Comments on: Review: Fulltone OCD

By: Fretbase » Review: Fulltone OCD

Fretbase » Review: Fulltone OCD — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 20:55:59 +0000

[...] recently purchased a Fulltone OCD overdrive pedal. I had been doing some research and had read some positive reviews online and was recommended the pedal from a guy I know at Guitar Showcase in San Jose, [...]

By: alex

alex — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 20:47:41 +0000

Great review! “Chain your TS9 and OCD together”.
That is exactly what I do. Without the TS (I have a STL) I could not really find a good lead tone. The midrange boost is a key to that.
Have you tried the fulltone distortion pro by the way ?
I just put it on my board and experiment with it. Somehow this pedal has never become as popular as the OCD or the Fulldrive.

Ciao Alex

By: goofydawg

goofydawg — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 03:35:25 +0000

Isn’t it that way with any pedal? You never really know how it works for you until you’ve gigged with it. But let’s be very clear: The OCD wasn’t meant to sound like a pegged amp (I don’t think I’ve heard any pedal do that. What the OCD does is give you a nice, crisp distortion that also picks up and emphasizes the overtones and natural harmonics your guitar produces.

It’s incredibly responsive to your attack and volume knob as well, so you can do a lot of shaping with this pedal, once you’ve found the sweet spot.

Here’s something you might try: Chain your TS9 and OCD together. Run the TS9 before the OCD, and see what that sounds like. I just love what that combination does. Sustain for years! You get that midrange hump from the TS9, plus that creamy smooth distortion from the OCD. It’s wonderful to hear.

By: Bobcat Arkham

Bobcat Arkham — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 02:36:31 +0000

i checked out a few OCD pedals over the last few months and am strongly thinking of getting one. right now i got an Ibanez TS9DX, but i feel like it doesn’t sound like the amp cranked up. my set up is like so: 1958 Gibson Les Paul Special w/P90’s, Frankenstein Telecaster with P90 in bridge and mini humbucker in the neck and option for being in or out of phase or parallel or series or a Gretsch Electromatic G5129 w/Dynasonics through either a Fender 1966 Bassman, Reissue Deluxe Reverb, AC15 or a Traynor YBA-1A and while i prefer to just plug in, turn up and play, i dont want to be so loud that i drown the rest of the band out, so i got an overdrive box last year but the tube screamer sounds harsh and generic to me, even in the plus mode, where you’re supposed to get more distortion and true geetar signal, so back to the drawing board. i play a hybrid of rockabilly, surf, garage, rhythm and blues, and country and an amp on 2 (no matter what pickup i got) just sounds bland! a lot of those old recordings were done with the amps pegged and a lot of people dont realize this since the distortion was kind of under the note, rather than over it! all in all, i think its worth a shot to hear it in my set up for a few gigs at least!

By: goofydawg

goofydawg — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:54:01 +0000

Hmmm… I don’t think I said it’s not for metal. I did make mention that it isn’t the be-all, end-all of distortion pedals. No pedal is… However, that said, I don’t think it’ll ever leave my pedal board - ever. It’s a pedal that I can’t live without; that, and my TS-808 Tube Screamer that I often play along with the OCD - really SWEET combo. Ungodly amounts of sustain. Makes me giddy just thinking about it.

You can certainly use the OCD for metal. Set it to High Peak, crank up the drive, and roll off the tone knob to bring out the lows a bit more. You’ll get that really nice, compressed drive by doing this. Works much better with humbuckers and P-90s than with Strat-like single coils.

If you go down to Showcase, talk to Peter Alaimo. I’ve bought lots of gear from this dude (incl. the OCD and Tube Screamer), and he knows his stuff. He does a lot of country punk and bluesy rock, so we’re aligned in our tonal tastes. However, in general, he’s really knowledgeable - just be prepared to shoot the sh&t with him for awhile. That dude loves to chat it up! He’s got great stories. Ask him about getting Steve Miller’s pedal board…

By: Tim

Tim — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 08:10:11 +0000

Great review. I’ve been interested in the OCD. So I think you said in there that it wasn’t for metal players, and while I’m not a metal head I do like a fair amount of oomph in my tone. I could still achieve this with appropriate settings on my amp right?

Also, you live in San Jose?! That’s awesome. I do too. I didn’t know Guitar Showcase carried OCDs.

By: goofydawg

goofydawg — Mon, 19 May 2008 16:00:08 +0000

I have the second version of the pedal. I bought it without ever using the first version, so I can’t speak to which is better, but knowing Fulltone, later versions usually have lots of improvements - especially a version 2.

By: Kyle

Kyle — Sat, 17 May 2008 17:26:22 +0000

hey man, i may have just missed it, but what version of ocd did you test/purchase? i have a mayer strat through a 65 deluxe reverb, and ive heard that the version 2 is the way to go for that type of combination.

