Boss ODB-3 Bass Overdrive Review

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(More customer reviews)OK, first off. I am not a bass player. I can (as most guitarists claim) play some bass, anyway. I am a huge Melvins fan and when inspecting some of Buzz's gear at a show way back in 06, I spotted this pedal alongside his trusty RAT. He happened to be using it as his main DIST. and needless to say it sounded awesome. I got one soon thereafter, and it is a vital dist pedal for me. The only Boss dist/OD in my chain. It works as a great compliment to my Mountainking Megalith (my main DIST-and if you don't know, don't ask---too sick for words) and a Green Russian Big Muff.
By the way, I love this pedal for guitar, much better than most of the other Boss DS or OD peds (and I have played a good few). I has a high and a low eq built in. When you cut the high down and run it hotter on the low end, this pedal really sounds big, full and warm. Its Boss's best dist/OD pedal in my opinion. And I am speaking about a guitar rig people. I believe the key in it lies in the fact that it has the hi and low band (dial) EQs. , but it really gives you a good range if you are a tweaker. I happen to be one of those stoner/doom post-metal guys who has a very loud, clean (when I want it to be, its pristine) but low, "bassy" rig. And I will say, its taken some experimenting the last two years or so, but its incredible. Setup is one 1969 SUNN Sorado head, with point-to-point wiring, (yes, its supposed to be a "bass" head, I know-or so thats what they tried to make us believe), rated at only 60 watts (a joke!, this thing gives my JCM 800 a run for the money in pure power and volume alone, and wayyyy more low end). has two old GE 6550's in it. Anyway, running that through a Guitar cab: Randall XLT 412 with 4 (thats right, has 3/4" birch cab, like and Orange) Celestion Vintage 30's (like an Orange). Its truly got a unique soud.
Mmain guitar is the newest reissue of the Ampeg Dan Armstong "see-through", the ADA-6. Unmodified, bone stock. Use the two "blade" humbucker pickup. I love this guitar. for an acylic guitar, this thing can really do it all. From deep, low end bohemoth riffs thru the Megalith, to cleans chorused up reverby passages, it seems to do it all. Cant tell you how much I love it. And this coming from a guy who was inseparable from my 2002 Gibson SG Std. I cant put the Dan down. The neck, action, everything.
Anyway, my board goes:
SKB ps-45 powered board
Radial Eng. Bones ABY Switcher. to run both rigs at same time, or switch between,(Marshall JCM 800 100 W head (4 EL34's)w/ Std. 1960A cab),
Mountainking Electronics Megalith (and yes, I use the "more heavy" booster to drop the bottom out during certain passages of our songs, especially the end
Big Muff Pi Green Russian, and I have it set to insane!!,
Boss Bass Overdrive (otherwise known as the ODB-3) "The Ol Dirty bastard"
Proco RAT (The original-old, like a 93)
Boss RV-3 Reverb Digital Delay
Boss DD-3, Digital Delay
Green Russian Small Stone Phaser,
Electroharmonix Small Clone Chorus,
Danelectro Dan-Echo,
Boss TU-3,
Boss NS-2 Noise suppressor,
Ernie Ball Volume pedal
and used infrequently: Boss DS-1
Alright, enough gear talk. I can vouch as a gear and tone geek, that the ODB-3 is a vital effect on my board, but for guitar!!!!! It has waaaay more versatility than my DS-1 and my old RAT for that matter. It can be a bit on the "fuzz" side. But oh well. Give it a try for guitar or bass if you can pick it up for a deal

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The ODB-3 Bass OverDrive delivers the chest-resonating distortion that hard rock, thrash, and punk bassists have been waiting for. This hot compact pedal has been designed specifically for bass applications. OverDrive pedal specifically designed for bass Onboard two-band equalizer Balance knob controls dry/overdriven sound AC adaptor or 9V battery operation BOSS 5-year warranty

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Vox Joe Satriani Time Machine Delay Pedal Review

