...Pretty cool...

Yup, EQ in front to push the amp....like Randy and Eddie. I'm just like those guys.

[Minerman]

Yup, you hear it like I'm hearing it. The EP is way more open and transparent than the ODs.

Since we're on a dirt pedal kick, I have 3 dirt pedals now: SD-1, mini TS, & a BK Butler Real Tube...I've had 'em for a while now, I just haven't used them that much, especially since I got "my" amp back...

The SD-1 is my favorite with the Mini Jubilee, but it does take away from the low end...

The mini TS is more aggressive IMO, with a little more gain & the mid-hump thing...Different voicing than the SD-1, to me it's a little meaner sounding...


The Real Tube isn't what I thought it would be at all, but I'd never tried one before either, yet another "blind" buy...I'd wanted a Tube Driver ever since I had the original Marshall Micro Stack back in the 80's...The Real Tube is supposed to be an exact copy/clone of the Tube Driver pedal that came out in the 80's, built by the same guy, as long as it has "BK Butler" on it...AFAIK, mine is authentic, I could be wrong, but I really don't care...It can be used for a boost, but it sounds the best to me through a clean amp...This pedal has a shit-load of gain on tap, so much so I use a 12AU7 tube instead of a 12AX7, it just sounds better to me...The eq controls are over the top like the gain, a little goes a long way...I bought this pedal used for $100, which is on the lower-end of the price for most of these things...

There have been quite a few versions of this thing:


Plus a couple more copies/clones:


A couple famous guys who have used these are Eric Johnson & David Gilmour...I can see how using this pedal through an amp could help get tones similar to what these guys do though, like anything else, they'd just have to be dialed in...

The Chupa really doesn't need any "help", but running this thing through it in "Plexi" mode does sound pretty good...Not better/worse than the amp's drive, just different...

The Mini Jubilee does benefit from a boost IMO though, especially the SD-1...The way it tightens up the low end sounds very much like the 80's cock rock thing that I like so much...It can sound pretty good with the Real Tube too, either as a boost or as another "channel" through the clean side...

The Real Tube can get quite flubby, almost like a fuzz with too much gain, but with some time dialing it in, it can sound pretty good...

There's one more od pedal on my "list", a Bogner Ecstasty Blue...I had the red version, & I liked it a lot, but ended up selling it "that" year...The Blue is supposed to have less gain than the Red, but I really have no idea...I do know the Red pedal sounded glorious through the old Chupa I had in "Plexi" mode...

I'll throw some tones up in a little while...

[Greg_L]

I'll throw some tones up in a little while...

Lol. Do it. I wanna hear that Tube Driver thing.

[Greg_L]

Okay gents, last batch with the EP Booster then I'll leave yall alone.

This time some clean-to-pushed clean through my handbuilt Deluxe Reverb. No corny cheese blues rock here, sorry to disappoint.


Fender Strat - bridge pickup
The Deluxe Retard - Vibrato channel high input
Vol - 5
Treb - 5
Bass - 3
Reverb - 1.5
Tremolo - off
Bright switch - off
Carvin something 4x12 - Celestion G12T-75
Senn e609 on axis, on grill, halfway across cone
No FX or EQ in DAW

Baseline - no boost amp only

Strat DR 75 609 baseline.mp3

EP Boost 9:00

Strat DR 75 609 baseline EP boost 900.mp3

EP Boost 12:00

Strat DR 75 609 baseline EP boost 1200.mp3

EP Boost 3:00

Strat DR 75 609 baseline EP boost 300.mp3

EP Boost max

Strat DR 75 609 baseline EP boost max.mp3

[SweetDan]

...EP Boost 9:00...

Whoa! That's the one I like!

...Senn e609 on axis, on grill, halfway across cone...

(I wonder how it would sound with an SM57 instead...)

[JD01]

Haven't had a chance to listen to the cleans yet. (I'm home now so listening on good cans).
Was a bit disappointed with the EQ boosts... there was something about them I didn't like, it was like they were just a bit wild and messy. But then I got to the low end roll off one and I liked that more! Was almost like it sounded a bit chunkier for some reason. I'm gonna have a mess about with my Boss EQ now, but wit the amp on silent mode.

[JD01]

Greg, I enjoyed that so much I had to have a play with it myself. Emulated unfortunately so the baseline tone is a bit boxy, but you get the idea.

I've been fiddling with the EQ to get it to sound as similar to the OCD as I could and its not done too bad,

Crunch Only.mp3

With EQ.mp3

With OCD.mp3

With TS.mp3

[JD01]

20181120_210948.jpg

[JD01]

Been fannying about with this for a bit longer now... these two now sound nearly identical. Would be difficult to tell which was which if you didn't know.

20181120_212955.jpg

[Greg_L]

Greg, I enjoyed that so much I had to have a play with it myself. Emulated unfortunately so the baseline tone is a bit boxy, but you get the idea.

