ilovefuzz.com

I had the note separation thing in mind from the first post. I would generally not lean into IC overdrives with soft clipping (read Tube Screamer, SD-1, and Blues Breaker) to make that work. I’ve recently gotten to dig on Blues Breakers but this isn’t the assignment.

Things that are more built like a pedal equivalent of an amp circuit and/or can operate at higher voltage for higher headroom and better dynamic response might do things for string definition. Some of the stuff that’s been coming out really has been of a different breed than older overdrive and distortion pedals, though often still in a normie zone. Maybe the Revv G2 would do things here—although it is color coded as green, it’s no Tube Screamer.

But for trad, I do find that traditional IC pedals with hard clipping that aren’t maxed maintain definition and touch response dialed as overdrives than overdrives of their era do. I would try an OD-250 or your favorite Rat variant (with bass your comfortable with in a low gain zone).

This thang belongs in this thread for current or future fellow low gain travelers.

https://audiocultivationproject.com/pro ... istortion/

My ramblin' review: http://www.ilovefuzz.com/viewtopic.php? ... 9#p1443359

Oddball toss out, DOD Gunslinger maybe...labled a distortion, but I recall using it for an articulate overdrive (with singles)

This probably isn't a very helpful suggestion since they aren't made anymore...and they were never very common to begin with...but the Skychord Truck Loud does low gain pretty well. It's really thick and fat sounding, and has a ton of output. It's pretty easy to drive the amp even without gain from the pedal itself, but if you have a high headroom amp or run the pedal volume lower then you can get some cool, junky low gain tones.

How has no one mentioned the Boss XT-2? That thing is a fucking awesome low gain OD. You can get it to sound nice, but also like a small old amp that is struggling.

Also the Stomping Stones Haxan. This has lots of character and can get pretty hairy too.

Surveyor is also a good choice. If you want a cheaper option, https://aionfx.com/project/isotope-amp-overdrive/ this is also based on the IVP and sounds very good. If you can't build it there are plenty of good folks here who can.

I would say the Barbershop and the Demo Tape are both too normal when in low gain mode - the character becomes more obvious when they get wound up a bit.

But who cares. XT-2 or Haxan.

my Haxan arrived this weekend, but i haven't had the opportunity to check it out yet. i've been preoccupied with getting a project guitar that's been hanging around in one form or another for a decade finished at last.