Fulltone Full-Drive 2

This overdrive has tremendous range when used with a tube amp. You can barely touch your signal all the way to monster overdrive. As a result, your sound is fairly senstive to the knob settings.

Here's my setup: FD-2->6L6 JMP 50w MV. Amp Pres 5, Bass 4, Mid 6 Treb 6, Vol 5ish, Preamp 5.5. FD2 volume on max w compression on, tone 1/4 to match guitar, OD on Zero, Boost on 3/16. Guitar is Les Paul Std played mostly on the bridge. With no effect I have a great jangly distortion and crisp crunch. Activat the FD-2 and I get clean volume boost and a monsterload of harmonic disortion (JEW'ish). Hit the Boost and I have even a bit more volume, awesome ringing sustain, and clear awesome clear palm muting crunch (think Descendents but a little more clear in the low end). I can't say enough about the clarity of this effect and the harmonic richness it adds to the old JMP. The added compression is perfect. Also, the value of true bypass cannot be understated. I now have three usable guitar levels, all of which sound awesome.

Dunno, sucker has great build quality.

No opinion yet.

I am discovering good quality analog effects and loving it. I'm a distortion guy and this is the shiznit. If you have an old marshall half-stack, there's no way you can go wrong with this one. I haven't used this on a recording yet, but my band is http://www.splitchristie.com

I read the reviews on this site and had a reference from a professional jazz guitarist friend that Fulltone products were high quality and excellent sound. Upon setting up the pedal alone with either my Am. Tele or Am Deluxe Strat into a late model Reissue Deluxe Reverb amp, the 12 o'clock settings I started with were amazingly full and provided natural complementary tone to both guitars. So immediate tone, no tweaking required. And getting good OD from fender stuff is not easy.

Haven't tried it with all my humbucking guitars yet, but the SG standard, L6S and Explorer through a Rivera Jake combo set on clean in either channel are smooth and dynamic, even with the comp setting down. I am a chord junky and even the most complex chords are articulate and three-dimensional with the pedal. Muted arpeggios and sweep picking have never been more fun to play becuase of the sweet OD timbres obtainable with the FD2, and these are the rhythm styles I enjoy the most when playing support/backing guitar.

Compared to other pedal I own andhave previously owned, this one is built right up there with the best, the baked enamel paint is well done and looks quite durable, the hardware is top quality switches and LEDs, and the smoothness of the pots attests to the attention and care of the manufacturer. I would use this on a gig without a backup as I have used lesser quality pedals without problems without backups. But then I don't abuse my equipment.

Haven't had to contact them yet, but I hear from my musician friend that Mike Fuller is professional and is very helpful, courteous and responsive to customer needs. My 10 is based on a trusted friend's experience.

I have been playing for 31 years in a variety of settings, mainly rock guitar and bass, professionally and as a project musician. I own and have owned amps by all the major manufacturers (Vox, Marshall, Fender, Crate, Peavey, Rivera) and guitars by Gibson, Fender, Rickenbacker etc. I also have been searching for THE OD for a long time, having invested in Pandora, SansAmp, Boss (SD1,OD2,MT2,GT6), Digitech, DOD, Ibanez, ProCo Rat, EH Big Muff Pi, TubeWorks Real tube, boxes and non of them rivals the FD2 for quality OD, right at that point where it breaks up. The tone of all my guitars remain intact. Well worth the bux IMHO.

I posted a review a couple of days ago, and I wanted to add something I forgot to mention. I am playing on a Fender Pro Tube Twin Amp. The gain or distorted channel is totally awesome!! It stands on its own! The Fulldrive 2 does not change that great sound, but it enhances it. It boosts, and intensifies the wonderful tube distortion that the amp naturally has. It does not muddy or color or change the sound. It also adds sustain. I have not spent any time trying the clean channel and the FD2, eventually I will.

posted in previous review

Mike emailed me again, responding to an email I sent him. I have no complaints with him. I have never had any actual breakdowns or problems with any of his products, so I can't comment on customer service

The more I use it, the better I like it!!

I,m pretty slow, so it took me about30-45 minutes to find the sound I wanted, and to figure out other settings I may want to use. If I can do it, anyone can

I'm playing on a Fender Pro tube Twin Amp,, Fulldrive 2, Fulltone 69, Clyde Deluxe wah, American series Stratocastor. The FD2 is very quiet,Until you turn it on, then all I can say is WOW!!! you can play it with the boost switch off, and it is very clean, even when distorted, hit the boost and it gets really nasty in a good way. The sound cuts through very nicely, it doesn't get mixed together. I'm still learning how to utilize all the different options ths pedal offers. But what I found today, I would be happy with if that was all it could do, but it is very versatile, and I know I will find out a lot more as time goes on. I guess you can tell I like Fulltone pedals, the true by-pass is a nessecity, They are hand made in America, and they do kick ass. This pedal is without a doubt my favorite

These things are built like small tanks, I would never worry about anything major going wrong.