By: goofydawg

goofydawg — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 22:34:20 +0000

Either one will work just fine. I even use the OCD in line with a DigiTech Bad Monkey, and the two just rock!

By: Jack

Jack — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 22:04:28 +0000

goofydawg, great review man!

I’m thinking in to buy this pedal.
You said that this pedal work very well with ibanez ts808. I have a ibanez ts9dx. Do you think that will be a good combination?

I play blues, rock, some grunge and hard rock some times, and I’m looking for good overdrive pedal that work together my ts9dx. Do you think that the OCD is the pedal for this function?

Thank’s a lot!

Jack, from Brazil! Sorry for my really bad english!!

By: goofydawg

goofydawg — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 03:10:30 +0000

Hmm…. good question. From my point of view, they’re two different animals. From my perspective, the FD2 is an excellent and versatile overdrive pedal, capable of performing different kinds of boost, while the OCD leans more toward the high-gain distortion box side of the equation. Plus, the OCD enhances harmonics and overtones, so it does a bit of “tweaking” to your signal. So what we’re talking here is a bit apples and oranges.That said, the Full Drive into the OCD would be a powerful combination. If I didn’t have my TS-808 Tube Screamer, I’d probably put a FD2 in front of the OCD. The reason to chain these is that while I love the OCD, it distorts evenly through the frequency spectrum - some folks think that it lacks mid-range. But that’s not true; it’s just even. With my Tube Screamer, I get a big mid-range overdrive boost, so it really thickens up the tone coming from the OCD. It’s a great combination!So I guess what I’m saying is run the FD2 into your OCD. I think you’ll be pleased with the results.

By: Steven

Steven — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 23:28:00 +0000

I have used a Full Drive 2 for years and just bought an OCD. It’s great as noted above.

I finally got some time today and wanted to compare the 2 to see if I should part with my FD2, as maybe it was a bit redundant.

Well… I was surprised to find that with my FD2 on CompCut and Boost on, I can get a sound so close that it is pretty hard to tell the 2 a part.

The OCD is awesome, don’t get me wrong, but perhaps the reviews were not in comparison to other Fulltone products. Then there’s the FD Mosfet, which I have no idea how that fits into this picture.

I’ll probably sell my FD2 now, since the OCD is smaller, but was wondering if anyone here has done any A/B and if they feel OCD renders the FD2 obsolete and then what about the FD Mosfet? I haven’t heard that one yet.

By: goofydawg

goofydawg — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 20:27:23 +0000

Thanks for the warm regards!

After having used the OCD for a few months, I can confidently say that I have absolutely no negatives about that pedal. Like you, I’ve found that many drive pedals sound thin with Strats, no matter how much low-end EQ you dial in. But the OCD has really responsive EQ, so even with a Strat, you can get that awesome, thick, metal distortion, or dial it up to get some singing highs. I usually set the EQ slightly left of center.

As for sound characteristics, the first thing you notice when you plug it in is that especially with Strats, you get incredible sustain. The OCD takes the natural harmonics that your instrument produces, then enhances them somehow. The net result is a beautiful, resonant and shimmery sustain that is so pleasing to the ear.

Strats are naturally thin-sounding. With the OCD, it’s not so much that you get a thicker sound. What you get is a bigger sound; and with the harmonics and overtones so emphasized, it just “feels” thicker. You don’t lose the fundamental characteristics of what makes the Strat so distinctive.

One of the things that I’ve found that is oh so cool is running my OCD behind my TS-808 Tube Screamer. What a combo! I love the mid-range boost that my 808 produces, then combined with the sweet tone that comes from the OCD, the tone is magical to me.

On another note, I’ve found that using my Maxon CP9 Pro+ compressor really helps bolster the Strat’s tone. Running that in front of distortion boxes adds to the sustain and thickness of the tone.

By: jono tan

jono tan — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 15:55:07 +0000

your mini review of the fulltone OCD was especially helpful to me. stumbled upon it when googling to find thoughts on the pedal. heard loads of great stuff. was actually going for a hotcake but a friend suggested trying the OCD as the hotcake sounds thin on strats, which i use.

really wanna hear your opinions on the subject. email me or just post your comments here would be great. btw i also own a xotic BB preamp that i absolutely adore and a modded ds-1 for drive sounds.

keep up the good work with the blog and merry x’mas.

By: Review: Ibanez TS808 “Tube Screamer” Re-issue « Guitar Gear

Review: Ibanez TS808 “Tube Screamer” Re-issue « Guitar Gear — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 00:22:49 +0000

[...] 4th, 2007 by goofydawg Since I recently did a review on the Fulltone OCD, I thought that I’d do a review on the much-revered TS808. As many in the know, this is the [...]