I've been fiddling with the EQ to get it to sound as similar to the OCD as I could and its not done too bad,

Crunch Only.mp3
With EQ.mp3
With OCD.mp3
With TS.mp3

Not too bad. I'd reserve final judgement for when you run it through a speaker and mic, but the EQ vs OCD is kind of similar. I still like the OCD better though. It has the bump in gain without the harshness. I think if you level out those highs on the EQ sliders but leave the boost up and low end alone, you might be there.

[JD01]

After having spent another half hour or so now just playing and ABing with them as close as I can get them I prefer the OCD too. There's just something I can't quite dial out with the GE7. It's also noisy as fuck in comparison!

I'll do the experiment again when I can mic up though.

[Greg_L]

After having spent another half hour or so now just playing and ABing with them as close as I can get them I prefer the OCD too. There's just something I can't quite dial out with the GE7. It's also noisy as fuck in comparison!

I'll do the experiment again when I can mic up though.

That's weird that it'd be noisy. Try it off the board all by itself.

Is it too dark if you bring those 1.6k and 3.2k sliders down? Those are pretty spiky frequencies.

[JD01]

After having spent another half hour or so now just playing and ABing with them as close as I can get them I prefer the OCD too. There's just something I can't quite dial out with the GE7. It's also noisy as fuck in comparison!

I'll do the experiment again when I can mic up though.

That's weird that it'd be noisy. Try it off the board all by itself.

Is it too dark if you bring those 1.6k and 3.2k sliders down? Those are pretty spiky frequencies.

It sounds alright if I put them two sliders back down and it does take away the noise... but it sounds pretty dull in comparison. What's 1.6k? Upper mids? They seem to be about where the OCDs character is.

[Greg_L]

It sounds alright if I put them two sliders back down and it does take away the noise... but it sounds pretty dull in comparison. What's 1.6k? Upper mids? They seem to be about where the OCDs character is.

If you ask me, 1.6khz for guitar is about where highs start. So yeah, end of mids, start of highs. I personally wouldn't boost there. Your EQ clip definitely sounds spikier to me. The OCD has a smoother top end to my ears.

[JD01]

It sounds alright if I put them two sliders back down and it does take away the noise... but it sounds pretty dull in comparison. What's 1.6k? Upper mids? They seem to be about where the OCDs character is.

If you ask me, 1.6khz for guitar is about where highs start. So yeah, end of mids, start of highs. I personally wouldn't boost there. Your EQ clip definitely sounds spikier to me. The OCD has a smoother top end to my ears.

I had a good mess about with all of the sliders. Boosting 800 starts to give it that cocked wah Mick Ronson sound - its actually quite cool when you boost 800 all the way up!

As I said, I'll have another mess about with it when I have half an hour to mic up properly, but I don't think this experiment is actually going to work for me. I will have to sell some pedals though before I go buying anymore. I'm accumulating a bucket full of cheapo pedals that I never use... one is even a clone of the OCD!

[Minerman]

Okay gents, last batch with the EP Booster then I'll leave yall alone.

This time some clean-to-pushed clean through my handbuilt Deluxe Reverb. No corny cheese blues rock here, sorry to disappoint.


Fender Strat - bridge pickup
The Deluxe Retard - Vibrato channel high input
Vol - 5
Treb - 5
Bass - 3
Reverb - 1.5
Tremolo - off
Bright switch - off
Carvin something 4x12 - Celestion G12T-75
Senn e609 on axis, on grill, halfway across cone
No FX or EQ in DAW

These sound pretty good to me Greg...I'm really surprised with the EP man, although I do like the way the SD-1 tightens things up, the EP is a totally different animal, & I can see why you like it so much, it's basically part of the amp...Pretty cool...

[Greg_L]

I had a good mess about with all of the sliders. Boosting 800 starts to give it that cocked wah Mick Ronson sound - its actually quite cool when you boost 800 all the way up!

As I said, I'll have another mess about with it when I have half an hour to mic up properly, but I don't think this experiment is actually going to work for me. I will have to sell some pedals though before I go buying anymore. I'm accumulating a bucket full of cheapo pedals that I never use... one is even a clone of the OCD!

Yeah if the OCD is the "gold standard" of your crop of ODs and the EQ doesn't cut it in any meaningful kind of way, then lesson learned. At least you tried and now you know. It can go back in the box.

Don't get rid of it though. One day you might play live, and an EQ in the loop can act like a poor man's lead channel for your shreddy phrygians.

[Greg_L]

These sound pretty good to me Greg...I'm really surprised with the EP man, although I do like the way the SD-1 tightens things up, the EP is a totally different animal, & I can see why you like it so much, it's basically part of the amp...Pretty cool...

Yeah that's a good description. The EP does it's thing without getting in the way. I love that. My pet peeve with all OD pedals is that they put too much of their own fingerprint on the sound. I don't want that and that's why my ODs pretty much never get used. I can use this EP thing.