When I got the 69 pedal, I emailed Mike and thanked him for the quick delivery. He emailed back and just said cool,and reminded me that I could eliminate some of the fuzz by turning the volume on my guitar. I've read some negative things about him, but I have never had a problem with him, He seemed cool to me

I play blues,60's & 70's rock, Cream, Hendrix, Skynyrd,etc. And this pedal is perfect for what I like to play. It gives you the early style distortion and sustain that I love. I've been playing for 30 years, mostly accoustic( Takamine acc/elec.) I quit playing for5 years, I started back 1 year ago, I have bought 5 amps, 2 guitars and several pedals. I started researching gear on the internet, and thats where I found Fulltone pedals. I will always play A tube amp, probobly always play a Strat, and I will absolutely always use Fulltone pedals. I would replace all 3 of them in a heart beat,and may be buying more later.The Fulldrive 2 is a super pedal, and I could not be happier. Don't settle for D.O.D's or some of the designer pedals, save your money and buy something that sounds great and will last.

IT PRETTY EASY TO DIAL IN SOMETHING YOU WOULD LIKE...JUST GIVE IT SOME TIME . AND MAKE YOUR TUBE AMP IS MAINTAINED WELL. BAD TUBES BAD TONE NO MATTER WHAT OD YOU USE

I USE A FENDER VINTAGE RE-ISSUE STRAT HITTING A MXR DYNA COMP ,FD 2 ,BIXONIC EXPANDORA [ORIGINAL],BOSS GE-7 EQ AND ACOUPLE OF DELAYS AND CHORUS EFFECTS GOING INTO A FENDER HOT ROD DELUXE WITH A CELESTION VINTAGE 30 SPEAKER........MY SOUND IS VERY MUCH LIKE DAVE GILMOURS AND ALEX LIFESONS WITH THIS SETUP. NOW,AS FAR AS THE FD 2 IS CONCERNED?...I FRIGGIN' LOVE THIS PEDAL. I'VE HAD ONE FOR OVER A YEAR NOW AND IT HAS NEVER DISAPPOINTED ME ....THE ONLY TIME IT SOUNDED BAD WAS WHEN MY TUBES WERE IN NEED OF REPLACEMENT...A FANTASTIC UNIT..IT DOES EVERYTHING I NEED IT TO DO.

THIS PEDAL IS VERY DEPENDABLE. I NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH IT SO FAR..AND I WOULD AND DO USE IT WITH OUT A BACK UP. SOME GUYS HAVE WRITTEN THEY WORRY ABOUT THE SWITCHES BREAKING BUT I DONT FORSEE ANY PROBLEM WITH THEM

I NEVER HAD TO CALL MIKE FULLER YET...IWILL SOON THOUGH ...I'LL BE BUYING MORE OF HIS STUFF

I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS UNIT TO ANY ONE LOOKING FOR A REAL NICE WARM, TRANSPARENT ROCK/ BLUES TONE I'VE BEEN PLAYING FOR 22 YEARS AND TRIED JUST ABOUT EVERTHING. ITS WORTH THE NEARLY 2OO DOLLARS FOR IT...NO HYPE ..I'M BEING HONEST...GO GET ONE IF THIS IS THE TONE YOU'VE BEEN AFTER.ALSO, THESE REVIEWS FROM OTHER GUYS HAVE HELPED ME IN GETTING ONE ...SO READ ON BELOW

I own the last version, with the black knobs.
Very easy to use and to get a good tone, manual is short but well done, and quite useless if you have ever use an od. pedal ..
The push/pull knob could have been replaced by a switch, but it's not a big problem ...
Oh this pedal has a true pedal, which is a great feature.

In one word: fantastic ! I've played many drive box, but this thing beats everything.
Very warm, transparent, dynamic, not noisy ... can get every sound from a clean boost to a hard distortion (with the boost).
I use it with a std. Telecaster and a Marshall Bluesbreaker reissue. I mainly play "rock" music and it fits me very well. Can't say enough good things about THIS sound.

Mine is 1 year old, and is like a new one ...

After spending a lot of money in effects, i finally found the ultimate drive box. It's not a cheap pedal, but it really woths the money.
This thing is just perfect: 2 chans, true bypass, sounds like a tube amp at any volume ... a dream.

Easy to use and sounds great REGARDLESS OF THE COLOR OF THE KNOBS!!!!!!!

The last reviewer seems in a pooey mood because of the "black knobs"!!!!! Dude who cares,man get over it.Why piss and moan over such a little issue.Paint the fucking things if it bothers you THAT much!!!Mine sounds awesome in every way an overdrive can be,hell it's like having 2 pedals with the boost on it.Always wanted a pedal with one of those.Oh,and I as well have the one with the black knobs too.

