Barber Electronics LTD SR "Special Recipe"

Fairly easy to use. The stock model has volume, tone, and drive just like any other overdrive pedal. It also has two internal trim-pots: one for bass and one for presence. The tone control on the Barber LTDs add bass and subtract highs when you turn it down and add highs and subtract lows when you turn it up.

My Barber LTD SR has the Mod Board upgrade and includes internal controls for clipping changes, note shape, gain boost, mid range, and fizz filter. The fizz filter takes away that extra treble sizzle that you sometimes get when your amp's volume is on softer settings.

The mid range control is the reason I bought this version. Very nice! I'll give it an 8 here just because some folks may be wary of adjusting the internal controls.

I use a Gibson Les Paul Special with P100 Soapbar pickups into a wah, the Barber LTD SR, an old ProCo Rat 2 (one of the good ones), and a Fender Deluxe Reverb Reissue Amplifier. I have been playing for about 15 years and I used to sale and repair guitars for a living. I have played tons of different pedals. This is one of the best I have ever used.

I mostly play the blues and this pedal is awesome. Really transparent overdrive with a lot of flexibility. I like classic Gibson style blues. A few examples would be BB King, Freddie King, Alex Schultz, and Sean Costello.

This pedal nails those classic warm tones with ease. It can also do classic rock like the Stones, Cream, Skynyrd, etc. I think it would be very useful for country as well. The really cool thing about it is that it doesn't mask the natural tone of your guitar but rather lets its true character shine through.

This thing is built to last.

I haven't had to have anything done, but the guys at Barber take a personal approach and are reachable directly by phone or email. Even Mr. Barber himself!

The Mod board was important for me because these pedals do not have the mid bump of a typical Tube Screamer style overdrive, which I love and like a previous post pointed out, is nice with a Fender amp. The internal mid control allows me to adjust the mids in or out with great variety. I am able to make the pedal respond more like the older style pedals I am used too.

However this pedal cleans up way better than a Tube Screamer and is far less muddy. Simply put it sounds great! If you want to play hard edged rock, metal, or punk do not buy this, but if you like classic warm tube like tones for blues, rock, gospel, r&B, country etc - this is it. Plus its made in the USA by a company that will take time to help you get the most out of it.

Incredible value. Handmade precision, professional pedal at a working man's price!

I'm a Chicago blues player for 50 years. It is as solid as a Boss, but controls are much more calibrated and adjustable(no sudden changes). Instructions were spot on!

Pedal didn't do much for My Gibson ES-345 (Varitone) or Epiphone Sheraton semi hollows with '57 classic pups. It however is Nirvana with my ES-339 and Gibson SG, both also with '57s. It replaced a Boss SD-1 for use with Princeton Reverb and a Fargen Custom, both with reverb/trem. I also replaced a Boss CS-3 Compressor/Sustainer with Barber Tone Press, and with the LTD SR the combination is the best tone I've ever heard! It gave my SG a semi hollow sound, full, fat, thick, and warm. NATURAL! I play totally clean, all humbuckers, and this LTD SR fattens the sound in the most natural way I've ever heard. It also thickens notes in high register. I liked the SD-1 on low settings, but the LTD SR doesn't make the sound so "electronic" as the Boss does. Pedals are also noiseless, and are true bypass. No pops. No tone drain, which Boss pedals are famous for.

I first asked Dave Barber what he recommended, and then purchased the LTD at his recommendation. It was a little too strong for me so I exchanged for LTD SR. Dave answers emails within a few hours, and is very knowledgeable and helpful. Try that with Boss. And, pedals are similar in price. Barbers are hand made and sound much better. Barber pedals have inside controls also and Dave will explain "tweaks" to those.

Great tone, natural overdrive for clean vintage blues sound, or there is plenty of gain available if you want it for rock. I also really like the Barber Tone Press as well, alone or in combo with LTD SR, for compression/sustain. They make a great pair. LTD SR can also be used as a boost pedal, but I will keep my Boss Blues Drive for that. I leave LTD SR and Tone Press on all the time with my SG and ES-339, and add boost for leads. Painless. My style of clean blues shows up every note, chords and leads, no coverup available. These pedals make it even more articulate and toneful. This is a way to get between a BB King and a Buddy Guy tone at lower volumes.

This pedal was bought to replace or upgrade a Keeley Modded Blues Driver (BD-2). 3 controls Volume, Tone, & Drive. Simple, straight forward etc. Internal pots for Bass & Presence I think but have not needed to tweak these as of yet. Manual is simple and explains the basics but like so many pedals these are staring points ans all of us will prefer different settings anyway.

