Frantone Brooklyn Overdrive

Three knobs, labeled volume, tone and gain. Pretty easy, although, as some people have learned with overdrives, sometimes the knob settings aren't in the "logical" areas. This is one of those pedals, methinks.

To preface, My main amp is a Fender Twin Reverb, an amp notorious for hating Overdrives of any stripe, either making them sound thin and spiky, or just turning them into a "Louder" pedal. One of the reasons the Brooklyn appealed to me was 1) it didn't sound much like the usual Tube Screamer-style bunch out thar, and 2) It actually produced some good sounds when played out of a Fender Twin in the store.

To get this booger to do anything w/my Twin beyond a hefty volume boost, you've got to turn the gain up a few more notches than usual, which is usually just the opposite of what experienced OD heads will tell you. Once you're there, you get a sound that is kinda' on the primitive side. The closest comparison I can make is one of those nutty Electro-Harmonix LPB-1 boosters plugged into a small amp. It's got a certain neanderthal grunt to it, along with a certain amount of classic 70's overdrive and a hint of compression.

Higher settings, alas, don't turn the booger into a sustain machine. In fact, it gets downright weird when cranked, developing a hissy-ness to the distortion that sounds like it's got too much saliva in its' mouth, if it had a mouth. Remember how Eek the Cat talked? This pedal, with the gain cranked, sounds like him in fuzz-ese.

I guess the EH comparison makes sense, as Fran did design a number of pedals for Mike Matthews, including his New York Big Muff. This rascal certainly has some EH hallmarks, no doubt about it. Hopefully just the good ones!

The tone control is interesting. the highs mostly stay the same, but the lows get rolled off the further clockwize you rotate the knob. I don't know how some of these other reviewers griped about how thin this booger sounded, unless they had that thar tone knob cranked. That MIGHT do it, I guess...

The pedal is also extremely sensitive to dynamics--maybe a little more than I like; to get the grit I prefer, I usually have to crank the volume knob flat out, and I'm the kinda' guy that likes to back off a tad, then crank the vol. for the REALLY loud n' crazy stuff. But every now and then I can get it set juuust right to where my picking dynamics let me choose whether I want clean or mean. This might be my fault, not the pedal's, so it's a minor gripe.

I've used this pedal for the past year now, and gets knocked around in my suitcase of cables and pedals all time. It still looks good, and still works good, although I'm a little bummed every time the knobs get moved--I can never remember where I had 'em last, and have to experiment a bit before I can get the show rolling again!

A couple people have moaned that this pedal is a battery pig, and while It ain't nothing like a few analog delays I've had (which drink up the juice so fast you can hear the sucking noise), You will have to think about having a spare battery around every two to three weeks or so after heavy useage. One Big Gripe Here: When the pedal is on its' last legs, it doesn't conk out--the pedal just lets your signal pass through unaffected, whether the stompbox is on or off, the little blue light still glowing happily when it's on at this point. I'm sure Fran likely felt this was a smart thing to put into a pedal (no unexpected crapouts during your gig, for example), but it confused the heck out of me, leaving me scratching my head and twiddling the knobs over and over again, wondering if I broke the thing!

Moral of this story: Don't be a big shot--buy an adapter.

I had a conversation w/Mia on the phone one day, after I won this pedal on Ebay. Several of the angrier posts on here worried me into buyers' remorse (although the seller of pedal--like me--never had any of the troubles described). Mia was not the be-otch described on these pages: she assured me that anything that was goofy they could take care of it, but being a used pedal, I'd have to pay a bench charge. I never had to take the pedal in, but it's nice to know they'll do something. Plenty of folks out there don't do squat when your pedal is acting sick, boutique OR big box.

I like this little blue overdrive, for its' distinct tones and snazzy looks. I DO wish it got more sustainy instead of odd on the higher settings, though. There are lots of people out there who DON'T want an OD that compresses a lot, but on some occasions, I do. So it ain't my holy grail, but it does its' job fine, and with distinction.

This pedal just can't get a good sound.

Dude..I seriously can't understand how this pedal gets good reviews...I mean, if it was a danelectro or something, I would say that the price to sound ratio was good, but I still wouldn't use it!!! It sounds all fizzy and thin. A lot of people like to use overdrive pedals for that slight gainy boost thing - it won't do that since it loses all bass response. Some people like to use overdrive to fatten up an already pushed amp - it won't do that cause it eats tone, and completely changes your sound. Some people like overdrives with a clean amp that will give them a completely different sound. It does do that. especially if you like solid state fizzy overdrive. This thing just sounds sooo bad. I think other reviewers here are just put off by the price, and are not really listening to it! It doesn't matter how much you pay!!! If something doesn't sound right to you then guess what?? It doesn't sound right!!!