Looks solid and reliable

I would hate to have to deal with whining asswholes who shits out the mouth over such things,I never spoke with Mike but if I did have to call him,it would be because of a SOUND DEFECT in a product I've bought,not color.That's just juvenile.

If anything,this is a fine piece of gear,it stays on most of the time in our sets and souds WAY beefier than any TS9s AND it has true bypass.Hey Mike ya might want to put new pics of your products on your website just to let "some" people know you ran out of white knobs,but for the most of us,I'm sure it doesn't REALLY matter,or does it?To me it's always been about the sound,and at the end or begining of a gig,that's where it's at.

yes, so easy. had a good sound dialed in 3 seconds.

I am playing a prs ce22 into a budda wah +,whammy1(o.g.), fd2,fulldrive distortion pro, loop station, dd5, into a vox ac 30( the one with GREEN speakers). The full drive 2 sound is really smooth, the best over drive I have heard next to the natural break up of the ac 30. the boost kicks it up a bit so I can rock it little harder. this pedal lets me ease up on the volume of my amp a bit. i would rate this a 10 . for overdrive pedals, this one is surely the best I have ever used. dumped my v-twin for it.

It aint cheap, but is frickin hand made the man signs all the pedals himself, and answers the emails and phone calls and plays in a band and invents new pedals, I think it is more than worth the price, boss is made by robots and it sounds that way too. This is my second fd2, because it was STOLEN! This over drive is rich in sound and it is inspiring.

Four knobs can't be that hard to figure out, right? If you got past preschool, this shouldn't really give you any problems. Never got a manueal, I bought it off EBAY.

I'm running a Am. Tele Plus with Lace Sensors through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, 1x12, everything stock. For fx, Ernie Ball volume, Boss DD-5, and maybe a Vox wah. A fairly quiet pedal, barely hisses at all, but I also tend to keep everything down below 3 o'clock.

The thing sounds wonderful, although I seem to have trouble with my bottom end distorting, when ever I plug into the pedal. However, I have problems with my bottom end even when I plug straight in. I can't say that the pedal does mess with my bass, but I can't say it doesn't either.

This thing is built like a rock. I'd bet you could throw out of a plane and it'd still work, but I'm not willing to try it. Can't give it a 10 because it hasn't seem too many gigs yet.

N/A

Like I said before, I tend to play very bluesy, and this pedal is the perfect fit. If it was stolen or lost, I would first cry, because I don't have the money to replace it. Eventually I probablly would get another.

I compared to tons of other products, including Tubescreamers and Maxon re-issues. I loved the warmth of this pedal.

I do wish it came with a goldfish. I like goldfish.

Original orange version, no Comp-Cut and pre-flatmids, dated 06/97 on inside of the pedal. Bought it used on ebay, it's a bit scratched up on the outside but works great, although the Volume knob is a little looser than the other knobs. I tested it to make sure it worked before submitting ebay feedback, so I quickly plugged in my Guild SG copy with very old strings and all I can say is this pedal is AMAZING. Once I got the volume dialed in, it had the basic sound I've been trying to capture for the past five years. Fat, thick, overdrive. The last time I got this sound was through a Marshall halfstack cranked in a studio setting, not too easy to do with a 2x12 openback combo at bedroom volume levels. This pedal will do that, easily. The Overdrive control on this version interacts with the regular drive channel, not just the added Boost section (I think this is different on the newer Blue version), and the Boost setting doesn't add too much but more distortion as far as I can tell. But again, that's just at bedroom volume levels and as soon as I can open this thing up, I'm pretty sure I'll hear more of a difference between the selected boosts. I tried a new Blue version and it sounded cleaner, but not as thick and fat as this one does. That's what I'm looking for with my Overdrive.

I set it up going from my Guild S100 (sg copy) with a stock Guild humbucker in the bridge and a Gibson PAF in the neck, through my VHT Valvulator, to my Teese RMC2, to the Fulldrive, out to my Rivera Hundred Duo-Twelve on the Clean channel. It gives a warmer overdrive in this way than I've been able to get out of the Dirty channel of the Rivera. I'll probably set that up for solo/leads, keep using the FullDrive2 for dirty rhythm. Also, I'd been using my Teese into a Danelectro Daddy-O before I got the Fulldrive2. The boost setting on the Teese was overdriving the Daddy-O in a really ugly way. No such problem with the FullDrive2.

It came in worse condition (in my opinion) than the ebay seller described, much more scratched up and dinged than I would have expected and missing not only the rubber feet but one of the four screws on the bottom (in his defense, it was being used in a pedalboard so the feet had to be removed). But the switches and knobs work great, as do the leds. If I could get another one for backup I would, but I don't think it would be needed. I may get a new Blue version, but probably just for different tones not for backup. I'd be more than happy to gig with this without a backup, and not worry at all.

Never dealt with anyone at Fulltone, but to be honest I was happy that it worked fine so I wouldn't have to try to get it repaired. I've thought about adding the comp-cut mod, but I don't think it adds much to the new Blue version and I've read that Mike Fuller is opposed to adding newer mods to his older pedals.

