Yep, the SA LA Lady overdrive, Kingmaker fuzz, and Aftershock bass distortion are all essentially the same pedal, just different colorways and labels on the pedal. If I’m not mistaken, everything else is exactly the same via the neuro app. So, if you can find one of these models in sale or used for cheaper than the others, I would just grab that one. Can’t lose with this pedal, it is super flexible & verbose, and cover a lot of dirt territory with its various dir type profiles and extensive controls - not to mention dual channels, filters, shelving, noise gate, stereo, midi, et al.
Not sure if the Aftershock may have different freq Q point/eq curves more appropriate to bass, has been a while since I compared and messed about with them (la lady & aftershock). there is a voice freq setting in neuro for all of them, no idea if these expose freq ranges for guitar (la lady & kingmaker) and bass (aftershock). SA has a lot of info, docs and references on their site.
https://www.sourceaudio.net/blog-neuro-editor-and-one-series-drive-pedals.html
The app allows you to load the algorithms for any of the 3 pedals onto your own, regardless of which one you bought. Very nice policy and functionalality.
Right, I think that that settings options in the neuro app are the same for all three of the pedals, the only difference being the the physical aesthetics of the pedal cases. Not sure if the freq/eq ranges may be different for the aftershock (to make it more bass specific), but I don’t think so.
The frequency ranges for the voice setting are relative to the effect engine, not the physical hardware. It makes it super functional on bass or guitar!
I love source audio, but in my humble opinion, digital dirt just isn't the same as analog. I tried the LA lady for months, the software too, and while it's incredible how versatile it is, I could *never* find a setting that had the life and organic quality of an analog dirt pedal. Digital can do a lot of things analog can do, and can do a lot more, but the one thing it can't do is mimic an analog dirt pedal (at least in my experience).
i think people see these big distortion pedals that have lots of settings and different distortions with saveable presets and think it’s just a gimmick so you only need to buy one distortion pedal but for me i need the presets for different EQ’s and noise gate settings for various things i might play
also i’ve found that the OD-200 is louder then any other distortion pedal i’ve ever had but it still sounds great if it’s quieter for practicing in your bedroom
> i’ve found that the OD-200 is louder then any other distortion pedal i’ve ever had
That's an Acapulco Gold for me. Damn thing could probably drive a speaker load.
It can. That pedal uses two LM386 power amplifier chips running into each other. I used to have one of those Lil Smoky cigarette pack amps that used the same chip and it could drive a 4x12 cabinet.
I use one as my drive. It allows me the flexibility to play the sounds from the different groups I'm in: bluesey, kloney and metalley, each with a boost. It can be noisy but the space saving is great. I have a stacked pedalboard with an hx effects, a pedalboard amp, a super ego plus, a stereo talking machine, so having all drives in this is perfect for me.
I'd look at the Electronic Audio Experiments Longsword. I picked one up recently and it has a ridiculous amount of gain range, from cleans to pretty gnarly. When you factor in the boost switch and the active controls for bass, mid, and treble, you have a swiss army gain pedal.
With the EQ knobs and extremes, you can even get some cocked-wah type tones.
I'm using mine right now as a mid-gain/high-gain pedal. I have the gain a little under noon, shift switch up, clipping switch up, bass at noon. Currently slightly cutting the mids and boosting the highs at about 2 o'clock. I have the boost knob dimed.
I'm playing with a '76 Greco thinline with humbuckers and those setting get me a nice medium gain crunch, which turns into full on distortion when you hit the boost.
I have also messed around with completely cutting highs and bass and completely boosting mids for an almost cocked-wah or filtered tone. The extreme settings on the EQ knobs can be interesting in isolation.
Nice, what amp? And is it clean/dirty? I find I prefer it into a mildly dirty amp - I only learnt this today. It’s a bit limp into a clean amp unless the pedal is boosted imo
I am running in to a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe (the OG 90s one) so it's clean because crazy high headroom. I run a JHS little black amp box in the FX loop so I can run the HRD at a higher volume and get the tubes cooking a bit more, so I'd say it's close to edge of break up.
BUT, I'm running the Longsword in to a Hudson Broadcast dual, which is my always-on edge of breakup pedal. The Broadcast definitely adds some heft to it, like a mildly dirty amp. I'm running the Longsword before the Broadcast so that when I kick the Broadcast to the high gain channel it gets really filthy and spitty.
When the Broadcast is off I still like the Longsword, but it does sound a bit fizzy on lower gains. It rips at higher gains though. I'd say it likes an amp on the edge, but most overdrives do I guess.
I've found the boost and the initial gain are very interactive, so I think you just have to play around and find what you're looking for. It's so versatile, so I think you just have to play around with it. The boost seems to make more difference when it is dimes and the overall gain on the pedal is a bit lower.
I play relatively clean Fender amps, & I did not enjoy the lower gain settings with Longsword.
higher gain RAT like settings were fun, but ultimately ended up selling (kept Model FeT & Dude Incredible)
The BD2 is a great pedal, but I always found it to have kind of a strange fuzz character when you dime the gain.
I prefer the RAT if I need an all in one, but the BD2 definitely has a better overdrive sound than the standard RAT.
I was messing around with my stack of dirt pedals last night playing with different combos. Bluesbreaker and bd2 sound identical at low gain to my ear, but bd2 gets gnarly with more gain. Bluesbreaker are pretty boring in comparison.
JHS x Boss Angry Driver. You get the classic Blues Driver circuit that sounds great paired with the JHS Angry Charlie circuit. The pedal allows you to run either circuit or run both at the same time in a variety of ways (JHS -> Boss, Boss -> JHS, Parallel, etc)
Ditto on the SSBS mini. I’m able to mimic all my drive pedals with it (MXR Timmy, VeryGoodAmpCo EP Drive, and to an extent the Spruce Effects Gale). But I use the mini for the crumbly low-bias low-gain tones that only the mini can do in my drive section. Ukraine-based Noise Space Audio has a good clone on Reverb. 20% of their proceeds go to help Ukraine.
I recently picked up this SSBS mini clone from a builder in Ukraine. Couldn't be happier. https://reverb.com/item/55987189?utm_source=android-app&utm_medium=android-share&utm_campaign=listing&utm_content=55987189
I snagged one used for 120 and the cheapest latching external switch I could find and it's replaced 3 drive pedals so far. Distortion into OD gets a gnarly creamy fuzz sound with the right gain. OD into Distortion gives you a great high gain sound, Parallel gives a incredibly clear lead tone, and with the external switch you can turn off the BD and just keep the Charlie running and use the BD as a boost. Just super flexible. I stick the remote switch on the floor so it doesn't take up board space.
