Barber Electronics Direct Drive

3 knobs, push/pull pot, Hey ??

For the last 20 years I've tried so many ODs and this unit is by far the best sounding Overdrive I ever had. It can sound very similar to an old TS9 or 808 (gain and tone about 3). Pull the Tone-knob and you get a slight increase of mids. I am using this pedal with a Fender Deluxe Reverb, Twin Reverb and for clean boost with an Orange AD12. Didn't have any noise problems.

Looks very reliable. I would use it without a backup.

I don't know

I am playing Blues and Rock for 25 years now and I've owned so many OD pedals (Boss OD-1/SD-1, Banzai Fireball, Ibanez TS808/9/5, Vox Valvetone, Korg OVD-1, MEK TD-1/2). The sound of every OD is always a matter of taste. For me and my style of music the Barber DD is the best sounding and most usable OD I ever had. Much more Voulme than the standard Boss/Ibanez units.
The most thing I like about this pedal is that you can always hear the original sound of your guitar even with drive at max.
Maybe it would be nice to have a second swith instead of the push/pull pot but I am only using the Guitar-Volume so I don't care.
Gear: Strat/DD/TubeAmp (sometimes a little bit Delay after the DD)
...... bought my second DD yesterday ;)

I just had a suggestion for one of the previous reviewers who said this pedal was extremely noisy. Did you try it on another amp? I've been buying and selling pedals for a while now. I've seen tons of hate reviews on pedals for the amount of white noise they make. I've purchased pedals that were rated notorious for noise and worked fine on my tube amp without noise. I've had amps that the pedal sounded awesome on, but on another it would hiss and buzz. Another thing I realized was that another pedal from your current set up can cause the noise too. I've had some pedals leave a very low quiet fuzzy artifact after it which caused my other pedals to buzz and produce white noise and vice versa. So I was stuck with swapping pedals here and there for a while before I finished my dream pedal chain. You might have a kick ass setup that works fine without noise and such, but a new pedal can always be subject to problems fitting into your current setup. Some pedals are grounded and have noise filters, others dont. I have a tube amp where the distortion channel will pick up radio stations reguardless of my current power conditioner.

I noticed my new barber tonepress filters out that frequency. And since I leave it on all the time I don't have that noise issue. Again each pedal is built different and depends on the entire chain of effects.

Easy to use. Three knobs, Volume, Tone and Gain

I've used every overdrive pedal available. This overdrive is one of the best sounding overdrive pedals I've experienced. Very tube amp like. In my pedalboard I am also using a Vox Valvetone and a Maxon OD820. The Barber Direct Drive is very compatable with both of them. It hard to find and use multiple gain pedals that are compatable with one another. The Direct Drive has more tube character than any of the Tubescreamer products. That includes all the TS9 and 808 clones.

Judging by their reputation and looking at the build of the piece, I don't expect any problems.

Never dealt with the company

This pedal is a great match for the guitarist that simply wants a great tube amp overdrive. Great for most styles of playing!. Vintage rock, Blues, Country, Modern Rock. A great addition to my pedalboard!
This is truely a great sounding pedal! Thanks Barber Electronics!

Very Easy to use. Vol,Tone,Drive, with a push/pull on the tone knob.

I use a '93 Hamer Special FM with Duncan '59/JB Pups > Barber DD > Dunlop Rotovibe > A/DA Flanger > EH QTron > DOD FX96 EchoFx Delay >
EH Holy Grail Reverb > '65 Vibro Champ.(My setup as of now) Have lots of other cool effects, Too many to name. Not a noisy pedal very nice sound all around, doesn't color my tone and gives me a wide array of
OD settings. My favorite setting is vol 11 o'clock, tone 12 o'clock(with the push/pull in up pos.) drive at 2 o'clock. I get the best sounding OD I have heard yet. Very natural sound amp OD. When I crank my Vibro Champ It kicks the amp into harmonic heaven. The key is to have the Tone knob pulled up, this gives you awesome harmonics not found on ANY other OD. I like it better than the Tubescreamers(which I do like, but compress my tone way too much) The DD does not do this, it just gives you a fat sounding OD. There is also a trim pot inside that I found out from Dave Barber is new to the unit and adjust the bass resonse, which I really love. You can get so many sounds from early Marshall to cranked Fenders to a uncompressed Tubescreamer, to subtle blues.

Very dependable, Barber makes only quality pedals and I could see this lasting me forever. Very neat wiring. Quality parts etc......

Dave Barber e-mailed back very quickly. I asked him about the trim pot inside and he told me I was the first person to ask about it on the newer units. Very Nice Dave. Great customer support. The only 10 I will give for this review, cause 10's are hard to give because nothing is perfect, except Barbers support!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I play whatever comes to mind. I do not pigeonhole myself into one form of music. I am not a pro or touring musician, I just love the guitar and especially effects/amps and gadgets. I have been playing for 15 years and am always looking for cool effects that are made well, sound great, don't break easily and have great designers/builders who care about the people who buy their products. If it were stolen I would I would track down the bastard and beat him a slow death with a barbwire bat and shock him with a cattleprod.
All in all a great OD for a fantastic value built by a top notch builder/human being who cares about his customers. Great work. Dave!!!!!

On the surface, the DD is very simple to use. Plug it in and go. However, it will take some fine tweaking to get it to really sound good with your rig. The manual is a nice overview of the pedal, but it is notable that all the sample settings, except for one, show the Drive knob set very low. This is because if you crank past 1:00 you're into the land of noise...the only problem with this pedal.