I've recently been getting back into indie-rock styles, after studying Jazz for the past few years (I'm going back to school for a Bachelors in Music Theory, Jazz Studies). Sort of Slint, Jawbox, Fugazi style stuff. I was thinking about trying to find a good Marshall JCM 800 halfstack if I want to start playing in a band again, but this will do what I needed for that style. In addition, it will work great for any rock style, blues-rock, even electric style jazz (I hate to say fusion, but think more like Sonny Sharrock/David Torn stuff). My gear now is either a mid-70's Guild S100 (SG copy) or a '98-'99 American Strat Deluxe with the early Noiseless Vintage pickups, into a VHT Valvulator > Teese RMC2 > Orange Fulldrive2 > Danelectro TunaMelt Tremelo > old Ibanez Phase > DOD Analog Delay > Rivera Hundred Duo Twelve with Los Lobottom 300w powered subwoofer. After playing for almost 18 years I've finally started to discover really good tone(s) and also started acquiring the gear that helps me get those tones in my head. The Fulldrive2 will definitely be a big part of those tones. The only thing I'm disappointed in is the minimal amount of change to the tone when the Boost function is engaged, but again I've only tried it at bedroom volume. I did compare it to a new Blue version, which was cleaner sounding but also not as thick sounding as the Orange version. I've already come up with new riffs, just from plugging it in for five minutes, so I really feel it will be an assett to my playing in years to come.

controls are self explanatory, it takes a few minutes to dial up a decent tone

im using pretty much a strat and a fender hot rod deville 2x12 with this pedal, it sounds ok but i dont care for the boost mode, any setting higher than 9 oclock produces this horrible bassy sound, maybe i just got a dud? i wish i could get the sound i use now in normal mode then switch on the boost and it actually sounds usable, oh well

fuller does make quality stuff

never dealt with the man yet, maybe i will try to get in touch with him about this boost mode problem

i play everything from blues to rock to fusion to jazz and country , this is not my main source of tone but it has been getting alot more use lately, i doubt i would buy another one

Very easy to get a good sound out of it esp you are looking for Robben Ford, Larry Carlton's bluesy fusion-style tones. You don't have to look for a dumble amp. The manual is simple but is effective as far as basic instruction is concerned.

First of all, I am not a metal guy, so my needs is a bluesey rock, fusion guitar sounds. I owned Gibson 335, fender strat, godin LGX and PRS CE22. I have played through them with FD2 and with the same amp (a blues jr.) I found FD2 seems to work particularly well with Strat only. For other guitars, I would rather use a tubescreamer or bluesbreaker since they have more high ends. On strat, if you play a rosewood neck, I have to put the treble knob near to 10 and my tone knob of myt FD2 clockwise to max. I haven't try a maple neck with it which I am looking forward to try. The pedal performs without much noise and can be used in better playing situations including in studio. When I jam with other guitars (using PRS+GT6+Boogie Amp), I found this combination give you a very classical sound that gets through very well. So I win with a smaller sum of budget!
n the other

The pedal is robustly built. I do not play in gigs that often, so I can't say anything on this.

No need to call. So far it is working poperly

I am amateur player for about 20 years, playing mostly rock, blues and jazz fusion. I must say it is good match for my music style. I would highly recommend this pedal if you were a "strat" man even if you have a TS808 or TS9. If it was stolen, I will buy again without hesitation. I wish it can be cheaper! It is quite expensive since I live overseas and have to play dearly for the shipping costs.

This pedal takes alittle while to figure ou, then it's easy to set up.

I tried this with a 65' Tremolux head with a JBL D120-F 1-12" extention cab. My first thing to do was to set my amp on a nice clean setting with a good amount of punch and headroom. Then I hooked up the FD-2 and listened to it in bypass mode. That seemed pretty nice and transparent. When I switched to the overdrive setting the tone immediately lost the highs and could not dial in a clean sound, even with my guitars volume rolled back. This pedal is not transparent!! The boost setting was ok but I was still disappointed with the loss of my amps tone. With the volume pot comp cut pulled out it did a better job but still I could not find the amps true tone. I thought this was a better pedal because I had heard and read good things, but I was disappointed when I got it home. (by the way, my amp sounds incredible plugged straight in!) This pedal didn't make my amp sound better, but worse!

I don't think this pedal would be a problem as far as reliability is concerned.

I play rock, blues, fusion, and heavy rock styles. Been playing for over 30 years. I've had lots of overdrives and distortion pedals along with many killer amps. This pedal doesn't help me get the overdriven tones that I want but its not all that bad. Wouldn't buy it again.

I know the knobs are very straight forward, but the pots are so easy to turn and can be prone to moving when bumped. Also the " Comp-Cut " pull out knob would be better if it was a switch, it is also prone to be bumped and pushed in by many-a-drunk-people in clubs. Doesn't need a manual, I didn't even know it had one untill later. I plugged it in and turned all the knobs to 12 o' clock and it sounded good.