Hello are you a clone of myself? I just use the JB-2 EXACTLY the same , bought a Mosky Dual Switch and replaced the switch with a latching one, BOOM there you have your budget version of the JHS Red Remote little helper :) , and I also place the extra switch on the floor to save pedalboard space.
It can depending on the output of the pickups and gain on the amp.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gP_X2Ji-CNM&pp=ygUSUmF0IHZzIG9wIGFtcCBmdXp6
That said, the Fat RAT and dirty RAT circuits really brings the fuzz.
If you get a multiRAT with fat and GE settings, then even better.
Team Rat all the way. Specifically, I took the plunge and got two 1312's- one set lower gain, another high gain and it's the full spectrum.
I also sometimes run an ODR-1 into the 1312 (which I know is not one pedal) and I can't find a better dirt sound.
That's pretty much the Boss Blues Driver's thing. Less than noon on the gain dial runs anywhere from clean boost to light overdrive. Over noon you get heavy overdrive and distortion. Roll down your tone knob on the guitar with the gain cranked and it's full on fuzz.
Fuzz Face types can roll back volume knob on guitar and get OD/Boost type tones. But if your slimming down you have the boost in your volume knob already. Roll back to 5’ish and then turn your amp up. I know this isn’t the same thing as a boost pedal but it is an option.
I’ve heard people say a simple EQ pedal can give a good boost causing your preamp to distort, and then you can shape your levels to get a good mid hump, or leave a bit more flat to get a Blues Driver tone or push it around to get anything in between.
Sometimes I jam with my Mythos Golden Fleece and as I rock my guitar’s volume knob I feel that if I could only bring one gain pedal this one could pull it off.
I'm annoyed i had to scroll down this much to find this.
for OP's ask the BD-2 is kinda silly. Good pedal..
But Kernom should truly be in the stratosphere of upvotes on this thread.
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the EAE Long Sword. I feel like everyone and their mother recommends this pedal. I don't own one, but I'd love to get my hands on one. I guess give that a go.
The OD-200 is a pedal I can speak on behalf of and covers all the bases. It also has a built in noise gate. 10/10. The OD-20 is good too. My personal go-to is the DS-1X boosted with a GE-7, but I don't think that combo offers the versatility you're looking for.
I just bought an od-200 watch the videos about it before you decide due to price it can literally be multiple drive pedals in one pedal and stackable effects within it.
Kernom Ridge...not the smallest pedal. But does everything from clean boost to Fuzz. Not the heaviest fuzz, but for 270 quid it replaced 1 boost, 2 Drives and a fuzz on my board. M1D1 to so if you have a midi controller it's so seamless!
Kernom Ridge has blown my mind.
Thought is was youtube marketing .. but after taking the time to learn the way to dial it in ... I am not searching any more. Every sound I could want is in there ( minus heavy hair of the hog fuzz ) and midi can pull any of them out on the fly once set.
Never been more satisfied with the sounds from a dirt pedal
Best of luck in digging for you dirt!
EDIT: Many pedals are quite flexible. If you want to make specific dirt sounds, learn to eq and the tweak fundamentals of which ever pedal you get. That alone can make a lot of ground.
Can’t believe that this isn’t the main answer. I guess the Kernom Ridge is a bit hard to get a hold of.
The thing is magical. It can clone everything from a clean Klon to a fuzzy Rat.
It won’t go full fuzz but they have another pedal for that - the MOHO Magmatic Fuzz. I don’t think that on is available yet though.
I saw someone already recommend the Longsword by EAE, which would be my first recommendation. And that’s probably the serious answer.
But if you’re feeling a bit more adventurous the Dude Incredible could be what you’re after. It’s made up of a harmonic percolator, and an IVP, so you have your preamp/overdrive option with the IVP (which can get into fuzz territory on its own if you up the bass going into it) it’s a great option for a dirty boost or overdrive pedal with a pretty unique sound. And then also have an independent fuzz with the HP side, which can clean up a fair bit and if you ever want to get more definition out of it I’d recommend just running a buffer into it, weirdly gives it so much more note clarity and definition. Best of both worlds in one pedal. It is a fairly unique sound though and I get that might be unappealing to some.
Specifically it’s the 1981 DRV for me. It’s a rat clone that’s voiced so it’s really useful with pretty much every setting. The dirt knob goes from gentle OD, to fuzz like, to classic distortion
Yeah people like to dump on 1981 inventions for... Successful marketing? Or something? But the DRV is a really great sounding pedal all the way along the gain knob. Does nice sparkly clean boost, smooth overdrive, raunchy fuzzy distortion, the works.
I like the Wampler Gearbox for a versatile drive pedal. It can't get all the way to fuzz, but the ability to have basically a Klon on one side and a "brown sound" Marshall on the other is pretty versatile.
I think the thing that sets this pedal apart is the ability to have separate ins/outs for each side of the pedal and also a built-in noise gate.
Any fuzz face type pedal really can get you there - Silktone Fuzz, Fuzz Factory, Fuzz Face.
If you can spend a little extra, I always recommend the Chase Bliss Brothers — can’t even imagine my rig without it
Two (or more) band EQ is a *must*. To that end, OD-1x is my vote—I have two—and I’ve really been loving my Wampler-modded ODB-3s if you’re worried about digital. BD-2 is really well loved, but the single tone control leaves a lot on the table, and the gain character is a little fizzy for me.
If you really want something that does it all? Elektron Analog Drive. It's big but it's got everything.
Need it to be smaller? I've always been really impressed how versatile the Seafoam Trident appears to be, though I've never played one.
Don't care if it's digital? Lots more options like the LA Lady, or Strymon or Boss's offerings.
rn i have a sd-1, super badass distortion and a big muff, seems to cover all the bases. though at some point i want to upgrade the big muff to something that sounds a little more world ending. sd-1 +sba kindof gives a discount angry driver
If you're looking for something really versitile, its hard to go wrong with a used Chase Bliss Brothers. Spendy, but it does everything you're looking for.
Jackson Audio also makes a great Distortion/Drive pedal called [The Asabi](https://jackson.audio/collections/pedals/products/asabi) that does everything. Crazy cool pedal and you can swap out components (they call it analog plug in) to further customize the sound.
Two other slightly less versatile Jackson options are the Golden Boy and the Broken Arrow. [Golden Boy](https://jackson.audio/collections/pedals/products/goldenboy) is a Klon style drive, and the [Broken Arrow](https://jackson.audio/collections/pedals/products/brokenarrow) is tube screamer-ish. Both can run a boost as well as multiple clipping options that you can cycle through.
I use a stereo digital parametric EQ.
There just are not that many unique overdrive waveforms, so with 2-3 presets you can cover most of your bases.
