Blackstone Appliances MOSFET Overdrive

I like the idea of the set and go knobs on the front but the two internal trimers are fiddly

Pretty good for a solid state pedal but after gigging it i was left a little disapointed,my soldano gto eats it! of course the soldano is ten times the size and all TUBE ,the blackstone seemed very convenient,as its in avery small MXR size box,but it doesnt have the dynamics or feel of a real tube overdrive,it can work well in the bedroom,but get out and gig at volume and you really can tell its tranny

Seems like it would never fail,very solid

useless,i had some very important questions that needed answering,to no avail,i emailed him three times,basically this guy just takes your money then ignores you,sorry Mr Blackstone i know your busy,but your not to busy to take my money,its called customer service,learn it,otherwise your gonna get bad reviews,and that=less sales for you,its quite a simple concept

Id give it a six,does some pretty impressive low gain sounds,but theres no getting away from tubes,do not think this pedal is the answer to all your prayers,it isnt,and the customer service is poor and that really p*ssed me off having paid out so much for it!

It's very easy to get nice drive-tones out of this pedal, ranging from soft breakup to pretty heavy - though not quite up to "stoopid amounts of gain (tm)". It sounds wierd to talk about overdrive and also call a pedal "transparent" in the same breath, but you always hear a tone that is mostly your guitar. The only issue I have with it is that when switching between guitar with various impedance pickups, it can be a little tricky to match levels to unity gain in bypass.

It's simply the best overdrive pedal I've tried. I don't normally seek out other artists tones, but I've heard this pedal cop some "artist"-like marshall tones.
I've been playing this with a Yamaha SG-2000 will Bill Lawrence L-500 pickups, a '72 335, an Epiphone Casino with Gibson P-90s, a Godin LGX-SA with Duncans, a USA '62 Reissue Custom Tele... a few other guitars too. I've also played all these guitars through a '72 Marshall Superlead and my Traynor YBA-1 - and honest to goodness, this little pedal sounds a LOT like a non-master Marshall no matter what amp it's driving! I often run the Marshall-like amps with a Weber Mass (so I can still hear) and the Blackstone makes it like having 3 switchable Mass' as pedals! Very cool.
Other folks have mentioned this a lot - that it likes to be the first pedal in the chain. One thing I don't hear often is that even a volume pedal like a VP-Jr will have an adverse affect on the way the Blackstone reacts with your pickups.
Getting a great tone out of this box is a breeze.

I've had it for a year and a half, played a bunch of gigs with it and I stomp on it at least 3 days a week. It's a straight hammond case covered in powder coat, and I did notice that even the screws are very high quality - stainless steel, I think. The flush "screwdriver" knobs would be virtually impossible to damage. Opening it up, it looks very solid.
You can tell that Jon Blackstone takes a lot of pride in the build and design of this product.

I emailed with Jon a bit about something... it was a while ago, and I can't recall exactly what it was. He was very friendly and quick to respond.
I haven't had to repair it, but I've read that he will do custom mods to affect the LED operation and or the scoop setting.

I play everthing from jazz to country to punk. This pedal is fine for all of these styles. I've been playing guitar for 20 years now. The herd is always growing, and aside from the guitars and amps listed above, I also play a Boogie Mark IV and a Maverick with several different cabs, a SF Champ and a SF Twin Reverb. Among distortion and drive pedals that I have are a modded TS-9dx, Fulldrive 2, Fulltone Distortion Pro, Ibanez SM-7, MXR double-shot and a fender Fuzz-wah. If all of my amps and pedals disappeared tomorrow, the Blackstone is the FIRST thing I'd replace.

* How easy is it to get a good sound out of it?

The pedal is a bit tweaky when you start messing around with the internal treble and gain trim pots; it's easy to get carried away. Other than that, it's pretty straight forward.

* How is the manual for it (if there is one)?

Manual is fine. Very explicit.

* Are certain effects (distortion, chorus, ...) very good? Very bad?

The pedal is great for mild to medium overdrive sounds reminicent of a cranked up Fender amp; it can get pretty dirty though.

* What setup (i.e. what guitars and amps) are you using this with?

I keep the pedal with a Fender Champ and a Reverend Slingshot at my girlfriend's apartment. It's a great setup to get some overdriven tones without disturbing the neighbors.