Um....runs out of battery soooo fast!!! My ts type pedals last forever w/o changing batteries. Whats up with this thing. Oh and that great look it has...that cheap *** paint job chipped off after a month...boo frantone. But other than that..yeah i guess it works.

Emailed them once...never got a response. From other people I talk to this chick Fran that runs the show is really arrogant. Maybe if she wasn't she would take some suggestions and build a better pedal.

Um....bad...just bad
I have tried other frantone pedals, and they sound ok...but for the price??? C'mon...the boutique market is huge right now...This thing sounds worse than some old digitech stuff I had when I was 13.

Easy to dial in a good sound.

This pedal is so interesting. It really has it's own sound. It can range anywhere from a clean boost to a VERY crunchy sound. It's as loud as all get out and just has it's own unique sound. Cleans up very well on the guitar volume and just kicks ***.

I opened this sucker and it is THE cleanest pedal I have ever seen. It was a thing of beauty- "everything is in its right place". The hammond enclosure makes it nearly indestructible.

I have heard good things.

This pedal is really something you have to play with. I wouldn't necessarily buy it if you're looking for a tube screamer kind of sound. It packs a lot of punch in the right places. It sounds a lot better to me behind my compressor- so I use it for a boost. Aesthetically- it is very pleasing to the eye- as all of Fran's pedals are. This is a unique pedal that you should really check out before you commit to buy. It is hard to pinpoint what it sounds like- but to me it sounds great.

Realy easy to use; just 3 knobs.

I use a G&L ASAT Classic Semi-Hollow (Tele) plus a Fender Tele and a Dr.Z MAZ Jr. Head with a custom made 4x12 cab. The Brooklyn is the only pedal I use. I compared it with the Fulltone Fulldrive II and the OCD and I must say, that for me it is by far the better pedal. It has lots of bottom end and deeper midds plus enough sparkling hights (which don't sound as harsh as the OCD's). So all in all the sound is realy punchy; very full and with a lot of dirt. It is not as clean/creamy as the FDII but more amp-like with more power. It makes a good amp sounding bigger. The pedal reacts realy nice on your playing and on it cleans up nicely when you user your guitar's volume pot.

Just best quality. I guess you need a tank to destroy it.

I never contacted them.

Since about 15 years I play rock'n'roll. With my band I am gigging a lot. The pedal gives me exactly what I was searching for: a beautifull and characteristic lead-sound with more then enough punch to cut through the sound of a rocking band. An other possitive aspect: as I said, I use a semi-hollow body guitar. With the other mentioned overdrive pedals, I always had feedback-problems -not with this one!

This pedal has two sounds. (1) Mainly it's a clean boost. A very sterile tone robbing clean boost. Completley kills the tone of a good sounding guitar.
It does the same to a [Tube] amp.
No warmth, very solid state sounding. It makes your tube amp sound like a solid state amp.
(2) It's supposed to be an Overdrive pedal as well.
A very bad sounding Overdrive. Sterile, scratchy, no harmonic saturation, boomy and dry, would describe the ilk. You can tweak all day and that's all your gonna get.

I've tried this with various premium Amps and Guitars. Guitars: Fender,Gibson,PRS. Amps: Fender,Boogie,Marshall.
Same results with every setup. This pedal has a characteristic sound that is not musical. So whatever you hook it up to, becomes the Brooklyn. It doesn't blend with your gear. Sterile and lifeless.
I bought it brand new, on the web, mail order.
I read a few reviews and they were encouraging.
I was offered a good price. So, I thought I would take a chance and buy without trying one, based on good reviews. Big mistake.
At first I thought it was not operating correctly.
I thought it was defective. But it turns out
that's what it does. It just naturally sounds like suck. It ate the first battery real fast. I put a fresh one in and that was consumed just as quickly.
That was one of the things [batterry drain] that made me think there was something wrong with it.
Yeah, there was something wrong alright. Decroded piece of crap. Recently I have found out that the blue lights [that all the Boutique pedal builders are using now] are battery drains. They need something put into the circuit to cut down the battery drain. You can do the math here. It looks beautiful. Sounds like crap.

Eats batterys. I have numerous Overdrive pedals and none of them eat batterys that fast. Batterys last a long time in Overdrive pedals period.
I wish I could unload this pedal but I would feel like I was flim flamming someone.