PRS Standard 22 into a couple of pedals (Barber Comp, FT 69, MXR Noise Gate, EH Small Stone, Line6 EchoPark) into a Dr.Z MAZ38 1X12. The DD is VERY noisy! When the drive is cranked, the unit is virtually unusable. Which is really frustrating because otherwise the overall sound is SO good and full of harmonics. If you roll back the drive to like 10:00 or 8:00 and mess with the tone, you get a beautiful thick mellow over drive with no noise. It's a major tease though, because if you of course want to crank the drive, and it sounds frigg'n amazing...until you stop playing and are hit in the face with a wall of noise and feedback. All OD's and DS's are noisy, but you know when a good gate set to full-on can't squash the buzz and crackle, it's bad. So if you're looking for a sweet-spot mellow OD pedal, you've found one of the best. But, if you like a more heavy driven sound, forget it.

I've had mine for 6 months and it seems to be able to put up with general rock-abuse. However, I'm benching this pedal as of this writing, so I can't speak for the long term. Never felt like I needed a back up...seems very well made.

Never had to deal with them. However, I hear they're nice.

I've played heavy rock and blues for over 20 years. For my mellow tones, the DD was great but almost an afterthought because you can just set your amp to get that same tone and it naturally sounds better. So, I would say this pedal was not a "good match." Don't know who's running around stealing and losing all these pedals, but if it were lost or stolen, I wouldn't care or replace it. I've tried so many OD pedals over the years and this was by far one of the best. Which is why it really SUCKS that it is so noisy. Major design flaw! In the end, nothing beats the true sound of OD'd tubes.

I had no problem getting a great sound out of this pedal. My problem is, I find a setting I love and then don't take the time to see what else it is capable of doing. It is easy to use, but there's got to be an easier way to make the push/pull tone switch more usable. I prefer it pulled up but it can be pushed back down fairly easy on a pedal board.

My guitars are a G&L Skyhawk (strat)w'Fralin Blues and a Godin SP90 also eqipped w/Fralins. My amp is a Peavey Classic 50 head with two 12" Vintage Celestions. My pedal board has (in order of appearance)a Fulltone Clyde, Fulltone FDII, Fulltone Dist Pro, Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive (with Keeley mod), VL Analog Chorus, VL Micro Vibe, Keely Compressor, Boss - Tremolo, Harmonizer, DD6 Delay, then Fulltone Fat Boost. The Direct Drive is compatable with all of the effects pedals, but as with the 'High End" overdrive pedals that can be stacked or used together, the DD stands on it's own very well. And for ninety bucks! There's minimal noise. I've read that the tone is similar to the "Dumble" type of singing harmonic sustain. I can sure get closer to that sound than with any of my other pedals. The other pedals are still great but they can't get this tone. My favorite players would be Robben Ford, Steve Morse, Doyle Bramhall II, Ty Tabor, Mike Landau, Scott Henderson, etc. There's a lot, but also very diverse styles.

This appears to be built on the same level as the Fulltone pedals or the Voodoo Labs (and hopefully with better switches than the VL stuff). I've had it about 2 months so it's too early to comment.

I haven't had to contact them and I don't see any upgrades that would enhance this pedal.

I play in different settings - rock, country, blues, worship at church. This pedal has a place in any of those styles or venues(depending on your church). I've been playing since high school (graduated '71), but have been seriously tone searching since about '91. I would buy this pedal again. As a matter of fact, I recommend buying 2 of them anyway for the price, because you will want to have one to let your friends take home to try while you still have one to play. I chose this pedal by reviews here on HC and also other webs sites. By checking the dates of the previous postings and reading the great reviews I am surprised that the price has not increased. Well done Mr. Barber.

The controls are just like any other overdrive pedal. Gain, tone, and volume. Super easy to dial in a good setting, and the pull pot feature on the tone control is a nice touch to add a little tonal variation.

I run a 2003 Highway-1 Telecaster with a Little 59 humbucker in the bridge (which will be replaced as soon as I get the money) through a Boss DM-2, Ibanez CS-9, and Direct Drive into an EKO amp from the 60's. This is the only overdrive pedal that I've gotten to sound good with my guitar, especially that single-coil neck pickup. I used to have a TS-5 when I started playing electric that I started to hate after a while, then I tried an Ibanez Tube King that a friend loaned me. The Direct Drive sounds amazing with my setup. I can dial in a wider range of settings than I need, and it sounds good no matter what settings you have it at. This pedal is an excellent replacement for a gain channel, since my amp is basically a single-channel amp. I think I'd be a little happier if I had the ability to dial in extreme enough settings to make it unusable. I'd just prefer to have the option.

I haven't had this thing for long enough for things to start going wrong, but I've opened it up, and it's built near-flawlessly. The soldering looks great, and the enclosure is rock-solid. I'm sure the 3PDT switch will go out eventually, but they do on everything so it's not really a concern, and that can be replaced easily enough. I'm basing my rating off of the circuitry and enclosure, which looks invincible.

I haven't dealt with them, but they're a boutique manufacturer, so I assume I could get ahold of them if I needed to.

I play some pretty arty music, and this pedal is an essential part of my sound. I like to use different chord voicings when I can (I play mostly rhythm and leave the leads up to my bassist) and this pedal has excellent chord definition; very amp-like. I'm a pretty big tone snob, so I wouldn't be using this pedal if it sucked. Really, the only complaint that I have about it is that the pull pot doesn't have such a nice, weighted rotation as the other two. Other than that it's a solid piece of equipment. I just wish the settings to so rediculous as to be insane. I just like to have more control than I need. This is a minor issue though, since it gets to about the limits of what I like to use, but stops before being over the top. If it were stolen or lost I'd be on the phone the next day ordering a new one.

Admittedly I didn't do that much shopping around when I went to go buy a pedal, but I read about the Direct Drive in a magazine and their review was pretty convincing. I don't regret my decision at all.