* Is it noisy? On what settings?

Not especially, particularly for an overdrive pedal.

* Can you depend on it?
* Would you use it on a gig without a backup?

I've owned mine for about two years now and I've had no problems with it. I don't gig with this pedal.

I contacted Blackstone a couple of times with questions when I first got the pedal. Email replies were prompt, helpful and friendly.

* What style of music do you play? Is this a good match?

Rock and roll; mostly classic rock like Faces, Stones and so forth. It's a great pedal for that style.

* How long have you been playing? What other gear do you own?

About 15 years. Other gear includes Stratocaster, Telecaster, SG Junior, Les Paul, Mesa Stiletto head w/ 2x12 cab, Fender Blues Junior, various pedals by Analogman, Fulltone, Foxrox. Univox, etc.

* If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again or get something else?

I like the pedal quite a but and would probably replace it, but I might try something else the second time around just out of curiosity.

* what do you love about it? What do you hate? What is your favorite feature?

It gives a nice, natural overdrive and having two switchable settings is handy. I can't say that there is anything I hate about or even mildly dislike.

* Did you compare it to other products? Which ones? Why did you choose this one?

At the time I bought it, yes, but I don't recall which. I chose this one as the sounds clips on the web site were very impressive and, as I later learned, are actually a good representation of what the pedal sounds like.

* Anything you wish it had?

Maybe separate tone controls for each channel, but the shared control works just fine.

* Does it help you make music, or does it get in the way?

It's simple enough to operate and sounds great once you get it dialed in to your tastes so, yes, it helps me make music and doesn't get in the way.

Pedal just arrived, and I plugged it into the signal chain. No adjustments to any settings.

Using the pedal right out of the box. Decided to use my Fender Pro Reverb (silver face), since it was the amp out of the amp closet. The sound quality is excellent. Noticed it right away. According to the bullets listed as reminders, I'm supposed to tell you about the sounds of my favorite artists, and my setup, etc. Whatever. I grew up listening to Duane Allman and his contemporaries. I've played blues-based stuff since 1973, when I started playing guitar and played all the time ever since. Compared to my other overdrives: I have my original Fuzz Face. I have my original Big Muff Pi. I have my original Tube Screamer, and a newer 9 model. I have the yellow Boss OD pedal (which I like). I have a new AC Booster (Xotic) and a new Tube Zone (MI Audio). They all sound great. The Blackstone sounds great.

I have no clue. Ask me in ten years.

Blackstone has been very responsive to my inquiries. No complaints.

Nothing should be overall rated. Each category is case-by-case, right? The Blackstone pedal sounds wonderful out-of-the-box. The bullets ask me to list my style, length of playing, etc. I already did that. I have been playing so long, that I cannot help but sound about as good as any of the guys who have done this for a living for the past 30 or so years. (With the exception of Junior Brown - I'm not a country guy, but this guy is from another planet.)

This is the older model, and I know there have been improvements since then. With this one, its VERY cramped in the front for space, the little turny wheels to adjust gain are RIGHT where you plug in your cords.

I've read about this thing for a while now, was REALLY excited when I won it on Ebay, but when I got it, it was JUST ANOTHER overdrive...All the scientific data on the website DOES NOT MATTER to me, I go for tone.It has a REALLY good tone, but so do 1000 other pedals that aren't as expensive

Seems to be built really well, no problems here.

WELL, I emailed them for help figuring out what the knobs did about 3 weeks ago, and I never heard back, I know they're busy...doesnt matter anyway, I sold it this weekend.

I am a pedal ADDICT, have been playing for 40 of my 50 years, yes, I'm a Beatle Boy...I Love and Play all forms of music but country and rap, theyre not my bag, they have their place, tho. I was hoping that this would be the MAGIC overdrive that could do it all, unfortunately, theres no such thing. The closest I have found to the "magic pedal " is the Hermida MOSFERATU.. It blows the Blackstone Mosfet away. Now bear in mind, I didnt have the newer version , so this is ONLY about the first version.The Mosferatu is without a doubt the best OD I've ever had, just like the Mista Fuzz by cats eye is the best fuzz I've tried, and I've tried WAY too many of botrh.

I think it's very easy to use, but it does have many shades of overdrive. This unit cannot sound bad, so ...

