DEFINITIVE ORANGE GUIDE TO: Overdrive/Boost/Dist/Fuzz Pedals

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Le Chat Noir
Duke of Orange
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DEFINITIVE ORANGE GUIDE TO: Overdrive/Boost/Dist/Fuzz Pedals

Post by Le Chat Noir » Sun Sep 27, 2009 4:22 pm

This is a thread for forumites to share their views on which drive pedal works best with modern Orange amps.

Rules:

1) Please do not comment about other people's choices - select your own and respect the opinions of others 8)

2) If you ever want to update your choices, simply use the 'edit' button and swap in your new favourite!

3) Please post and tell us what works best for you using the format below:

WHICH ORANGE AMP DO YOU USE?

WHICH OVERDRIVE PEDALS WORK BEST FOR YOU?

REASONS FOR YOUR CHOICE:

PEDALS YOU RECOMMEND STAYING CLEAR OF:

I'll do one to get the ball rolling:
Last edited by Le Chat Noir on Mon Jun 07, 2010 5:42 pm, edited 4 times in total.
Teddy
The Blackwater Rebellion: 2-piece alt rock duo http://theblackwaterrebellion.bandcamp.com/
I play an AD30TC

Le Chat Noir
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Re: DEFINITIVE ORANGE FORUM GUIDE TO: Overdrive Pedals

Post by Le Chat Noir » Sun Sep 27, 2009 4:23 pm

WHICH ORANGE AMP DO YOU USE?
AD30TC combo

WHICH OVERDRIVE PEDALS WORK BEST FOR YOU?
BUDGET OPTION: Danelectro Drive and Danelectro Transparent Overdrive (closely based on the Fulltone OCD and Paul Cochrane Timmy)

CURRENT FAVOURITE: Baja Tech Da MOAF fuzz, 5-knob version

REASONS FOR YOUR CHOICE:
BUDGET OPTION: Firstly, I think these two pedals are worth considering because they are fantastic value for money. You can buy them both together for less than most major brand overdrives, let alone boutiques. The quest for a good overdrive that compliments my AD30 has been a long and frustrating one for me - the amp seems to be quite picky about boosts, it thrives best on pedals that don't colour its tone too much. I found that these two Danelectros really compliment the AD30's natural tone and don't get too muddy. They both retain bottom end really well, which is great as some other overdrives can sap your low end and cause the amp to sound boxy. Finally, the Transparent Overdrive cascades really nicely into the Drive, which gives you three levels of drive that work together in a very musical way.

CURRENT FAVOURITE: I've tried a bunch of fuzzes and this is the only one that really does it for me with the AD30!

PEDALS YOU RECOMMEND STAYING CLEAR OF:
Personally I think all Tubescreamer variants aren't too well-suited to modern Oranges, because they already have a pronounced upper mid spike and are quite dark, warm amps. As these are also the characteristics associated with Tubescreamers, I prefer to stick to boosts with a less pronounced mid hump and more clarity and sparkle. I also hated most fuzzes with the AD30, particularly the NYC Muff which sounded horrible on any settings.
Last edited by Le Chat Noir on Mon Jun 07, 2010 5:44 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Teddy
The Blackwater Rebellion: 2-piece alt rock duo http://theblackwaterrebellion.bandcamp.com/
I play an AD30TC

Orphin
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Re: DEFINITIVE ORANGE FORUM GUIDE TO: Overdrive Pedals

Post by Orphin » Sun Sep 27, 2009 4:31 pm

WHICH ORANGE AMP DO YOU USE?
None actually. Own an old Orange Matamp, but only use it in the studio.

WHICH OVERDRIVE PEDALS WORK BEST FOR YOU?
Fulltone OCD

REASONS FOR YOUR CHOICE:
It's the only overdrive I've tried that I liked. It doesn't cut anything from what your tone is bypassed. I love the hi/lo switch. One always sound better than the other, but it's depending on what amp you're using and how gain you apply.