I'd like to add that it has the same IC chip as an Ibanez TS-808, so you're getting that classic Tube Screamer sound, except it's a hand-made pedal with true bypass and the pull pot that lets through more harmonics. Oh, and it's cheaper than a Tube Screamer. The price they ask is a steal. Order one soon before more people realize how much they rule and the price goes up.

Very easy to use & the pull tone control provides a surprisingly wide range of tones. When pulled, the pedal sounds the same to my ears as the DD SS with trimpots set stock.

More open & natural sounding than a TS9 but not so much of a departure that TS9 fans won't like it. The tone control has a great range & never sounds bad. The pull tone is especially nice, it deserves a dedicated switch for kicking in on solos.

N/A

Dave's a nice guy but I didn't keep the pedal long enough to actually need real support.

Sounds great through an open sounding amp like a Super Reverb or a Marshall. Midrange-heavy amps like my H&K Puretone & Fender Pro Jr. are not a great match for it, IMO, but then that'd probably be perfect for anyone going for a ZZ Top kind of sound.

When I first tried the pedal, it was next to both the DD SS & the LTD. I actually thought the LTD was the most open & natural sounding of the three but took the DD home because it has a much wider range of tones available & can get fairly close to copping the LTD sound (it does a dead-on DD SS, obviously, but without having to mess with the trimpots). Unfortunately, I came to regret this decision over the short period of time that I hung on to this pedal & ended up swapping it for something else. The LTD will probably be my next purchase.

As I hinted at earlier, this pedal is perfect for anyone that likes the TS9 sound but wants to take it to the next level (with more versatility, I might add). I might add that I probably would have kept it if I still had a Super Reverb.

Super easy to use, 3 knobs. On/Off, light indicator. All you need.

Well, all I can say is I am now getting rid of my vintage Tubescreamer (early 80's) and Vox Valvetone. This pedal captures the essence of "that" tone, but adds a certain element that has clarity yet grinds and is warm. That's the best way I can describe it. It is my new overdrive favorite, and I'm a die hard tubescreamer fan, so this is a big deal to me.

Hopefully it will last a long time. Very well built, solid pedal.

Don't know.

Killer deal from a pawn shop, this is a keeper. Can't wait to check out other Barber products now that I have discovered this gem.

VERY EASY TO USE.YOU ALSO CAN FIND SETTINGS ON THEIR WEB SITE.I GOT IT AS A GIFT FROM A FRIEND IN AUSTIN. ED STOCKTON.ONLY THING YOU MUST WATCH THE TONE KNOB IS PUSH PULL TYPE UP GIVES YOU A FATTER OVER DRIVE .BUT IF YOU DONT WATCH YOU COULD PUSH IT DOWN WHILE TURNING PEDAL ON AND OFF..

IAM USING A ES-335 GIBSON A CARVIN STRAT.AND A DELTA BLUES 210 TUBE AMP,WONDERFUL LITTLE AMP.I USE A DIRECT DRIVE,AND OLD IBANEZ CS -505 CHORUS PEDAL AND A BOSS DELAY. THE EFFECTS WORK WELL TOGETHER MY FAVORITE ARTIST HAVE THEIR SOUND AND I HAVE MIND. I LIKE PHIL KEGGEY,JOHN AND EDGAR WINTERS.JIM REEVES, FARRON YOUNG,ED STOCKTON.THE SOUND QUALITY IS VERY GOOD SORT OF OLD MARSHALL MEETS TWEED NOT A METAL PEDAL.ITS ALSO WORKS WELL IN PUTTING YOUR AMPS DISTORTION CHANNEL OVER THE TOP.ITS THE BEST PEDAL IVE HEARD UNDER 100 BUCKS.IT LETS YOUR GUITAR SING AND ITS NOT COMPRESS I HATE A COMPRESS SOUND.GO TRY ONE AND SEE FOR YOURSELF,JESUS RULZ BUT THE PEDALS COOL

YEA ITS BUILT VERY WELL.METAL CASING YOU COULD THROW AT THE DOG,THEN PICK IT UP AND PLAY IT.I USE VERY LITTLE BACKUP ANYTHING.YES I WOULD AND HAVE USE IT WITHOUT BACKUP. IT WILL STAND TOE TO TOE WITH BOSS EASY.

HAVE NOT HAD IT LONG ENOUGHT.AND SO FAR IVE ONLY SEEN THIER WEB SITE BUT NEVER HAD TO DEAL WITH THEM YOU CAN HEAR IT OVER THE NET.BUT THERE IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT BETWEEN THE COMPUTER SPEAKERS,THEN THE FANES IN MY MY DELTA BLUES ARE MY CELLESTION 30S IN MY MARSHALL. ILL GIVE THEM A 8 ANYWAY.

IVE BEEN PLAYING 25 TO 30 YRS.15 YRS CONTEMPARY WORSHIP.IVE PLAYED CHRISTAIN METAL,ROCK,MY FAVORITE IS SOUTHERN ROCK,BLUES TEXAS STYLE,AND OLD COUNTRY LIKE FARRON YOUNG BUT MY FIRST LOVE IS GOD AND WORSHIP.THIS PEDAL DOES EVERY THING I DO AND DOES IT WELL.IFI LOST IT YEA I THINK I MIGHT REPLACE IT UNLESS I FOUND SOMETHING COOLER.FOR THE MONEY I THINK ED PAYED 99 BUCKS FOR IT,ITS VERY COOL;WELL I HOPE YOU AND JESUS GET THINGS WORK OUT CAUSE JESUS RULZ...

3 knobs, with the middle (tone) knob on a push/pull pot. I gave my pet spider monkey a slice of banana every time he dialed in a cool tone. He's now lying flat-back on the floor in a potassium stupor...

