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Which drive pedal for power pop?


unfun75

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Ha. Um...cheap answer? EHX East River Drive just adds grit and doesn't color the sound as much as, say a Fulldrive or OCD.

Expensive answer? I went from the EHX to a Mad Professor Royal Blue overdrive. Even more amp-like and more adjustable.

 

I guarantee if you get 20 people to answer, you will get 20 different answers!

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VHT Standard 18 amp...the last head version I bought used a few months ago cost me less than some boo-teek stomp boxes, as in two and a half bills with shipping.  All I gotta do for old-school OD is to crank it up, and use the volume knobs on the guitar for taste!   B)

Edited to add: It'll do this tune pretty well, though you'd probably want to add a bit of reverb with a pedal, since it don't have that:

This, too:

P.S.: Yeah, that's Kenny Rogers introducing the Badfinger video, back when he was still with The First Edition apparently, and long before he got his face tightened like a drum.  :rolleyes:

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As I recall, almost everyone was using an MXR Distortion Plus in the 80's.  And a Boss or Ibanez chorus.

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2 hours ago, BadgerDave said:

As I recall, almost everyone was using an MXR Distortion Plus in the 80's.  And a Boss or Ibanez chorus.

That's The Connells tone for sure and they are one of my favorite bands. Actually, I remember seeing an MXR Micro Drive pedal and not the Distortion + in front of Mike C.'s amp. George Huntley definitely abused the chorus pedal on their heyday albums.

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6 hours ago, polara said:

Ha. Um...cheap answer? EHX East River Drive just adds grit and doesn't color the sound as much as, say a Fulldrive or OCD.

Expensive answer? I went from the EHX to a Mad Professor Royal Blue overdrive. Even more amp-like and more adjustable.

 

I guarantee if you get 20 people to answer, you will get 20 different answers!

Will have to try the East River pedal. Didn't care for Fulldrive or OCD.

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Re: the Raspberries video.  It's cool and amusing to see Eric Carmen playing that modded and refinished Melody Maker that he later sold to a young Joan Jett. 

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Good to see the Connells love here. We played a gig with them in '88 (?) and they helped us load in so we bought them all dinner at Whataburger. Super-nice guys. I was in shock when I first visited Missus Polara's place in Sweden when we were dating. Was checking out her CDs of course and she had three Connells discs.

Yeah, I like the more pure, slight drive sounds for that kind of music over the pedals that add more stuff. I have my EHX East River Drive for sale over in the FS forum, since I've stuck with the Mad Professor.

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A big +1 to the Menatone for Fender-esque amps. 

Hadn't thought about it but have wondered for a while why I'm not as enamored of it as I once was - duh, for the first time I do not have a Fender-esque amp!  It's fine in front of the Reeves, but nowhere nearly as nice as in front of a Fender or a Mesa Subway Blues.  Suppose I should buy another amp now? :lol:

At any rate, given the limited choices wasn't about everyone using the LPB-1?

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I'll second the Xotic BB Preamp.  Nice tight response for chunky power chords.  Not as loose as a TS or SD-1.  It's active treble and bass controls let you match it up with a variety of amps.  Also works as a whomping big cleanish boost, something like +30dB.

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3 hours ago, Rich_S said:

I'll second the Xotic BB Preamp.  Nice tight response for chunky power chords.  Not as loose as a TS or SD-1.  It's active treble and bass controls let you match it up with a variety of amps.  Also works as a whomping big cleanish boost, something like +30dB.

I think my friend has one. I'll give it a try.

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I’ve used a few that have worked for me; Fulltone Fulldrive 2 & OCD, Strymon Riverside. Currently using a PettyJohn PettyDrive 2. It seems to do everything but super high gain. 

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For jangle and transparent drive, the oft-overlooked Nobels ODR-1 deserves a mention.  The circuit is unique - not just another TS, or Bluesbreaker variant - and there's a lively sparkle to the sound that works great for pop IMHO.  Its a low-gain overdrive (available drive is about the same as a TS) and works equally well in front of a clean or already-breaking-up amp.

One potential drawback of the ODR-1 - depending on your intedned use, preferences, guitar and amp etc. - is the hefty low end output.  For recording (which I suspect is where most of the ODRs out there get used), this isn't an issue; you can roll back the bass at the amp.  But playing live, the boosted low end could come as a shock when you kick the pedal in.  Nobels offers a "Special" variant with TMB tone controls that may solve this problem, but having not played one I can't vouch for it. 

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On 10/22/2017 at 10:51 PM, unfun75 said:

That's The Connells tone for sure and they are one of my favorite bands. Actually, I remember seeing an MXR Micro Drive pedal and not the Distortion + in front of Mike C.'s amp. George Huntley definitely abused the chorus pedal on their heyday albums.

That's absolutely correct - Mike's rig was where I first learned about the Micro Amp.  I also recall seeing a DynaComp or some other MXR Compressor when both George and Mike were playing Rickenbacker 12 strings and before George started using the Schecter PTs.  That was probably in '85 or '86, maybe?

A SparkleDrive or a Wampler ACEThirty (or Thirty Something) and a compressor will also get you some nice PowerPop type tones.  What amp are you using?  Vox?  A Deluxe?  That helps too.

 

 

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4 hours ago, cmatthes said:

That's absolutely correct - Mike's rig was where I first learned about the Micro Amp.  I also recall seeing a DynaComp or some other MXR Compressor when both George and Mike were playing Rickenbacker 12 strings and before George started using the Schecter PTs.  That was probably in '85 or '86, maybe?

A SparkleDrive or a Wampler ACEThirty (or Thirty Something) and a compressor will also get you some nice PowerPop type tones.  What amp are you using?  Vox?  A Deluxe?  That helps too.

 

 

Deluxe-style amp. I forgot about the Sparkle Drive!

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I'll third the BB Preamp pedal. Even when I'm in guitar-cable-amp mode, that pedal stays very close by with a spare cable next to it. Set as a dirty booster more so than an OD, it makes my three-channel Boogie head six distinct and very tasteful and usable channels. Used as a true OD box, I'll echoplex what was said above. Tight and natural, sounds like pushed tubes more so than a simple layer of signal sand.

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22 hours ago, unfun75 said:

Deluxe-style amp. I forgot about the Sparkle Drive!

SAUCY BOX! I have been know to go through gear more than just about anybody, but this pedal has not left my board since buying it. I also run the HC Version for when I play a Tele or play something more modern. If you want to add a little edge or major saturated, the Saucy still gives you some clean signal for clear definition. 

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