Fulltone Distortion Pro

The stomp box IS NOT easy to use and requires lots of tweaking. Part of the problem is that what sounds good with single coils doesn't sound good with humbuckers (and vice versa). This is definitely NOT a plug and play effects box. However, people who like to tweek will have a field day with this unit.

The Distortion Pro would rate a "10" if you rated just how it sounds using the bridge pickup of a Strat. However, if you select the neck pup using the settings that sound good for the bridge pup, you get a overly bassy, wooly tone. I don't hear the "Eric Johnson" tone people talk about out of the Distortion Pro, even when I play in his style using delay. The unit is not warm enough sounding for this purpose. Also, there's a grainy quality to the distortion on most settings.

The overdrive-like tones you can dial in are not bad, but are nothing like a Tubescreamer of Fulltone Fulldrive II.

You can get a excellent fuzz tones out of the Distortion Pro. The unit cleans up nicely when you dial back the volume knob on your guitar.

The Distortion Pro is one of those boxes that you keep tweaking and tweeking and are never completely satisfied with. That said, its the ONLY distortion box I know of that allows you to use the bridge pup on a Strat and get a good tone. Its a sort of Rory Gallagher/Walter Trout Strat tone. Its not a warm, liquidy distortion sound (at least I've been unable to dial in such a tone).

NOTE -- It depends on what your taste in distortion tone is as far as the ratings go. I could see someone rating this as a "10." For me, however, its probably going to be more of a one trick pony (and an expensive one at that).

ps -- I've been playing for over 30 years (including professionally).

Not all that difficult to use. The manual explains it pretty well.

I use Gretsch guitars, a hamer phantom with rio grandes and a gibson classic pu through a bogner metropolis or a mesa boogie nomad. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a good sound out of this box. All in all very fuzzy.

I am sure it is reliable as are all of Fulltones units.

Mike and Fulltone are always great!

I have been playing for 21 years and play professionally now. I have had lots of distortion boxes. Maxon OD-808, Fulltone Fulldrive II, Tech 21 Sansamp Classic, Big Muff (a long time ago!), Jeckyl and Hyde, various digital pedals, etc. This is the worst distortion pedal I have used. It's unfortunate, because the FDII is an excellent pedal. However, believe it or not the Tech 21 pedal kills this one.

Pretty straitforward, a bit more mini-knobs than I would like - oh well.

Great sounds. This sounds like creamy tube distortion to me. I've heard soooo many different pedals in my day - this sounds by far the most authentic. I've got an Anderson Hollow Classic T w/ 3 single coils into a Fulltone 2, Distortion Pro, Line 6 Delay Mod. into either a pro verb. or a classic 30 depending on the gig. I like it a bit more cranked through celestions - it sings.

Looks solid to me. Not too worried here.

I did e-mail Fulltone once and never got a response which I was a bit dissapointed about. I'm guessing that if I had a major problem they would be willing to help out.

This violin-like super-sustain distortion makes me want to sing lead lines on the guitar. Not for every perfect sound in one box, but for what I'm going for it's a must. Fulldrive 2 is a perfect compliment on a much less driven scale. They make the best effects, I'm convinced of it. It will cost you indeed, but better to buy really good stuff to make music with once than a bunch of garbage several times, and in the process never really sound that good and save a few pennies. Eventually you'll have spent more on the junk than if you would have just bought quality in the first place.

This is not an instant gratification device! I spent several hours working with this pedal(not all at once)The manual gives you enough to find what you need, but it ain't easy.

Fender Pro Tube Twin,Clyde Deluxe wah, Fat boost,Fulldrive 2, Dist Pro,69 pedal, Am. series Strat. It is very quiet,and very sensitive. Once I found a sweet sound,I added the fat boost,then the 69 and I was getting way more than I hoped for!IMO one pedal doesn't always do it, but the combination of 2,3,or 4 can take you over the top. The Pro stands alone, but kicks ass with help!

I have 5 Fulltones, and reliability is one of the reasons why.

Never had any problems, but have emailed Mike several time and almost always got answer. No complaints here.

Its obvious I'm a Fulltone geek, the reasons are clear,high quality, dependable, and perfect for 60's and 70' rock.You can get some shit sounds out of this pedal,and lots of people have, but you can also get total power and great distortion as well.What some people are missing here is the versatility of the Pro. No matter what your style or your gear, this baby has something to offer. It is not generic, and it ain't easy,but it will take you where you want to go...mostly

A really easy to use pedal. Two large knobs (Volume and Drive), along with four semi-recessed mini-knobs right below them, with controls for Resonance (adjusts the unit's bass response), Voicing (a nifty tone control, which seems to morph between a more focused "scoop" and a broader mid-oriented tone), Highs (as it says, attenuates the highs), and Saturation, which I think is one huge key to using this pedal. I have mainly guitars that have humbuckers in the bridge position - or rather, I should say double-coil, because hum-cancelling singles are just NOT the same thing at all.