I use Fender Telecasters of all kinds ( because there are so many different ones ) into a Fender '59 Bassman re-issue, with the tube rectifier replacing the solid-state hockey puck. This pedal is very quiet. You can crank up the overdrive and boost and get very minimal noise, that impressed me. No overdrive I've ever heard is perfectly quiet, it comes with the territory. This pedal is my baby. I really feel like my money was well spent. I am absolutely thrilled I have it! I have been searching for a good tone for 12 years and was always left dissapointed by pedals that were said to be " the best. "( 808s, alot of botique pedals, even tube driven pedals ) This pedal lets me sing, it makes my amp happy and alive. It uses the JRC 4558 chip like the old Ibanez-Maxon 808 Tubescreamers, but doesn't lack the bottom end like those do. Also, true-bypass, a big one in my book. The presence control helps alot, it either takes out or puts back in the high end that is useful unlike some pedals where the tone control just makes it sound muffled when down an abrasivly harsh when turned up. It focuses on a good frequency range. It is a very warm sounding pedal, very musical. It has that nice " clean-over-dirty " sound where the pedal has like two signals one clean one dirty, that I used to hate and now I love after I cranked up my amp. Chords don't sound fuzzy and unrecognizable on either channels. Its almost as if he designed this pedal for guitar players! (lol) I don't use any other effects. I know this pedal sounds good, because I keep coming back to it after I go out and look for new ones. We finally have a good relationship now, my guitar and I. I would never put this pedal any where near a Boss or most mass produced pedals.

I've never had a problem. I would use this without a backup at a gig.

I don't know. I heard Mike Fuller is nice to his customers, but a royal jerk to the stores who sell his stuff. That's a shame if it's true.

I play alt-country, and American-roots-rock 'n roll. I have been playing for 12 years. I don't own anything else. I would buy another one if anything happened to this pedal, after I stopped swearing and throwing things. I love the classic, musical, pleasent tone it gives me. This pedal is a gem. I recently tried out a Boss "Drive Zone" Multi unit because it had a Fulltone Fulldrive setting on it. I was offended by the claim and the atrocious sounds that came out of it. This piece of garbage couldn't even come close. When will they learn? I hope Mike had nothing to do with that. I've tried so many pedals and I always come back to this one. It inspires me to play more. Hand signed too, very classy.

Very easy to use. Setup in seconds.

I was blown away by the sound. This is the first overdrive/distortion pedal I've ever heard that doesn't color the sound in some way. It's totally transparent. The overdrive function is subtle and sweet, the distortion is very nice, there could be a bit more distortion IMHO, but it's workable.

I'm running this into a fender hot rod deluxe with the only other effect being a visual sounds H20 chorus/delay. Mostly I'm playing a Parker P-44 or a Stienberger GM4T.

I can't say enough about how impressed I am with the transparency of this pedal.

I've only had it a short time, no problems at all.

I love this thing. Highly recommended

Very Easy

Perfect for older vintage amps, new tube amps, any amp with a great sound. This is because it does not color or add to the tone, it just gives your amp a great overdrive sound without having to turn it up to 10! True Bypass. This gets great creamy distortion, and you can adjust it the way you want it. Not for Thrash or Hard Core Metal, but great for the Zepelin, Hendrix sound etc.

The only thing that ever broke was the foot switch when I kicked it a bit hard by accidnet (not stomped from above, but kicked the distortin on off switch straight on when I thought it was in a different place). I had it over a year. Mike replaced the button for free and I got it back within a week.

Responded to email within a day, I shipped it out and got it back within a week (I live in California). Only cost was the shipping. Short and to the point.

I have had this pedal for about 2 years.
My setup is Wah>Deja Vibe>Full Drive 2>Line6 DL4> into a Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb. It sounds great with this or my 69 Deluxe Reverb. Perfect for tube amps that dont have a distortion Channel. It lets the amps tone shine through while still being distorted and great.

It's very easy to get good sounds right off the bat. The pull-comp and boost features are nice additions that require extra tweaking.

I'm a strat player that needs to cover a lot of different styles. I also have to play through a variety of amps for studio work. Therefore if I'm playing through a super clean Blackface twin, my Fulltone '69 or '70 won't like it without a hair of overdrive. That's where the FD2 fits in nicely. Plus, when it's in the chain with the '69 it doesn't monkey up the sound with buffers etc...I tried the Line6 Distortion Modeller because it claims to be true-bypass (maybe it is) but it kills the sound of my fuzzes. I was surprised to find that I really enjoy the pull-comp feature for cleaner boosts. There are so many positive things to say about this pedal, but as one of the most reviewed and discussed overdrives, there is not much I can add. I do know that I will not go anywhere without it. Just like the '69 and '70 it has become part of my sound.