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(More customer reviews)Vox's partnership with Joe seems to be really paying off. The Saturator was great, and this little green box doesn't disappoint. I won't bother with the facts - you've probably heard them a thousand times. What I will say is that this delay has become a staple of my sound. I previously had a Boss DD-7 (with optional tap tempo footswich) and sold it to get this. The Boss had some nice features that the Time Machine doesn't - 40 seconds of looping and that weird backwards tape effect, but the truth is I never once used those live. With the DD-7, I'd just throw it on "Analog" and tap the tempo, which made it very limited to me. It somehow seemed like a DOS prompt - everything was hidden behind a few layers of code that I had to remember in order to call it up. And when I did use it, it was mechanical like a robot - not musical and warm like Madeline Peyroux. Oh, and the DD-7 would leave tempo artifacts in my signal even when it was bypassed. Not cool.
The Time Machine, on the other hand, offers a variety of options at-the-ready. For any song, I can choose modern or vintage via footswitch, as well as Hi-Fi or Lo-Fi via the toggle. The settings really do sound different and give you the ability to shape your sound to create what you're looking for. I still tend to tap the tempo, but the Time Machine's D.Range knob is much easier to use and see on stage than the DD-7's Mode knob. When tapping the tempo, the D.Range button thinks of your tapping as a quarter note and sets the repeats as follows:
1000 ms - Quarter Note (repeats exactly on your tapped tempo)
500 ms - Quarter Note Triplets
250 ms - Eight Note
125 ms - Eigth Note Triplets
Once you've set the tempo, you can switch between different D.Range settings and it will maintain your tempo. This becomes intuitive very quickly. When I play with delay now, I can intentionally put my delayed notes exactly where I want them, rather than just have them strewn out behind me like a trail of discarded beer cans.
I was initially turned off by the TM not being "True Bypass", but whatever Vox did in there, they did it right. I can't hear any degridation in tone or signal with the Time Machine (or Satchurator, BTW). By contract, Boss Pedals are known to suck tone, which I definitely experienced with the DD-7.
The only negative is that the Time Machine doesn't have tails / trails, where the delayed notes continue to trail off even after you've hit the "off" button. Minor oversight, Vox & Joe, no cookie for you. (Full disclosure - the DD-7 does have tails / trails)
Bottom line - the Vox / Joe Satriani Time Machine is the best delay pedal for my money. Not cheap, but definitly worth it.
For the record, I play a Strat into an MXR Super Comp -> Sparkle Drive -> Satchurator -> Ernie Ball Volume Jr -> Time Machine -> Fender Amp.

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World-renowned guitarist Joe Satriani and VOX collaborated to design the Time Machine dual mode delay pedal. Featuring two delay modes and a Hi-Fi/Lo-Fi switch, the Time Machine delivers a wide range of delay sounds and yet remains remarkably easy to use.The time machine provides both modern and vintage delay modes. The modern mode mirrors your original sound with full clarity and fidelity, and will fit any style of music. As its name suggests, the vintage mode delivers the sound of a classic tape delay unit. A proprietary saturation circuit creates a warm, analog sound with a nice sense of distortion. Gentle modulation is also applied in the vintage mode, reproducing the slight warbling produced by a tape-based delay. The amazing effectiveness is the result of an uncompromising process of testing and refining carried out by Joe and VOX.Joe wanted to get a sound that blends nicely with the other performers whether you're on stage or in the studio and yet also has some thickness to the tone. The solution was to add a Hi-Fi/Lo-Fi switch to the time machine. The Hi-Fi mode delivers a transparent, uncolored sound. The Lo-Fi mode, on the other hand, provides a distinctive EQ, combining both high-pass and low-pass filters. This EQ uses filters that have been precisely adjusted to Joe's taste, so that your guitar sound will blend naturally in the mix – without obscuring or interfering with the other players.The time machine is a pedal like no other, one that expands your sound-creating potential through a variety practical functions.

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Fulltone OCD Obsessive Compulsive Drive Overdrive Guitar Effects Pedal Review

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(More customer reviews)I've played this pedal, but opted to buy Fulltone's Fulltone Fulldrive 2 Mosfet instead. It may not be the most precise way of describing this pedal, but I regard the OCD as a sort of subset of the Fulldrive pedals. What the OCD does is make it quicker and easier to get to and tweak its sounds compared to the Fulldrive, which has more switches, dials, and options. That said, the OCD is still capable of a wide range of distortion/drive effects, and, like all Fulltone products, the build quality is second to none. Check out audio samples on Fulltone's site and demo both the OCD and Fulldrive pedals in person if you have the opportunity.

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Until Fulltone's OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Drive), pedals just couldn't hold up to what a high quality amp could do. You lose all the touch sensitivity, and you can forget about those complex Harmonics. It's always been somewhat of a compromise using Overdrive pedals until now. The Fulltone OCD is designed to replicate the dynamics and harmonic structure of an overdriven tube amp, it uses a unique multi-stage distortion circuit, as opposed to the more common diodes-in-feedback-loop/diodes-to-ground configurations. The designers at Fulltone made the OCD for themselves, but they'll let you use it too. And you'll love it!

