Blackstone Appliances Mosfet Overdrive 2Sv3

I was afraid after reading the reviews here about finding "that sweet spot" with 3 different guitars, but after about an hour of adjusting and tweaking I found "that" spot and am very happy. It is easy to make the adjustments because of the location of the knobs. The manual was helpful in getting started, but after losing that fear of not being able to master this pedal it became easier.

My set up(s) consist of a Maz 38 1x12 combo and a Fuchs Lucky 7 into a 1x12 cab. The guitars are a PRS McCarty, a G&L Skyhawk (strat), and a G&L ASAT. The pedal has the option to set up for humbuckers or single coil pickups, but where I have it set all 3 sound great. The humbuckers on the McCarty just rip, but if you back off the pick attack it will clean up. I set the Maz just on the edge of breakup. My other OD pedals are a Tim, Timmy, OCD, and a Zendrive. I am finding that I will use the Timmy or Tim with the single coils but go for the Blackstone for the humbuckers. I'm finding I'm not using the OCD or the Zendrive as much, and I've already sold my KOT since recieving this pedal. The effects pedals sound great with this also but I have them in the effects loop of the Maz so there's no real conflict. I've tried stacking my other OD's with this one and they don't compliment each other.

So far it has been solid as a rock and since I don't abuse my pedals anyway I do not anticipate any problems. Use without a backup? If I had to back up all my stuff I'd be single again and broke.

N/O

My style ranges from Rock, Blues, Jazz, and a bit of everything except rap and metal. I play with a worship team on Sundays and a 60's cover band whenever asked. The worship music has called for this type of OD lately so it's been fun hearing the compliments from the "brethren". I'm waiting to play a R&R gig with the other band and just use the Lucky 7 and this pedal - work off the guitar volume alone. I've been playing since the '70s and researching and buying (and selling) new gear in the last 10 years. If this pedal were to disappear in some way I would get right back to True Tone Music in Santa Monica and grab another. If all my pedals disappeared this would be the first and maybe only one to be replaced. I love the fact that the tone and volume controls are recessed on the face of the pedal so once they are set they're not changing unless you bend down with your pick or finger nail and move them. I highly recommend this pedal.

I rated it a 10 because it looks like you would need a screwdriver to change settings, but a fingernail is fine. It is just as easy to use as a Boss pedal. The fact that you can ope it up and make changes with a small screwdriver is not a minus because this type of adjustment is just not available in most other pedals. So I don't think it makes it harder to use. It is also easy to use in that once settings are made they are difficult to undo accidentally. This is a great feature. Many musicians take the "handles" off the knobs of other pedals to keep the settings where they like them. It is basically set up with one sound for single coil, one for humbuckers and a bypass. This again makes it easy to use with different guitars.

The sound quality is outstanding. I have used Ibanez Tube Screamer, Boss Blues and Distortion, English Muff'n, etc. This is the first pedal I have used that does not degrade the sound of the guitar. Always before the guitar straight into the amp had a much superior sound. The sound through a pedal always seemed thinner and less expressive.

This pedal has an pedal allows for an "organic" sound, i.e., much more like the sound of a voice or sound of an animal. Vibrato in guitar , of course, was developed to mimic the human vibrato. so sounding "natural" is good, unless you want an industrial sound. The Blackstone allows you to play cleanly and add a little "growl" or a more full-throated "growl" without changing - just by changing the attack with your pick or fingers. Combined with the fact of the natural warmth and clarity of tone, this produces a sound unlike any I have heard from with any other pedal. If you want accuracy, warmth, expressiveness and musicality, this pedal is for you. If you want harshness and an industrial sound this is probably not for you.

I use a Traynor 40W amp. My guitars are a new Baja Tele (unmodified), A Mexican Strat with Kinman blues pickups, an Epiphone Joe Perry LP with Grover Tuners and Seymour Duncan '59 Model pickups, and an Ibanez Destroyer II with a Seymour Duncan EVH 76 bridge pup and the neck pup that came with the Ibanez LP (supposedly and American Gibson pup).

Seems to have very solid construction. The battery fits tight inside. Materials seem industrial grade.

Jon Blackstone respond quickly to customer requests. I asked for a tracking number and had it the next day. Shipped by Fedex Ground from New York to Maryland. Arrived in 3 business days. Have no reason to down-rate.

This pedal looks like its carved out of a piece of black stone. It is super cool retro-looking and very small. Easily fits in a gig bag even with cords, tuner, etc.

I think the sound is phenomenal. It definitely is about music and not about noise.