Extremely solid construction. The inside wiring is a work of art.

No problems. Mike has always answered my emails. What else could you want?

Overall it is an outstanding product. I'd be a fool to assume that everyone shares my opinion , but Fulltone just happens to make guitar pedals that fit my style and sound. After 25 years of playing, I've seen and owned alot of gear, but the FD2 is by far the best Overdrive/Boost I've come across. Thanks to SRV, almost all guitar players think they need a Tubescreamer modded to the max. I know cause I went through that phase too before I realized I don't want to sound like everyone else. You can get a Tubescreamer sound from the FD2, but much more. Classic rock, blues, jazz and country it does very nicely + making a fuzz pedal go over the top when you need it.

Easy to use. Volume, tone and 2 overdrives.

Setup: Gibson LesPaul + BOSS stage tuner + Fat Boost + Full Drive 2 + '69 + Hughes & Kettner Tube 20

It's totally transparent for starters, which is what you pay for. I always keep the volume at about 10:00, jack the tone up almost all the way and turn both overdrives all the way up. Then I switch on the right overdrive while keeping the left one off, so that the unit stays on a totally transparent standby - ready to go completely over the top. I use this pedal to overdrive my amp on top of distortion for instant and controlable feedback mostly, and for that over-the-top boost of heavy distortion on occasion, as well.

So why use this unit instead of some cheaper overdrive? First: It's so easy to use and to control tone and amount of distortion. Second: In a pinch (like when my old overdrive pedal crapped out on me live acouple of times - before I got my '69 pedal) it works as two fully-functioning overdrives. Third: The transparancy of the tone, and the fact that you can't even hear the switch make it all worthwhile.

Overdriving my amp while the '69 distortion is already on is just plain fun, and live it is thick and still grinds without getting too buzzy or dropping tone or volume. The feedback is pro, too, not thin or wimpy.

Played live with this gear numerous times and have never had a problem with any Fulltone equipment. Just be sure to keep the batteries in check...no biggie. The heavy-duty construction can take a serious beating. I'm a plug and play kind of guy. I don't like fooling around with gear that's messing up or that constantly needs to be readjusted. Fulltone settings tend to hold pretty well, even after the pedals have been tossed into my gig bag in haste after shows. Unfortunately, due to the cost, I cannot afford to play with backups for any of my pedals. Maybe some day.

Never needed it.

I play guitar-heavy indie stuff. Think Dinosaur Jr., Pavement, Swervedriver, Superchunk, etc. Fulltone gear has been completely worth the cost. It's really the only way I know to get the rich tones and vintage/clear sounds I'm looking for. I've been playing out for 4 years. If my setup (see above) were lost or stolen, I would HAVE to replace them. In my experience, Fulltone gear is easy to use, especially live, and can take a beating. Durability is key. I've tried a bunch of other pedals, and Fulltone is the only way to go, as far as I can see. Hands down. I'm working up to getting the choralflange for that flow and that Leslie-like grind it can get.

"Tone" control is a treble cut. All other dials explain themselves.

Setup is telecaster or Heritage 150 (LP) to Full-Drive to
Rivera 50. Sometimes run effects after the Full-Drive and sometimes in the effects loop. Slightly noisy but amp should be better grounded. Two channels: overdrive and boost. Overdrive has a subtle edge at low setting to smooth crunch at higher settings. Adds attitude
to your sound. Very male. Boost has more distortion,
rich in harmonics. Wails at higher settings. Both channels very transparent: you don't lose your guitar's natural sound. Responds very faithfully to your picking style. Wonderful ringing sustain at higher settings on both channels. Has a true bypass; when it's off it doesn't affect your sound at all. Best pedal I've ever owned.

Looks solid. I'm very careful with my stuff. Don't have a back-up. Rating 8 since only time will tell.

Haven't dealt with them.

Play church worship music (from mellow to brash), blues, some jazz. Use the pedal for a number of different tones. Absolutely worth every penny. Would replace if lost. I have had several distortion pedals; none has come close to the full, rich sound of this.

Very easy to use! I took the sample from the manual and it gave me exactly the sound I was looking for.

It is not a one for all! But it sounds great with my '62 strat in front of a fender tone master with a 2*12 closed cabinet.

I was lookin for a texas blues sound (SRV, Bobby Mack etc.) at lower volumes and the FD2 gives it to me. The clean channel of the Tone Master has a great sound itself when breaking up - but it blows your head away!

BAD -> the FD2 cuts the high and the low ends. It ist much better than my ts9 reissue, but the pure amp has much more bass and brilliant trebles - in other words the pure amp is more open.

