Barber Electronics LTD

Could not be better sounding.

Perfect for everything but heavier rock styles. Can't be improved on.

Tough as most good pedals.

I've spoken with them on the first try.

Blues/funk/R&B/country styles.

Very easy to use.

I use custom made Strats and Teles all with SD humbuckers (Lil 59, 59 and JB in the bridge and vintage Stack, 59 and jazz in the neck) and an Orange AD 15/12 (and an Orange AD5 at home). This pedal is almost noise free even with drive maxed. I find it impossible to get a bad sound out of it. It really let`s your amp and guitar shine since it`s soooo transparent. Doesn`t colour your tone just beefs it up. Even though it`s a low/mid gain pedal you`re able to get quite enough drive for heavy blues and classic rock (if you`re into metal look elsewhere). Works well with different effects.

Would gig without a back up. Seems to be very sturdy and well made.

Never dealt with them

I play classic rock, blues and funk and have been playing about 22 years. During that time i`ve gone through lots of drives (Boss, MXR, Marshall, VOX, Ibanez, Maxon, Fulltone, Mad Professor, HBE, MI Audio, Retro Sonic, Analogman and Keeley modded and the list goes on....) and majority of them have been really good overdrives. However in my opinion this beats anything i`ve tried before hands down. Would replace it immediately if it got stolen. I also have a Barber Burn Unit EQ which is another superb drive from Barber (i highly recommend it too).

Its slightly more complicated that i'm used to. The trim pots on the inside open up more scope to fiddle with the sound. When i first got the pedal i didnt touch them but it had more bass in it than i normally like so i took the back off and messed around for....HOURS. Eventually i found a sound i liked so i put the back on wont touch it now. Because of this I'm giving it an honest 5 out of 10 because its not that simple

its a beautiful overdrive. Hasnt got masses of gain but thats not what its for. Its kind of like a tubescreamer, but it just sounds more 'alive' than a tubescreamer. Its probably the most natural sounding overdrive i've heard, and i've used a lot or them. My set up is fender hot rod deluxe, fender telecaster with kinman pickups, and a whole bunch of other gadgets. I use a big muff for any fuzzy-wuzzy stuff. I bought this pedal because i was absoloutely sick of all the overdrives i've owned, they all sounded rubbish with my equipment. I ended up using an SD1 which sounded ok, but killed my clean sound. I've also tried ts9, proco rats (old and new), all the boss pedals, keeley pedals (some are ok, some are not), crowther hotcake and a whole bunch of other things. Tone is subjective and its highly dependant on the other equipment you own. The LTD just sat up and said "hello, i'll do it without any fuss thank you". Its got a huge dynamic range, remarkable actually, if you play quiet then it sounds quiet, if you dig in then you can really feel it. My only slight complaint is that there is still a bit of a mid hump in there, however barber make the LTD SR which in hindsight i wish i'd got instead....which i might still do actually. Apart from that this is THE best overdrive i've ever played so far

its also got the most amazing build quality to it. seriously. its just beautiful, I'm giving it a 10 here

no idea yet

lovely, lovely, lovely, lovely pedal. Cant recommend this highly enough. for light gain sounds which sound natural and really dynamic i'm not sure it could be beaten. Nor can it be beaten on price, i paid ??119 for this. Beautiful overdrive.

Excellent sound from the git-go. This is a player's box all the way - jack in and start groovin'. I own the "SR" version ("Special Recipe"), which is advertised as having a "flat EQ" curve. This appealed to me because for low OD i prefer to EQ in other ways, and especially, i want the GUITAR to be the dominant sound; so i didn't want the box itself to add or subtract much, if anything. The "Tone" pot is nice because it doesn't muffle the highs as you move CCW. The "Drive" pot is smooth in the way it introduces OD. (All Barber pedals that i own or have played behave this way ..... very smooth sound, not harsh.)

Vintage players, as well as modern blues/jazz players, will love this box. For those desiring a low-to-moderate OD, the LTD is a great choice. I play a semi-hollow body Reverend Club King; Fender Strat w/Joe Barden pups; G&L ASAT Classic; and PRS Mira. Personally i enjoy the LTD most with my Reverend .... this guitar has moderately-strong HumBuckers, and with the hollowbody's resonance, the LTD just makes this guitar sound beautiful through my Fender and Genz-Benz BP-30 amps. But, it really works superbly with any guitar....so, you won't be dis-appointed, as long as you're looking for low/moderate drive, not that crappy, over-the-top "shred" sheet.