If I had only one pedal I would choose this one. Although expensive like they say "Buy quality, buy once, buy cheap, buy again." If you can afford it, I recommend it. If you can't - get some gigs and make some money.

If you love to tweak your pedals the Blackstone Overdrive pedal has lots of options; however, the options are not easily accessible. This is a design decision on John Blackstone's part: you sure won't knock your settings out of position when gigging. All the options are controlled by flush mount "knobs" or internal trimmers. The external controls have a slot in the top you can spin with thumbnail/pick/screwdriver - other options are available inside the pedal so you have to take the back off and tweak with a jeweler's screwdriver. The internal trimmers and switch are really important in getting a good sound with each guitar I use so when gigging I pretty much have to decide which guitar/Blackstone setting combination I'm going to use before heading out. Strangely this has turned out to be a good thing as, once setup, the pedal is dead simple to use, sounds great, and leaves you playing music - not messing with gear.

Ease of use is a weird one to rate as the pedal is a challenge to set up but super simple to use once tweaked. The architecture of the pedal is idiosyncratic to say the least. For example, the gain control on the higher gain channel (Red) is at its lowest setting at 12 o'clock. As others have noted counterclockwise increases gain but also brings a bass cut while clockwise adds gain and a mid-boost. You have to balance the internal gain trimmer against the external gain control to get the eq and gain combination that works for you. Combine that with external tone control which goes from flat at 3 o'clock to a mid-scoop at 9 o'clock, an internal treble trimmer and interchangeable capacitors for presence tailoring and you have so many options it might as well be a Mesa Boogie.

Bottom line is that it is tweakable and as you'll see in "Sound Quality" tweaking results in very satisfying results.

My main rig is a Deluxe Reverb Re-issue with Yellowjackets and a Weber Mini-Mass attentuator. Most of my gigging is with a drummer-less band: lead (me), rhythm guitar/vocals, and bass/vocals. We don't play loud hence the power choking measures. The bare amp in this setup can sound squeaky clean or heavily saturated like a Vox maxed out (and still keeps good bass definition). It's a great sound on its own! I was looking to add a kind of hi-fi lead sound like the cranked amp when recorded and processed with a nice compressor and a little eq. The Blackstone does exactly that! It sounds like a cranked amp that has been cleaned up with a bit of post-mic compression and eq. And quiet: no need for a gate or noise suppressor (unless you get crazy with the gain).

So, what amp does it sound like? It's a little like a cross between a saturated Marshall and a Dumble. It has nice definition in the treble without being harsh. That is quite an accomplishment when mated with a Deluxe Reverb. It does the Robben Ford / Larry Carlton Dumble sound with ease. To my ear it sounds best when the basic amp is slightly saturated as well. That happens around 4 in the higher gain input on the Reverb channel of the DRRI.

Where things get really interesting is the interaction between the guitar's volume control and the Blackstone. Everyone wants a set up where rolling off the volume takes the raunch out without losing loudness - the classic "roll up the volume" for leads. I've never found this with a pedal until the Blackstone. It's uncanny how rolling back from 10 to 8 is like turning off the pedal. I played a whole set without touching the pedal. Left it on the Red channel and just moved in and out of the mix with the volume control. As I mentioned above, it lets you play music instead of pedals.

There is a caveat to the volume control interaction: it only works with the pedal in its unbuffered setting (there's a switch inside that lets you chose buffered or non-). It also has to be first in your chain. You'd think ok, I'll just do that. Great until you use a guitar with a preamp. The guitar's preamp buffers the signal so the Blackstone no longer thinks it's first. The pedal gets thinner and harsher sounding when faced with active pickups unless you switch it to buffered. It gets its sound back but you lose the volume control interactivity. I guess nothing's free.

Just a note on guitars: I use a Gibson CS336 and it sounds great and does the volume control thing. When faced with my other gigging guitar, a Godin xtSA, the pedal sounds harsh until switched to buffered mode. So there's no switching guitars mid-set as you have to unscrew the back and flip the buffering switch with a screwdriver. Oh well.

I bought the Blackstone to replace a Visual Sound Rt 66 and Fulltone Distortion Pro. When run in series (Tubescreamer at low gain into Distortion at low gain) I was getting the sound I wanted but just wanted to gig with a simpler setup. The Blackstone has achieved that and more.

I haven't had it long enough to comment on reliability but the build and component quality is excellent so I expect no problems.

Before buying I sent a long email describing what sound I hoped to achieve. No reply. Fair enough - I'm just an amateur player with an obviously nerdy / techy bent. I'm sure Jon Blackstone gets zillions of similar goofy emails. Anyway, I decided to take the plunge and ordered the pedal without actually playing it. With a money back guarantee I figured I was safe. Well - I've never received anything faster when ordered across the Canada / US border. When it counted the customer support was exceptional. Two thumbs up.