PEDALS YOU RECOMMEND STAYING CLEAR OF:
I don't like Tube screamers at all. They have a mid hump and totally cuts off your low response, which leaves you with a nasty honky megaphone-like tone.
David
I'm speaking out of my a$$. Yours might differ.

OrangeJuicer
Orange Hero
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Location: Germany

Re: DEFINITIVE ORANGE FORUM GUIDE TO: Overdrive Pedals

Post by OrangeJuicer » Sun Sep 27, 2009 4:40 pm

WHICH ORANGE AMP DO YOU USE?
Orange Rocker 30 Head + PPC212 (will arrive next week, but already testet a few weeks ago and approved as best combination...for my taste)

WHICH OVERDRIVE PEDALS WORK BEST FOR YOU?
MI Audio Crunch Box + T-Rex Luxury Drive

REASONS FOR YOUR CHOICE:
The CB is not that harsh and sterile as the Fulltone OCD is. It works fine with my AV 52 Reissue Tele with the Tone rolled back or with my Framus Panthera or Gibson 61RI SG with a tone pot cranked a bit over 12 o' clock. Nice rockrhythm and leadsounds. It is not my first choice for crunch as it has mucho gain on tap !
The Luxury-Drive works fine with the Rockers dirty channel set to a nice crunch. With a low setting of the Luxury Drive (9-10 o' clock) it adds more brilliance and overtones, just like removing a pile of carpets off the speaker. It also boosts the dirty channel to a realy smokin rock sound. I use this for my main crunchy rhythmsound. It als brightens up the clean channel. Sometime I keep it on all the time.

PEDALS YOU RECOMMEND STAYING CLEAR OF:
Like Le Chat Noir said: all Tubescreamer-esque pedals because of their very pronounced mids and it also has very cutted low-ends.
I also dont like fuzz-pedals togehter with the Rocker.

Cheers
Markus
"In the abundance of water, the fool is thirsty"

howdy-doo
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Re: DEFINITIVE ORANGE FORUM GUIDE TO: Overdrive Pedals

Post by howdy-doo » Sun Sep 27, 2009 8:05 pm

WHICH ORANGE AMP DO YOU USE?

Rocker 30/ Tiny Terror

WHICH OVERDRIVE PEDALS WORK BEST FOR YOU?

Vox over the top boost

REASONS FOR YOUR CHOICE:

I know its technically a boost pedal, but it gives some really good tube overdrive sounds on certain settings. I use it as a kind of in between gain setting because i set my gain on the distortion channel of the Rocker 30 quite high. Its not got massive amounts of gain, but goes a bit past your normal blues sound. On the Tiny Terror it works just as well, but you gets a bit more gainy, mainly because the Tiny Terror has natural gain at lower volumes.

PEDALS YOU RECOMMEND STAYING CLEAR OF:

Not really had many good experience of the behringer overdrive pedals, thought they sounded a bit dodgy, but then they are only £15.

edit: also the boss ds-1, used it once at a friends, all i can say is im glad i haven't got one they sound too thin to me, and has terrible tone no matter how much tweaking you do
Last edited by howdy-doo on Wed Sep 30, 2009 8:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Liam

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Van Cleef
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Re: DEFINITIVE ORANGE FORUM GUIDE TO: Overdrive Pedals

Post by Van Cleef » Mon Sep 28, 2009 1:17 am

WHICH ORANGE AMP DO YOU USE?

Rocker 30 combo + greenback loaded PPC112

WHICH OVERDRIVE PEDALS WORK BEST FOR YOU?

Currently:

Dod Juice Box into Dano Cool Cat Drive

others I own/use/love but not on the board at the moment

Keeley modded DS-1 (ase/ultra mod)

Mi Audio Crunch Box

REASONS FOR YOUR CHOICE:

The juice box is always on. It doesn't matter what dirt pedal you have, placing the juice box before it just adds this extra 'something.'