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Line 6 Uber Metal Review

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(More customer reviews)This is the only Line6 product I have ever purchased and probably ever will. I have never been impressed by Line6 pedals or amps or anything else they make. This distortion pedal, however, is the best of all the distortion pedals I've tested. (DOD death metal, digitech metal master, metal muff w/top boost, boss metal zone, ibanez sm7, digitech gnx/rp series, boss gt 6, line6 podxt live)
Six knobs may seem like it's overdone, but they all have an important part. Three-band eq, scoop on the mid range (you can get SICK tones) gain setting and level. It also has a switch with three different distortion tones. The metal is more of an 80's hair/glam metal sound, it's pretty thin and flat, sounds about like Sonata Arctica.
The pulverize setting is what I mainly use. It's your standard heavy thrash sound, like dragging a concrete block across broken glass. This is where you get your Metallica, Lamb of God, Rammstein, Megadeth, etc. You know, whatever is heavy and sounds like bones breaking.
The insane tone is similar except it takes all the extra high end that's not really adding anything to the sound and sticks it on the bottom. It's extra thick and warm and heavy. I use it for some things but with my setup (ibanez rg1550 prestige w/emg's all around through an old twin triode crate with celestions) it's got too much low end boom to shred. It's fine just for slower Bloody Kisses style elegy type music but not so much Cradle of Filth or Dimmu Borgir thrash.
The general tone is not so much a Line6 tone, it's the tone of your guitar being distorted and then sent through your amp. If you like the tone of your guitar and the tone of your amp you should be fine because the pedal does not override either of them, it just adds on.
Another feature that is very nice is the built-in noise gate. You can turn it off and get all that raw hiss static or you can put it on setting one which takes about half of the extra noise out and quiets it down and the second setting which effectively eliminates all unwanted noise and makes it a little tighter and slightly compressed. Turning the gate all the way on does take off sustain and makes harmonics not as audible, but how long do you need to sustain 8th and 16th notes?
As far as the construction goes, it's solid. It probably weighs about three pounds. I've had mine for a couple years now and I have never had any trouble with the jacks, the switches, or the foot switch. The knobs are a little on the delicate side, they sometimes are a bit loose and wiggly but they haven't broken off or stopped functioning in any way. The battery compartment is under the switch as normal but it's not so bad, you just gotta pinch in the circle deals on either side to get it open. I've got a PSU so I never need to go in there anyway.
I have yet to find a pedal that sounds as good or better (or an amp with on-board distortion for that matter) than this one. There are more out there I haven't tried, I'd really like to try some of the tube distortions and others I've heard of -- Rocktron Metal Planet, Guyatone MM-X Metal Monster, Nady TD-1 Tube Distortion, BBE Crusher High Gain Distortion Pedal, Rocktron Silver Dragon Tube Distortion Pedal, Pigtronix OFO Disnortion -- to see if they've got more of what I want like the Line6 does (or better).

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So much gain, so little time.The high-gain model in the ToneCore pedal line, Uber Metal brings you massive amounts of gain in one tiny, tough package.You can chose from some of the best Line 6 high-gain tones including Metal, Pulverize, and Insane.Also included with the Uber Metal is a built-in selectable noise gate, and scoop control for massive tonal contouring.

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Vox Joe Satriani Satchurator Distortion Pedal Review

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(More customer reviews)Just received it as a gift off my Amazon wishlist ... after playing for about an hour, I'm very pleased with it! The hiss levels are remarkably low, even at high gain settings. It's a warm yet sharp distortion, and once you tune in a comfortable tone knob setting to your tastes, it will be just what you're looking for.
The More switch is just what it's supposed to be, a boost in just the right way, without having to bend down to crank up anything. A little TS9 Tube Screamer before it gives a bit more body, a good tone for my technique, but not essential. By itself through a tube amp (in my case a Fender Blues Jr. NOS) the Satchurator covers everything you need. Just get good at rolling the guitar's volume knob as part of your "effects chain", and you don't need anything else to get good, solid, pure tone that rocks and shreds.

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The Vox Joe Satriani Satchurator Distortion Pedal is the product of collaboration between two legendary names in musical excellence and guitar tone.The Satchurator features improvements never before combined in a distortion pedal. Capable of very high gain levels, the Satchurator operates more quietly and musically than other modern distortion pedals. It also preserves the tone and pick-attack of the guitarist plugging into it, regardless of style, from subtly distorted blues tones through classic rock and shred. The result is a professional-quality pedal that recaptures sought-after vintage and modern sounds in a powerful, versatile and extremely musical pedal design.The Satchurator is the most musical, most dynamic, multi-function distortion pedal I\'ve ever played through says Satriani. This little red box is a monster tone generator. Following my specifications without compromise, and adding design innovations I never thought possible, the VOX team has delivered exactly what I need for the stage as well as the studio: a distortion pedal that responds to my touch, and produces a big, natural, harmonically rich tone compatible with any guitar/pedal/amp configuration.

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Fulltone Fulldrive2 MOSFET Overdrive/Clean Boost Guitar Effects Pedal Blue Review

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(More customer reviews)Great pedal. Great. However...
It was breaking down, so I got in touch with their repair dept. They said simply, Send it in and we'll fix it. Next message from them was an invoice for $60. About one-third the cost of a new unit to repair the two switches and LEDs. I paid, no questions. After making the full payment, I emailed them to comment/complain. Here is Mike Fuller's personal response:
You are a spoiled idiot.
Go away.
Michael Fuller
[...]

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Housed in a beautiful powder-coated blue 16-gauge steel enclosure, the Fulltone Fulldrive 2 effects pedal is capable of clean boost or non-compressed overdrive via its first Overdrive Mode channel. Choose light to medium softer overdrives all while retaining your guitar's original tone. The pedal's Tone knob is a very effective Presence control that can smooth out or add upper harmonics. There's also a footswitchable second-channel Boost Mode with its own separate distortion control for medium to higher gains with a more singing violin-like sustain.

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