Barber Electronics LTD SR "Special Recipe"

Volume, Tone (cuts highs increases lows & vice versa), Gain knobs.
Flat EQ @ 12 o clock on the Tone dial-where it will match your
Guitar to Amp tone.

Sounds great out of box BUT internal Trim Pots for both Bass & Presence (highs) must be adjusted before you can acheive a "matched" tone (ON vs OFF) that does not color your Amp tone. It's easy enough to adjust switches-how long it will take depends on your rig & its clean tone.

This just means leaving the backplate off for a while & tinkering with it as you play until you notice where you may want to tweak it-once set- youre good.

W/ TUBE AMP REVIEW; 5 watt Class A tube w/ 1x12 Cabinet


The Barber Ltd SR is unreal-zero Mids added,Flat EQ, Low-Medium gain Overdrive or a nice Clean Boost @ Low volumes...also will drive your amp at Higher volumes into High gain territory.
Zero coloration of your Guitar or Amp tone. The pedal is a "tad" on the bright side even with the presence trim all the way down...but its as close to perfect transparency I expect to hear. EVER. Also its a very quite pedal for an overdrive Pedal...the board is handmade & beautiful work...no cutting corners @ Barber.
The Flavor of the Overdrive I would call "smooth in character & gritty in texture". Its such a great Pedal it takes some time before you notice ALL the "little things" this pedal is doing. Its very subtle in many ways-adding harmonics, sustain & an overall "sparkle". Great for a Jazz or Blues player as it lends itself to articulate playing with just a little grit at lower volumes. While at higher volumes you get that gritty Blues overdrive sound. For straight Rock its also great if you have a great amp to begin with & your just using this like a "dirty channel". This is not likely to make a guitar/amp combo you dont already love sound GREAT. It will make your already great set up sound BETTER though.
Clarity - I must emphasize - the clarity...I can crank my 5 watt head all the way up & it gets muddy- so I have to back off a few notches. By contrast if I drive my tubes with the Barber & my volume @ about 3/4 on the Amp -it will get me all 5 Watts WITHOUT any muddiness & provide amazing clarity...no mud!
So if you already love your clean tone this is the Pedal you wanna buy...I bought it without hearing it...a risk for sure...& now I am so happy I didnt try Pedal after Pedal to find this one. If you are looking for Midrange the Barber "black" Ltd is a great choice also. The Silver model is the "in between" Ltd which has a bit of Mid to it...a flatter EQ than the Black. The Special Recipe is for the FLAT EQ seekers only...

Solid. No worries.


BUY DIRECT- YOU get A 48 HOUR TRIAL & Dave Barber gets the $ he earned!

Talk to Dave Barber or just read his forum replies on his own site...I have spoke with him twice & we have e-mailed a few times great care & advise was given. 5 year Warranty on Pedal...

I am NOT a huge pedal fan...I own 10 different effects but mostly play clean or drive my own Tube amp via the volume knob...I like the Dano Spring King Reverb with some Overdrive or maybe a little Carl Martin Tremelo added to it...I try not to use more than 2 effects at a time ever.
I play a wide variety of Danelectro guitars thru a CLass A tube amp into a 1x12 Custom Cab...so the "twanginess" of the Dano pickups & the "chime" of the 5 watt Class A single knob amp are something I dont want colored by pedals. Since I cant always crank it up to Overdrive saturation-the quest for a transparent pedal I knew was gonna get expensive. But I got LUCKY with this pedal.
Best Pedal out there for Tube Overdrive without coloration, compression, or added mids...