I use Tube amps, and American-made guitars. This is really the best overdrive ever made. I've spent thousands (literally) on effects pedals, always trying for the best rhytmn overdrive sound, and this is it. This box NEVER sounds buzzy, it's very natural sounding. I have swapped out two of the internal resistors (they pop in & out on a special board for easy sound shaping possibilities), and now I get an overdrive tone exactly like my clean tone, but with overdrive. This pedal is the only overdrive that sounds like a pushed tube amp IMHO. I also liked the Aramat Ol' Yeller, and the Zinky, they are great, but not nearly as organic as the Blackstone.

Only the best components.

Not great, I emailed asking to buy an assortment of different resistors. He emailed me back telling me to go to Radio Shack, and get some. Radio Shack did not carry any of the proper Resistors, or Capacitators, so I found an electronics seller online. This was not exactly convenient, and definitely not what I expected from a boutique company.

This is a great pedal worth seeking out, at $185 used, it's a bargain!

This is an update to my earlier review from three years ago.

Turns out my pedal is from the earliest known batch (#45). Changing the internal presence cap proved to be a great improvement. Also discovered this effect hates wah (or anything else) in front of it. But that a sound.

Still THE "goto" distortion box on my board. In the last three years I've searched all over for a good medium gain overdrive, delay and chorus but the one constant on my board has been the Blackstone. Quite possibly the bets OD pedal I've ever heard. Still. I don't think I've monkeyed with the settings in three years, even though I've been through three amps and four guitars.

Hasen't given me a lick of trouble in three years. I don't think I've even changed the battery.

I like the old unit so much I'm probably going to buy the new one too.

It's not easy, but it's worth the work, changing one setting affects another, for example changing the post EQ drastically affects the output level (I believe they have improved that on the newer models) there are 2 internal trim pots, one for overall gain level, and one for treble trim control. It's a dual overdrive and it took me a month or so to get the hang of what it can do. One overdrive is optimized for single coils (the brown channel) and one is optimized for humbuckers (the red channel which is also a higher gain). In some ways it reminds me of working with the Stamps Drive-o-matic. Dual channel with a presence control. Both pedals require some experimentation to get desired sound and level, but the great thing about the mosfet is the control over the output level of each channel which you have without losing the effect of the gain or overdrive sound.

I've used it with a bunch of different amps. That's the real beauty of this thing if you ask me. Sounds good with all of them. The manual says just set your amp on a clean setting and let the mosfet do the overdrive work, but I use it with a Carvin X-100 (4 6L6) amp
and set my drive channel on mild crunch, kick in the mosfet for a very transparent (depending how you have it EQ'd) high gain sound WITHOUT driving the amp. The mosfet does give you compression, but not like a Barber Tone Pump or some other TS808 type of design. It doesn't give you that transistor rasp, its more like a crisp (consistent) smooth edged drive. Reminds me of '68 Deluxe Reverb I played the other day. It's totally quiet. I've used a Barber Tone Pump, Stamps Drive-O-matic, Ibanez STL Tube Screamer (Tube Screamer Fans should grab that one while they're still available), TS-10 with the good chip, Fulltone, Knobels ODR-1 (which I like a lot, only you've got to rig up a true bypass for it, it sucks tone) and lots of others; and they all have their strong points. For those who are searching out there, the Stamps Drive-O-matic seems unique to me, it really feels like part of the amp, it doesn't get between you and the amp, no compression, no noise, great picking dynamics; BUT, it's like another gain stage on your amp, you have to drive the amp hard for the Quality of the breakup to be smooth, at anything less than all out it's really terrible, it's designed strictly to drive a tube amp and it does that very well. The other pedals I mentioned are smooth, but they all have a noticeble noise level and seem to me to be a box between me and the amp, and are very hard to match the EQ of your natural guitar sound. This Blackstone Mosfet for me is the logical solution. It is something like a preamp itself, offering a wide spectrum of EQ control. The post EQ is flat cranked all the way to the right, then backing off to the center rolls off the highs, once past the center position it starts to suck the mids and add highs back in. I may be ignorant saying this, but I've never used a one knob EQ quite as versatile as that one. The internal trim pots give you further flexibility. And the Red Drive channel has a dual drive control, straight up and down center is the lowest gain setting, to increase the level you can go to the left or to the right, one direction is optimized for single coils, the other to fatten up humbuckers. Putting this in a practical sense: I like to set the brown channel to run with my neck position single coile, and the red channel to run high gain with the bridge humbucker, with little noticeable difference in the tone, which ultimately gives me even more control over the tone from the guitar. So experimentation is the key to this overdrive. As I said before there is compression in the circuit, but it doesn't affect the nuances of pick attack, it's more like a high end studio type compression or amp compression that let's the note sustain after the initial attack and drive have taken place. The compression aspect of this box is its strength in my opinion. It allows you to get natural sounding amp tones at lower volume levels and allows you great control over your balance between clean levels and two overdriven levels. It has essentially turned my amp into a 4 channel amp.