With 'bucker loaded axes, I keep the saturation control down almost all the way (counter-clockwise), as this seems to tighten up the loose ends just right. Now, if I plug in a guitar that has a bridge position single, I find I have to twist the Saturation knob almost all the way the OTHER way (clockwise), otherwise it will sounds REALLY thin and pingy. Now, even so, these are definitely different sounds with a single-Strat and clockwise Saturation settings, than those that you'll get with a bucker-Strat and counter-clockwise Saturation knob settings. This one knob drastically alters the gain structure of the pedal (all the knobs do, really, in their own way, but to a much lesser degree). Also, turning the Saturation up seems to reduce overall volume.

All in all, the controls on this pedal are VERY sensitive, and also very interactive. When you twist one, you may have to twist one or two others just to make that one adjustment. This kind of design is a double edged sword. On one hand, it takes a bit of time (not a lot, though) to get familiar with it, and know that if you twist "this", it'll sound like "that" - so it's tempting for strict "plug-and-play" types to get a couple of so-so sounds and figure it's not for them. But on the other hand, the level of overall control this arrangement gives is astounding - even if, ultimately, you get one sound that you stomp on or off.

Well, I wouldn't call the sound "pristine" (as it is designed to sound "funky"), but the overall sound quality is very good, and the Distortion Pro gets those rich, complex, 3-D tones you've always wanted. Well, the ones I'VE always wanted anyway. First, I want to address all the reviews where guys have said, "this thing doesn't sound anything at all like Eric Johnson's "violin tone". To which I just have to ask, is there, like, a "version 1.0" of this pedal that I missed the first time around? With both my pedal, and the one I tried out in the store, I can't get the EJ sound OUT of this pedal. Everywhere I set it, creamy sustain just oozes out of this thing, the mids squish just right. It even "kinda" sounds like Eric even on some of the raspier settings.

Okay, first up, I'm running this pedal with various bridge-position humbucker loaded guitars, Heritage "335-style" and a Strat with a Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates. Yes, you have to crank the resonance back some for the Heritage, but not as much as you might think. I run mine into a THD 2x10 Plexi combo, but when I was trying the pedal out in the store (plugging in every different guitar I could find), I was running it into blackface Fenders and clean Carr amps (also "blackface" style tones), and the sound was NOT very dissimilar than through my THD. I guess the main difference is that through the Fenders, the lead sound was "a lot like EJ", wheras through the THD, it just nails it. Now that I've got the EJ sound (or something very similar), I find myself trying desperately to NOT sound like him, especially since I learned several of his easier to moderately hard licks (though I don't really have "Cliffs" worked up note-for-note yet). Also gets a great "Jeff Beck x 10" type of lead sound, and with the volume back on my guitar some, I get a lot of older overdrive sounds, the big thick ones I've never been able to get, like Hendrix's sound on "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)", and any Zeppelin song where Page gets that HUGE sound (possibly due to double tracking).

Now, if you're using a Strat with singles, you may find yourself turning the Saturation control up clockwise a good bit (the opposite of buckers), as the other way sounds like overdrive added on top of a rather "pingy" strat note. Still, the sound is definitely in a different space. I didn't get very EJ-like sounds out of the "normal" Strats, though I did get big, fat, smooth, and responsive gain out of it. Though, I will say that I haven't played a regular Strat through my very plexi-Marshall sounding THD, so maybe that's the ticket. But this pedal may be the ticket if you've got an old Strat, Super Reverb, and are looking for a pedal to get very Robben Ford like lead tones out of it. But, bottom line, if you're playing a stock 50's Strat through a Twin Reverb, you probably won't find very many EJ-like tones in this pedal. If you just HAVE to have that sound, and you have a good playing (but not particularly all that valuable) Strat, take my advice and get it routed and slap a humbucker in that thing (a Pearly Gates would be my recommendation). Also remember that Eric rolls of the tone a tad bit on his guitar's bridge pickups, rather than rolling off highs from the amp or pedal (believe me, there is a difference), so this is an additional factor that a lot of people are facing that are stricken with "EJ lead tone" fever.

Also, let me address another myth that has been propagated here with some of the more glowing reviews by saying that YOU CAN GET A BAD SOUND OUT OF THIS PEDAL. Yes, it is possible. And by that I mean that you'll likely get sounds you don't dig at extreme settings. And, well, that's just the nature of the beast on something that has this much control. The sound you want is most likely in there, you just have to dial it in, because this pe

Read the other reviews on this. I love Fulltone pedals, but always end up selling them for one reason or another, so it's hard to say from PERSONAL experience just how well these pedals stay togather. I will say that I have heard of no technical problems with any Fulltone products.

I never know what to think about Mike sometimes. He's always been very helpful in all my interactions with Fulltone, but I've never thought he was a very warm, friendly person like some claim (hard to guage from just e-mails, anyway). That's REALLY important to some people, but ultimately, I'm just happy when they're not overtly rude (you'd be surprised sometimes). They run a business, and are not running for public office.