Barber products are built to LAST. They're built with top-notch components. ...nuf said.

Barber staff (Ronni esp.) are responsive, and quite informative, via e-mail (AS LONG AS you have something of value to talk about.) I'm sure that Barber et al would stand by their products.

The LTD is a good match for me and my guitars/amps. My preferred musical styles - blues, modern jazz and alternative - are aptly suited for the LTD. The LTD works well as a front-end to another OD pedal as well, which i routinely apply. The LTD, as are all Barber pedals IMO, is fairly priced too. I really feel that you can't go wrong with Barber.

Easy? Easier than other pedals. No doubt.
I only needed to run it through my amp and play... result - I am simply love in with it. You are not going to need the manual. It??s simple;

I dont like to use many pedals because I like the natural sound of my amp and my guitars - Fender Blues Deluxe and Gibson Les Paul Standard Plus and Fender Telecaster Deluxe. Great guitars!

I always used the drive channel of amp. I never liked the drive pedals because a lot of them donit have a natural sound. For this reason I avoided them.

Today, after many attempts I finally have found the REAL DRIVE PEDAL.
I bought the LTD and the Direct Drive, sincerely, these are the REAL DRIVE pedals. If you are looking for a natural drive, your seach is over!
My friend, Buy these pedals. You won??t regret buying it!!! You won??t.

The LTD sounds well with either guitar. My favorite is the Les Paul. The Tele is a great guitar though.

I tried some pedals before to buy the LTD - TS9, Drivemaster, Voodoo, etc...) but none of these pedals could make happy.

My advice is to use the LTD and the DD.

I can depend on it. It seems solid.
If one day my LTD breaks in my gig, I can simply use the drive channel of my amp.

Never dealt with Barber but I have read good reviews about him.

I have been playing i have been playing for many years.
Buy this pedal If you love the sound of your guitar and amp.
I love it.
I need it.

Extremely easy to use. Easier than other pedals

I have an Analogman King of Tone, a Diamond J-Drive and the Barber LTD. These 3 pedals all sound EXACTLY IDENTICAL when compared at a fairly low volume through my Deluxe Reverb amp. The Barber cost me a $110. on Ebay while the Analogman cost $450.
I actually like the Barber better because you can change the distortion without it affecting your volume or tone. The other 2 pedals can't do that.
All of these pedals sound amazing. Your guitar sounds the same except overdriven.

Don't know. Just got it.

It seems to me that once an overdrive pedal reaches a certain quality it's pretty much impossible to get any better. If your guitar sounds exactly the same except overdriven - then that's as good as it gets.
So the Barber is equal to my other boutique overdrives except it's the cheapest. It's a win-win situation.
My conclusions were made comparing at low volumes because I don't play rooms that require my amp to be cranked.

It takes a little tweaking to dial in the sound you may want. The manual is very clear on all of the 8-9+ internal controls. If you want more sound shaping control than from a 3 knob stompbox, this is it!

Since there is no review for this OD, I have decided to do it. The mod gives so many tweaks, I'm not going into all of them. The mid trim pot was the first thing I adjusted and it works! Although it might work a different mid freq than the inherent one. Overall I was able to obtain(by adjusting everything internally) the finest OD stomp I have ever played!! I play it through my Lonestar & YCV40wr. It does low gain & medium gain so well...I want another one for both. It's clear and articulate. No fizzy artifact. Amp like. Transparent.

Built like a tank.

I called once and the man himself answered the phone.

It's a "10"! Been playing over 35 years and play blues, rock, fusion and progressive etc. If it were stolen I'd buy 2 more. It beats my Keeley BD-2 & SD-1, MI audio Blues pro and the Monkey just to mention a few. The sound of it just inspires me to play more. Oh yeah, it stacks really well. Better than any other pedal I got. If your reading this then your thinking of getting one? I read the LTD Silver or SR sound pretty damn good also. If you own a black one, for $60 you will have a superb pedal. I also modded my DD also. Ahh so much control, a tweaker's paradise.

This unit has three knobs, and is very easy to use.