1. '62 strat + fd2 + tone master is an ideal combination for texas style blues.
2. Jimmy Vaughn Strat + fd2 + tone master = not so authentic, more mids, more agressive
3. '79 (ash body/maple neck) strat +fd2 + Tone Master = also nice more crisby
4. '52 Tele (custom reissue) + fd2 + Tone Master = the fd2 cuts too many treble - the twang is away - but somewhat nice, reminds me of Keith Richards

I also tried the fd2 in front of my humbucking guitars - IMHO forget it!! (I used a '58 gibson les paul historic collection, a '60 LP Classic, a 335 Reissue, a '72 tele thinline all guitars with fd2 and the tone master - only my Ibanez 335-Style jazz guitar give nice jazz tones with the FD2 - but it gives nice jazz tones with any amp :-)).

I think the FD2 is for fender Strat sounds and nothing more!

If you want more, buy other guitars and buy other amps.
(I use my humbucking guitars with marshall and mesa boogie amps without any pedals for all other kinds of music)

But for me it is ideal, because it gives, what i was looking for.

If it were more open and would not cut the bass and treble - I would have given a 10 - so it was a 9.

It is new, but it looks very reliable.

Can't say anything about it.

I bought it for texas style blues and thats the one for me.

I am playing for 20 years but I am not a very good player. I am not a friend of many pedals. In the first years I looked for a One-For-All-Guitar and a One-For-All-Amp. But that was stupid. Over the years I bought special guitars and special amps for any special music style I want to play.

For me, the FD2 is only for fender style texas blues and I would give it an overall 9 if it was cheaper.

I compared it with my ts9 reissue and I will throw the ts9 away.

If it's gone lost I would buy it again.

But EURO 340,-- (about US$ 290) is too much money - so I give it a 8.

I play guitar in the NYC-based Progressive Rock band Gates of Summer (www.gatesofsummer.com); I have a lot of gear, including Rivera Knucklehead (review on HC), ESP George Lynch, Ibanez JEMs and a '79 Strat. The Strat is my main guitar and is fitted with Joe Barden pickups.
I began looking for a stomp box that I could take to rehearsals in Manhattan that would sound good and could fit into my gig bag. I had pretty much settled on the Budda Zenman, but that pedal is HUGE! A friend of mine MADE me check out the FD2, and I'm glad he did!
This pedal is very easy to use. I disagree with some people who say that the boost channel doesn't have enough gain. Setting up the pedal is very easy (make sure to "prime" it first, to avoid static popping). Just set the volume, overdrive and boost levels, adjus the tone if you need it, and go!

I generally play this pedal going straight into the Low Gain input on my K-100 head. In the distortion channel I play with the boost engaged and the volume on 10; I set the master volume around 2. This is a LOUD SOUND! All audio and power cables are custom made by Syngergistic Research (www.synergisticresearch.com).
The FD2 adds a nice creamy edge that sounds MASSIVE, without the breakup of a distortion pedal. I can do full-on metal palm muting, screaming harmonics and shred playing.
The clarity of this pedal is breathtaking! You can hear all of the nuances of your playing, with violin-like sustain. I generally play this pedal in the Boost mode with the gain all the way up, Tone @ 12:00, volume at 12:00 - 1:00.
When taken of the boost, and in the overdrive setting (OD all the way down), I turn the volume down on the guitar and get a great sound just on the VERGE of breaking up on chords. Beautiful!
In the clean channel of the K-100, with the overdrive engaged, I get a sound similar to a vintage Marshall or Fender (not suprising, given Paul Rivera's history).
If you play a Strat, you MUST get this pedal!!
I'm a Metal guy, definitely NOT Fulltone's target customer, but I will tell you, if you care about your tone, regardless of the style you play, you will want to get this pedal and add it to your arsenal.

I've only had the peal for 2 weeks now, and used it for 2 rehearsals, and have had no problem with it. I have checked out the parts quality, and cannot see this pedal breaking down any sooner than my other gear.

I haven't had reason to call Fulltone, because their web site basically tells you everything you need to know about the company.

Gates of Summer combines the styles of Rush, Rainbow, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Genesis, Flower Kings, Primal Fear, Blind Guardian, and Kansas into one band! I need to be able to go from finger-picked 12 string guitar on my VG-88 to galloping madness and harmonic minor modal stuff on the turn of a dime. The FD2 works perfectly in this context; the only minor setback is that it's another pedal to press! I wish everything had MIDI... One controller for everything!
I have been playing guitar for 18 years; my playing style is notey and melodic.
Please check out www.gatesofsummer.com for more details.

2 volumes( or should I say a overdrive volume and a boost level), tone and distortion. This is as straightforward as it gets while maintaining a level of versatility that I hadn't found in most other pedals.