But, to give you sort of an idea, one time I wrote a really glowing review of the FatBoost (which I no longer have), and Mike just wrote me out of the blue, and said, "Hey, that review deserves a free Fulltone hat or t-shirt". So, I wrote back, sent my address, and jokingly said, "If I trash another Fulltone product online, do I have to send them back (kidding<g>)?". He replied, "Yes - not kidding (well, kinda kidding, depends on how it's done)". So, bottom line, I dunno - It's been over a year, and I still haven't gotten my hat (hint hint, Mike). I'm sure that if I finally got it, Mike's "good guy" rating would likely go up a full 10, or so (he he he!!!).

P.S. for Mike - as far as hats go, I've got a big head (I just know I left myself wide open on that one...)

Yep, another overall 10 on a boutique product review. You've seen plenty, I'm sure. Some that deserve it, and some that I thought, "boy, that guy sure has bad taste if he gave THAT a 10". All in all, it's not in the rating a product receives, or even what I or anyone else says about it. What you have to figure out is if something is for YOU. (the rest of this is more of a general commentary on tone tweaking in general, a few places pointing out how that specifically relates to this pedal).

I've run the gamut over the years, as far as guitar gear goes. For a long time I was looking for the perfect channel switching amp. And I went through a LOT of them, Riveras, Bogners, Boogies - all kinds, really. And I've had plenty of single channel, non-master amps, as well, both vintage and boutique (old Marshall plexis, a late 60's Park amp, Matchless, Diaz, and many more I can't remember). Along with these, I always had an assortment of pedals. At first, most of them were TS-808 type designs, complete with crowded mids, plastic highs, and rubbery low end - when you got low end, that is. And let me say, for the record, that my Fulldrive II was probably the only Fulltone product I didn't like (I think it was this that finally helped me make up my mind that I don't like the 808 type sound - if I did, I'd definitely still have the Fulldrive II).

It's really hard to compare this pedal with anything that's out there, because there just isn't anything similar available. As far as I can tell, this is a totally unique design. I hear certain "tubelike" elements in its inherent sound that are somewhat similar to a couple of their other fuzz pedals, like the '69 Pedal, the Ultimate Octave, etc. But there are many, many other qualities to this pedal that are not in any other Fulltone pedal I've heard. For one, I haven't seen this level of control over one basic sound in ANY pedal. For another, this is a pretty unique overdrive sound to start with, so any comparisons to other overdrive, distortion, or fuzz units will ultimately break down. It's a unique pedal that fills a specific need. Please don't review this pedal here if you're looking for a scooped-mid death machine, as there are already PLENTY of pedals that do that on the market, and this is not one of them. Although, I will say that I've gotten it to "chug" in a very heavy metal-like manner, but true metalheads will most likely prefer one of the many units already on the market that produce killer, ripping sounds, like the Hughes & Kettner Tube Factor, or the Soldano G.T.O. Supercharger. Hell, even certain Boss pedals through the right Marshall will get those sounds, depending on what you're looking for. This pedal is voiced entirely differently (even when you set it for more of a "scooped" sound). It's for those that want to hear vintage, classic overdrive, but with about a ton more gain at their disposal.

I fully realize that most people's taste buds were whetted with the promise of EJ and Brian May tones. And, to a large degree, those sounds are in this pedal. But most people have no clue how Brian or Eric get their sounds in the first place. Brian May, as any self-respecting, guitar playing Queen fan knows, gets his sound by cranking up an already great sounding Vox AC30, and getting more gain by pummelling the inputs with a Pete Cornish treble booster. Eric Johnson gets his sound by cranking up (see a trend here?) his old 100 watt Marshall plexi, and slamming it with a Chandler Tube Driver (which, if you heard it through a clean Fender, you realize it has very little gain, and a "way too soft sound").

Now, I'm not saying it's impossible to get a very similar sound if you don't have their rigs (and not to mention their prowess on the instrument - if you suck, trust me, even the best gear won't help your sound all that much). What I am saying is that you HAVE to at least take into account how they got thei

Knobs all do exactly what they are proported to do. No suprizes here.Pretty easy to dial in a lot of different tones.

Not a lot of low end clarity. Seems to muddy up dissonant sounds. On the plus side the midrange was spanky tubie!!! Not bad thru my Naylor but pretty unimpressive thru a new Traynor 2x12(which by the way is an incredible amp for the dough).Great at low volumes but seemed to lose balls the louder the amp got.

Don't know. Only had it for about 72 hours. Looks tough. My Dejavibe II seems to be a tank too, so I'm supposing this one is too.

Havn't had to talk to Mike yet.

Don't know what to say here. I don't want to slag Mike but this was not the best thing I've seen him build. Maybe the distortion II will address these issues. If there is a Distortion II. Don't get me wrong. Its a cool pedal, but it doesn't quite live up to the hype. I think I'll hold onto my Matchless Dirtbox for a while.