WOW! The LTD SR is the low gain OD pedal to purchase. My rig has 4 settings: Clean (all by-passed), Light OD (Barber LTD SR), Crunch (LTD SR + Maxon VOP9), Solo Lead (All of this + Keeley Baked TS-9). I will probably replace the TS-9 with either the Barber Tone Pump, Launch Pad, or a Keeley Katana Boost. I am looking for all true by-pass + very clear EQ and note clarit while cutting through the mix. As of today my rig does this well with the LTD SR. The LTD is not noisy at all, It sounds great at all settings too like a pedal should. Set it very low and you get minimal changes to your sound. As you raise the drive it increases very smoothly. I play in a 5,000 member church and will no doubt be excited to open this up in my light crunch channel soon. At bedroom levels it is clearly head-and-shoulders above the Modded BD-2. My amp is an Allen Accomplice which is similar to a Deluxe Reverb, 22watts, 6v6s and I play with 3 Strats: 1987 AM Standard w/ Texas Specials, 2006 ProtoStrat w/ reverse headstock, 57/62 pickups, and a 2004 50th anniversary American Deluxe Strat w/ SCN pickups. Very nice with all these differenct voiced guitars.

What I like best is the clarity I am hearing in my chords. I have always thought that you traded overdrive/distortion for chord clarity. I have or have had almost 50+ pedals in my musical lifetime of 23+ years. Not so with Barber Pedals. I can get the drive I need and still hear those resolving, 'sus' chords come through nicely. Like others who have bought these pedals I am very interested in others from Barber as well.

Very early in it's career with me but I have yet to hear of ANY Barber Pedal owner from any blog or forum complain about quality or a pedal dying an early death. I will leave 'No Opinion' here. Not a negative rating but honest as I do not have several hundred gigs under my belt with it yet. But I will soon.

Here again - I have not dealt with David Barber or Barber electronics as I purchased this though an authorized dealer online.

I am very happy and stisfied with my LTD Special Recipie. Very clear, very flat EQ response, very touch sensitive on the tone control as well. NO need to crank the tone. Slightly off center in either direction will change your EQ enough to feel it as well as hear it. Someone mentioned in an earlier post that they felt almost a 3D type of sound with this pedal. I am only a tube amp guy and I have felt the 3D thing for years (if that is what they are talking about). I feel the LTD takes this 3D sound and really fills the eq spectrum nicely. When you go for a low note in a solo and then hit a high note, your guitar will be there and the note will ring through in fullness. I hope this makes sense. Thanks David Barber for your pedal sound quality, and your affordable pricing. These could cost $325.00. Make profit by reputation and volume not the Botique price.

very easy.

just a great job. i've just gotten my hands into pedals so i wouldn't say i'm an authority on that, but i can tell a crappy sound from a good one. running this with a slightly fattened clean channel is simply beautiful. no buzzing.

this is for a light to medium overdrive. it will not go any further than that.

i've had it for about a month. no problems yet...

dave barber is the man.

a quality product. worth a try if you're looking for a very transparent, light to medium overdrive.

Three knobs, 2 internal trim pots. Pretty simple stuff.

Barber pedals are consistently solid. I had the LTD Silver in the past, which I really liked and I was interested in checking out the new SR. They claim that this is a transparent drive, and they are most definitely correct. Unfortunately, I did not like it with my Fender Princeton. I'm giving it a 9 because with a mid-heavy map like a Marshall or a Vox, this would be a fantastic pedal. Put it in front of an AC30 and rock out for sure. Fender amps just need a little kick in the mid-section to sound like they're cranked. I want that sound in a pedal and the SR lacks the mids to make it happen.

Built solid, I would not be concerned about needing a backup. Open up the pedal and it's extremely well laid out and cleanly assembled.

David Barber is a class act and will take care of his customers for sure.

This is the pedal if you want your amp with some hair around the edges. I would say that like the Paul C Timmy, the Barber LTD SR and it's flat eq is not a good match for Fender amps. Otherwise, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this pedal.

Simple to use. Smooth controls. Trim pots inside for Presence and Bass -- nice. I love this feature for dialing in the sound (which I am quite particular about).

Minus one point for the four screws you have to take out every time you want to access the inside.

I use this pedal for adding some grind to my Fender Super Reverb. I love the sweeeet tone of the Super, so I needed a pedal that wasn't gonna mess with that -- a tough order to fill. After trying a slew of pedals at the shop, I found the LTD and the LTD SR. The black LTD had too much lower midrange for my needs, but the SR was just right -- almost flat EQ response. Actually, I tried an Xotic RC Booster which was just heavenly, but had not much overdrive to it at all.

After tweaking the SR (Presence needed to be rolled down to be flat) the unit shines like a diamond. The distortion itself is good, but pedal-ish (a little grainy) and not just like the amp cranked (of course). But for a nice SRV or Tom Petty sound on an already-great amp, it's the cat's pajamas. It adds only a touch of upper mids, which puts the guitar a bit more forward in a mix. I use it mainly with an 18-volt adapter, which makes the sound a little more driven and "lively". 9 volts works just fine, too, and is probably the truest sound and feel.