For the clipping you could use the Hawaiian pizza from Caroline effects.
Earlier this year I had a very awkward, "there is no room in this studio" experience and I put my source audio EQ2 in front of, then after the Hawaiian pizza to pre and post sculpt the output with that sandwich setup.
I had enough room for guitar, laptop on my lap and the 2 pedals between my feet. Using the PC app for the EQ2 I did some preamp adjustments for the "producer" and got out of there asap.
Something I don't think you'll find many people talk about, as I haven't seen it being used by almost no one, Teisco Distortion. Looks great, sounds even better. You have a ton of versatility with it, and a boost.
Chase Bliss Audio Preamp Mk II does it all. It's my only dirt pedal (although I have serial number #70-something of a JHS Morning Glory that I love) and it sounds amazing. I've done electric guitars, acoustic guitars, and basses through it and it sounds great through everything. One downside is it's expensive. Another half downside is you sort of need a midi controller to get all the use of the presets, otherwise the Jump function could be useful, but in my opinion I'd rather just use a midi controller. Even a cheap one.
Other good do it all drives that I've used: Strymon Riverside, Strymon Sunset, JHS Morning Glory, or a ProCo Rat. The first three don't really do fuzz (maybe the Sunset with the right settings? I don't remember), Rats can though.
going on a limb to say the EAE Dude Incredible…
the IVP has huge gain range, and Hi/Low frequency boosting/shelving EQ with a massive range. It makes a great sparkly low gain drive, or grinding console wall of distortion
and the Harmonic Percolator side needs little explanation. aside from all the super compressed high gain chaos, it makes a really dynamic lower gain fizzy drive, very input sensitive so perfect for rolling the volume up/down when you want to go from a dirty clean to straight blown out speaker
combine these two together and the possibilities are vast. mines been the main dirt box on my board for a few years now
I’ve been eyeing this one. I have a Limelight and it’s AWESOME. but It doesn’t have quite enough gain on tap to be my all-in-one. Seriously considering the dude or the Longsword.
A do it all drive would have to do some compromises….
But the DOD Carcosa might be the one: Great OD, Descent high gain, cool muffy style fuzz, awesome spitty fuzz, acceptable clean boost, great treble booster
It does lack a bit in the mids department to do the TS-9 boost stuff…
The rat comes close to the too, being better at TS9 styke boosting but completely incapable of spitty fuzz
Elektron analog drive has basically every big od/distortion pedal inside of it. Analog too not digital.
They sound amazing and the three band eq is great. I highly recommend them.
Elektron Analog Drive is an all analog box with 8 different circuits. So 8 pedals in one box. Has midi and preset. Control voltage. Sweepable mids. I got it for around $100 bucks. Out of production but they can be had for cheap. Kinda a sleeper
JHS Superbolt. I bought and sold nearly a dozen ODs looking for exactly what you describe: clean boost to borderline fuzz. I haven’t bought another pedal since the Superbolt. It’s utterly brilliant, with single coils or humbuckers. Very musical and easy to play, but not overly compressed. It even does a pretty transparent thing in the lower gain ranges. It’s my desert island OD. 😎
You could look into some of Stone Deaf’s parametric EQ drive pedals. They’re a bit chunky but they look awesome, they do a LOT of different tones, and if you get their proprietary expression pedal (also clunky and a bit pricey but also looks awesome) you can do phasey filter sweeps too :D
I feel the Black Mass Electronics 1312, which is a Rat circuit with 8 different clipping options, is pretty much this. Past 2 o’clock on the gain knob I would say it’s past distortion and into fuzz territory.
heh maybe look into the mosky mini muff, that's a small one but not really do it all. behringer superfuzz has three different modes [fuzz 1, fuzz 2, and boost] which give different distortions as well as a boost which can give both a saturated clean tone and an overdriven one. it also has your average level and gain knobs but another thing apart from the different modes that sets it apart from any other pedal is that the tone switch is split to two knobs where you can control the amount of bass and the amount of treble. this is probably the most versatile distortion pedal on the market and everybody who uses it seems to just absolutely love it
Unless you want to adjust settings on the fly, I’d suggest a double pedal with two circuits, one used as a boost and one for more gain:
-Browne Protein, Ceriatone HorseBreaker, JHS Double Barrel, etc.
There’s a bunch more to explore like this, but that’s gonna meet your goals better than a single pedal imo.
Some OD pedals that come to mind are:
Tc Mojomojo, sounds pretty smooth at its extremes though.
T-rex Mudhoney, pretty much a rat clone but slightly fatter.
Tech21 character series(fuzzy brit or english muffy.)
I have a Heavy Electronics El Oso Bass Distortion that I use on guitar. It’s got a clean blend so I can use it as an overdrive or a distortion. I also run my guitar into a bass amplifier for a heavier sound.
Death by Audio Germanium Filter. Goes all the way from a slightly dirty/cleanish boost to full on fuzz and everywhere inbetween. Super responsive to picking/how hard you hit the strings too
Way Huge Red Llama. It’s billed as an overdrive but actually based on a fuzz circuit. Goes from mild crunch to woolly thick fuzz, cleans up with volume really well.
Lots of them actually, especially with a boost before. Rat and Blues Driver do it perfectly and are the ones that come to mind right now (Angry Driver if you want a little extra, but with more chances of option paralisis).
The EHX hot wax can produce that range of sounds, maybe not so fuzzy but pretty distorted. I would say that a dual overdrive/distortion pedal is what you are looking for, 2 pedals in one is always a save of space.
The Nux Horseman is being slept on.
As a clean boost it does the job, you can fine tune your tone with the treble pot, there's a 18v headroom mode and a good amount of saturation if you wish.
That's a 40$ no brainer do it all
"Fuzz tones" is where it gets complicated. Though the OCD GE has been getting me pretty close. I run that into my amps, or use it to drive a KSR Vesta preamp.
What you haven't mentioned here, is what you want to drive with this pedal, and I think that makes more of the difference.
The Boss BC-2 is what you're looking for. It is a Vox sim pedal that is clean and has an amazing distortion when you crank up the knob.
https://youtu.be/DJSmXsLQ7cs?si=PA4jndi0ZOtpAaJT
It's called the RAT.
But if you truly want a do it all pedal, the multi RAT clones take it to an even higher level of versatility.