6 knobs...Volume,Distortion are the 2 main knobs and Resonance,Voicing,Highs,Saturation,are the mini knobs, at first I thought this would be a lot to dial, but right away I got my sound and then all other little adjustments seem to bring out my desired tone even further , so I must say it is a pleasure to use also I understand there are internal adjustment to fine tune for pickups and different guitars , i.e. Les Pauls Humbuckers and Fender single coils etc. but I never had to change these , but it is nice to know that is available if needed.

Fender>Fulltone Clyde>Fulltone DejaVibe>Fulltone FullDriver2>Distortion Pro>Ibanez delay 2>Marshall jtm , I saw Robin Trower and he had these pedals so I figured I couldn't go wrong.

I Love all of my fulltone , I have had some for years and NEVER had one go down , and they all have a great warranty, no worries

never had to deal with them but with a transferable warranty and all my heros use their stuff ,I give a 10 10 10 perfect!

I really find it hard to believe any Guitar player would dislike this pedal for that matter any Fulltones they are made for Tone!You could spend alot searching or you could spend alot with fulltone , Your choice , choose Wisely

We got six knobs PLUS 2 inside trimmers (get here only if you know what you're doing). It's not the easiest job but not THAT hard.

Warmoth Custom and Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. I got great sounds just plugging in. When I started setting things I went to distortion heaven pretty soon.

The thing is damn well constructed. No prob this far.

Like said before, not a prob.

This pedal is, without question, one of the best buys in the market today. I was a little skeptical at first but once I tried it I felt in love w/ it. VERY "tunable".

Small knobs are hard to turn. Also takes some playing to find your favorite settings. But man, once you've got them ... see next category!

(Tom Anderson Classic w/ Fender Hot Rod Delux) FANTASTIC. I played tons of distortion pedals in my search, and this is the only one that gave me that "more than overdrive" but "less than Metalzone 2" distortion. The closest thing I can compare it to is the Boss OS-2 (the overdrive/distortion pedal), but that thing is a huge tone killer! The DP-1 is transparent as I've heard. I paid a lot to have the perfect strat style guitar, and I want to hear it when the pedal is on. The DP-1 shines here.

That being said, this pedal does what it does perfectly, but it doesn't do everything - specifically it doesn't do the "slightly overdriven strat tone" typical of a Tube Screamer, and it doesn't do the intense distortion typical in today's metal-rap. For me, I use my amp for the 1st, and don't need the 2nd.

But if you're into Eric Johnson, classic guys like Jimi Page & Hendrix, Brian May, or a host of other guys with a more middle of the road rock distortion tone, I would recommend this as the ultimate distortion pedal.

So far, no problem. Had it 7 months.

So far so good. Mike Fuller has personally answered several email questions about how to get good tone out of the pedal. He's also replied with settings he used on his own music, which you can download from www.fulltone.com.

However, he occasionally doesn't return emails. But I don't hold that against him too much as he appears rather busy making great gear.

For me, this is the perfect distortion pedal, given that I can't afford an amp that matches that great Fender clean tone while providing a great distortion tone.

Only other drawback is the price. You get what you pay for, and the DP-1 is worth every penny - but that doesn't make it any easier to pay $200 for a pedal.

Just plug it in and start dialing away. You'll soon find many distortion settings that sound great. It helps to know a little bit about sound though.

Dozens of good distortion settings. Many bad ones as well given the unit's tremendous flexibility, but these are easy to adjust out. This unit can stand on it's own. In other words, it sounds good without requiring additional distortion to be added by your amp.

Good all around distortion. I think the marketing line about Brian May tonality is a bit of a stretch, but could also be my amp. Never had a fuzz/distortion box that didn't sound different using different amps.

Currently I'm using it with a mesa/boogie MK2. I drive it with a variety of strats/LPs/PRS's. The DP definitely maintains the general tonality of the guitar you use. Strats sound thin while LPs/PRS sound thick. Does not make a strat sound like an LP like some boxes, though I consider this a good trait.

Overall this effect is a bargain for the money paid brand new.

Built like a tank. The case is especially well engineered.

My idea of customer support is that the manufacturer builds the thing so it never breaks and so I never need to call him. Nothing personal against Mike Fuller, but I never really want to have to talk to him. Appears to score well using this criteria.

I like most styles of distorted rock music with the exception of extreme death metal. I never liked playing clean. I've played for 20+ years and use distortion in a variety of diffent ways with a variety of touch sensitivity. I prefer a box for tone and one that let's me hear exactly what I'm playing. This box delivers. And of course, if you want a noise generator to hide what you are playing, there are settings here that will do this as well if you prefer, although this is not my bag.

Great bargain for the price although I have other fuzz boxes as well that cover some territory this one doesn't. Still rate this one a ten though.

Easy, sounds great on any setting but the controls are self-explanatory. The Internal Trimmers are very useful.

Can't say enough about the wide range of sounds. With the "Saturation" Control,you can vary the touch, attack, and feel making the notes more spongy or more firm, very cool!

It's a F-U-L-L-T-O-N-E, they don't break

ALways there, nice folks, I don't waste their time with my personal problems, requests for endorsements, opinions on other products, and I just right get to the point. ALways get an answer via email.

