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Posts Tagged ‘ODR-1’

Gear Review: Wampler Belle Overdrive

Posted in Guitars, tagged , , , , , on October 4, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Summary: Based on the classic Nobels ODR-1 circuit, Brian Wampler added his own touches (of course) making this one helluva a versatile pedal. You can use this as a transparent boost on up to an absolute crunch machine. And make no bones about it: This isn’t a copy of the other green overdrive. This circuit is absolutely unique and has been a mainstay on many guitarists’ boards.

Pros: Though there are five controls (including the clipping switch on the side of the pedal), it’s incredibly easy to dial in a great tone. For me, the Bass and Color knobs are what makes this pedal so amazing. And the sound? Fuggedaboudit! This is unlike the TS sound by a long shot.

Cons: Absolutely none so far.

Price: $129-$149 street

Tone Bones:

I was all set to get a regular Nobels ODR-1 Mini, but then I saw this pedal come up in my search. The variable Bass control knob did it for me. Having that sweep makes such a difference!

Getting Reacquainted with the ODR-1 Sound

Many years ago, I had an original Nobels ODR-1. I liked it then, but to be honest, I wasn’t playing enough electric guitar to know the difference between the different dirt pedals, so I just kept on using the MXR distortion pedal my brother gave me. Fast forward 25 years (or is it 30 now… sheesh) and I play all sorts of guitars. So when I saw a video of a guy using one, I remembered having that pedal and thought that it would be good to get this one as I have a bunch of TS808 derivatives already.

So I did a search for some videos on the ODR-1 and the Wampler Belle came up. Since I had already seen several ODR-1 videos, I loved the fact that the Belle had a variable Bass control. That sold me even though it’s almost twice the price of the ODR-1 Mini! But I’ve liked Wampler pedals for a long time and the build quality of Brian’s pedals are awesome, so I decided to pull the trigger.

Luckily, they had one in stock at my local Guitar Center and I was able to audition it. I only need five minutes. Everything that I had heard on the videos was pretty much confirmed when I played some chords and some scales. And yes, it was the Bass knob that sold me.

I was playing through an amp that I detested: The Fender Princeton Reverb. To me, that amp is just way too trebly, but I was able to tame that with the Bass control, then with a couple of tweaks of the Color knob, I was able to dial in a sound that was absolutely incredible. And I was playing a Strat! That was it. I unplugged it and bought it on the spot.

For those who are familiar with the ODR-1, it’s known to be popular with Nashville session players. I’m thinking it has to do with the tight bass of the circuit. Since a lot of those players use Telecasters and Strats, it’s not a surprise why it would be so popular. However, make no mistake about it. It’s not just a country or country rock pedal. Though it’s considered a lower gain overdrive, it can put out some serious crunch.

How It Sounds

I was going to do a few clips but I ran across this video that does a MUCH better job of explaining the sonic differences between the TubeScreamer sound and the ODR-1 circuit – plus Brian’s take on it with the Belle. Check it out:

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Making Peace With Your Gear

Posted in Guitars, tagged , , , on August 21, 2021| 2 Comments »

I was watching a GREAT video on Rhett Shull’s channel today where he was interviewing one of the greatest session guitarists, Tim Pierce. Near the end of the video, Tim said something that I just had to share:

“I paid a lot for this amp but it doesn’t do everything… It just does one thing… That’s the thing you’ve GOT to make peace with…”

Here’s where he says it in the video:

I recommend watching the whole video because it focuses on how to use something near and dear to my heart: Overdrive!

But OMG!!! When I heard Tim say those words, “Make peace with it,” I said, “F#$k yeah!” out loud because that simple, short phrase articulates exactly where I’ve evolved to with respect to gear.

Other than my guitars, I’ve always been about versatility with all my other gear. But not in the way you might think. With pedals or amps, I will dial them into their sweet spot – at least where I feel the sweet spot is – then always keep them set there. But that said, I always wanted to know that if I wanted to do something different, the potential was there, and I could make an easy change.

For instance, take my BOSS Katana Artist. It is loaded with great BOSS effects. But I don’t use it that way. In fact, I use it like I would a tube amp. I have four channels to work with on that amp. The first channel I have the amp set to the edge of break-up. It’s the channel I use the most. The second and third channels I add a touch of reverb and both reverb and delay, respectively, on top of Channel 1’s settings. The fourth channel is my clean, maximum headroom channel where I texture my sound with pedals. I don’t use any other effects on the amp other than reverb and delay, and I use those sparingly. But it’s comforting to know that I have access to other effects on the amp if I need to add other textures. But to be honest, in the 2 1/2 years that I’ve had the amp, I haven’t used it any other way.

But making peace with what your gear does best is a pretty important thing. And make no bones about it, it’s an intensely personal matter as well. The sweet spot that you may find for something may be completely different than someone else’s sweet spot. Especially if you participate in online forums, it’s easy to fall into the trap of taking someone’s word about some gear, especially if that person is popular. That’s why I always say to evaluate gear yourself. The point is that you have to find the sweet spot that works for you. And it may very well be that you don’t find that sweet spot.

Though GuitarGear.org is still a pretty popular site, I only post a few articles a year now. It’s not so much that I’ve lost interest in gear. It’s really that I’ve found my sound and I know what I want and the gear that I have accomplishes what I need – for now. That may very well change. And if I’m really going to be honest, I’ll never get tired of overdrives. 🙂 Watching that video and Tim Pierce playing the Nobels ODR-1, I realized that – amazingly enough – I don’t have that one in my collection. I’m going to go to my local Guitar Center and play and perhaps pick one up today if I like it.

To be clear, it won’t be an impulse buy. I’ve actually been looking for an overdrive that works well with my Taylor T5z. Since I’m back playing regularly at my church gig again, I realized that the T5z needs a little help when I play rock and roll. I’ve been using my Timmy, and it’s okay, but it’s a little thin. I’m looking for a different kind of sound and I think setting up the ODR-1 with a slightly scooped sound will help a lot! I’ll just have to play it and find out!

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