Okay, so I have a few overdrive/distortion pedals - Boss SD-1, DS-1, Keeley-modded BD-2, Keeley-modded TS9 Baked Tube Screamer, Digitech something-or-other hunk of metal junk, and the Barber Direct Drive. Truth be told, I favor the Keeley Baked TS9...for no other reason than the increased gain. But when I set both pedals on the floor through an A/B, I did not really notice a great difference between the two (tonally) when set at comparable gain levels. The tone knob needs to be in the pulled up position to get that extra chunk from the DD, but the two pedals sounds remarkably alike. The TS9 has the edge due to gain alone from where I sit.
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So here's the kicker...the Barber is $70 cheaper. Of course, Mr. Keeley must first buy the stock TS9 and then mod it to his specs, so I'm not faulting him at all for the price difference. But the point is, if you want a really good overdrive/distortion pedal at a very reasonable price point, the Barber DD is a fine choice in my opinion. Even though the Keeley stays on my working pedalboard, the Barber is very comfortable at home on my practice amp and makes me very happy. I don't regret this purchase at all.
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In fact, if the Keeley were stolen, I'd cry for a few minutes and then promptly put the DD on my board and step back from the precipice of despair.

Can't complain so far. I've owned the pedal for around a month and a half, though...so not too sure how the switch will hold up over the long haul. Switches are always the weak points on the pedals I've owned. But outside of that, this thing is sewn together into a nice solid metal enclosure and the components inside appear to be of good quality and are well assembled. I'd rather not numerically rate the device, though, without having slapped it around and watched it spit in my face in defiance. So suffice it to say that it *looks* like it can hold its own in a scrap.

Have not needed to contact Barber yet.

I've been playing on again/off again for about 16 years...in all styles from speed metal (when I was 18-22 years old) to more recently a strange mix of jazz, blues, and rock.
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Bottom line...I really dig this pedal overall. If it were stolen, I'd surely buy another. It has a very good quality sound in a not-so-expensive package. Barber seems to be taking the high road with their products in that they are delivering the goods without playing the price gouging game (like Klon and Landgraff have done...$300 for a decent booster and $400 for an overdrive, respectively...yeah, sure! How much R&D did you put into those boxes, anyway?). Kudos to any company that can manage such a feat as being fair to the customer.
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Based on my experience with this pedal, I'm already contemplating a purchase of the Barber LTD and Tone Press. If those pedals are anything like the DD in terms of overall bang for the buck...count me in!

3 knobs , middle pulls out for a boost . A little tricky to tweak a good sound from it. The pull knob is a bit difficult to grasp.

telecaster,hot rod amp . Cant turn the gain up too much before encountering quite alot of noise (hum). I wasnt thrilled with the sound of this pedal. not too much sustain , not too smooth . made my treble pickup sound very nasal like a wah pedal in the mid spot.

seemed well built

Barber seem easy to contact. I got it from Pedal Geek and they seem like a reasonable outfit.

Ive tried alot of these pedals and they all dissapoint me. Often in their decriptions , all the buzz words are thrown about ie: transparent , touch sensitive , shimmering , clean , tubelike , fat etc. the list goes on. Kind of gets ones hopes up beyond whats possible. Actually one of the better pedals Im using is a $14 arion tubulator.

Plug in yer axe, then plug the pedal into yer amp, doofus. Turn the knobs 'till it sounds good. Duh. Basic device. Three knobs, one of 'em (tone) pulls out fer FAT.

I never give 10's. I am basing this review on just this box straight into my Mesa Dc-5 12" combo w/ 12" ext cab (both w/ celestions). My main axe is an 'ol '79 ibanez (blazer) strat with a dunkmore semen JB JR. in bridge, stock mid and neck. It's so damn squishy sounding. Thick 'n squishy. Very harmonically appealing, musical, and quite satisfying. I like it better than anything else I've tried. Not a goofy SRV wannabee, thank God. No super-modded,"vintage" ts-whatever nonsense crap here. It LOVES my fatdawg LesPaul. I crank the drive, pull-out the Fat switch (on the tone pot) turn up the 'Boogie, and it just doesn't get any better. My tele sounds neato thru it, too. I definately can recommend it to humbucker people. I refuse to make comparisons to other drive units, it is it's own thing. SUPER BANG FER THE BUCK, BUCKO! Aww, what the heck, I give it a ten.

I've had it a coupla months. I'd use it without a backup, as the quality is superior. I use it with a power supply.

This guy is a cool dude (dave barber). I called to ask a bunch of dumb queations and realized afterword that it was the owner I was talkin to. He was patient and intelligent. One can only imagine what the poor guy has to deal with from all the guitar geeks in the world. He's not pissed off at us, yet! I am not giving a ten, cause I've never had to have anything repaired, so don't know the whole skinny.

Love it!!!!

This is just a correction of a mistake in my previous review.

In my previous review below I wrote:
''... the electronic components are probably of somewhat lesser quality than the FT FD II and you can hear that at the highest gain ..'' Actually that is plain WRONG and I apologize to David Barber and to all the HC readers. namely I did some of my testing with the open box (in order to tweak those small knobs
in the SS model - I actually do not need those settings :-)
so the noise at highest gain was higher. The moment I closed everything and even used the box at the highest settings with THD all tube amp the noise was negligible: bravo David !

Also for the completeness, I have now tested DD against all various boxes I have for the second time and I can confirm that Fulltone Fulldrive is the closest but with lower gain overall (and less passionate sound) and H & K Tubefactor can sound almost as good or to some ears even better but is much bigger and again more expensive box.

Unless you play Rectifier metal type of leads do not bother with the SS model as DD covers all styles up to heavy rock and classic metal. No other small $99 box cn cover such a tonal range with so much character and juice: a true winner !