The last heavy distortion I'll buy, would buy it again if someone took it!

I got this from a well respected local Dealer,they carry all the Boutique stuff and know how to use it, They fired this thing right up for me and I was off , I have not had any problems getting many different tones with each slight tweak the pro yielded all the tones I was wanting and Have been looking for what can I say its easy !

I have a number of amps ,Marshalls , fenders , orange , and a DR Z , The Z is my main amp it is the 18watt maz jr. the Pro , sounds awesome in all of them , but it is truly magic in my maz ! It also works with all my other pedals with no problems ,I have many I try to get all the good ones and alot of other fulltone stuff too. It Rocks !

Well I think I have a very large collection of effects , you name it I own it , I also like to do my own soldering and repairing of my own gear and have a basic understanding of electronics so I will sometimes repair my own stuff ,having said that , I Trust everything by Fulltone it is the Finest Quality I have ever seen in any pedal , I never worry about it , and that peace of mind is priceless to me !

Fulltone is Awesome they Truly Support their products with the Highest level of professionalism , They have always answered my questions and needs !

I don't ever mind spending the bucks for the good stuff , you get what you pay for ! in the case of Fulltone It is a must have !!! I will always look to them for the best effects ,They always seem to make a box that makes the tone I have been searching for .

Although there are several adjustment knobs that interact with one another, I found it fairly simply to pull great tones from my Distortion Pro. The manual gets you started quickly, but 15 minutes of tweaking is more than enough to get you familiar with the unit. I'm just thankful the great tones ARE IN THERE for me to find!

My setup is: Prs Custom 24 > Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive > Fulltone Distortion Pro > H20 delay/chorus > Maxon analog delay > Marshall TSL100 / 2x12 1936 cabinet. The Distortion Pro is silent (true bypass) and really gives me that sweet, violin type of solo sound. It has plenty of punch to cut through, and what does "cut through" is worth hearing. I went through a shit load of distortion pedals to get this tone.

So far it's been very reliable. It's part of my "permanent" pedalboard, and is very well built. I paid alot of money for it, but I sold a few Boss pedals, a Morley Wah, and an Electric Mistress to ease the pain of $219 for one pedal!

Have not had a reason to call for service or supprt (thank godness). I've heard some good things, read some good things. But have no personal experience to tell of at this point.

I play rock, neo-soul, reggae and funk. I've been playing 15 years, have gone through a ton of gear. The Distortion Pro is a great match for me, though a pricey one. Get rid of a few pedals to help pay for this one, though. It rocks. Sick tone. Before I purchased, a few guitarists and two retailers started off by telling me how difficult all the settings would be to tweak, but I have very little problems making this pedal sing, sustain, and 'bleed' tone. The L.E. D. light between the knobs makes it hard to see at times, but the on/off switch feels solid, the knobs are 'out of the way' when I do need to stomp on the pedal, and the housing is solid. Seems like it's built to last. Boss Metal Zone, Ratt type sustain without all the excess distortion and noise. I can actually distinguish my guitar's individual tone.

Not your ordinary distortion pedal here the EQ interacts with its self kind of like a Mesa Boogie amp Boogie players now what I mean, change the mids and the highs and distortion change also the DP is kind of like that. the rest of its use is well explained above.

YUCK!! this is the worst pedal Mike has made and dont get me wrong I'm not bashing him I love my FD2 and Fat Boost to death, but this thing is garbage. I'm using a RI Bassman stock & jumping the inputs on the amp and running a Strat and a Paul. in just the normal channel I got it to sound kind of OK but with the input jumps it was very fizzy and buzzy sounding and I really couldnt find any of the tones Mike says you can get, NO BOSTON TONES HERE BOYS!!! and I tried all the adjustmens inside as well and was really not impressed.
But I will say it did have a tubey kind of crunch and feel sort of.

Save the $200 and look else where kids.

Fulltone = Tank

Mikes always been heplful to me the few times I contacted him.

Maybe this thing screams in other amps but in a bassman I was not impressed. be sure you try before you by people

The pedal is very easy to use and you can get many different sounds from it. I don't really care about trying to sound like anybody but myself, so I can't really say if it does the EC thing or whoever else Mike Fuller talked about. The trim pots in the back are invaluable in tweaking the sound of the pedal, one suggestion don't mess with the mid setting on the internal pot. The gain pot is very helpful as it removes a lot of the fizz that people talk about in other reviews posted here.

I really like this pedal, it reminds me of a matchless hotbox I had but I think it's better(because it's smaller and I don't have to plug it in). I have a blackstone appliance pedal that I compared the distortion pro against and I would say that they are both outstanding pedals with different strengths. The blackstone is slightly more focused and even more sensitive towards volume changes at the guitar. You can go from clean to dirt just by raising the volume from 8 to 9 or 10. Sometimes this can be great and other times annoying. The distortion pro is not quite as sensitve as far as volume changes go but it is still very sensitve to dynamic changes, what I like about it as well as the blackstone is that they make the amp seem larger than life. Many pedals close down amps and really kill your basic tone, these pedals do nothing but improve it. I use these pedals with a tone king comet and I cannot complain at all. In the past I have owned, way huge llama, green rhino, fulltone fulldrive both versions matchless hotbox, and compared these pedals against numerous others, In my opinion not much out there beats these two pedals for obtaining good overdrive/distotion tones. Neither of these pedals is made for heavy metal although the blackstone can do the scooped mid thing very well if you after that kind of tone. I do think that with the humbucker guitar I used it ran too hot, but that was before I adjusted the trim pot, also I play single coil guitars so I don't care about that.