The Dano Cool Cat Drive nails classic 70s hard rock tone...particularly with a les paul... not quite as brittle as the crunch box and not quite as 80s sounding as the modded ds-1

PEDALS YOU RECOMMEND STAYING CLEAR OF:

Fulltone GT-500 *spew emoticon*
LIKE SPACE ROCK? = VAN CLEEF @ BANDCAMP http://vancleef.bandcamp.com/

Nork
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Re: DEFINITIVE ORANGE FORUM GUIDE TO: Overdrive Pedals

Post by Nork » Mon Sep 28, 2009 1:58 am

WHICH ORANGE AMP DO YOU USE?

Tiny Terror (12au7 in V2) + Weber 12A125 loaded Avatar 112

WHICH OVERDRIVE PEDALS WORK BEST FOR YOU?

So far I've liked the Z.Vex Box of Rock.

REASONS FOR YOUR CHOICE:

I play the amp pretty clean, hence the au7 in there, with the volume dimed and the gain usually around 11 (and she roars at that). I find that the BoR is pretty close to the tone of my orange, but a little more trebley, which i really like. The amp is kinda just on the verge of breakup where it is, and kicking in the BoR really gets it going.

I may be in the market for maybe a treble booster and see if that satisfies me. I really like the TT's native distortion, but need something more 2 channel and didn't have the money for 2 channels (bought my TT last january when the DT was a rumour) - so this was my solution.

That said, I've found that it doesn't overdrive the amp well - i.e. the amp has to be pretty clean for it to mate, otherwise it's not a good combination of sounds. So there's a bit of a volume limit on where i can put the gain, and that's why i threw in the au7 - to give me more "clean" headroom.

But so far, at decent levels, i think it sounds pretty rockin'.

PEDALS YOU RECOMMEND STAYING CLEAR OF:

I had a maxon organic drive and didn't like it in front of the TT - they're pretty similar to an 808. the RC boost i had for a while boosted the amp really well, but I didn't like the colouring it did to the tone - it boosted it but took away from the nice dark drive that the amp had on it's own and made it more....bad.
--Nick

Parker Nitefly SA -> TC PolyTune -> OLER Box ->Timmy -> MP SHOD -> Eventide TimeFactor/e3 -> Orange TT -> Avatar 112 (Weber 1225)

Drdos
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Re: DEFINITIVE ORANGE FORUM GUIDE TO: Overdrive Pedals

Post by Drdos » Mon Sep 28, 2009 2:21 pm

WHICH ORANGE AMP DO YOU USE?
TT through a 1989 Mesa 4x12 Celes MC90 loaded

WHICH OVERDRIVE PEDALS WORK BEST FOR YOU?
Danelectro CC Drive/Danelectro CC Trans OD/Emma Reeza

REASONS FOR YOUR CHOICE:
After years of searching for OD pedals that do not SUCK your tone (Like my Keeley Modded TS9dx Turbo) I discovered these 3 great pedals. All credit due to Neil and Teddy! :mrgreen:

PEDALS YOU RECOMMEND STAYING CLEAR OF:
Boss MT2 :P :P :P :P , Anything Tube Screamer cept for the BBE Green Screamer which is actually a great pedal..
Vince

Bensen
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Re: DEFINITIVE ORANGE FORUM GUIDE TO: Overdrive Pedals

Post by Bensen » Mon Sep 28, 2009 4:43 pm

Wow, great thread

WHICH ORANGE AMP DO YOU USE?
AD30, (I used a)Tiny Terror

WHICH OVERDRIVE PEDALS WORK BEST FOR YOU?
Boss BD-2 on 12V, Boss GE-7, Box of Rock, Proco Rat(not really an overdrive, but I love it too much, not to mention it)