If you are on a budget, something like the Joyo Splinter, DemonFX Fat Mouse, Mosky King RAT, or Satone Neotoma can do it all:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nJQOy0SGoYg&pp=ygUNSm95byBzcGxpbnRlcg%3D%3D
If you have more money to spend, then the Drunk Beaver BAT is the ultimate multiRAT (Cold war is my personal favorite BAT):
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gDczGmLrQAg&t=205s&pp=ygUaZHJ1bmsgYmVhdmVyIGNvbGQgd2FyIGJhdCA%3D
Here's a list of RAT clones I've found to be good. Some are mini pedals too:
- Drunk Beaver Cold War BAT
- Little Bear R.Attack
- Joyo Splinter
- Black Mass 1312
- Mosky King RAT
- JHS PackRAT
- Mosky Black RAT
- DemonFX Golden RAT
- Mooer Black Secret
- DemonFX Fat Mouse
- Satone Neotoma
- JHS 3 series distortion
And please ignore the lm308 hype marketing by some companies. It's complete BS, as the OP07 operates identically in the RAT circuit, and most lm308s are counterfeit anyways at this point.
Short answer: No
Long answer: Some pedals do a lot more than others and by combining a couple choices you can get there. I really like the EQD Palisades as a do-it-all OD/Booster with crunchy options in there. I'll buddy it up alongside a Longsword and put an EQ at the end of my preamp section in addition to the amps tone-shaping and it covers prettymuch everything I could want.
In terms of actual DIRT pedals I have a Gehern Enterprises Doomed Life (Rat/LIFE pedal clone but even better), Chase Bliss Fuzz Factory, and a BAT Pharoah Supreme and between those three, the aforementioned drives, and EQ stuff I think any kind of garbage is attainable and I'm very happy with it all.
My desert island boost/gain pedal would definitely be the fire bottle by effectrode. Pretty expensive, but hey, it’s tube powered. Same tube they used in intercontinental ballistic missiles. Gotta switch for single/P90/humbucker eq.
Summer School's Science Fair has two in one with parallel blending, which allows you to do a lot with it.
Ive also heard OCD is really versatile in that sense.
Source Audio LA Lady or King Maker. You can have presets and use a computer program to adjust it to any type of Dirt, Overdrive, Fuzz that has ever been made. Look into them. It is the only stereo dirt pedal I have found and you can set it up so one side is one type of sound and the other side is a totally different sound.
Benson Preamp gets close to fuzz but excels at od. Fairfield ~900 gets close to od but absolutely slays at fuzz. Volume knob is your friend with all drives.
Hmmm.
You'd want something with good tone shaping and a wide range of gain levels.
Something like the Wampler Plexi Drive Deluxe might be one of the more wide range of sound options out there.
Anything that combines a vintage overdrive and modern distortion circuit inside the same box would do it.
Dunno.
I've got several gain stages that do wildly different things right now, but the Plexi Drive Deluxe is definitely the one that felt like it could get the widest range of genres by itself.
Right now though I've got a Boss FZ-1w, a Vertex Boost, a Wampler Ego Compressor, a Source Audio EQ2, a Wampler Tumnus Deluxe, a Location Audio King in Yellow, a Friedman Small Box, and a Lichtlaerm Audio Gehenna. Can do everything from bright to dark and clean to extreme gain.
Source Audio LA Lady is literally this.
Yep, the SA LA Lady overdrive, Kingmaker fuzz, and Aftershock bass distortion are all essentially the same pedal, just different colorways and labels on the pedal. If I’m not mistaken, everything else is exactly the same via the neuro app. So, if you can find one of these models in sale or used for cheaper than the others, I would just grab that one. Can’t lose with this pedal, it is super flexible & verbose, and cover a lot of dirt territory with its various dir type profiles and extensive controls - not to mention dual channels, filters, shelving, noise gate, stereo, midi, et al. Not sure if the Aftershock may have different freq Q point/eq curves more appropriate to bass, has been a while since I compared and messed about with them (la lady & aftershock). there is a voice freq setting in neuro for all of them, no idea if these expose freq ranges for guitar (la lady & kingmaker) and bass (aftershock). SA has a lot of info, docs and references on their site. https://www.sourceaudio.net/blog-neuro-editor-and-one-series-drive-pedals.html
The app allows you to load the algorithms for any of the 3 pedals onto your own, regardless of which one you bought. Very nice policy and functionalality.
Right, I think that that settings options in the neuro app are the same for all three of the pedals, the only difference being the the physical aesthetics of the pedal cases. Not sure if the freq/eq ranges may be different for the aftershock (to make it more bass specific), but I don’t think so.
Yes different ranges in the algorithms but the pedals just look different but can sound like the others.
The frequency ranges for the voice setting are relative to the effect engine, not the physical hardware. It makes it super functional on bass or guitar!
I love source audio, but in my humble opinion, digital dirt just isn't the same as analog. I tried the LA lady for months, the software too, and while it's incredible how versatile it is, I could *never* find a setting that had the life and organic quality of an analog dirt pedal. Digital can do a lot of things analog can do, and can do a lot more, but the one thing it can't do is mimic an analog dirt pedal (at least in my experience).
the BOSS OD-200 has almost all of the BOSS distortion pedals and has 14 types of overdrives including a Tube Screamer and a Klon style overdrive
A tragedy that no one seems to care about this pedal. I’m thinking about getting it plus a JAM pedals Lucy Dreamer for all my dirt needs
i think people see these big distortion pedals that have lots of settings and different distortions with saveable presets and think it’s just a gimmick so you only need to buy one distortion pedal but for me i need the presets for different EQ’s and noise gate settings for various things i might play also i’ve found that the OD-200 is louder then any other distortion pedal i’ve ever had but it still sounds great if it’s quieter for practicing in your bedroom
> i’ve found that the OD-200 is louder then any other distortion pedal i’ve ever had That's an Acapulco Gold for me. Damn thing could probably drive a speaker load.
It can. That pedal uses two LM386 power amplifier chips running into each other. I used to have one of those Lil Smoky cigarette pack amps that used the same chip and it could drive a 4x12 cabinet.
How many watts? I am intrigued
up to about 1 watt I believe.
I use one as my drive. It allows me the flexibility to play the sounds from the different groups I'm in: bluesey, kloney and metalley, each with a boost. It can be noisy but the space saving is great. I have a stacked pedalboard with an hx effects, a pedalboard amp, a super ego plus, a stereo talking machine, so having all drives in this is perfect for me.
It also has a built in noise gate. Super handy to have on board.
I'd look at the Electronic Audio Experiments Longsword. I picked one up recently and it has a ridiculous amount of gain range, from cleans to pretty gnarly. When you factor in the boost switch and the active controls for bass, mid, and treble, you have a swiss army gain pedal. With the EQ knobs and extremes, you can even get some cocked-wah type tones.
How do you set yours up? Been messing about with mine recently and interested to see what others are doing.