Ahhhhh, Customer support! I e-mailed Frantone about this Brooklyn thing and the Mia responded promptly.
Sorry Mia but I thought you were condescending and arrogant. I got nowhere fast. Now I bought this thing brand new from a reputable dealer. She suggested that the dealer or perhaps his customers did something to it before the sale.
I thought one would screen the dealers before making them part of the network. I know the dealer, he would not sell me a unit that was fooled with. He moves a lot of boutique pedals. I didn't want to send it back to him for a refund because he gave me free shipping and everything. I felt like I would be burning him. So I was stuck with it. So I thought I would contact the manufacturer to see if they could look it over to make sure it was working correctly, with the battery drain thing and all. So it turns out that they are posting a false claim on their website.
"If it fails they will repair it for free."
It eats batterys, that's a failure in my book.
Mia writes me that it will cost me $20.00 for them to look at it. Forget about it. I'm not taking any more of a beating on a badly designed piece of crap.
Frantone is off my list. These pedals aren't cheap. The customer service should stand up to what you paid for.

.How long playing? Since 1968.
What other gear? Too numerous to list.
.Lost or stolen? That would mean I got burned twice.
.What do you love and hate? Leans more twords hate.
Favorite feature? Good eye candy,but comes up short in the performance department.
.Compared to? Those cheap new $20.00 Dano Fab pedals blow this away.
Why did you choose? Hype and deal.
.Wish it had? Wish I had never bought it.
.Help make music? Sterile like the worst solid state amp you have ever played.
.Anything else? Save your money for a Fulltone Overdrive, anything but this Blue dingleberry.

Very easy to use, no manual.

Used with p-90 & fender type guitars, a silver face champ and a heavily modded Peavey Classic 30, a strong, nuanced and VERY LOUD overdrive

Seems well built, beautiful cobalt light

Never contacted them; they seem pretty personal.

I play roots music of all types. Ultimately, I have tweaked my classic 30 so much (new caps, reverb, tubes, speaker) that the overdrive setting on that was much the same as the brooklyn. I've been playing since '66, have nione guitars, three amps but presently ot a lot of pedals. I found it a litle loud for home use, also noisy with the Champ, with a high pitched whine. Perhaps it was defective.
All told, I regret to say that I think it's a little bit over hyped.

Very easy of course......just turn da knobbies!!!!!

I run an American '97 Tele and '81 Strat into Boss TU-2, Boss CS-1,Ibanez PT9 phaser, Ibanez Bi-chorus, Nobels ODR-1, the Frantone and finally a TS-9 with a baked mod from Roberto Keeley. My amp is either a Roland Blues Cube or Fender CyberChamp depending on how much I feel like lifting on a given night.

It's not noisy by any means. If you strike a chord there is a fuzzy "remnant" sound as the overdrive fades down to zero. I wasn't crazy about this when I tried the unit at home but when I actually used the unit on a gig I just loved the sound of the Brooklyn. I use it primarly for a light crunch and use the TS-9 for screaming solos. The two pedals work very well together with both turned on for even more sustain, harmonics and edge. Very cool. I have a Maxon OD-808 (new reissue) that I A/B'd the Brooklyn with and it compares very well. The Maxon may have a tad more growl turned all the way up but you probably don't want to use either pedal that way in any case. I noticed the level of the Brooklyn changes drastically depending on where I have it in my chain of pedals. Not so much the tone....just the overall level so you definitely want to move it around to see which pedals provide the best buffer for it.

Very Sturdy with true bypass and handwiring. You'll have to remove the little clear sticky feet if you want to velcro it to your board. I've been using it every gig for about 6 months. Not many folks have these so it's cool to be different and this unit definitely has a different warmth to it than other OD's.

I bought if from the Frantone folks on EBAY and they were very good and fast at shipping etc. The good news is that guys like Robert Keeley are so good at customer service that companies can't just blow people off anymore.....the competition keeps everyone a bit more honest.

I play contemporary country and some blues/rock stuff. Been playing 33 years and have lived the last 15 in Gnasvhille, Twangasee. This is a real cool pedal and solidly built. It should go up in value and it's got a really cool blue light! The only change I made to the pedal was to paint some white lines on the chicken knobs 'cause you can't tell on a dimly-lit stage where your settings are with the all-blue motif. If it were stolen I'd wish bad things on the thief and then go about getting another one. Highly recommended at a reasonable price. It warms my heart to buy something American Made also! Way to go USA!!!!

Very easy to use and fun to experiement. No manual included but none at all needed.