To put my opinion in context here's my overdrive/distortion experience (owned or borrowed and played extensively): Fulltone Fulldrive and Distortion Pro, Ibanez (re-issue) Tubescreamer, Visual Sound Rt 66, Boss DS-1, Super Overdrive, and GT-3, Yamaha DG 60, Mesa Boogie Mark IV and .50 Caliber , Marshall JCM 600, Budda Twinmaster and Phatman, THD Univalve, Matchless Chieftain, and a top-secret NASA space shuttle overdrive. Anyway, by no means a connoisseur I know what I like and I like the Blackstone pedal. Six months down the road I hope it's as pleasing.

Very versatile pedal. Many sounds possible. But honestly, it takes lots of tweeking to get it just right. I believe that is a good thing. Two separate channels with drive and volume, one EQ shared by both channels. Inside the unit, one switch for reactive or buffered response, two adjustments for gain structure, two changable capacitors.
My advice... don't give up on this pedal. It could take some time and effort to get it right, but it is worth it.

Amazing sound. Seriously, it's incredible. I've had mine for about six weeks and now I wouldn't want to play without it. I play a Gibson Les Paul into an Emery Sound Microbaby tube amp. This overdrive pedal doesn't change the sound of my amp (great amp, read my review), but instead becomes part of it. I like what it does. It adds some compression, adds thick harmonic overtones, works with other pedals beautifully, and never muddies the tone. I leave both channels on very low gain. Nothing bad to say. Great pedal.

It is obviously well made. Very sturdy. Good switches. (true bypass)

Some more points... It needs to be first in line after the guitar to work best, yet my Bud Wah (true bypass)is before it and it works beautifully. I leave this pedal on always, except for a super clean sound, which I rarely use. The fullness this pedal produces is stunning. Setting both channels to very low gain settings gives me lots of versatility, and I use one other OD pedal after this one (Keeley modded SD-1)to produce more overdrive/distortion. This Blackstone OD is now a crucial part of my sound. I'm very pleased.

It's pretty easy to get good sounds out of this pedal. Any pickup, any amp, any guitar; I've managed to get great sounds in minutes. Just adjust the level and gain, maybe throw in a little post-distortion mid-cut, and voila! All analog, so no patches to edit. The manual is pretty short, but comprehensively covers all of the user changeable settings. And that's all you need. This is the 3rd released revision (hence, the "v3" in the name) of the Blackstone Mosfet Overdrive 2S. I have to dock a point because a few of the changes require opening the case and changing capacitors or adjusting a trim pot with a jeweler's screwdriver. Not exactly convenient, but easily do-able.

Oh man, who cares if this thing can cop anyone else's sound? It sounds so great on its own!!! The overdrive/distortion you can get out of this thing is fantastic. If I had to criticize it, I'd say that it's too perfect, since it doesn't exactly model the real thing (i.e. an overdriven tube amp), it surpasses it. I use it with a Wendler Electrocoustic and a Hamer USA Artist through a Polytone Mini-Brute II 1x12 and a Mesa/Boogie F-50 1x12. I don't find it noisy, even with the gain maxed. Maybe you'll get hiss if you max the internal gain, but I can't say.

It's meticulously hand-built by Jon Blackstone from top-quality US components. But you can fry just about any piece of electronics with a spilled sugary beverage. Seriously, making it liquid-resistent is really the only thing I can think of to make it more reliable. But, relative to other pedals, it's a 10.

Jon was very quick to respond to my order and he quickly responded to my request for a tracking number. I'm sure he'd be as quick to respond to any problems.

I play a little bit of a lot of stuff: funk, jazz, rock, pop, folk, blues. This pedal works anywhere you'd use an overdrive, but it can produce everything from a clean boost to singing leads, so it's very versitile. Not sure if it can do really aggressive metal, but it's not really meant for that. I've been playing guitar for about 8 years. I own the aforementioned gear, as well as a Digitech GNX3000, which has some of the best distortions of the digital modelers I've tried, but the Blackstone just smokes it. It's really in another league. It also trumps every other analog distortion I've tried. To me, most sound good at first, but quickly grow old or cause ear fatigue. This pedal is great, and is just as inspiring as a great guitar or a great amp. It's really that good.

This is as close to plug `n play as you can get in an effects stompbox. I popped in a battery and was ready to go. The Blackstone responds exceptionally well to playing dynamics and guitar settings, so you don't have to spend a lot of time hunched over the pedal.