A nice piece of engineering, very small, fairly rugged, but being so small it is easy to drop, I've dropped it a couple of times already, I have some doubts about the durability of the adjustment screws, but time will tell.

Never tried. I like the website, very informative, and have heard lots of good things about the guy.

There's lots of stuff I've never tried like the Klon or Way Huge stuff, also the Super Hard On sounds really interesting. But I think I've found the right tool for the job finally. I play jazz, blues, funk, and rock. I have decided to set the blackstone to increase the drive on my Carvin, so now its used for higher drive sounds while the amp covers the mild jazz and blues sounds. However for awhile I was using the Blackstone like a preamp with the internal treble cranked up and the internal gain all the way down. With the my guitar volume on 5 the Blackstone gave me a completely clean sound with lots of tonal boost in the lows and highs, as I cranked up my guitar volume, the drive kicked in, just like a non-master volume amp. It really works that way. If you want something versatile that you can work into your specific needs, this may be your pedal.

Simplicity is the key with this box.

I don't know enough technical jargon to describe it.But one thing is for certain sure...It's THE BEST PURE OVERDRIVE PEDAL MADE!! On mode one,it sounds like a tube amp with a ripped speaker(i.e.Link Ray's RUMBLE).Step on it again and you get SUPER CHUNK!It's ideal when playing at loud volumes,you get clear,meaty gain and lotsa saturation.
Should've called it The Whopper! Yeah,yeah I know it's corny,but playing the Blackstone always makes me hungry.

It's very dependable and sturdy.This little nugget can fit inside your pocket.Batteries also last a long time.WE DON'T NO STINKING BACKUPS...HAW,HAW! I don't take it out much,don't want to mess it up. But when I do,it shines!

Upgrade?Why? Never tried to contact him.Heard there's another chip that can be installed(easily)to make it hotter.

The Blackstone,I think,is the ultimate Blues Box!I don't know how it sounds with other amps,but with my Twin...It's bliss.Ya gotta love it's simplicity.One knob for bypass/activate,another for mild/aggressive overdrive.Two dials,one input and one output.Wish it had a tone dial though.Oh well,the Blackstone has it's own rich tone that'll make any guitar scream.I haven't tried all the other trendy boxes,but this one's sure to be a classic!

Getting a good sound is pretty simple. One neet part about this pedal is there is a way to experiment with internal resistor and cap values in parts sockets. Just sub out the part and sub in a new one. So far I've had good luck with the default values. This a novel way to do things, but theses could have been on trimmers. In fact I think the newer version of the pedal actually does this.

This pedal has two absolutely killer sounds. The first is a nice overdrive which sounds a little like a TS, but with less midrange and fewer nasal qualities. The second is a big, gain-drenched, saturated, plexi distortion tone but without the back breaking plexi weight or ear crushing volume. Sounds to me alot like the EJ plexi lead tone with alot of second order stuff, sounds almost like you're playing with an octavia, but you're not.
I traded my FD2 for this and I'm VERY happy I did.

Good quality construction. No sub miniature components. Good quality jacks and a nice jewel light. Quality stuff. Haven't had it for longer than a weekend, so time will tell.

The manual is good, and any company that encourages you to monkey around with the insides is A-OK in my book.

1 Killer pedal!!! I have or have owned, Varidrive, Tube Driver, FD2, DOD Classic Tube, Soul Bender, 70's, an MP-1 and a Sansamp PSA-1. The Blackstone is the best so far, the Varidrive comes pretty close, but sounds very different. The Soul Bender is also a great one to try, but has only one really useable sounds.
Of course it's expensive, but it sounds amazing. I'm planning on buying one of the new ones, as well.