REASONS FOR YOUR CHOICE:
BD-2 Gives a nice fat blues tone in the clean channel and adds gain in the crunch channel, great clarity, the tubescreamer for orange amps
GE-7 in front of my crunch channel, I can basically taylor my lead sound as I wish to
BOR Sounds like the best Amp Distortion + the boost option really drives an amp into nice crunch, you can also play any overdrive/dist box into the BOR and it sounds great
RAT Great high gain sounds, played into the BOR it produces an awesome fuzz

PEDALS YOU RECOMMEND STAYING CLEAR OF:
Tubescreamers (They are for FenderAmps), DS-1 just too much 80s, Sans Amp GT2 - tried it as an overdrive but that just didn't work cause it didn't merge with the amp, Ibanez DS7 - pure harshness
Last edited by Bensen on Fri Oct 23, 2009 8:20 am, edited 1 time in total.

Emiel
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Location: The Netherlands

Re: DEFINITIVE ORANGE FORUM GUIDE TO: Overdrive Pedals

Post by Emiel » Mon Sep 28, 2009 5:27 pm

WHICH ORANGE AMP DO YOU USE?
Orange AD30TC 2x12 combo.

WHICH OVERDRIVE PEDALS WORK BEST FOR YOU?
The OKKO Diablo.

REASONS FOR YOUR CHOICE:
It's fairly transparant, amp like and very versatile. It doesn't colour your tone much. I mostly put my amp on a slight crunch and then I use the OKKO as an extra gainstage/channel. The OKKO is a very unique sounding pedal, it's pretty much a cranked Fender Tweed and a Dumble Overdrive Special in one!

PEDALS YOU RECOMMEND STAYING CLEAR OF:
Overdrive pedals which colour your sound too much. I think transparant sounding pedals work best with these amps.

jangle
Orange Hero
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Location: USA

Re: DEFINITIVE ORANGE FORUM GUIDE TO: Overdrive Pedals

Post by jangle » Mon Sep 28, 2009 6:29 pm

WHICH ORANGE AMP DO YOU USE?
Rockerverb 50 head through Orange PPC212 cabinet or Avatar 4x12 traditional cabinet (Eminence Legends)

WHICH OVERDRIVE PEDALS WORK BEST FOR YOU?
Fulltone Fulldrive 2 Mosfet. I generally have the CompCut/FM (flat mids)/Vintage mini-toggle set to FM and always set the Standard/Mosfet mini-toggle to Standard which means despite the name I've never really bothered with the Mosfet.

REASONS FOR YOUR CHOICE:
1) I already owned it as part of a rig that included a Mesa/Boogie Trem-O-Verb 100w 2x12 combo
2) I use and very much like it as a means to obtain a very different distorted tone with my Orange - yes it has a mid hump but with amp EQ controls it can be made to be very useful. For those who occasionally or constantly regret that they can't obtain a Marshall tone with their Orange I think the Orange/Fulldrive combination actually produces a sound superior to any Marshall I've heard in the last 5-10 years
3) It has volume, tone, and overdrive controls along with a separate boost control/stomp button. Much more control of both tone characteristics AND intensity of the effect thanks to the full spread of controls whereas many overdrive stompboxes feature fewer controls due to space limitations
4) I suppose it's a boutique item but that's not why I bought it. I wanted an overdrive with a greater amount of control/flexibility, the price was right at the time and it got very good reviews
5) It's generally classified as a TS-9 derivative but to my ears the two could not be more different. Compared to the Fulldrive the TS-9 becomes a liability with its no-doubt-about-it mid spike and tinny tone.
6) As someone who will probably be buried holding a Stratocaster with single coils, in addition to the Fulldrive standing on its own merits the Fulldrive will help any guitar equipped with single coils to drive the Orange harder thus creating a very unique sound. In other words, the combination of Strat, Fulldrive and Orange is greater than the sum of its individual parts.