I don't know, probably will have no problems.

I heard the guys a total dick, but that's from other people aka. his dealers, I can't say.

I play jazz and funk and love blues, it works well for this type of music. I brought the pedal into a music store and three guys asked me what I was playing through and one of the guys wanted to knowhere I bought it, so I guess it must sound pretty good. I would by it again, in fact I'm thinking about buying a back up for they make any changes.

It isn't to hard, but it is a little tricky. the manuals suggested settings were helpful.

I play a prs ce 22 into a budda wah+, whammy 1(O.G.), FD2, Distortion pro, loop sataion, DD5, into a Vox AC30 with GREEN speakers(the green speakers sound awsome, I say this, because I couldn,t find any comments on the green speaker vox, only the almighty blue speaker) The distortion pro sounds pretty good it is comparable two the v-twin( I a/bed them) the dp was a little better in sound quality, and tone, and quieter. the dp was good enough to knock the v-twin out of my rig. the chords are kind of muddy , but the solo notes are smooth and eric johnson like, cool if thats your thing I suppose. I am going to give this pedal a low nine because i think there is something cooler somewhere, but I haven't found it yet. maybe I just haven't had this thng long enough

I play spacey rock type stuff. been playing for 15 years now, I don't know if I would buy it again, pretty spendy for a one button pedal. the v-twin is only about a 100 more and has two channels. I haven' really had it long enough, so the jury is still out. so far it sounds great, and cut throuhg really nicely with my band. over all I say 8 if it had another channel it would be 10, as far as sound goes It is really cool, I dont think you can go wrong with this pedal, it is expensive, but if you don't like it you can sell it on ebay and get what you paid for it easily.

this is a REALLY hard one to rate. This pedal has so many variations in tone by just a fraction of a turn of any of the pots. there are also two trims inside that adjust gain. this pedal is a noodler's wet dream. I'd have to give this pedal a 7 for versatility, but not all of the tones are well, "good".

Here is another hard spot. Tone is a very subjective thing. I have been playing since I was 14 (I'm 32 now) - but does that REALLY make a diference? I can certainly hold my own in any playing situation, and my quest for good tone is maybe beyond obsessive..so with that in mind, here goes...

this is my typical setup:

strat (72 strat w/ noiseless singlecoil pu's) - knucklehead rivera 100watt amp (high gain input) - marshall 1960a 4x12 cab.. the pedal seems to favor the "chunk" channel rather than the clean, although the clean channel is spiffo too.

effects chain:

ernie ball volume - fulltone clyde wah - Dpro! - fulltone ultimate octave - line 6 delay modeler - fulltone supra-trem - fulltone fat boost (can you tell I like fulltone stuiff yet??) - monster cable - george L's effect patches...

alright geek stuff out of the way...the pedal is pretty GREAT. the tone is very "smooth" compared to the rivera overdrive channel alone (very marshall-like). I have played this through my effects chain and alone and have achieved very similar results. my effects chain is VERY "transparent" to my ears. "true bypassed as much as possible..short cords...yadda yadda yadda

Now I can see why some of you may be dissapointed with this pedal as far as "crunch" tones go, this pedal was NOT made for distorted metal tones like the BOSS metal zone...blech!!! (why, why , why???), the pro co rat , or a big muff. Just listen to Mike's recordings...blues/rock. This pedal is perfect for that. Now, with MAJOR noodling you CAN get something SIMILAR to EJ's tone or Brian May's tone...well, sort of...WITH the right setup, and their technique (good luck!).

My first encounter with this pedal left me a little disappointed...yes, I am very american and impatient. i want that sucker to leap out of the box and practically play itself, Yes i am ashamed to admit that...but (BIG TIP HERE), you MUST NOODLE WITH IT....that's why Mike put all those damn switches on it!!
The sound is very "organic" to my ears, and you have to have good technique to make this pedal "shine". it gives back at you excactly what you put into it. If you want a pedal that will magically transform you to sound like the latest "therapy band playing through triple rectifiers" go back to the drawing board 'cause this AINT GUNNA DO IT. this pedal is not for you. this pedal requires PATIENCE...

This distortion (if you can call it that..really sounds like a smooth overdrive - not well named Mike!) is not a holy grail, but a very well conceived tone device, that can, if used as a tone device, can help create for some really interesting solo "tones" (yes, this pedal is better for soloing than rhythm work - it gets a tad "mooshy" in the lower registers if your not careful). So all in all the pedal is like a good amp...YA GOTTA NOODLE WITH IT!!!