There are some set-and-forget "thumbnail" controls on the face of the unit. I set these to match my playing style (very quick and easy) and forgot about them. I eventually got around to playing with the internal controls (despite a warning etched on the back of the circuit board: "STOP OBSESSING & PLAY YR GUITAR"); I made one minor adjustment to the treble control and promptly forgot about it. Out of sight, out of mind...

I use the Blackstone with my main rig, which is a Koll Custom DL Thinline into a Vibro-King.

This pedal responds to my playing dynamics and guitar settings just like a cranked tube amp. It's my "secret weapon" for getting that cranked amp sound out of my Vibro-King when I have to reduce the volume to the point where the amp isn't pushed hard enough to get me that gritty overdrive when I dig in on the strings.

I've seen a few people claim that the Blackstone is so good that you could run it into a DI if your amp goes down. Frankly, I think they're overstating the case. I tried running the Blackstone through some full-range amplified speakers and was not at all impressed; some serious EQ would be necessary to smooth out the reponse. But that's really not the intended use of the Blackstone.

There are two channels: red and brown. I use mostly the brown channel and control the Blackstone from my guitar. The red channel provides a bit more distortion - perhaps a bit shy of Mesa/Boogie or metal levels, but certainly much more than the vintage response of the brown channel. Even with the higher compression of the red channel, the sound cleans up nicely in response to playing dynamics.

There doesn't appear to be much that could go wrong with the Blackstone. It appears to be built solidly and there are no exposed knobs. This is one stompbox that looks like it was actually *designed* with the understanding that it's going to get stepped on a lot.

I thought I handn't received a printed copy of the manual (I had, I just didn't notice the cardboard-colored cover as it sat in the bottom of the cardboard box) and wrote to Jon who reponded promptly and courteously.

Also, I ordered directly from the company and was impressed by how quickly they delivered.

I play a variety of music that borrows from rock, folk, classical and jazz. I play mostly fingerstyle and pay a lot of attention to dynamics, voice leading and chord voicing.

I've been playing for almost fourty years - seriously for the past seven.

My main rig is a Koll Custom DL Thinline into a Vibro-King. For effects, I'm particulary hot on the Toadworks Redux and the Blackstone MOSFET Overdrive. I have a few other effects that get hooked up on an as-needed basis.

This is pretty darned pricey for a distortion stompbox, IMO. I'd know about it for years and had heard the clips on the Blackstone web site, but was unwilling to take the risk. In early April I finally got a chance to try one for myself and was very impressed. I ordered one for myself the next day. If I lost it, I'd definitely replace it.

I really love the simplicity of the Blackstone and the way it responds to my playing and to guitar settings.

I give this a six because the pedal has a wide array of sounds, not all of them great. It takes some tinkering but I'll get into that.

There are two overdrive channels. One brown, one red (for heavier riffs or solos).

Each drive channel has a level control, and a drive control. The red channel's is a bit unorthodox: at 12 o'clock the gain is at minumum. Move counter clockwise for increased gain using humbuckers, move clockwise for increased gain using single coil. The last 10% in each direction boosts gain dramatically and will get you into the fuzz realm.

There's an overall EQ, again unorthodox. All the way clockwise is a flat eq. Fully counterclockwise cuts mids and boosts highs/lows.

There are two internal trimpots, one for overall treble control, and one for overall gain control (it says "Gain 2" but this doesn't mean the Red channel only, as is commonly mistaken but the second gain stage in a four gain stage setup. I don't fully understand this, but suffice to say it DOES affect both overdrive channels.)

There are two socketed caps that you can remove and change out for different bass response and presence control. I haven't changed these.

There is a buffer switch, in case you have to run the pedal after some other effects. It's actually noted on the pedal that it should be the first in line after the guitar.

LP 78 Custom - Blackstone - Effects - Tweed Blues Deluxe


Okay, I must say after reading so much about the Blackstone I was ready to be blown away completely after plugging this thing in...I wasn't. Actually, I was shocked. It sounded terrible! I couldn't find a useful setting in the box. After the first day, I was ready to put it back up for sale and forget about it. I got a lot of, for lack of a better word, "farty" tones out of it. Just too buzzy and useless for what I'm looking for (which is a cross between some Tool-like heavy parts and Pink Floydian cleans)
Day two, I found a small jeweler's screwdriver (as this is what you need to adjust the internal trimpots.) Again, no luck, I was ready to sell the pedal.
Day three, FINALLY, the more I tinker with this thing, the more I realize how useful all the controls are and how wide of an array of sounds you can get.......again, not all are useful, so PLEASE give this pedal some time before you ditch it. My settings with my current rig are:

Buffer: OFF (I'm running it first in line after my guitar)
Interal Treble: About 60%
Internal Gain: About 70%
Brown Level: 2 o'clock
Brown Gain: 11 o'clock
Red Level: 12 o'clock
Red Gain: 2 o'clock **NOTE** Yes, I'm using the single coil gain with my Les Paul, but I've found this to be a much tighter and defined heavy overdrive/distortion and more suitable to my tastes. Personal taste is key here, but do experiment.

