Best or most liked Overdrive stomp box

[hawkeye2u]

There is a lot of them out there!
What are your preferences
Thanks guys :roll:

[jimmy]

well the most liked fuzz box is probably the Fuzz Face or the Tonebender. Overdrive boxes is probably the Tubescreamer, but the Highway 89 gets a good rap around here. personally i like the YJM308. i dont know why, i just dig that bright, tight sound. im on a search for my personal distortion box, i havent found my sound yet, but ill keep looking  

good luck
Jim

[smoguzbenjamin]

Tell you what I'm a not really big fan of building distortion/overdrive/fuzz boxes but the Highway 89 is on my got-to-build list! That should say something about it's status

[Marcos - Munky]

Obsidian.

[Ge_Whiz]

I haven't yet found anything commercial that I really liked, at any price. Homebrew, the "Blue Magic" every time. That is, until I build the Odie, Peppermill, and Highway 89. Oh, and the 'Valve Sound' circuitry in my 1978 HH Musician amp, which I am told is an overdriven FET.

Everyone here tends to condemn the Big Muff Pi - so why are they so popular with professionals? Just copying all the others?

[petemoore]

The amp you're planning to use it on can have a big impact on what choice I would suggest...

[phillip]

For overdrive I like the Boss SD-1 the most...even more than all the Tube Screamers that I've played.

For a fuzz box I like the ToneBender MKII Professional the best...with only one modification...replace the 100K collector resistor of Q2 with a 47K.

Phillip

[RDV]

My Boss SD-1 with the analogman mod and a Burr-Brown OPA2134 opamp instead of the JRC4558 rocks, I don't even turn it off sometimes, it cleans up so well! There's now a lot more available gain, and while it still emphasizes the mids, there's not that  mids & nothing else 'empty' feel that the pedal once had. Biggest change I've heard in a pedal cause of OA selection.

The 'Stupid Box' is a dandy also!

RDV

[phillip]

The Burr Brown OPA2134 is a GREAT chip.  The best thing to happen to overdrive pedals since asymmetrical clipping

Phillip

[petemoore]

I would like to be the first to second that opinion...
 Whippy can make one in almost no time at all, tune it up and it sounds Great !!! Big output, low parts count.
 Of course OA's, Diodes, and Caps influence the sound a great deal...I'm using 4558...and still need to tune rolloff and diodes...need to get some cooler diodes.

[Triffid]

Ok, I have been looking for some schematics of the Highway 89 without luck... anyone have links?

Thanks

[brett]

The SD-1 is very much the same as a TS with changes to the diodes so that you get asymetric clipping.  They are both classics.
A similar pedal to both those, that I like a lot is the BluesBreaker.  Good crunch and nice equalisation.  There's a project for it over at tonepad.com.  
For a very smooth overdrive the tube-sound fuzz is excellent, as is the Odie.  The Odie sounds good driving a a tube amp into clipping, while the tube-sound fuzz does that whole sound itself.
There's a pcb and layout for the TSF at my website.

cheers

[MartyB]

If any one has compared the Hwy 89 to Joe Gagan's Bronto Boost/Bronto Jr., I'd like to know what you think.   Personally I like the Bronto alot more than my modded Tubescreamer - much more versatile, less noisy.

[aron]

There is a lot of them out there!
What are your preferences
Thanks guys :roll:

Hopefully after experimenting, the best overdrive pedals you will own will be your own.

Mine fit my equipment like perfectly, and hopefully that's what will happen for you.

Move beyond copies! Tune it for your equipment!  

[bwanasonic]

I bought an original TS9 in the early 80's and used it for years, but no longer have a taste for it. It really depends on your guitar/amp setup, what type of music you play, and the volume you play at. Particularly important is the type of amp (tubes or SS, *vintage* or modern) and whether you like it's inherent overdrive properties. If you plan on using an OD as the main source of distortion, you may prefer a different box than someone who uses an OD to kick an already on the edge tube amp into full wail. In fact, if you already like your amps overdriven sound, you may prefer a *clean* boost to an OD. I've been curious to try a Marshall Guv'nor (original) with my setup. Seems like the tone control section would make it pretty versatile.

Kerry M

[BRENT]

I like most of them, but I really cannot choose a  favorite(except the one used most).  The amp it is in front of really makes the decision for me.  If its my Marshall, then probably fuzzface and octavia and sometimes tubescreamer(with my Strat).  If its my Twin, Champ or  Super Reverb, then it is Big Muff, Tube sound fuzz, tube screamer and octavia.  I also like to chain them together for exploding amp sounds- TS808+FF+BMP+Oct = :twisted: Do I have to pick a favorite, I am unable

[Doug H]

Ok, I have been looking for some schematics of the Highway 89 without luck... anyone have links?

Thanks

Send me an email (dougbhammond@yahoo.com).

Doug

[Doug H]

If any one has compared the Hwy 89 to Joe Gagan's Bronto Boost/Bronto Jr., I'd like to know what you think.   Personally I like the Bronto alot more than my modded Tubescreamer - much more versatile, less noisy.

I have the Bronto Boost and it's a great pedal. I prefer the "one stage" sound of it to the "two stage" and it makes a great booster for the front of my amp. That being said, it is really a different animal than the 89. The 89 is not a "booster" per se, but an overdrive pedal that develops it's clipping internally. (Even in 2-stg mode I suspect the Bronto Boost is intended for boosting a tube amp.)

The 89 cleans up real well, like the bronto, but it will not do the heavy fuzz sound of the bronto. The bronto is more of a "raw" sound to my ears, kind of "tweedy" in a way. The 89 borrows heavily from the Route66 amp and attempts to get that light overdrive blues vibe happening.

Doug