PEDALS YOU RECOMMEND STAYING CLEAR OF:
Any that tend towards the tinny metal end of things e.g. Boss non-overdrive pedals (DS-1, Metal Zone) or that purport to supply ready-made tones e.g. the Clapton and Hendrix pedals.

What about this category?

PEDALS YOU PLAN ON TRYING IN FUTURE
Glad you asked! I am still dying to try the Radial line (Tonebone, Hot British, Trimode) and have a sneaky suspicion that one of their models may supplant the Fulldrive one day.

Wired
Orange Master
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Re: DEFINITIVE ORANGE FORUM GUIDE TO: Overdrive Pedals

Post by Wired » Tue Sep 29, 2009 3:50 am

WHICH ORANGE AMP DO YOU USE?
none currently...but I have owned R30, RV100H, RV50C, AD30TC, AD140H

WHICH OVERDRIVE PEDALS WORK BEST FOR YOU?

Amp dependant really....
R30: Zvex Box of Rock
RV100H: Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive
AD30/AD140: Xotic BB Preamp
all: Emma Reezafratzitz, Crowther Hot Cake

REASONS FOR YOUR CHOICE:

The Hot Cake works with everything well because its the most transparent pedal I've ever used. It just takes your current tone and just makes it go from slightly (more) overdrive, to crunchy, to fuzzy depending on how far you crank that knob. And as you crank the pressence knob it will add highs back in that the gain takes out.

The Emma Reezafratzits is a very reliable higher gain pedal that pretty much sounds the same no matter what amp I plug it into...all for the best. It still retains some of the major characteristics of the amp it's running in front of (ie, the Rocker amps will be clearer with the pedal vs the AD's) but its just a fantastic modern rock tone for me.

The other pedals mentioned (BoR/BB/Sparkle) are really there because I find they specifically interface the best with those amps for mild overdiven tones...because lets face it, the Oranges are made for their driven tones. So either stack them with the distortion channel, or use them independently, they just work!


PEDALS YOU RECOMMEND STAYING CLEAR OF:

In all honesty... the Box of Rock stinks with the AD30 in my opinion (the amp is just too dark, and it feels like that pedal just doesn't know what to do with the foundation it's been placed upon...) but most drive boxes will interface with these amps well if you dial them in right. I'm personally not a fan of: Anything by Fulltone (the mid-highs seem to be brittle and just irritate the living crap out of me!), modeling boxes like the Line 6 crunchtone, Boss Metal Zone, and the Nova series by TC electronics. Those last three just pull too much out of your natural tones and destroy the whole reason you bought an Orange in the first place right?!
-LK
RV50, Vox AC30, Gibson LP Trad '14, Gibson ES-335 '04, PRS Cu24 '10, Fender Tele Pro, Gretsch Powerjet

ESBlonde
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Re: DEFINITIVE ORANGE FORUM GUIDE TO: Overdrive Pedals

Post by ESBlonde » Tue Sep 29, 2009 8:28 am

WHICH ORANGE AMP DO YOU USE?

Just traded out my TT, couldn't justify 4 amps and needed something with clean headroom but portable.
Marshall AVT25 combo
Marshall 50w plexi head
Fender hot rod deluxe

WHICH OVERDRIVE PEDALS WORK BEST FOR YOU?

I'm using 3 in combinations or alone
Arion SOD-1
Boss Overdrive
Blackstar HT Drive

REASONS FOR YOUR CHOICE:

Can't find a single pedal that gives me several types of overdrive and is instantly switchable so 3 it is. Secret for me is a good basic clean amp tone.
The Arion was the first overdive or fuzz I bought and actually really liked, I'm on my second one now after about 25 tears and have another not on the pedalboard as a spare (I like it that much). It has two output sockets, one 'ordinary' overdrive and the second is clean bypass or 'soft' overdrive. Mine is permanantly 'soft' :oops: and thats a great primary lead tone without too much gain wound in.
Next I added the Boss, I wanted something a little more gritty but not fuzz. Does it well enough and when the asion is cascaded into it I get a helluva punch in volume and gain. Gives great flexibility with the two.
Last year I was browsing a local guitar emporium and tried a Blackstare or two. The HTdrive did that something that it seems only valves can do well and that is bridge seemlessly the clipping threashold. So set it with the signal clean and with your playing dynamics push single notes, phrases or lines into overdrive or not in a most expressive way and without the irritating nasel clipping that transistor overdrives seem to have.