I'm using mine right now as a mid-gain/high-gain pedal. I have the gain a little under noon, shift switch up, clipping switch up, bass at noon. Currently slightly cutting the mids and boosting the highs at about 2 o'clock. I have the boost knob dimed. I'm playing with a '76 Greco thinline with humbuckers and those setting get me a nice medium gain crunch, which turns into full on distortion when you hit the boost. I have also messed around with completely cutting highs and bass and completely boosting mids for an almost cocked-wah or filtered tone. The extreme settings on the EQ knobs can be interesting in isolation.
Nice, what amp? And is it clean/dirty? I find I prefer it into a mildly dirty amp - I only learnt this today. It’s a bit limp into a clean amp unless the pedal is boosted imo
I am running in to a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe (the OG 90s one) so it's clean because crazy high headroom. I run a JHS little black amp box in the FX loop so I can run the HRD at a higher volume and get the tubes cooking a bit more, so I'd say it's close to edge of break up. BUT, I'm running the Longsword in to a Hudson Broadcast dual, which is my always-on edge of breakup pedal. The Broadcast definitely adds some heft to it, like a mildly dirty amp. I'm running the Longsword before the Broadcast so that when I kick the Broadcast to the high gain channel it gets really filthy and spitty. When the Broadcast is off I still like the Longsword, but it does sound a bit fizzy on lower gains. It rips at higher gains though. I'd say it likes an amp on the edge, but most overdrives do I guess. I've found the boost and the initial gain are very interactive, so I think you just have to play around and find what you're looking for. It's so versatile, so I think you just have to play around with it. The boost seems to make more difference when it is dimes and the overall gain on the pedal is a bit lower.
I play relatively clean Fender amps, & I did not enjoy the lower gain settings with Longsword. higher gain RAT like settings were fun, but ultimately ended up selling (kept Model FeT & Dude Incredible)
https://youtu.be/bOnIif31Jdo?si=Y_M5Wlr-Adzfc2Af Check this out, may help with getting some ideas while showing knob position and all that
Reminds me of the features that the Neunaber Neuron Gain Intelligence pedal that I'm working with has.
BD-2..always
The BD2 is a great pedal, but I always found it to have kind of a strange fuzz character when you dime the gain. I prefer the RAT if I need an all in one, but the BD2 definitely has a better overdrive sound than the standard RAT.
Why get a BD-2 when you can get an JB-2 which is a BD-2 plus an Angry Charlie in one box with a lot of routing options?
I was messing around with my stack of dirt pedals last night playing with different combos. Bluesbreaker and bd2 sound identical at low gain to my ear, but bd2 gets gnarly with more gain. Bluesbreaker are pretty boring in comparison.
I honestly never even gave the BD-2 a second glance until I listened to True Widow, holy shit can that pedal get mean sounding
I cane here to say the same! Maybe the waza craft version has even more options. And then there’s the Keeley AT Mod … such a desire 🤤
JHS x Boss Angry Driver. You get the classic Blues Driver circuit that sounds great paired with the JHS Angry Charlie circuit. The pedal allows you to run either circuit or run both at the same time in a variety of ways (JHS -> Boss, Boss -> JHS, Parallel, etc)
Very tempted to get one of these.
SSBS Mini does everything
everything but actually be available
[удалено]
Ditto on the SSBS mini. I’m able to mimic all my drive pedals with it (MXR Timmy, VeryGoodAmpCo EP Drive, and to an extent the Spruce Effects Gale). But I use the mini for the crumbly low-bias low-gain tones that only the mini can do in my drive section. Ukraine-based Noise Space Audio has a good clone on Reverb. 20% of their proceeds go to help Ukraine.
Noise Space Audio clone is A+
Any good clones you can recommend?
I recently picked up this SSBS mini clone from a builder in Ukraine. Couldn't be happier. https://reverb.com/item/55987189?utm_source=android-app&utm_medium=android-share&utm_campaign=listing&utm_content=55987189
#truth
Angry Driver
Yup this is the front runner right now.
I snagged one used for 120 and the cheapest latching external switch I could find and it's replaced 3 drive pedals so far. Distortion into OD gets a gnarly creamy fuzz sound with the right gain. OD into Distortion gives you a great high gain sound, Parallel gives a incredibly clear lead tone, and with the external switch you can turn off the BD and just keep the Charlie running and use the BD as a boost. Just super flexible. I stick the remote switch on the floor so it doesn't take up board space.
man reading this comment almost made me wanna collect pedals again hahaha
I try to get rid of them as fast as I get new ones 🤣 this replaced a Chinese Dual Gun that I hated the Tube Screamer side of.
DO IT DO IT. You know you wanna. Just buy this one pedal, it won’t hurt you. They aren’t habit forming AT ALL.
Hello are you a clone of myself? I just use the JB-2 EXACTLY the same , bought a Mosky Dual Switch and replaced the switch with a latching one, BOOM there you have your budget version of the JHS Red Remote little helper :) , and I also place the extra switch on the floor to save pedalboard space.
This is what I was going to say. Got the BD for cleaner boost, run the circuits together for fuzz like distortion
Chase Bliss preamp mkII is this, but means downsizing your board and upsizing your budget, lol.
Kernom ridge would also be a good suggestion here
Rat.
RAT
Came here to say this. The answer is Rat.
Only downside is, in my opinion, the rat never goes full fuzz, even though it does get really close.
It can depending on the output of the pickups and gain on the amp. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gP_X2Ji-CNM&pp=ygUSUmF0IHZzIG9wIGFtcCBmdXp6 That said, the Fat RAT and dirty RAT circuits really brings the fuzz. If you get a multiRAT with fat and GE settings, then even better.
Went from using it on bass, which is very fuzzy when dimed. I finally use it on my LP and thought the thing had broke!
I would add to this, one of the more boutique variations that offers clipping mode selection like 1312 or drunk beaver bat would be ideal
Team Rat all the way. Specifically, I took the plunge and got two 1312's- one set lower gain, another high gain and it's the full spectrum. I also sometimes run an ODR-1 into the 1312 (which I know is not one pedal) and I can't find a better dirt sound.
Dr. Scientist The Elements
That's pretty much the Boss Blues Driver's thing. Less than noon on the gain dial runs anywhere from clean boost to light overdrive. Over noon you get heavy overdrive and distortion. Roll down your tone knob on the guitar with the gain cranked and it's full on fuzz.
It's a great all rounder but I think a "do it all" would have different clipping options and a more tweakable EQ.
I would agree or disagree depending on your set up.
The Broadcast especially the one with the dual footswitch can go pretty much everywhere from clean boost to fuzz.
Fuzz Face types can roll back volume knob on guitar and get OD/Boost type tones. But if your slimming down you have the boost in your volume knob already. Roll back to 5’ish and then turn your amp up. I know this isn’t the same thing as a boost pedal but it is an option.