By mistake I bought the more expensive SS model that is useful if you need more Mesa-Boogie type of distortion and more harmonics or presence. So now I use my DD SS in the low bass, low presence, no harmonics mode and that is effectively $30 cheaper DD model, so I have added my review here FYI but with no rating although I can confirm that this pedal deserves 10 (and I play regularly since 1960 :-)

BTW, highly rated pedals like Tonebone Classic or British can compete with DD but are less suitable for the stage use. For LIVE gigs I do strongly recommend just this $99 Direct Drive !

Introduction: Features

It has Tone, Drive and Volume and once you decide your tone and the starting volume by varying the drive know you can cover anything from slight boost of your clean tone (tube amp or digital amp - works too!) to tubescreamery SRV to tubey singing, all the way to marshally tube burning ...

Well, you have to also choose and tweak additional 3 small settings inside the box (presence, bass, harmonics content), and I chose the TS808 recommended settings and use it like that - namely, I do NOT play metal - only jazz, blues and light rock, latino etc ...

THE Sound:

I tested DDSS with the very best gear there is including my fender Strat Plus, Gibson Les Paul or even Line 6 Variax guitar through the all tube (Rivera 6550a output tube) THD Univalve (arguably the best tube, reference amp in the world) through the 112 Fane vintage deep cabinet and also through Roland VGA-3 COSM modeling (digital) 112 combo ... DDSS passed all my tests with flying marks and I do know THE tone for sure ... BTW, I used my VHT Valvulator 1 power supply (with a tube) and special no loss monster cables in all tests; also Danelectro vintage 9V batteries ... so my test is as reliable as it gets.

Well, THE sound is certainly there. I have all the other pedals too, so I can compare it and did compare it with: the Maxon TS808 - that's tTHE recommended original circuit great sounding tubescreamer and DDSS sounds tubeyscreamy but also slightly more marshalish, more rock; the same is true for the Fulltone Fulldrive II that is definitely overall finer and more subtle pedal than the DDSS (also somewhat less noisy) but FD II has less gain ... I could go on... BUT the bottom line is that DDSS is almost as versatile as Tech 21 SansAmp Classic (the original) in covering anything from the fine tubescreamer bluesy sounds to singing Santana leads or screaming burning Marshall stack in Hendrix Woodstock style ... all that for $130 in a very, very small box - unbeatable value!

I decided to use it as a tubescremer for blues and for singing Santana to Hendrix 'gymnastics' leads with Strat and LP and it does all of that beautifully. In the blues area I can maybe use $250 BJF electronics Blue Baby and get even more screaming ragey bluesy ('angry') sound, and from $200 FT FD II I do get perhaps more subtle variations of the lower gain guitar tones, while $135 Maxon OD808 is somehow more fluid in low gain tubescreamer range, while $200 H & K Tubefactor (all tube) has more screachy metallico singing tube sound - but you see the DDSS can cover ALL that in a small package for only $130 ! and I even suspect that I could have simply bought just the Direct Drive, without inside controls of bass and harmonics or presence, as I am not going to fiddle much with those ...

In summary, the electronic components are probably of somewhat lesser quality than the FT FD II and you can hear that at the highest gain (which is normal - any burning Marshall produces a lot of noise too!), yet this pedal has THE sound ranging essentially from the SRV tubescreamer to Hendrix burning Marshall - and that means firm 10 in any serious guitarist book.

I play since 1960 and I play any style except the noise-metal or techno-screach ...so my tone is mainly from sweet clean jazz like Kenny Burell, to bluesy Buddy Guy or SRV all the way to singing Santana and occasional Hendrixy 'gymnastics' screaming or Vernon Reid or Van Hallenisms ... Usually for that range I would need my THD Univalve and two OD pedals like Maxon OD808 for tubescreaming and then VS Route 66 in a series or Big Muff or the SansAmp Classic or H&K Tubefactor or FT FD II to get to singing Santana or ultimately to burning Marshall tones ...

Now this pedal can and does cover all that ! It is not better in any sub-areas from any of the above: You can have maybe a slightly subtler, dedicated tubescreamer sound from specially moded OD808, but in all fairness the DDSS comes as close to that that the difference is purely academic - indeed it is a TS808 killer (and I use it exactly in that setting like the basic DD model ! which tells you a lot). The FT FD II is more subtle in low to medium gain range and has also the compression singing mode, but in truth the DDSS is more wild more passionate somehow more true guitar-amp sounding ... in a direct comparison, the FD II is almost like a slightly 'edited', polished pedal ... and moreover DDSS can and does offer the gain all the way to the burning Marshall and that you do hear with different guitars: in other words the DDSS covers also the rock sounds too and in a very convincing way! My THD Univalve (with all knobs set at 11am) sounded just as a burning Marshall double stack (at Woodstock) and that was with Fender Strat Plus Silver Lace (not extremely gainy) single coils - so this DDSS pedal has some serious drive (gain) in it, yet does not color your basic guitar sounds or character ... impressive!

In summary, all exquisite tone and tube tone maniacs like myself can and should buy DDSS (or DD?) as these boxeseasily cover a lot of tonal ground LIVE on stage ... Basically, with a good wah pedal and DDSS you can play all evening through a good tube amp and you won't need anything else to cover a huge tonal range (clean to blues to light to heavy rock). (It does probably metal light gain range too!). I suspect it may become my main pedal (on stage) from now on with maybe BJF Baby Blue to be used in one raging blues solo only ... For specific dedicated recording tones I may continue to use other pedals and boxes (I do have the Roland VG-88v2 too ... or even Award Session(Morley) JD-20 or Behringer V-Amp2 ...) but I have a hard time to think of another very small pedal that covers it all: from fabulous bluesy SRV tubescreaming all the way to the burning rock screaming Marshall (you just vary the drive and volume) ... OK I can probably do that with my $270 Tech21 SansAmp Classic pedal but you have to fiddle small buttons and even then you won't get quite all the CHARACTER and VOICE that this DDSS has - hence I conclude: if you have $130 and love your own guitar sound: just go and buy one !