The pedal is not noisy at all where I've heard it. The true bypass is TRUE.

Had it for a little over a week and no problems so far. Build quality is excellent -- Rugged external with clean internal wiring and soldering.

I have personally talked with David Barber in the past by telephone. Very helpful and good customer relations. They accept returns for refund (of pedals bought from them) with no problem.

I have been playing for 25 years this year (Wow - I need a guitar-shaped cake or something). I really like this pedal (and I don't like most distortion pedals). I have also used it a bit with my Mesa Stiletto Ace combo, and I like it on that sometimes, too. It just gives me a hotter version of my tone, and I'm finding that to be cooler than I imagined.

The icing on the cake was the money I got to keep in my wallet after the purchase. :-) Kudos to Barber Electronics for making a beautiful looking and sounding pedal for such an awesome price.

Talk to Nick at Tonetronix to get one right away. www.tonetronix.com

Right out of the box you can get a very nice light over drive with the tone and gain knobs straight up and the volume set to unison or slight boost. The tone knob is cool but for me I leave it in the 12'o clock position as that sounds closest to my base tone. The internal trim pots are a cool way to tweak the pedal to your tastes. I kept the bass trimmer at stock and backed off the presence trimmer a little bit as I felt the pedal was a little bright with the tone control at nuetral but the bass was too much when I would back off the tone control.

The LTD SR does exactly what I need it to do, approximate the sound of my Orange Tiny Terror at max volume & gain at almost 3/4. I went with the SR because of the advertised "flat mids" (The TT doesn't need any extra midrange...plenty to start with). Even at 15w the TT can be too loud to run at the aformentioned settings which is where it sounds best. Running the volume halfway and the gain at 3/4 is just not as thick. The SR allows me to run the volume up on the amp while keeping the gain down at a clean tone when played lightly and a nice subtle break up when attacked. Then I turn on the SR for a medium OD crunch and it really blends with the amp nicely. I won't say it is exactly the same as the TT turned up but it is very smooth, fat, and juicy...very much like the TT on its own. An advantage of the SR over the TT turned up is that the TT can get an audible hum that can be annoying in between songs, the SR does not cause the amp to hum at the same drive settings. Doesn't get a lot of drive but it does have more than I need with my amp, a cleaner Fender on the other hand might need that little extra bit. Plenty of room on the volume to boost (I have mine at 11'o clock, boosted slightly over unison).

Build quality is very nice. Clean solder joints, large pots, sturdy casing. Should be a workhorse that lasts a long time.

Have not dealt with the company but can you fault a guy who provides DIY'ers modification instructions on his website?

13yrs of playing, last 8 doing the bar band thing. In combination with the Orange it allows me to have the semblance of two channels when I need more versatility than just driving the Orange to gain city. If it was stolen I would definately get a replacement. I've used a Boss SD-1 (way too much mid...didn't like the tone at all) and a Zinky True Grit (I've never found an amp I liked this pedal with, always sounded thin or boomy to me) and the SR has been by far the most rewarding. Transparent enough that it doesn't add noticable midrange to an already mids heavy amp and isn't noticably fatter or thinner than the amp overdriving itself. Been using it the last 2 months and have been extrememly happy with the results. Pretty much set it up once and left the knobs alone. Nice and simple.

It is easy to get brilliant sounds out of this pedal after you've adjusted the internal trim pots--bass & presence--to match your rig. The simple 3-knob layout--volume, tone, and drive--is quite sensitive, allowing you to have different shades of overdrive from warm and tubey to glassy and bright. However, the controls seem to interact with each other in a musical way, making it almost impossible to dial in a bad sound, no matter what the setting. The tone knob is unique on this unit compared to most overdrive pedals because as you turn it clockwise, treble is added while bass is cut; as you turn it counter-clockwise, bass is added while treble is cut. This feature, to some ears, may give the pedal a bit more "life" than other overdives.

I am using this pedal with a Fender Jazzmaster (equipped with vintage JM pickups) and a Roland JC-120. Since this setup yields an extremely clean sound with plenty of headroom, I rely on overdrive pedals to do the work of a gain channel. The high gain requirements were taken care of with a ProCo Turbo Rat. However, I had to go through several pedals--Boss OD-3, Nobels ODR-1, etc.--in my quest for the perfect low gain, on-the-verge-of-breaking-up sound. The LTD SR works just as advertised: it keeps the tone of my rig intact, simply adding overdrive on top of it. I might also say that it adds a bit of sweetness, making the solid state amp capable of sounding bluesy. This sweetness is what I believe one reviewer below was referring to when s/he said the pedal seems to add a "3-D" quality to the sound. The most important feature that I was looking for and the pedal has is its capacity to do two things: 1) It can yield a VERY warm, juicy, and round/tubey tone that is touch-sensitive--imparting a sweet fuzziness when you dig in--and 2) it can sound like a bright, cranked Fender amp that retains chord-clarity and cuts through the mix effortlessly (thanks to the highly sensitive tone knob). To reiterate, the all-knobs-at-12 o'clock sound adds the sweetest overdrive to your setup--a little grit, a little glassy punch, and an underlying depth.