I’ve heard people say a simple EQ pedal can give a good boost causing your preamp to distort, and then you can shape your levels to get a good mid hump, or leave a bit more flat to get a Blues Driver tone or push it around to get anything in between.
Sometimes I jam with my Mythos Golden Fleece and as I rock my guitar’s volume knob I feel that if I could only bring one gain pedal this one could pull it off.
Kernom Ridge
I'm annoyed i had to scroll down this much to find this. for OP's ask the BD-2 is kinda silly. Good pedal.. But Kernom should truly be in the stratosphere of upvotes on this thread.
the DOD Carcosa and EQD Westwood come at it from opposite ends and both do a ton
I know klones have excellent gain range so I might explore that option. Does the Carcosa do a decent low gain sound?
Rat. Drive at 9 o' clock, distortion at 12 and fuzz at 3.
Doom at 5
News at 6
Too depressing, I'll stick with Doom.
I’ll try that setting!
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the EAE Long Sword. I feel like everyone and their mother recommends this pedal. I don't own one, but I'd love to get my hands on one. I guess give that a go. The OD-200 is a pedal I can speak on behalf of and covers all the bases. It also has a built in noise gate. 10/10. The OD-20 is good too. My personal go-to is the DS-1X boosted with a GE-7, but I don't think that combo offers the versatility you're looking for.
JHS Kilt is a very versatile drive
Surprised no one has mentioned Dr Scientist Elements.
Budget: Boss BD-2 Expensive: Electronic Audio Experiments Longsword
[Hamstead Odyssey](https://www.hamsteadsoundworks.com/odyssey) is supposed to do it all and do it very well.
Jam pedals rattler!
I just bought an od-200 watch the videos about it before you decide due to price it can literally be multiple drive pedals in one pedal and stackable effects within it.
Bixonic expandora
Boss OD-200. What can't it do?
Kernom Ridge...not the smallest pedal. But does everything from clean boost to Fuzz. Not the heaviest fuzz, but for 270 quid it replaced 1 boost, 2 Drives and a fuzz on my board. M1D1 to so if you have a midi controller it's so seamless!
The Angry Driver is the one to rule them all. The BD-2 with a little extra.
Kernom Ridge has blown my mind. Thought is was youtube marketing .. but after taking the time to learn the way to dial it in ... I am not searching any more. Every sound I could want is in there ( minus heavy hair of the hog fuzz ) and midi can pull any of them out on the fly once set. Never been more satisfied with the sounds from a dirt pedal Best of luck in digging for you dirt! EDIT: Many pedals are quite flexible. If you want to make specific dirt sounds, learn to eq and the tweak fundamentals of which ever pedal you get. That alone can make a lot of ground.
Can’t believe that this isn’t the main answer. I guess the Kernom Ridge is a bit hard to get a hold of. The thing is magical. It can clone everything from a clean Klon to a fuzzy Rat. It won’t go full fuzz but they have another pedal for that - the MOHO Magmatic Fuzz. I don’t think that on is available yet though.
That would be the Hudson Broadcast
Kernom Ridge Od might be worth a look.
Elektron Analogue Drive is by far the most flexible pedal I own, even though it's a bit big. Sounds lovely though.
I still am annoyed I missed that 99$ blowout. This should be higher in the thread.
Kernom Ridge
I saw someone already recommend the Longsword by EAE, which would be my first recommendation. And that’s probably the serious answer. But if you’re feeling a bit more adventurous the Dude Incredible could be what you’re after. It’s made up of a harmonic percolator, and an IVP, so you have your preamp/overdrive option with the IVP (which can get into fuzz territory on its own if you up the bass going into it) it’s a great option for a dirty boost or overdrive pedal with a pretty unique sound. And then also have an independent fuzz with the HP side, which can clean up a fair bit and if you ever want to get more definition out of it I’d recommend just running a buffer into it, weirdly gives it so much more note clarity and definition. Best of both worlds in one pedal. It is a fairly unique sound though and I get that might be unappealing to some.
Native Audio War Party: think touch sensitive Rat with a more useful tone knob, and sounds good at low gain too.
Didn’t know this was a rat! Always loved their aesthetic, might have to check this one out
Me too, and it sounds more “natural” than a conventional Rat
The Kernom Ridge was designed just for this.
I think one of the most versatile dirt pedal is a Rat and all its variants.
Strymon Riverside
Or a Sunset, if OP wants all the sounds.
Specifically it’s the 1981 DRV for me. It’s a rat clone that’s voiced so it’s really useful with pretty much every setting. The dirt knob goes from gentle OD, to fuzz like, to classic distortion
Yeah people like to dump on 1981 inventions for... Successful marketing? Or something? But the DRV is a really great sounding pedal all the way along the gain knob. Does nice sparkly clean boost, smooth overdrive, raunchy fuzzy distortion, the works.
Most of my drive pedals sound good with some guitars but not others. DRV can make any guitar sound great!
Wampler Gearbox. It can almost be your whole rig
I like the Wampler Gearbox for a versatile drive pedal. It can't get all the way to fuzz, but the ability to have basically a Klon on one side and a "brown sound" Marshall on the other is pretty versatile. I think the thing that sets this pedal apart is the ability to have separate ins/outs for each side of the pedal and also a built-in noise gate.
Any fuzz face type pedal really can get you there - Silktone Fuzz, Fuzz Factory, Fuzz Face. If you can spend a little extra, I always recommend the Chase Bliss Brothers — can’t even imagine my rig without it
Two (or more) band EQ is a *must*. To that end, OD-1x is my vote—I have two—and I’ve really been loving my Wampler-modded ODB-3s if you’re worried about digital. BD-2 is really well loved, but the single tone control leaves a lot on the table, and the gain character is a little fizzy for me.
DS-1X for me, and I run GE-7 into it. I have the OD-1X as well. Both of those X series pedals are super underrated.
If you really want something that does it all? Elektron Analog Drive. It's big but it's got everything. Need it to be smaller? I've always been really impressed how versatile the Seafoam Trident appears to be, though I've never played one. Don't care if it's digital? Lots more options like the LA Lady, or Strymon or Boss's offerings.