The Barber LTD series are advertised as low to moderate gain overdrive pedals. As such, they are not targeted to serve the metal, or nu-metal market.
What they do exceedingly well, is provide a range of boost from transparent juice to a richly detailed drive. The resulting tones sound more like the amp turned all the way up, rather than a more "toothy" pre-amp distortion.
This range of distortion is very musical and usefull for calssic rock, blues, country, and jazz styles.
I'm using the silver LTD in combination with a Line 6 Verbzilla pedal and a Fender Bassman 4-10 LTD Reissue for my guitar rig, and a black LTD Special Recipe in combination with a Fender Steel King for my pedal steel rig.
The Special Recipe has does not have the midrange "bump" in it's reference EQ. Both LTDs provide beautiful detail even in chords, and a terrific singing quality without noticable compression.
They are very quiet, and exhibit no "tone-suck" when bypassed.

The internal layout and construction of the Barber is first-rate, and I would expect it to last a lifetime. No backup needed. Never had a problem.

Haven't had to use Customer Support.

I am an active musician on stage and in various studios, on guitar and pedal steel. I play jazz, blues, and some country. I've been playing since 1964.
I spent 20 years selling music equipment, both in retail and as a factory rep, so have played or gigged with almost everything out there.
My gear consists of: Gibson ES345, ES137, and Les Pauls. Ovation acoustic/electrics. Marlen and Texan pedal steels. Fender Bassman 4-10 Reissue LTD, and Steel King amps. Barber LTD Overdrive Pedals, and Line 6 Verbzilla Pedals.
The Barber is the most musical overdrive I've heard to date, and I would definately buy it again.
Obviously, overdrive/distortion tone is very subjective, and there are many fine pedals out there. These just sounded the most natural to my ear.
Thanks for your service! Anecdotal information is very helpful in choosing from such a vast array of products out there...

3 knobs..the basic tone, volume and drive. fiddle till it sounds right.

ok...this is my first review on Harmony...I just had to give props to this pedal. Live so many, I have for years searched for that perfect overdrive pedal...THIS IS IT FOR ME...sold all the common yellow and green boxes this one does it all from a rather clean boost to Texas heat gritty. Can't go into metal zone but I've got a vintage Proco Rat for that. I wanted the overdriven tube sound and this gives it to you in spades. The sound is rich, full and harmonic, never thin or buzzing. No bad sounds across the drive range and the tone chages are subtle..just leave it at 12 and adjust the amp instead. Noise...yeah just a tiny bit, but only really at full drive. I play through a mesa express (great range sounds on its own) and use the LTD to "thicken" up the amp or drive it at lower volumes. bottom line...great pedal, best I've played.

built like a tank....should stand up to the typical abuses, but I'll say no opinion since it has not been gigged yet.

no sure...haven't needed it. Barber came very highly recommended to me from another player who has spoken to the shop often.

Not much more to say...I have found "the sound" end of my GAS for overdrive pedals. been playing off and on over 20 yrs, alone and in bands, blues to classic rock to modern pop, use a Tele, HB Reverned Charger (excellent guitar btw) and a Epi dot 335 copy, all sound great though this pedal. Would buy it again in a heartbeat.

Rally easy to tweak to find your tone.
No patches, simple pedal simple manual.
Stock Silver LTD

Sound Quality is the best I have ever heard from an overdrive pedal.
Easily tailored to fit perfectly on a track. Harmonics seem to jump out of this pedal.
I placed the LTD first in the chain and it's transparent when off and adds no hiss or hum when on.
I use it thru a Boogie Mark IIB head with an Intellifex in the effects loop and a Earcandy Sovereign 1X12 Cabinet and a Peavey Rockmaster with a Xpression in the effects loop into a AA165 Bassman to a Mesa Boogie 1X12 Cabinet. I run them both simultaneously for a thick wall of guitar sound.
The LTD Silver opens the heavens to rich harmonics and adds a thick power tube sounding distortion. It's like getting all new gear adding this pedal.

I've only had it for a month but it's built like a tank.
I would gig without a back.

I spoke with David Barber prior to purchasing this pedal. Let's face it most pedal are noisy and it is a concern. He said it wasn't and told me if I didn't like it I could send it back. He was right. It is absolutely quite.
They can be upgraded for more tonal definition, but with the internal presence and Bass adjust I was able to adjust the LTD so there was no actual guitar tone change but gained harmonics and add a degree of power tube like distortion.

I've played Solo, Duets, Country Bands, Jazz Bands, Rock Bands. Metal Bands, any kind of music to make a living. I currently write and record for background music for TV Shows, along with Writing and selling music. 30+ years on the road has left me in failing health(but memories are mine to keep)
Personally I think pedals are noisy pieces of shit, this one changed my mind.