It has obviously been built by people who seem to take pride in their work. The most solidly built pedal that I have, replete with a true-bypass footswitch. It's beauty (with the green LED and ivory knobs) is like the cherry on top of its roadworthy construction.

The manual came with a phone number in case of any questions. It reads as if it was made by musicians for musicians. I have the feeling that if I needed any customer service, then it will be satisfactory.

The Barber LTD SR also works wonderfully with other pedals. It adds depth to my flanger, and produces a very Edge-esque (of U2) tone when engaged with a digital delay. When used in conjunction with the Turbo Rat, I actually get a very MASSIVE fuzz tone that neither overdrive pedal can produce by itself! This pedal is worth every dollar because it is "overqualified" for its price.

The "manual" is minimal, but I bought this unit because, as an old fart, I don't have the patience for anything that has more than 4 knobs. I haven't felt a need for any directions beyond what Barber provides. I haven't needed to mess with the internal trim pots, so I can't comment on that aspect of the unit.

I'm influenced by the usual suspects... Peter Green, Duane Allman, Garcia, Buchanan, the 3 Kings, Otis Rush, etc. I strive to bring out the sound in my head/heart. I've tried Keely modded tubescreamer and bluesdriver, Fulltone Fulldrive and various other overdrives, all of which, to my ear, added their own sound to my rig, with varying results. I don't find that the LTD SR behaves in this manner. I plug a Godin LG P90 into Boss TU2 -> Fulltone Fatboost -> LTD -> Allesandro Working Dog Rottweiler 2X12. I love this guitar and amp
(both are way underrated in my opinion) combination and the LTD fits right in with no problem. It sounds great to me for any roots type of style. The LTD is designed for "mild overdrive" and has more overdrive capacity than I actually need. I realize that everyone hears differently so I won't claim the unit is "pristinely transparent" but it sounds pretty damned clear to me. I haven't found it to be noisy on the settings I use... maybe if you dimed everything, but then you'd be trying to get a tone this unit probably wasn't designed to produce.

It seems very well built... Of course, Murphy's Law may engage at any time, and the sturdiness of the unit still might not preclude a problem when Murphy gets his way... oh, I guess that's sexist of me to assume Murphy is a guy!

Have never dealt with Company

I play Blues, 60's/70's classic/improv-oriented rock. Been playing since 1973-- I'll let you do the math. I would definitely replace this unit. Of the 3 LTD's that Barber builds, this is advertised as the most transparent, which is why I chose it. I love the sound of my rig-- I wasn't out to "improve it" with a pedal, having discovered quite awhile back that such a strategy usually doesn't work. If you are looking for a mild overdrive that's unlikley to mess with your own, check out the LTD SR.

So simple to use! The knobs do exactly what they say they do. The manual is brief but tells you everything you need to know! No wasting my time reading a book. Written by musicians for musicians.

Best OD pedal I have ever used. The pedal works 100% as advertised. Beautiful low-gain, almost 3-D sounding tone like your original clean is mixed with an OD'd signal. Hard to describe but sonically very pleasing.

I've used it stacked as such:
Jackson Soloist SLSMG > EQ > Emma Discumbobulator > Barber LTD SR > PH-350

The Jackson is loaded with SD PG's and Custom5s both with coil tapping.

I use the EQ to bring up the signal and modify the tone when cutting to single coils since there is a noticeable volume drop and tonal change. But also eq the right frequencies for a nice clean boost!

The Barber LTD SR works great on it's own, great with a boosted signal, ok when run off an envelope, and does some amazing trippy psychedelic when running into a phaser!

As far as amps: Mesa Lonestar, Fender Bandmaster (74), Fender HRDx. The LTD SR was very compatible with all the amps. Especially impressive since the Bandmaster is more fickle!

Really, this pedal is the best! I've tried tons of other ODs and none come close to sounding like a really OD'd amp without changing your tone!

Look at the other pedals I use, this ranks up there with pedals costing double!

Built well, solid soldering, tough case, no back-ups for FX, IMO.

I've emailed with Dave and he's a great dude!

I do jamband, rock, blues, folk, country, hard rock.

This pedal has a perfect spot for each of these styls.

It's missing nothing.

It adds to my pallet of usable tones and I love it.

I'd tear the off of a person trying to steal it from me :)

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...