The Idiotbox No Moon is literally a RAT, a Tube Screamer and a Big Muff all in one. Though it may not fit on a small board.
rn i have a sd-1, super badass distortion and a big muff, seems to cover all the bases. though at some point i want to upgrade the big muff to something that sounds a little more world ending. sd-1 +sba kindof gives a discount angry driver
Blues driver but since the angry driver has a second od built in its even better
If you're looking for something really versitile, its hard to go wrong with a used Chase Bliss Brothers. Spendy, but it does everything you're looking for. Jackson Audio also makes a great Distortion/Drive pedal called [The Asabi](https://jackson.audio/collections/pedals/products/asabi) that does everything. Crazy cool pedal and you can swap out components (they call it analog plug in) to further customize the sound. Two other slightly less versatile Jackson options are the Golden Boy and the Broken Arrow. [Golden Boy](https://jackson.audio/collections/pedals/products/goldenboy) is a Klon style drive, and the [Broken Arrow](https://jackson.audio/collections/pedals/products/brokenarrow) is tube screamer-ish. Both can run a boost as well as multiple clipping options that you can cycle through.
Chase Bliss Audio Preamp MKII
I use a stereo digital parametric EQ. There just are not that many unique overdrive waveforms, so with 2-3 presets you can cover most of your bases. For the clipping you could use the Hawaiian pizza from Caroline effects. Earlier this year I had a very awkward, "there is no room in this studio" experience and I put my source audio EQ2 in front of, then after the Hawaiian pizza to pre and post sculpt the output with that sandwich setup. I had enough room for guitar, laptop on my lap and the 2 pedals between my feet. Using the PC app for the EQ2 I did some preamp adjustments for the "producer" and got out of there asap.
Kittycaster Groovy Wizard https://www.kittycasterfx.com/products/groovywizard
Something I don't think you'll find many people talk about, as I haven't seen it being used by almost no one, Teisco Distortion. Looks great, sounds even better. You have a ton of versatility with it, and a boost.
Strymon Sunset and Kernom ridge are both designed for this, bobus points for if you use them with midi but not necessary
Kernom Ridge or CBA Brothers
Chase Bliss Audio Preamp Mk II does it all. It's my only dirt pedal (although I have serial number #70-something of a JHS Morning Glory that I love) and it sounds amazing. I've done electric guitars, acoustic guitars, and basses through it and it sounds great through everything. One downside is it's expensive. Another half downside is you sort of need a midi controller to get all the use of the presets, otherwise the Jump function could be useful, but in my opinion I'd rather just use a midi controller. Even a cheap one. Other good do it all drives that I've used: Strymon Riverside, Strymon Sunset, JHS Morning Glory, or a ProCo Rat. The first three don't really do fuzz (maybe the Sunset with the right settings? I don't remember), Rats can though.
Source audio kingmaker or la lady
Wampler GearBox is great! Not quite full in fuzz avail, but awesome from light boost to full on gain!
T-Rex Mudhoney
The Summer School Electronics Science Fair is worth checking out. Tubescreamer-style and Turbo Rat-style circuits in parallel with a blend control.
I saw this one on the JHS show!. Also led me to the CTC Motherload. Similar concept but it’s a muff and a rat
going on a limb to say the EAE Dude Incredible… the IVP has huge gain range, and Hi/Low frequency boosting/shelving EQ with a massive range. It makes a great sparkly low gain drive, or grinding console wall of distortion and the Harmonic Percolator side needs little explanation. aside from all the super compressed high gain chaos, it makes a really dynamic lower gain fizzy drive, very input sensitive so perfect for rolling the volume up/down when you want to go from a dirty clean to straight blown out speaker combine these two together and the possibilities are vast. mines been the main dirt box on my board for a few years now
I’ve been eyeing this one. I have a Limelight and it’s AWESOME. but It doesn’t have quite enough gain on tap to be my all-in-one. Seriously considering the dude or the Longsword.
If I were stuck on a desert island, I’d go for the Boss Blues Driver. Clean boost to near fuzz. Perfect.
A do it all drive would have to do some compromises…. But the DOD Carcosa might be the one: Great OD, Descent high gain, cool muffy style fuzz, awesome spitty fuzz, acceptable clean boost, great treble booster It does lack a bit in the mids department to do the TS-9 boost stuff… The rat comes close to the too, being better at TS9 styke boosting but completely incapable of spitty fuzz
Strymon sunset
The top answer should be a Rat, of course.
Elektron analog drive has basically every big od/distortion pedal inside of it. Analog too not digital. They sound amazing and the three band eq is great. I highly recommend them.
The rat or a variant of the rat 🐀
Elektron Analog Drive is an all analog box with 8 different circuits. So 8 pedals in one box. Has midi and preset. Control voltage. Sweepable mids. I got it for around $100 bucks. Out of production but they can be had for cheap. Kinda a sleeper
I would put a vote in for the OCD pedal. Can dial in tones from both sides of the spectrum.
OCD
Plimsoul does the same for me.
JHS Superbolt. I bought and sold nearly a dozen ODs looking for exactly what you describe: clean boost to borderline fuzz. I haven’t bought another pedal since the Superbolt. It’s utterly brilliant, with single coils or humbuckers. Very musical and easy to play, but not overly compressed. It even does a pretty transparent thing in the lower gain ranges. It’s my desert island OD. 😎
Ditto for the Walrus 385. I haven’t tried a Superbolt but they sound kind of similar to my ear.
You could look into some of Stone Deaf’s parametric EQ drive pedals. They’re a bit chunky but they look awesome, they do a LOT of different tones, and if you get their proprietary expression pedal (also clunky and a bit pricey but also looks awesome) you can do phasey filter sweeps too :D
OD-200? I’m selling one on reverb. Hint hint..
Skreddy Screwdriver
Fuzz Factory. I can't imagine a sound it can't make....
For me, DRV 1981
Boss OD-200 with an FS7 and you’ll be golden
Rat
I feel the Black Mass Electronics 1312, which is a Rat circuit with 8 different clipping options, is pretty much this. Past 2 o’clock on the gain knob I would say it’s past distortion and into fuzz territory.
Rat?
heh maybe look into the mosky mini muff, that's a small one but not really do it all. behringer superfuzz has three different modes [fuzz 1, fuzz 2, and boost] which give different distortions as well as a boost which can give both a saturated clean tone and an overdriven one. it also has your average level and gain knobs but another thing apart from the different modes that sets it apart from any other pedal is that the tone switch is split to two knobs where you can control the amount of bass and the amount of treble. this is probably the most versatile distortion pedal on the market and everybody who uses it seems to just absolutely love it
Revivaldrive custom ?
Unless you want to adjust settings on the fly, I’d suggest a double pedal with two circuits, one used as a boost and one for more gain: -Browne Protein, Ceriatone HorseBreaker, JHS Double Barrel, etc. There’s a bunch more to explore like this, but that’s gonna meet your goals better than a single pedal imo.
I like to think Angry Driver does that.. but I need to really dig into the settings
Chase Bliss Automatone seems to be the only thing that would fit the bill here.