I passed on this pedal after reading some of the early reviews on this site, and bought a few other OD pedals. After hearing Jason Barkers audio review of this pedal I was blown away. I also read a few of the newer reviews and bought this pedal.

I can say for certin that there are some stupid people reviewing this pedal on this site.If you can't get a good overdrive & tone from this pedal you should take up the accordion, or better yet, buy a fish bowl & watch the fish swim round & round, leave music playing to people that know real tones..
I ran it into a Koch combo & an extention cab, with greenbacks. i set it up with just a touch of crunch on the amp. I ran the pedal with the tone pulled up & at 3 oclock, the volume & drive both at 12 oclock. I used a ESP strat with duncan humbuckers, a musicman Axis with z-90 harmonic design pickups, and a hamer artist, with duncan 59ers. this pedal sounded awesome on all 3 guitars, I then pulled out a stock american strat, and it sounded killer. It was very Dumbleish in feel & response & i know dumbles, I have owned 3 of em...I think it had more of a modern feel as far as the super fast sweep runs, where the dumble could not keep up like this tone. I also was told that this pedal likes 6L6 tubes & not EL34's. well I play on a amp with EL34's and it sounded awesome, I also played it on a super reverb with the same success...AWESOME PEDAL..so save some money on the hunt looking for the best OD pedal, cause this is it, IMO...

built very well, should last a good long time...

Very good talking to them, and they seem to understand all the different amps out there..was very helpfull talking about other pedals from other makers, and what theirs bring to the table...

I play Jazzy southern rock with lots of guitar. I played a ton of the newer pedals out there, and this pedal sounds alot better then most of em. and for $99, what a steal....believe me this pedal has TONE FOR DAYS....I am buying a few more to give to my guitar player friends..awesome just awesome...

Very easy to use--gets a great classic, natural overdrive sound.

Setup is Fender American Standard Tele and a 60's Vox Berkeley tube amp. As far as pedals, I use a Boss TU2 tuner, Barber Direct Drive, and Korg Toneworks Echo. It's not very noisy. I use this pedal for leads only. The Vox is a class A 15 watt tube amp, so it breaks up great at about 2 o'clock. The Direct Drive gives me extra sustain, volume, and gain for leads--I set the level at 3 o'clock, the tone all the way off (my amp is super bright by itself) and the drive at 8 o'clock. The tone knob is pushed in. For a low wattage amp that sounds good by itself, this setting works great for classic lead tones. Sound quality is pristine, especially for a $100 pedal.

So far so good, I've had it for about 6 months, about 4 times a week between rehearsal and gigs.

Haven't had to deal with the company yet.

I would definately by this pedal again if lost or stolen. I have not found an overdrive pedal that works well with my amp, they've all been too brittle sounding, or too over-the-top sounding. I've tried Fulltone FullDrive (a great pedal, but my amp doesn't like it), Nobles Natural Overdrive, King of Britains, Badcat, Boss, Realtube, and several others. Also tried several clean boost pedals, such as the MXR MicroAmp. All of these pedals seem to work great for some people, but the Direct Drive works best for me and my setup. No matter what people rave about, or how good a pedal is supposed to be, the only way to know for sure is to try it with your guitar and your amp. Preferably while playing with the rest of the band--believe me, there is a huge difference between that and just testing it at the store--you'll never truly know until you use it with your band. I've been playing for about 20 years, mainly small to midsized venues, nothing huge. Certainly not as experienced as the reviewer before me.

3 knobs. If you can't figure them out, you should play the triangle.

Tom Anderson Hollow Classic, Hollow T or Cobra-Barber Tone Press-Barber DD-Barber DD SS-EB Volume Pedal-Budda Twinmaster 212 and Budda Superdrive 18 112. I use one DD for rhythm and the SS for my higher gain lead sound. Great lush Eric Johnson type lead tones that clean up very well. Nice Robben Ford type blues sound as well. Maybe I am a simpelton, but I think that too many of the reviews I read on these post are over-analyzed. If the tone's there, it's there. Play well. Don't suck. Have taste and touch and the pedals, whatever you use, will still sound good. I have always hated the way that ODs made my amps sound tinny or small. This pedal seems to open up very well and give me the sustain and dynamics I need. I have gigged 3-5 times per week and have played many outdoor shows and festivals for up to 20,000 people over the last 15 years. I consistantly have soundmen and guitar-playing audience members tell me that my tone is rich, full and cuts through amazingly well. Players constantly ask me what pedals I am using. Their opinions mean more to me than arbitrary reviews by bedroom hobbyists. Not trying to sound like a jerk at all. Just the way I feel. If you are happy with the sound of your guitar and amp and just need some great, full, sustainy dynamic gain, i think this is a great unit to try. Heads and shoulders above anything else I have ever used for my particular rig and style.

seems solid...no problems

very helpful and answered questions in a timely fashion...no major problems to test them so a 9 it is...

I have been playing Country-Rock-Jazz-Blues-Classical and Solo Acoustic Fingerstye for over 22 years. I own a recording studio and have worked as a session player on numerous album projects, soundtracks and jingles. I would replace the units I own if stolen without a second thought. I have enough to worry about just playing the best I can and always sounding good. These pedals allow me to do just that. I just want to step on it and know that my tone and playing comes through without me having to fight too hard for it. They allow me NOT to think/worry about the sound. Rock On.

Volume,Tone (Pull for FAT), and Drive. 9v AC adapter plug in, True Bypass Switch. Very little effort.

