Demeter Fat Over Drive

I first became interested in the Fat OD after having extremely good luck with the Demeter Compulator Compressor. It was the first Demeter product I owned and I thought I'd check out their other effects boxes. So when a Fat OD became available used at a reasonable price I bought it.

This unit is very easy to use. When turning it on for the first time you immediately have access to an array of good sounds. The knobs function pretty much like other OD units with various combinations of tone, drive, and level settings.

The tight/loose feature is interesting because it allows you to switch from germanium to silicon distortion. Overall I prefer the silicon setting because it gives a nice sharper aggressive british distortion sound. The germanium setting sounds a bit duller but does add more touch sensitivity while playing at lower distortion levels. In sum, I only use the germanium setting when I prefer very light OD, otherwise the silicon setting is what my ears like.

Sound quality on this box is excellent especially in silicon mode which is what I play the most. The distortion is nice and sweet, and somewhat similar to a tube amp without an over abundance of transistor artifacts. Playing overdriven double stops with this unit is a dream. They just ring out creamy and fat with just the right amount of buzz. And likewise single note lead lines have a nice cutting sweet pleasing sound as well. As long as you don't crank the unit into extreme distortion, the individual lead notes retain their character and don't get lost in the mud.

I also have a Fulltone FD2 which is nice as well. I compared the two side by side and was happy to find that the Fat OD is a completely different sounding box than the FD2. The Fat OD sounds fatter, much like an overdriven classic british amp. And the FD2 sounds a bit thinner with that special body and character that FD2s are known for that works well as a driver into a tube amp that already is creating tube distortion.

Overall, I love the sound of this box. It almost plays itself it sounds so sweet. It clearly is one of the best distortion boxes I have played.

To me, the Fat OD definitely sounds best when played with a Strat. I tried it with a humbucking Gibson LP and found that I liked it less.

Finally, this box is great for rock but may not be the best choice for heavy metal. It doesn't do the Panterra thing well. But that is to be expected.

Great. No problems. I popped the lid to see what was inside and found it was well built. Also, I noticed only one Electrolytic Cap in the whole unit which is nice because they tend to deteriorate over time. In other words, I like the fact that most of the caps are plastic film caps of some kind, which should keep the unit working for years.

I play everything from blues to rock to HM. I've played about 25 years. If the unit was stolen, I'd probably get another one. I plan on keeping it for a long time.

This unit is so musical that it can clearly helps my playing. My theory on music gear is that if it sounds good, then you'll feel good playing, and you will then play better because there is nothing annoying about your tone to get in the way. That's what this box does.

Ease of Use: 10

Very intuitive and easy to use. There are 4 Knobs: (from left to right) Fat, Gain, Volume, Tone. Two stomp switches - one for Drive. One for Boost (individual colored leds = blue on the left for Boost and Red on the right for Drive) and a 2-way toggle switch on the left side of the unit for toggling between Loose and Tight on the Drive circuit. And hold on I?m not done yet - there?s also an opening on the right side of the unit for external control of adjusting the overall level of the Boost.

Sound Quality: 10

When a pedal costs this much - I wanted to know it?s weak points throughout multiple amp and guitar setups to see if this unit could deliver bang for big bucks. For this review I used the following gear:

Guitars: Gibson Les Paul Studio, Fender Deluxe USA Strat, Gibson SG Classic w/P-90?s.

Amps: Top Hat Ambassador, Orange Rocker 30, Mesa Boogie Solo 50 Rectoverb and a Fender Blues Deluxe (4X10).

Here?s the Text from Demeter Amplification?s website as an introduction to the rest of my review on sound quality:

?Announcing the FOD-1 Fat Overdrive Pedal, the marriage of the standard MB-2B Fat Control/Midboost pedal and our recently developed overdrive, showcased at winter NAMM 2005.Combined into a single pedal, the midboost goes from thin to ballsy (think PAF), whilst the overdrive has the ability to go from edgy clean to filthy in germanium mode and edgy to dirty whilst in silicon mode.... it is very amp like in it?s clipping and has wonderful organic harmonic overtones. The first fifty produced are limited edition units painted exclusively by Jon Hayes at Wilkins Guitars <http://www.wilkinsguitars.com/>, with metal etching by Donner Rusk at Tone Safari <http://www.tonesafari.com/>, and all pin striping done by Larry ?VooDoo? Grobee of Sideshow Kustoms, Chicago. Each is one of a kind and will not be reproduced. Individual pictures available upon request. Call the shop for pricing and availability! 818.994.7658. ?