PEDALS YOU RECOMMEND STAYING CLEAR OF:
Nothing to add really, use your ears not the price tag as a guide. Digital does not sit comfortably with me. If the sound is nice but the box nasty, rehouse it for the road.
Here we go; three, four...
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danbond
Orange Expert
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Re: DEFINITIVE ORANGE FORUM GUIDE TO: Overdrive Pedals

Post by danbond » Tue Sep 29, 2009 10:39 am

WHICH ORANGE AMP DO YOU USE?

Tiny terror

WHICH OVERDRIVE PEDALS WORK BEST FOR YOU?

Boss SD1 (Super Overdrive)

REASONS FOR YOUR CHOICE:

I tested a few pedals and thought this sounded pretty transparent and didn't suck any tone at all. Its quiet when its on and the controls make it easy to dial in your sound. Its not true bypass or boutique, but I have honestly never been concerned about any of that because I think it sounds great with my amp. It doesn't have tons of gain, but is REALLY good for putting infront of your amp when its breaking up to push it into some sweet overdrive. I have no negative things to say about it at all really. I run it on batteries and they last ages. The knobs and construction are great, its been spilled on, stamped on and kicked but it it works fine still.

If you play rowdy shows then getting tough, hard working gear is essential and I think paying a fraction of the price for a boutique pedal and getting 99% of the quality and tone is a fair compromise.

PEDALS YOU RECOMMEND STAYING CLEAR OF:

I haven't had any bad experience with any pedals, some of it will be simply due to taste. I did use the standard Boss Distortion (the orange one) and hated it. It sounded far too grainy.

Wicked_Tone
Rocker
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Location: USA

Re: DEFINITIVE ORANGE FORUM GUIDE TO: Overdrive Pedals

Post by Wicked_Tone » Thu Oct 01, 2009 2:07 am

WHICH ORANGE AMP DO YOU USE?
Rocker 30 head and Orange 1x12 cab

WHICH OVERDRIVE PEDALS WORK BEST FOR YOU?
Subdecay Blackstar Distortion (older version) and Keeley Ultra DS1

REASONS FOR YOUR CHOICE:
First, the Blackstar through the natural channel of the Rocker creates a much higher gain sound then the Rocker's dirty channel and easily covers classic and modern metal sounds, especially if you want to solo in a shred style. It has a slightly tighter quality with a brighter treble and more upper mids. Adjusting both gain controls on the Blackstar gets a slightly compressed metal crunch with a fat bottom end and borders between a Marshall and Mesa character. The pedal sounds very amp like through the natural channel and doesn't possess that cheesy, lo fi cheap distortion sound like a can of bees.
Second, the Ultra DS1 sounds perfect through the natural channel and can get a quality similar to a 2203/04 Marshall JCM 800. But, you can pretty much adjust the tone control and gain to capture some more diverse classic rock and hard rock tones that have higher mids and more presence than the Rocker's dirty channel. The Ultra DS1 appears to have less gain than the Blackstar, but is perfect for covering VanHalen for instance as its a more open sounding distortion. Using both of these pedals with my Rocker opens up more tonal possibilities to experiment with.

PEDALS YOU RECOMMEND STAYING CLEAR OF:
I didn't care for either a Maxon OD9 or a Vox Distortion Booster, as they both sounded very thin. I personally love the Rocker's dirty channel as is, so I am only interested in running distortions through the clean side of the amp to increase my tonal palette.
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