I play a Charvel Predator with Seymor Duncan aph-1 Alnico II pro in bridge position and Seymor Duncan Duckbucker neck position. Effects= Barber DD into Fender HotRod De Ville 4x10. DD replaced Ibenez TS-9/808 silver mod by Analogman and a Boss DS-1 pro mod also by Analogman. I use other effects at times, but find the best setup is usually the simplest. I have also tried the DD through my Fender Blues Jr. I really like this pedal with the HRDV. I can get a very nice classic rock sound through the clean channel. I have never been impressed with the HRDV drive channels but have always loved its clean sound. The DD definitely helps this amp to be much more versitale. I wouldnt say that the DD makes my Fender sound like a Marshall or whatever, but it does help a very good clean amp sound good with OD. The pedal is much more transparent and not nearly as compressed sounding as the TS-9. As with any OD or dist pedal it does add noise when turned on but its not too bad. Over all this is a great sounding pedal with the HRDV. I however was not impressed with its sound through the Blues Jr. But I have never been very happy with this amp. No pedal has ever worked well it.

Seems to be built very well. I was not too impressed with the battery setup though. There is nothing that holds it stationary inside the box, only the connector. I also find that the sound is better (more Transparent) when the 9V AC plug is used. Relatively new I have no reference to judge reliablity.

Bought through musictoys.com no experience with Barber electronics

I have been playing for 27 yrs and have owned/traded/sold a ton of equipment. With pedals I have found that what sounds good one day can sound like crap the next. Your sound/Tone is a combination of you, your guitar, pickups, effects, amp, ect... Not One single component alone is going to make your sound unique or great. I look for pedals that inhance the sound of a great amp and guitar, not mask it or make it sound like something else. I think the Barber Direct Drive is one of the better OD pedals that I have used. Well worth 99 dollars.

Very straight forward: tone, volume, and drive, with a push/pull control on the tone knob to add additional harmonics to the OD. All controls are useful and responsive throughout their adjustment ranges. The only complaint I have is that with the tone knob pulled up for additional harmonics, it is fairly easy to inadvertently hit it with your toe on the pedal board. Not a big deal, but a switch in place of the push/pull knob would eliminate this.

My setup is an '89 Strat Plus Deluxe with SD Hotrails & 2 SD Cool Rails >> Dunlop 535Q Wah >> Direct Drive >> Tech 21 Double Drive >> Proco Rat II >> Marshal DSL 401 >> TCElectronic G-Major (in the loop) >> Avatar G212H cabinet. This is obviously a highly subjective area, but I absolutely love the tone from this little box. In addition to the pedals listed above, I have also had a Maxon OD-9. The Direct Drive stomps the OD-9 and immediately replaced it. It offers a fuller range of overdrive, while restoring bass response and providing a much more natural, tube-like overdrive. The Tech 21 Double Drive offers more overdrive than the Direct Drive; however, the Direct Drive will cover 90 percent of what the Double Drive does in this area and is much better than the Tech 21 at delivering lighter overdriven tones. The Tech 21 seems to go fairly flat at lower drive levels, while the Direct Drive is toneful and responsive. The Rat is a distortion pedal, and accordingly it offers much more gain and a completely different range of tones than the Direct Drive -- different boxes, and good to have both. The Direct Drive box sounds more Marshall-esque than Fender, which I like. (As a matter of fact, I can easily dial in a tone that is virtually identical to the OD1 channel on my Marshall.) Anything above 9 o'clock on the drive is pretty hot. There is definitely enough gain on tap to cover virtually any classic rock tone. Pull the tone knob out, set the drive to 2 o'clock and you're easily into the ZZ Top "Tush" zone. The unit is reasonably quiet and well-made. I've also tried a HAO Rust Driver and the Fulltone Fulldrive II. To my ear, the Direct Drive is by far the best OD pedal I have played through.

Extremely well made. No issues to report here, and I don't expect any.

No experience with this one, although the reports on this site are good.

I've been playing for 15 years. I like classic rock and play in a casual band with friends. We gig about three or four times a year and otherwise play for fun. The Direct Drive is extremely useful in getting excellent classic rock tones. It's always cool to find and try out out new pedals, and I'm really glad I gave this one a try. Based on my experience with the Direct Drive, I'm definitely going to try the Burn Unit 2 and Tone Press from Barber. At $100 new, this unit is a no-brainer -- you really owe it to yourself to give it a try. Highly recommended.

Vol, tone (pull fat), overdrive, LED. Simple and effective. My unit has the LED in the rt upper corner below the OD control instead of over the switch as pictured.

I use it with a Carvin amp and guitar, Dod chorus, Crybaby,and a vol pedal. The Direct Drive does what Barber says it will do. It gives you a "Marshall" vibe OD with plenty of pick harmonics and sustain. The vol control allows you to get REALLY loud. The big thing is minimal compression. We all know a very compressed signal boxes in your sound. You may be getting a great sound 3 feet from your amp but the audience may not even hear you.

I've got 8 gigs under my belt with the DD and the unit seems very well made.

Friendly service, but only 48hr return privileges.

I'd say this is about the best $100 I ever spent to improve my sound. It makes playing more fun. The minimal compression combined with great sustain, pick attack, quality parts, and a $100 price tag makes the DD a winner. The tube OD in my amp is "richer" but more compressed. I can reach out very well with the DD. (Shipping charges were $11, but the actual charge by USPS was less that $6.)

The three typical knobs...but the pull-up-for-fat tone knob is not typical. Barber describes it as more "California"...Boogie, I presume. Would have been nice if the pull knob was a second switch, but that might be why he has the Tone Pump and Burn Unit.

Using a mid 80's Zion Turbo with HSH config, all Seymour Duncans, through a Rivera-modified '62 Princeton, which has a Celestion 12" in it. The unit is very good, but I prefer my Fulltone Fulldrive II, which I rate as a 9. The FDII is a little fatter, plus has the second switch for Boost, which gives me a three-channel setup: amp set clean, overdrive, and boost.

