There have only been a few times in all the years that I’ve been playing guitar that I’ve had an epiphany with a pedal, where after just playing a few notes, a light bulb would go off in my head, and I’d exclaim, “That’s the sound I’m after!” The Fulltone OCD did that to me this afternoon. I just love when that happens! Here are some of the features of this little beast:
- First off, it has a true bypass switch, so when it’s off, it’s off, and you don’t have to remove the battery if you’ve got it plugged into a 9 volt power source.
- Volume knob - speaks for itself. But here’s a real treat: The volume knob can give you up to 30dB of boost!!! Need a clean booster? Here it is, plus you can get that sexy, smooth distortion out of it as well. Special note for my friend IG over at igblog: Here’s your clean booster, and you get a freakin’ amazing distortion box to boot!!!
- Tone knob - according to the manual (and I confirmed this as well), the tone knob only affects the high frequencies, but you can use it to sweeten up a lead or get a more squishy, punchier sound - very cool.
- Drive knob - again self-explanatory. It’ll give you more or less distortion depending up on the position you set it to.
- HP/LP switch. This is unique to this pedal. Set it to (H)igh (P)eak and you get glorious sounding bottom end and increased dynamic range, plus more distortion throughout various volume levels. Set it to LP, turn down the drive, and the pedal acts as a clean booster with the volume knob.
How it sounds…
- Whether you’re in HP or LP mode, the thing that I noticed the most was the amount of sustain it added to the notes I was playing. One thing that can be a bit of a frustration for me when playing my Strat is when I bend a high note (above the 12th fret), there’s just not much sustain in the guitar itself (of course, unless I crank my amp). But the OCD adds a lot of sustain with hardly any tonal interference (that makes your sound really muddy).
- As far as distortion is concerned, the OCD will not muddy your tone - especially at lower volumes, and you get all the juicy, complex harmonics that you get out of a cranked amp. With the OCD, your tonal clarity is retained, even with heavy distortion, AND you get those overtones and harmonics - EVEN AT BEDROOM LEVELS!!! Think of the OCD’s distortion as an extension and enhancement of your tone. It’s very much in character with a box like the Ibanez TS-808, another overdrive box that I have that I love for its transparency.
- With the OCD, you also get the touch sensitivity you’d expect out of a cranked amp. That’s yet another amazing thing about the OCD, it’s sensitive as all get-out even at lower volumes.
- I haven’t confirmed this, but from other reviews I’ve read, and from the dude that sold me the pedal (I trust him mightily), the more voltage you run through the OCD, the better it sounds. I only have a 9 volt power supply, but it’ll take up 18 volts, though I’ve read that 12 volts is probably the best.
In a nutshell, if you’re looking for a distortion box that will make your good tone sound even better, this box is for you. That said, before Mike Fuller released this box, there was A LOT of hype surrounding it. Once it was released, a lot of players were disappointed, thinking that this would be the be-all, end-all of distortion boxes. It’s not. It has a different character; actually, a VERY unique character, that will endear it to some, and ward off others, especially those who are expecting a real low-end oomph. The OCD has that, but that’s not its strength. As I mentioned, it’s a tone enhancer, that will break up your signal as much or as little as you want. It won’t pour on oodles of low-end, especially if your setup is on the thin side.
An important note: The OCD works best with a single channel Class A amp, or on the clean channel of a multiple gain stage amp. It does not sound good when used in the drive channel, which already breaks up your tone. That said, if you do use it with a drive channel, either let it do the driving, and turn your amp’s boost down, or turn down the OCD’s distortion, and pump up the volume knob on the box. Otherwise you’ll get a very rough (read: ugly) distortion. A lot of folks have complained about this pedal clipping too much with their amps. Most likely, they’ve tried to use it in the way I described above.
Comparisons? Well, I’m never one to say this box is better than this box, unless the tonal quality is perceptibly that much better. The closest box I can think of to compare the OCD to off the top of my head would be the box I mentioned above: The TS-808 Tube Screamer. But where the Tube Screamer is more of a midrange booster, and it produces a much more crunchy tone, the OCD has much smoother distortion characteristics, and has way more inherent sustain than the Tube Screamer. Which one is better? Neither. For me, they both have their uses, though I’ll have to admit that the Tube Screamer will most likely be my go-to box for crunchy rhythms, and the OCD will be used for leads and more funky rhythm parts played high on the neck.
Sometimes, it’s just in the stars…
I stayed home from work today to take care of my toddler who has an ear infection. He’s been cranky all day with a fever, and of course, the incessant annoyance of the inner ear infection. So to calm him down, and help him take a nap, I took him for a drive. I wasn’t actually intending to go to my local guitar gear shop but I ended up exiting the freeway on the street that the shop was on, and just happened to drive in the direction of the shop (I really wasn’t meaning to go there, dammit! 
) Anyway, as I was driving, I noticed the “Guitar Showcase” sign, and turned into the parking lot. I figured I could browse around in the nice, air-conditioned space, which would be great for my little boy with a fever. So I put the baby in the stroller and entered the store.
Once I entered the store, I noticed that Peter, who sold me my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe was working behind the counter, so I struck up a conversation with him. He’s a touring musician, so I asked him how the gigging was going, and we swapped stories. Then it occurred to me to ask him about a good drive/distortion pedal that I could use in conjunction with my TS-808 (which he also sold me and also plays through). He said, “Man, here it is: The Fulltone OCD. This’ll do the job for you. You can use it as a clean boost, but you’ll get the sweetest, creamiest distortion you’ve ever heard. Other pedals, can sometimes make your tone turn muddy, but this will break up your signal and retain your clarity.” Peter knows what I play through, and the guitars that I have, so he knows how important my tone is. With that, I replied, “You know, I wasn’t banking on buying any gear today, but based on what you’re saying, I’ve got to try this pedal out.”
So Peter hooked me up to a Hot Rod Deluxe. I played one simple phrase: An ascending minor scale in E. Actually it was more like 4 notes with a bend and vibrato at the end, and my jaw just dropped!!! I couldn’t believe the sexy tones that came out of this little box! It was like the sea had parted and the way was made clear! Then Peter twiddled the knobs a bit, then told me to play some funky rhythm line, and it’s like the song just came to life! I swear, within a minute of playing through the OCD, I just turned to Peter and said, “Sold. I’m gonna play a bit more, but you can start writing up the order. I’m not leavin’ the store without one.” So, I am now the proud owner of a Fulltone OCD.
[...] 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 [...]
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!!
Either one will work just fine. I even use the OCD in line with a DigiTech Bad Monkey, and the two just rock!
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.
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.
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.
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…
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!
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.
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
[...] 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, [...]