What's your favorite overdrive pedal for blues?

[MuddyDitch]

I'm in the market for an overdrive pedal. It needs to pair well with single coil pickups and a Fender Champ X2 amp. So far my research tells me the Wampler Euphoria is what I need. Any thoughts?

[moon]

I've got a Euphoria and it's a good pedal but my Xotic EP and RC booster are more transparent and dynamic. Compression goes with the territory of extra gain of course but the Xotics seem to preserve just a little bit more touch-sensitivity.

They also get some praise for cleans. The RC's Baxandall tone circuit could have a ton of different uses.

My experience is with low-output humbuckers but plenty people seem to like them with single-coils as well. Two indispensable pedals IMO.

Note these pedals are more about boost rather than gain, (although the RC does have a small amount of nice, crunchy gain available). If you need to make a clean amp setting crunch without pushing it all the way into tube saturation, the Arctic White fuzz could be an interesting pedal:

[moon]

Sorry forgot you mentioned you have an X2. AFAIK this has a tube output stage but solid state preamp? In that case I've no idea how it would react to boost pedals which are designed to smash a hot signal into a tube gain stage. You might be better looking at amp-in-a-box type pedals instead.

[teleamp]

I just switch the amps clean channel to crunch and use the guitars volume control, no pedal needed.

[imwjl]

My post GAS and gear crazy stage left me with Mesa 4 knob pedals, but to me the secret seems to be 4 knob no matter what so you can adjust the low and high frequencies depending upon how much boost.

I wish I got my boost pedal first. It and some others like it take you slightly into overdrive. To me it's as bluesy as it gets.

It doesn't have to be Mesa (I've had others incl the popular Spark Boost). I liked the Mesas because they were quiet and can make my Princeton Reverb also sound like my big 2x12 Mesa amp at more reasonable volumes.

http://www.mesaboogie.com/pedals--re...one-burst.html

The OD I have, and I agree with their calling it a high gain pre-amp.

http://www.mesaboogie.com/pedals--re...lux-drive.html

Trust that you can't go wrong with the Mesas if only for build, quiet, and customer service but there are many choices.

Originally Posted by teleamp

I just switch the amps clean channel to crunch and use the guitars volume control, no pedal needed.

That's what I did in my rock days - channel vol up, control with master. Not foot switchable, but great sound.

[Dru Edwards]

Perhaps it may seem boring because it's been around so long but I like the Ibanez Tube Screamer TS9. Not too expensive, plenty around, and good used prices too.

[Sombras]

This one's brilliant: http://cusackmusic.com/cusack-screamer-v2-new-look/

[Acoustic_Stevo]

Matt Schofield has a great tone, and he uses Free The Tone SOV

http://www.freethetone.com/en/hot-ne...prototype.html

Mind you, he also uses a 61 Strat and Two Rock amps.
And his fingers might have something to do with it too.

[terrapin]

Very hard to beat a good Tubescreamer circuit with Fender amps. I use a Mad Professor Little Green Wonder and love it. Lots of great Tubscreamer type pedals out there. Wampler's Tubscreamer pedal is call the Clarksdale and is very nice.

[Steely Glen]

I really like the Full Tone OCD. It's a versatile little pedal that can churn sweet, creamy drive and even venture into high gain territory (which isn't necessary for me). The OCD into a Fender tube amp is it for me.

[clintj]

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

Perhaps it may seem boring because it's been around so long but I like the Ibanez Tube Screamer TS9. Not too expensive, plenty around, and good used prices too.

That's a classic combo there. That pedal complements the typical Fender "scooped mid" voicing really well.

[aknow]

If I'm playing through a Fender blackface or a Mesa Boogie, I use a
Chandler Tube Driver. You can get a lot of action without destroying the room with too much volume. Been using these since the early 1980's.

If I'm using a cleaner amp, Vox AC 30, or a Silverface Twin, or a PRS Dallas,
I use a Wampler Brad Paisley drive.

[rburke]

Boss BD-2 works for me. Got it used for $50.

[muscmp]

i'm using two different ones--but not together. one is the strymon deco that gives you the sound of running thru the preamp of a tape recorder. it also has built in chorus, delay and echo. the second is a fulltone full drive 3 that has a boost side and an overdrive side that can be configured how you like it.

play music!