With the brown overdrive settings I have kind of a VOX'ish clean, on the first of breakup to medium overdrive depending on how hard I play. This pedal has a great grip on your dynamic playing and this was one of the key ingredients I was looking for. I don't ever switch the brown channel off because it works both as my clean AND as my overdrive! What's more, I like to play chords where I suspend bass notes and move melodies around on the upper strings.....the coolest thing: The bass notes are overdriven, the higher ones sound clean! Everyone might not like it, but for me it was perfect!

The red channel has a very useable heavy sound (although I'm not completely happy with it yet, I know with the options on this pedal all I need is a few more days of tinkering and I'll find it).

I've only had the chance to play with it at home, but it's really ruggedly constructed....metal with a tough powder coat. The external pots are recessed so you need a small flathead to adjust them, but once they are....you don't have to worry about your settings being changed.

Never had the need.

I've been playing for 11 years. This is the best pedal I've tried so far, although I'm still going to buy a Lovepedal Eternity just because I've heard so much about them. I'm sort of a gear slut. I'm sure both these pedals will live happily ever after on my pedalboard.

Very easy to use, but internal adjustments need a small jeweler's screw driver. Once those are set to your taste though, you won't have to bother with them again anyhow.

OK....here's how I check overdrive quality. I plug into an original '57
Tweed Deluxe of mine (with an old Strat or Les Paul) and get a great crunch tone. Then I plug into my original '59 Bassman. Set at the same
volume as the Deluxe, it doesn't overdrive....so I kick on the pedal and
compare the tone to natural overdrive on the Deluxe. The Blackstone does
an INCREDIBLE JOB on this test! Now, in order for me to get this result
I had to back down the internal treble adjustment all the way.
As that treble is increased it will tend to get closer to the heavy metal zone, if you know what I mean.

So far so good. I've only had it for a short time.

Haven't had to contact Jon as of yet. Others have said he's a great guy.

Definitely check this thing out. The adjustments are critical to attaining your preferred tone. The DO make a difference in the overall
flavor of the pedal...expecially that internal treble adjustment.
The difference between the "brown" overdrive & the "red" really add to
the tonal flexibility. Since there's no knobs sticking up, your adjustments stay put after you set them.

Fairly easy to use, 4 knobs and a couple internal pots.

Well...This pedal was a huge disappointment for me. I really loved my original v2 Blackstone, so I thought I'd like this newer one better because of the added controls. Unfortunately, I sold my V2 to cover the cost of the new V3. The V2 had an amazing classic hard rock tone. The V3 has an amazing 80's heavy metal tone. If you like metal, this is probably the best pedal out there. I hate all heavy metal, so that's why this pedal was such a disappointment for me. I hated the tone. It has a scooped mid sound which I found unusable. I wish I hadn't sold my V2, because they are getting almost impossible to find.

Built like a tank!

I emailed blackstone about getting some different caps and resistors for my V2 and they offered no support. They actually told me to go to Radio shack to purchase them. It didn't seem right to put cheapo Radio Shack components into a $225 pedal.

I hated this pedal, but if you're into metal, you'll probably love it.

Extemely easy to use...The controls are intuitive and very responsive

This unit is first in line before my tuner and many other pedals including a Cornish SS-2 & G2,2 germanium fuzz units.Really fantastic sound here.Other posters have discussed this pedal alone for rehearsal;I think for some that is not only reasonable,but in itself a great reason for to own this pedal.I cannot stress enough how great this pedal sounds alone.The attack and pick articulation are very sweet and the range of growl with volume knobs is fantastic....

I am extremely confident about Jon's pedal.I had the pleasure of meeting Jon Blackstone and know there is nothing to worry about there..

Again,I've spent a little time with Jon,briefly talking guitars,amps gear.Another great artist creating amazing tools for guitar players.

My Blackstone Mosfet Overdrive 2Sv3 was a very careful,specific,informed decision.Through my pedalboard thru preamp/splitter to a multi amp/multi speaker output the Mosfet Overdrive 2Sv3 does all I could ask perfectly..It will be insured immediately and replaced if it were to taken somehow.