Blackstone Appliances Mosfet Overdrive 2Sv3

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.

Alot of people say this pedal requires alot of knob-tweeking. I agree, but once you understand the dials. I find it very easy to find tune this to your taste.

UNBELIEVABLE. My god, this pedal makes ALL other overdrives look sad. I
play a Strat through Fenders or Marhsall and play tons of Hendrix, Pink Floyd and psychedelic blues. And NO-ONE is more of a tone-snob than me. I have wasted tons and tons of hard-earned cash and fought with my women trying to locate the "Holy-Grail" of overdrives and have NEVER been satisfied. I've owned (2)Fulldrive 2's, (2)Vintage TS 808's, a Klon Centaur, Marshall Blues-Breaker, Maxon OD808, you name it. This pedal is more than all of these combined. I sold my TS808 because something was missing in the tone and because it would not work in conjunction with my Foxrox Captain Coconut 2 (the ULTIMATE Hendrix machine, see my review). This pedal works beautifully on either side of the Foxrox and does not color the sound in ANY way, only enhances it in magical ways. Both channels sound fabulous to my ears. Highly flexible. I use the brown channel for blues and rythym and the red for screaming lead. I changed both internal capacitors to a 220pF and now I can max out the red channel without any loss of high end and also use the // channel for great cleaner SRV-type Strat sounds. This pedal cleans-up beautifully with your guitar's volume knob. And the harder you play, the more it screams. The tone is phenomenal and really let's your guitar and amp's natural sound shine.
I can honestly say a long, long nightmare has ended in search of this overdrive. This is a revolutionary work of art. Waste your money if you want to and buy a Fulltone or an Ibanez TS808, but if you have an ear for tone, you will find yourself with the Blackstone in the end. This tiny pedal is monster like you would not believe.

Too early to tell, but I've owned enough pedals to know when one is built to last. Not only is it a beautiful design. It's smart, compact, ingenious and looks like it will survive Armageddon.

Jon Blackstone's customer service is unmatched. My first Blackstone was making an unusual noise. He sent me another one out IMMEDIATELY so that I could have it in time for my gig, trusting that I would return the first one. Put THAT in your pipe and smoke it! His ALWAYS answers my emails and annoying questions promptly. Superior customer service and product.

I think the sound quality alone is enough. Like I said, save you money and your marriage and you can cheat on your wife with this beauty! The best overdrive on the planet, period.

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This is a follow up to the previous review.

I finally got fed up with the switch playing up. I returned it to Guitar Experience who replaced the switch and turned it around within a week. Score is for vendor.

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This is the latest version bought new in Feb 2005. I have not tried any other version so cannot comment on differences in features or sound.

The Blackstone Overdrive has a lot of features, some of them unusual. It's quite a complicated pedal to set up and so I'll break down this section into smaller sections.

External controls

This is a twin channel overdrive and there are two footswitches and five knobs. The enclosure is the same size as the ZVex pedals. The 'knobs' are in fact metal trim pots and need a screwdriver (or fingernail, plectrum/pick) to adjust them. The channels are voiced and named differently, the brown channel is lower gain. Each channel has a volume and gain pot. The tone control is shared and instead of a treble rolloff, cuts mids. At extreme attenuation treble and bass is increased. The gain knobs are unusual, in that the min gain point is 12 oclock. Adjusting the control either way increases gain. However the counterclockwise gain has been voiced for humbuckers and clockwise, for single coils. The single side has more gain and more mids.

Internal controls

There are two internal trimmers. These need a tiny cross head screwdriver to adjust them. One is for overall treble and the other for overall gain. So if the Red channel isnt enough for you, there's more, if the brwon channel at min is too much, there's less. The factory position is in the centre of the travel and look like this

+ +

There are two caps mounted on sockets. These control overall presence and (wait for it) the bass response on the red channel counterclockwise gain. Alternative caps have not been provided but the manual gives values and how they affect the sound. Finally there is a tiny buffer switch. This puts the pedal into buffer mode (it's still true bypass). This pedal has been designed to turn down the gain from the guitar without loss of 'tone'. However the pedal has to be first in the signal chain. If you cannot do this (ie using a fuzz or wah) you can switch to buffer mode and place it where you like. There is a loss of turn-down-ability.

Summary

This is a very easy pedal to use , as the knobs stay where set and there is a lot of tone shaping available. It can be set for two guitars or for rhythm and lead or two different overdrive sounds. It will do light overdrive to metal. The trade off is that you can spend weeks tweaking.

I'm using various guitars and amps. However this pedal was bought specifically to work with my Les Paul and a clean amp. Compared to the overdrive from my cranked Nano it is very very close.

One of the footswitches sometimes doesn't work. I'll have to get it seen to before Feb next year.

Dealt with Guitar Experience always had good service.

I play various styles and I needed what I define as 'classic Les Paul overdrive' when using a 100w valve head that just will not break up. This is an excellent substitute for amp overdrive in those cases where you need cleans and dirt from the same amp.