(I left in the info about the first 50 of these pedals being limited edition because the price these limited edition units are $350 each. I am relatively certain that the price will go down accordingly when some sort of standard model becomes available.)

Their verbiage in their intro is dead on when they refer to ?amp-like? because each of the amps I tested this pedal with required different settings to bring fully the best and beefiest tonal combinations out of the amp?s interaction with the FOD. Very organic with each amp - I liked that alot. By utilizing single coils, humbuckers and P-90?s and a good combination of amps - I picked this pedal for my November Pedal Pick of the Month because with each of the guitar/amp setups - I was easily able to dial in multiple sweets spots with all setups easily. The only difficulty I had was trying to decide amongts the delicious slices of heaven throughout the sweeps of each Knob and leaving it the hell alone :o)

The description provided by Demeter Amplification is so dead accurate - I don?t know what else to add to it:

?Combined into a single pedal, the midboost goes from thin to ballsy (think PAF), whilst the overdrive has the ability to go from edgy clean to filthy in germanium mode and edgy to dirty whilst in silicon mode.... it is very amp like in it?s clipping and has wonderful organic harmonic overtones. ?

Dead on accurate both at studio and live levels. The loose and tight controls are perfect descriptions of what each setting offers up. On the Loose side - think pure Marshall voicings - both on rhytms and leads. The Tight side gives you a slightly more compressed feel as the sustain can sweep the clock even at studio levels - ranging into Vox AC-30 turf and beyond. Amp-like to me describes this pedal the best because it extends the range and voicings of whatever amp it?s connected to. The interaction and full range tweakability with (including the external trimmer) gives you 6 controls with a wonderful sweep of raw throaty harmonics on each of the 4 knobs -and a choice between Loose and Tight depending upon the song you?re trying to cover - or even more important - creating your own unigue voicing.

When only the Boost side is engaged - the Gain knob takes on a different personality than it?s purpose served when used on the Overdrive side of this pedal. It becomes a superb Tone control - but not just what you would think of in normal terms - it noticeablely goes from sweet fat bottom ended to egdy to punch you through the band mix or if you prefer - to punch you in the face :o)

Because I wanted to set up one unit for everything dialed in on the Loose side (again for both rhythms and leads) and one for the Tight side (again for both rhythm and leads) I purchased two of these units so I could run them in tandem - which in and of itself just allows twice the tonal arsenal combinations to be set to work together as well as apart.

The unit is mostly very quiet with the exception of the Strat - unless you have noiseless pickups - you can elicit some white noise at the maximum settings on the bridge, bridge/neck, and neck pup settings. Of course running this pedal at maximum ranges through any guitar could damage your amp - this fucker?s got plenty of headroom and powerful volume to knock shit off the walls. So unless you?re deaf and need to run things at maximum settings - you?ll be fine :o)

While the stunning finishes on these limited edition pedals has nothing to do with the tone - it was worth the extra to me to have something unique and different on my pedalboard. These are true works of art - not only with these beautiful finishes - but THE TONE is worth every penny even at limited edition prices even if it were house in a plain black box. I?ve played for 40 years and gigged for 30. This pedal deserves my selction as Pedal Pick of the Month.

Reliabilty: 8

As I?m certain given the build quality of this thing is superb, I cannot rate it higher than an 8 because I simply can?t give a 10 to something I haven?t used extensively on the road for at least a year. I?ve only had these a couple of months - so I cannot possibly know if it will develop issues down the road apiece. Given the reputation of Demeter Amps - I?ll probably kick myself later for not giving it a 10. I reserve the right to come back at a later date and update that rating.

Customer Support: 10

Superb customer service and numerous communications from the builder while they were being built, keeping me posted as to his progress and when they would be shipped to excellent follow up after the sale to make sure I was pleased with my purchase. World class.

Overall Rating: 10

Nobody gets on my Pedal Pick of the Month page unless their product withstands the multiple requirements to pass every test and amp/guitar combination I run them through for hours before making certain I can give this high of a rating. If they were lost or stole -although the Limited Edition ones will never be reproduced - I would purchase two of them again no matter what finishes they were available in. Beautifully made, excellent voicings and beautiful harmonic textures throughout. As always, thanks for reading.

Rev