I have never written a Harmony Central review. Every thing I've ever gotten didn't deserve it. It had been said or it was not worth saying. This deserves it. A great pedal, which is use with a '58 Fender Princeton Narrow Panel with Weber 8 speaker, American Tele or handcarved jazz box. The tone and drive is as wide as you'll find in a pedal: clean boast to great rock, with jazz and blues in the middle. I really love it. I go from Clapton to Jim Hall to Pat Metheny to Joey Santiago (Pixies) to Kenny Burrell and Bill Frisell. I'm not saying this pedal emulates those players but that's the kind of music I like. This pedal give a nice jazz roundness to my Tele and when I want to go harder with the pick the pedal responds.

These are handbuilt pedals. I sense that the customer service is a number one priority though I have not had any problems with it.

It's not cheap but it's not junk, and the sound is worth every penny

Very easy to use! Volume, tone & drive, just lake a little amp! Manual? Don't need one! Very cool blue paint job and the LED is nice and bright!

I play strats through a 1964 Super Reverb or a Dr Z Maz 18 Jr depending on the venue. This box is not noisy at all! It sounds grat at any setting but I really like the tone set on 11 o clock and the drive set at about 2:30. It creates a more "transparent" overdrive somewhat like a Klown Centaur, but with more balls! It's not another Ibanez 808 clone either.. The Brooklyn has way more balls than a 808 clone! You can dial in a real clean boost or a real heavey blues / calssic rock distortion.

It's built "like a brick, ouuuse"

I have dealt with the company, Mia is awsome!

I play blues, rock & jazz, the Brooklyn is a good match.. I have been playing for 25 years and now am a full time guitar player working every night! If it were stolen, I would get another! I kust love the tone that comes out of this Brooklyn! I have been searching for a very long time for a good OD box. I have tried the Klown Centaur, sounds nice but way over priced! What's up with that? Other boxes I have tried are most of the 808 clones, aramat, keeley, KOB etc... I have also tried the "tube" boxes such as the tubester, mesa, budda, matchless and etc... This Brooklyn is the box I like!

da other ones-- fogetabtit

The Brooklyn Overdrive made by Frantone has 3 knobs: drive, tone and volume. It has an input and an output jack. It can either use a 9v battery or a 9v wallwart. It also has a colbalt L.E.D.(pretty cool looking when lit) that illuminates when the unit is on. It's pretty strait forward to use; all you have to do is plug it in and start wailin'. Use knobs for desired consistency.

I am playing through a combo tube amp and with guitars that are outfitted with humbuckers and single-coils.
I have to say this was the only pedal that exceeded my expectations. Not brutal or harsh at all. The Brooklyn does have an wide array of frequency within it tone volume. But does best when the tone is set around the 5:00 position. The drive is strong enough enough for me and leaves plenty of headroom when needed. This puppy is pretty quiet. There's no unwanted noise or feedback at all when playing or not playing. Thumbs up on this pedal.

So far so good.

I have dealt with this company and they answered my e-mails rapidly and even followed upin helping me pursue the original Hep-Cat. Those are hard to find nowadays. Also, they did answer my question accurately and in detail concerning thier other pedals. Congrats to those who have the actual Hep-Cats.

The style I often play is hard rock and sometimes to the heavier stuff. This pedal will do the trick most of the time. However, like with some of my other pedal, I wish they would have an easy access battery compartment instead of removing the screws from the bottom to replace the battery. But, I guess they just want to force the user to observe the detail in their point-to-point and clean wiring.

Well, ya know it is an OD pedal-if you can't figure out drive, tone and volume there is something wrong with you! Be careful with the output though-it is pedal to the metal-nothing timid about it. If you start with it all the way up I could see your speaker being blown out!

I am using an old Vox amp with a no name 2X12. Just want to push the tubes and not get a really fuzzy distortion. The Brooklyn really delivers the tone that I want-doesn't color my already great sounding amp. The output can actually power a speaker and is a bit too much. The tone adds more bass as you go to the left and sounds totally transparent all the way to the right. IF you take out the drive it does a great clean boost.

It is not a totally clean sounding pedals. there is a bit of a white noise sounding thing-I am a very aggressive player and the tone makes up for it. That is the only reason I give it a 9

I have one other Frantone pedal and have never had a problem. Hand made, switcraft jacks and built like a tank

Found a pix of the frantone grrls on the internet-very cute.

What more can you ask for, great pedals made by great looking women!

I play straight ahead rock. Nothing too weird or out there