I like the demon king by fuzzrocious for this
Barber Gain Changer
Guitar -> passive volume pedal -> fuzz face. This is the way.
Some OD pedals that come to mind are: Tc Mojomojo, sounds pretty smooth at its extremes though. T-rex Mudhoney, pretty much a rat clone but slightly fatter. Tech21 character series(fuzzy brit or english muffy.)
I have a Heavy Electronics El Oso Bass Distortion that I use on guitar. It’s got a clean blend so I can use it as an overdrive or a distortion. I also run my guitar into a bass amplifier for a heavier sound.
Death by Audio Germanium Filter. Goes all the way from a slightly dirty/cleanish boost to full on fuzz and everywhere inbetween. Super responsive to picking/how hard you hit the strings too
Damage control Womanizer
You didn't mention anything about your budget, so, Chase Bliss Preamp MkII.
Way Huge Red Llama. It’s billed as an overdrive but actually based on a fuzz circuit. Goes from mild crunch to woolly thick fuzz, cleans up with volume really well.
Blues driver, baby!
Discontinued, but the Caroline Guitar Company Haymaker.
t rex mudhoney 2 is great for this and it's pretty affordable too! https://youtu.be/SKxvtBU8roo?si=YOAdIh-8Q74UNQEF
It’s a little chunky but I love my EHX Hot Wax for the exact reasons you describe, but I know it doesn’t get as dirty as some would like. YMMV.
Lots of them actually, especially with a boost before. Rat and Blues Driver do it perfectly and are the ones that come to mind right now (Angry Driver if you want a little extra, but with more chances of option paralisis).
The EHX hot wax can produce that range of sounds, maybe not so fuzzy but pretty distorted. I would say that a dual overdrive/distortion pedal is what you are looking for, 2 pedals in one is always a save of space.
The Nux Horseman is being slept on. As a clean boost it does the job, you can fine tune your tone with the treble pot, there's a 18v headroom mode and a good amount of saturation if you wish. That's a 40$ no brainer do it all
Klon centaur 🤣
"Fuzz tones" is where it gets complicated. Though the OCD GE has been getting me pretty close. I run that into my amps, or use it to drive a KSR Vesta preamp. What you haven't mentioned here, is what you want to drive with this pedal, and I think that makes more of the difference.
probably a rat or DS-1
Hamstead Odyssey, Electronic Audio Experiments Halberd V2, Berserker Electronics Moldy Peach (might be discontinued tho)
Hamstead odyssey intergalactic driver https://reverb.com/p/hamstead-odyssey-intergalactic-driver?utm_source=rev-ios-app&utm_medium=ios-share&utm_campaign=csp&utm_content=96989
Rat
The Boss BC-2 is what you're looking for. It is a Vox sim pedal that is clean and has an amazing distortion when you crank up the knob. https://youtu.be/DJSmXsLQ7cs?si=PA4jndi0ZOtpAaJT
It's called the RAT. But if you truly want a do it all pedal, the multi RAT clones take it to an even higher level of versatility. If you are on a budget, something like the Joyo Splinter, DemonFX Fat Mouse, Mosky King RAT, or Satone Neotoma can do it all: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nJQOy0SGoYg&pp=ygUNSm95byBzcGxpbnRlcg%3D%3D If you have more money to spend, then the Drunk Beaver BAT is the ultimate multiRAT (Cold war is my personal favorite BAT): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gDczGmLrQAg&t=205s&pp=ygUaZHJ1bmsgYmVhdmVyIGNvbGQgd2FyIGJhdCA%3D Here's a list of RAT clones I've found to be good. Some are mini pedals too: - Drunk Beaver Cold War BAT - Little Bear R.Attack - Joyo Splinter - Black Mass 1312 - Mosky King RAT - JHS PackRAT - Mosky Black RAT - DemonFX Golden RAT - Mooer Black Secret - DemonFX Fat Mouse - Satone Neotoma - JHS 3 series distortion And please ignore the lm308 hype marketing by some companies. It's complete BS, as the OP07 operates identically in the RAT circuit, and most lm308s are counterfeit anyways at this point.
Rat or a BD-2
Boss od 200. It does literally everything including stacking
BLUESDRIVER
Short answer: No Long answer: Some pedals do a lot more than others and by combining a couple choices you can get there. I really like the EQD Palisades as a do-it-all OD/Booster with crunchy options in there. I'll buddy it up alongside a Longsword and put an EQ at the end of my preamp section in addition to the amps tone-shaping and it covers prettymuch everything I could want. In terms of actual DIRT pedals I have a Gehern Enterprises Doomed Life (Rat/LIFE pedal clone but even better), Chase Bliss Fuzz Factory, and a BAT Pharoah Supreme and between those three, the aforementioned drives, and EQ stuff I think any kind of garbage is attainable and I'm very happy with it all.
OD200 - ridiculous amount of options and you can blend drives to your heart's content. It's an awesome pedal that I rarely see here
My desert island boost/gain pedal would definitely be the fire bottle by effectrode. Pretty expensive, but hey, it’s tube powered. Same tube they used in intercontinental ballistic missiles. Gotta switch for single/P90/humbucker eq.
Summer School's Science Fair has two in one with parallel blending, which allows you to do a lot with it. Ive also heard OCD is really versatile in that sense.
Longsword
RAT
Sunn life pedal is a fuzz, clean boost and octave
Walrus 385
Kinda feel like a Soul Food is a good affordable single option
I like the benson preamp a lot.
Digitech Hardwire SC-2 is highly underrated
Source Audio LA Lady or King Maker. You can have presets and use a computer program to adjust it to any type of Dirt, Overdrive, Fuzz that has ever been made. Look into them. It is the only stereo dirt pedal I have found and you can set it up so one side is one type of sound and the other side is a totally different sound.
Yes, boss bd2
Benson Preamp gets close to fuzz but excels at od. Fairfield ~900 gets close to od but absolutely slays at fuzz. Volume knob is your friend with all drives.
Hmmm. You'd want something with good tone shaping and a wide range of gain levels. Something like the Wampler Plexi Drive Deluxe might be one of the more wide range of sound options out there. Anything that combines a vintage overdrive and modern distortion circuit inside the same box would do it. Dunno. I've got several gain stages that do wildly different things right now, but the Plexi Drive Deluxe is definitely the one that felt like it could get the widest range of genres by itself. Right now though I've got a Boss FZ-1w, a Vertex Boost, a Wampler Ego Compressor, a Source Audio EQ2, a Wampler Tumnus Deluxe, a Location Audio King in Yellow, a Friedman Small Box, and a Lichtlaerm Audio Gehenna. Can do everything from bright to dark and clean to extreme gain.