Looks extremely well-made, in and out. His reputationis excellent.

Again, his reputation is excellent.

I play a variety of styles, but consider myself a sort of r&b rock player. I enjoy Carlton and Ritenour, Eric Johnson has become a favorite. The unit is very, very good. I am always looking to top what I have, and based on the reviews below(particularly the ones that said they liked it better than a FDII) I thought I'd give it a try. I'll stay with the Fulltone. By the way, consider using musictoyz.com for your next purchase; good company to deal with...

As easy as it get`s, no need for a manual, but the one that comes with it is helpful...

Sound quality really depends on your amp setup...My guitars are Gibson Les Paul, Hamer USA Standard (explorer)
I find the DD works great with my Marshalls, a Musicman RD 50,and a `66 Traynor YBA1..but does not work with my `71 Traynor YBA1 or any Fender amps I`ve played..it is designed from what I gather to sound like Marshall/60`s Laney/Hiwatt, that`s why Fenders don`t jive as much,,it`s not that it sounds bad with Fender amps, it just works better with Marshall type amps...the biggest thing I find with the DD is it does not just `Sit on Top` of your amp sound, like most pedals...Rather it becomes `Part of` your amps sound` ...and when your recording with DD,you can hear that..it sounds as though you`ve had your non-master Marshall modded with a killer Master Volume, but in fact the amp can be totally stock...You have the ability to go from clean boost to `Rich Overdrive`,it`s a palm muting dream..it does not sound like any Tube Screamer I`ve heard..it our does them....And the sound quailty is supreme..

So far so good..
Always carry a backup...a gig or studio is no place without a backup..

Great, always eager to support a customer..If I e-mail Dave...I`ll get a response in a day or two..these guys live this stuff and it shows..

I play melodic Hard Rock, original and covers...been playing over 20 years...I had a Barber Tone Pump, that I said I would never sell, well this Direct Drive is the $%#@..haven`t used the TP in a while..if I need to boost solo`s I can use an old Boss SD1 or Ibanez TS9, I do have a Fulldrive that I rarely use, that boosts the signal too, though it is a cleaner boost...t However the Tone Pump and DD together can sound very dark..a bright warm boost pedal enhances the DD..
The point is most of my tone will from the DD first, the boost pedal (if needed) always comes in second...some times in chain the DD works better after the boost pedal,but is turned on `after` the DD is already on...I do notice that a fresh battery works wonders in t DD..it does not like a weak 9V supply...

Plug er in and blast off!

Excellent.....a very original sounding pedal. Lot's of tonal options in this little black box. I have not done the bass or open air mod to this. Just left it as it is. It works perfect for what I use it for, so why mess with it?

Well, I take care of my pedals. I have a few 20 to 25 year old pedals on my board and they look and work like they did when new. With proper care, I expect my 3 year old grandson to be using it in his retro ban in the year 2020.

Never dealt with Dave, but from what I've heard, he would bend over backwards to make his customers happy. On those points alone, he get's a 10

This pedal works well with both solid state and tube amps. As a matter of fact, it's one of the best overdrive pedals you can find if you play with a solid state amp. I use a Roland Blues Cube, Dean Markley RM-40, V-Amp ll and a Winnie Thomas Elizabeth. I use the Direct Drive in conjunction with a Vox Valve Tone, Boss Blues Driver, Fulltone Fulldrive ll and several delay, chorus, wah, volume pedals, etc. While it's in the same tonal ballpark as the Fulltone and Valve Tone, it has enough differences to warrant using them all. The DD excels at Robben Ford, Larry Carlton dumblesque type tones. It's fun to set the pedals for slightly different gain characters and swithc between them. I like and use all the above pedals, but id it came down to one overdrive, the DD and the Valve Tone would have to duke it out. The DD is the more versitile of the two, but hte VT has a certain sweetness the others lack. It would be a tough choice. I would probably have to go with the DD due to it's versatility. It just does so many things well. And the price! $100 new....Are you kidding me!!?? This thing kicks major ass on most of the big buck booteekees. Way to go Dave. I'd love to try the Tone Pump and the Burn Unit next.

Very easy to use and you can get a great tone that is personal to you. Works and sounds great in line with my Keeley compressor and CM Delayla. This unit respects your rig. Mine is the standard DD not the SS.

Strat>Keeley Comp>Sonic Boom>Barber DD>CM Delayla>Mesa Boogie Studio 22+ (clean channel). It is VERY quiet unless you crank the overdrive which gets you into plexi territory but that isn't really my schtick. Note: the clean boost is never on with the DD (and all my effects are true bypass, though there is apparently some debate re the Delayla...). And, did I mention TRANSPARENT. I will not buy an effect that colors my tone in any way, and the DD does not--what it does is enhance the harmonics, sustain and crunch/grind I get from the Boogie when the power tubes are pushed. VERY NICE, and it is never harsh. The high gain channel on my Boogie--which is really more of a high gain distortion trip--sounds cheesey in comparison to what the DD pushes through on the clean side. I am extremely pleased with this thing.

So far yes. Have had it about 9 months.

Dave Barber responded immediately to my e.mail questions with helpful and informative advice. He and others like him (Nick Greer and Robert Keeley come to mind) are why the boutique pedal business is booming. Probably only a matter of time, though, before companies like Roland and Korg buy these guys out.

I play classic and modern guitar styles--is that general enough? Started playing in 1967 when I heard Jimi. Back to the DD: If you find a better overdrive unit let me know, really, I mean it. I've tried many and none match this for smoothness. The sounds are truly sweet and musical, and the balance is very, very good with no undue emphasis on a particular frequency. The kicker for me is how it tightens up and focuses the low end. Buy it again? Hell yes. If stolen I would probably sink into a deep, dark depression.