One more thing...this thing favors strats (like Mike)..I've tried it with my les paul, and it favored the single coils for some reason...I see this pedal as a laboratory...somewhere in this thing is a magical les paul tone - I know it!!

Mike builds some seriously hardy pedals...with all the best parts. I don't see it breaking down for quite a long time...

N/A

I play just about everything, and i can honestly see using it in many situations where I'd have to solo (a rarity in music these days.. right?). This pedal shines in the blues and blues/rock genres. Anything harder than that it seems to not quite fit in. I have played through many distortion/overdrive pedals and this one has to be in the top three...now of course there are some new pedals out that i need to check out, but in the meantime. This one is my favorite. I would probably buy it again if lost or stolen...If I had the extra cash...this is a very "classy" (excuse the 70's vibey word) pedal. Like i said before this pedal shines with the more good technique you put into it..if that makes any sense.

Straight forward with the exterior knobs. You may need to spend some time with the internal trimmers to define your tone.

I use a '61 Strat (which I bought brand new in September 1961 at Manny's) into a Fender Blackface. Effects that I use are the Distortion Pro and a King Vox Wah.

I like the sound of this pedal. It works for me. I've recorded with it.

This pedal is well built. Steel enclosure, true bypass (DPDT switch)

Customer Support......Fulltone is a one person show.....if he's not around you get no support...if he is, you get support

Nice little stomp box, it comes with my recommendation.

OK, it has more knobs than a Tubescreamer. It's well worth the time and effort to tweak with for the control over the sound. The "saturation" control, as others have mentioned, is very cool, allowing you to dial in more attack or compression as desired.

This pedal sings -- just the kind of musical, full, non-buzzy distortion and sustain I was looking for.

Fuller's pedals are built to last. I've gigged solidly with a Fulldrive 2 for the last two years, no backup, no problems. I expect the same with this pedal.

Never dealt with them.

The best pure distortion pedal I've ever played. Would definitely replace it.

Very versatile pedal, it takes a little time to get familiar with all its features. But once you do.............watch out!

There is, hands down, not a better sounding distortion stomp box or multi-effect board distortion on the market today. This bitch rocks, very full-sounding, nice sustain. I'm a 60s/70s rocker (I started playing guitar in 1976) and this fits the bill to a tee. This pedal will not provide a good metal distortion (which is fine by me, since I hate that sound).

My main rig includes: G&L Legacy guitar, Peavey Classic 50 2X12 combo, effects: '69, FD2, DP-1, Sweetsound UltraVibe, RMC Picture Wah, BOSS EQ-7, Danelectro Delay, Marshall Compressor.

The DP-1 can conjure low gain distortion all the way to near fuzz mayhem. Those past reviewers that have stated that this unit is too fuzzy is beyond me. I've compared it side by side to my '69 and Foxx fuzzes, and its sounds nothing like them. In addition, out of all my overdrive/fuzz/distortion pedals (including my amp's distortion channel), no pedal works more fluidly with my wah pedal and UltraVibe. Also, the DP-1 engaged with my FD-2 sounds awesome with endless sustain and controllable feedback.

Excellent pedal for rock/blues. Metalheads keep away.

Will last forever, steel chasis.

I bought it from www.musictoyz.com, I'm not worried. Mike Fuller stands by his products intimately.

Best pedal I own. I recommend it.

Just plug in , there is not a bad sound in this thing , though it is a knob tweekers dream , it just sounds great with all my guitars !

Wow , I have been searching all of my 20 yrs. of playing for these sounds , I mean Hendrix , then onto EJ , then how about that Holdsworth singing lead tone , man this is a " Marshall in a Box " too , now I get my amp sounding awesome at lower volumes . again WOW !

I am the proud owner of several Fulltone tone machines , they all have been through hell and back and work perfectly I expect the same from this little armored box

I have had to deal with them for a broken pot that my singer poured beer into and they sent me their quality parts that day , and I also got a few choice tone secrets out of them :) They are so helpful I know they are so busy , but I want to call them everyday Mike always has the right answer , btw Thank You Fulltone

as I said I own several Fulltone boxs , but I did not hear about this one untill I read June 02 issue of Guitar Player mag. Their review was awesome and I got one the next day :) do your self a favor check out this issue , don't take my word for it , I think you will agree !

I was initially skeptical of the 6 knobs because of some of reviewers stated that it was hard to get a good sound out of this box...huh ?
I plugged it in out of the red box (w/ everything set to 12 O'clock), and was completely stoked out of my mind. Then I did some slight tinkering (11 O'clock here, 1 O'clock there, yadda yadda yadda) and have found THE SOUND. It seems to be hard to get a bad sound out of it...Because there are 6 knobs to fiddle around with, and they are all interactive, it does take a few more minutes to find the sound you like best than say a Boss DS-1, but that is made up in the sound quality department.

Wow !!! My set up is simple - Epiphone Union Jack Supernova, VOX wah wah, and Fender Champ 25 12" combo(w/tube power amp). I set the amp for a just slighly overdriven tone (my "clean" setting) and off I go. The amp has decent distortion (it was designed by Rivera), but it is low power and pushes one speaker...

I am striving for a sound combination in the vein of RUSH and TOOL... With my settings I am able to get the cleanish tone I like, and with the push of a button, the thick monster tone...beefy, if you will, The timbre of the effect is sooooo musical.

I cannot understand how previous reveiwers keep dissing this pedal, unless they do not know what the hell they're doing. I had never heard this pedal before, and am a proponent of the "tagibility factor" (see it/try it before you buy it) and took a $219 gamble hoping it would pay off in killer tone - I hit the jackpot. I have not been able to dail in a bad sound. A freakin' $219.00 distortion pedal had better sound good though...

This pedals tone kills my shrill DS-2, and puts my RAT ('81) to shame.

True bypass is the icing on the cake. Every note (with my settings) rings thru - not mushy at all, and power chords are HUGE !!!

I have not had any issues, and the pedal seems to be a little metal shithouse (weighs a ton for a little pedal)...fomr what I have heard from different techs and Fulltone users, this pedal will last a real long time. Again, costing $219.00, it freakin' better...

I haven't had to contact Mike, but th epedal comes with a five year, non-transferable warranty. Again, there shouldn't be any issues.

This is the pedal...fattens up my single 12" combo with a gnarly mean sound that have been looking for. Thru a Marshall 1/2 stack (1959 SLP) it was nuclear holocaust squared. Not a bad sound in this pedal, and tons of versatility. Perfect for what I needed.

I bought this pedal without trying it, and took a big gamble. In general, you get what you pay for. In this case, I did.

SCORE !!!

took about 10 minutes to get a very usable tone, suprising seeing how many knobs there were and how picky i am.

i run a early 70's strat through a twin reverb. effects include morley emerald echo & univibe. responds well to effects. very quiet. i am very happy with the dynamics of this pedal compared to other distortion pedals where everything turns to mush no matter what you play. distorion can get loose at higher gain settings so i choose to set the distortion knob at 10:00 o'clock giving me more gain than an overdrive but with a tighter sound.

this pedal is a thing of beauty. i would gig without a backup.

never dealt with M. Fuller.

i play depressing rock music. this pedal can murmur and it can scream, just what i need. if it were stolen i would have to get a second job to get a new one. these pedals aren't cheap, or maybe i am.
either way i don't want to lose this pedal.

Has Many controls, all very self explanatory:
"Resonance"=Bass, "Voicing" covers Low Mid to Treble, a very linear sweep...very effective! "Highs" is a Presence control it seems, and "Saturation" is AMAZING! This allows you to dial in or out compression, and to bring back in the "string" for a more focused sound. Quite amazing for such a hi gain device to have this kind of clarity. It has internal trimmer that allow for Pickup Gain compensation, and the #2 one is for RADICAL changes in the basic behaviour of the Gain/Midrange content.

A lot of sounds in this box, very old Marshall, Dumble sounding.

Like all Fulltone stuff, over engineered, built to last

Mike's always there when you need him. I have a different view of customer service myself....I don't call a prolific, busy businessman and ask him what amp I should buy of what order I should put my Boss effects in. I email him when I have a problem..period. And I can't fucking BELIEVE the whiny little highschool snots who cry that they didn't get their 20 minutes on the phone with Mike. For Christ Sake, these other boutique Frantones, Landgraffs, Barbers, etc etc cloning Mike's stuff have NOTHING but time on their hands, of course they want to talk to you for hours. They aren't supplying over 100 stores with top notch product. Get over it! (rant over)

Great pedal, especially if you use a quality Clean amp and want the most CONVINCING Marshallesque tones.....a huge pallet of tones!

With six knobs you have more to deal with of course. I don't like this pedal, so no... I don't think it's easy to get a good sound out of it. If you like this pedal, yes... it's probably easy to use and it looks cool!

Okay, I just think this pedal is way too aggresive. I mean when you turn the distortion down to zero and it's still very distorted there is a problem in my opinion. This creates a lack of flexibility big time. I think this pedal wants to do one thing and if you don't want to go that's too bad. I don't like to be dominated by a pedal. I have a great hardtail Strat and a Singlecut PRS as my main guitars. Mostly Fender and Marshall amps. Main amp. is a reissue Fender Bassman with a Hoffman point to point board kit, E.H. tubes, Fender stand alone Reverb Unit. I guess I'm a Tube Screamer guy. I don't like the E.J. Brian May ploy. That's just trying to sell a bunch of pedals which it probably has. I like the Fulltone line though!

I'm sure it's fantastic like most pedals....

Probably better than a big company....I don't know. I hear it's moody.

I didn't find the knobs that interactive. The saturation control is just mush. Why not call resonance, voicing, highs...lows, mids, and highs? I didn't think there was anything transparent about the pedal. It just wanted to be a club fisted brute with a ton of sustain. There's a place for that but that's all I thought it did well.