My general gear preferences run towards older tube amps turned up just enough to get some hair on them, and clear-sounding (but meaty) strat tones. I use Lindy Fralin pickups in my main strat. I'm also a fan of old amps and have owned or played through or repaired most of what's out there (all Fender era's, older Marshall's, Vox's, and Ampeg's)
I bought this pedal looking for an improvement on the TS-808. I loved that tubescreamer sound, but over time found that while different models had a different shading of the sound, no matter which version I tried a tubescreamer sounded like a tubescreamer. Not only that, but it didn't really matter what kind of guitar I used, the end result sounded almost identical, and certainly squashed out any changed I made with pick attack.
I bought my FD II in 200 and the first cool feature I noticed was that after kicking the pedal on, my guitar and amp sounded EXACTLY like I just reached over and cranked up the volume knob...Wonderful! The FD II kept the sound that I worked on the rest of my rig to get, and simply added the overdrive that I was looking for.
The Comp-cut was my fave setting due to keeping the picking dynamics the same, but even in compressed mode, this box does what my TS-808 never did.... responded beautifully to changes in left- and right-handed subtleties. Beautiful! (and sooo much less hiss than any other stompbox I've had. Make sure that the noise is not actually caused by noise in some other box being amplified by the gain of this pedal.)

I own a number of Fulltone pedals, after the great experience I had with the Full Drive II, and none of them has has given me a problem caused by the pedal malfunctioning. I should mention that after I first bought the pedal I did get the "static" popping sound that is mentioned inside the pedal's box, but before anyone chalks this up to faulty parts in their pedal, they should know that in trying to sort out the problem myself (before needlessly calling Fulltone) I found that the problem was due to a problem in the input circuit of the amp I was playing through (JCM-800) and totally disappeared when I plugged into a tweed Super.
Make sure your problems are actually caused by the pedals and not some other part of your gear before slamming Fulltone's realiability or sound quality!!!!

I've never had any reason to contact Fulltone for parts or service. I guess they give me all the support I need by making their pedals right the first time.

The bottom line is that no pedal, no matter how good will save you from a lack of playing skill or a crappy basic sound (no fixin' it in the mix!). But if you want stellar mild to medium overdrive tones, the Full Drive II will supply it beatifully while not squashing the life out of the music you've worked to create.

Easy to use - 4 knobs, 2 switches. One knob pulls to activate/deactivate compression.

Best overdrive pedal I've ever had. Channel one is kind of tube-screamer-ish, but it lets a little more of the natural tone of your guitar through. Boost channel has lots of sustain and warmth, and it still captures playing nuances. I mainly use this with old strats thru old tube amps to get a blues lead tone. Finally stopped searching for the right overdrive.

So far so good. I have a back up just in case, plus I can take the backup to jams without lugging my whole pedal board around or taking my main one off the board.

Talked to Mike Fuller a couple times. He responded promptly. What other places can you get the president of the company to email you back.

The fulldrive is a bit more pricey than standard stompboxes, but in my opinion worth every penny of it. Definitely for those who are discriminate about tone and won't settle for second best.

It's an overdrive pedal. How difficult can it be? In terms of ease of getting a good sound, I give it high marks. My only complaint is the Boost. It doesn't seem to do much even with the boost level all the way up. I never use it. BTW I have an older one that is orange. I think the new ones are blue and have some extra feature that mine doesn't have.

This is where you can not go wrong. If you want an overdrive you can not get a better sounding one than this IMO. I use it to pre-amp a Dr. Z Prescription and it sounds amazing. In fact, the way I use this pedal it is my main overdrive sound. I keep the level on the Z relatively low so the amp is fairly clean and then use the FD II to get a my distorted rythmn tone. It is on about 90% of the time since I rarely use a clean tone. Again I do not use the boost.

I have been using this pedal for about 5 years I think, maybe even a bit longer. It has seen hundreds of gigs in that time. It has never ever had even the slightest problem. It is built for gigging. In that same time frame I have had two re-issue tube screamers crap out on me as a point of reference. I always have some kind of backup with me but have never needed to use it.

I have sent various emails to Fulltone over the years. They are always answered. The answers are short, but my questions are answered. This is pretty amazing considering the whole operation is run by one dude.

If I lost this pedal I would buy a new one ASAP! In fact I should get a spare one just so I don't ever have to worry about not having one. The only thing I don't like about this pedal is that boost doesn't seem to be much of a boost. In fact, sometimes I wonder if the boost on mine is actually working. I've never cared to find out because I've never really felt the need. I could not make music w/o this pedal because it is a very integral part of my sound. A Hamer Vanguard thru the FDII into the Z. That is my core sound that I use 90% of the time. You can hear it on my bands two independant releases - check out www.garboswag.com.

Very strait forward. It might take you a minute to understand the difference between normal and comp-cut mode, but that's it. The only problem I have had is that sometimes I will click the pull pot for comp-cut mode back down when reaching for another pedal under stage lighting.

First of all, this is the first distortion/overdrive pedal that I have heard that lets the tone of our guitar and amp stay true. A strat stays sounding like a strat etc. Most gain pedals put their stamp on everything that comes through them.

Secondly, this pedal is very versatile/tweakable. It basically turns your amp into a 3 channel rig with drive and boost modes. I usually leave the drive mode on with just a touch of gain for an almost clean but not quite, U2 kind of sound. It can go from SRV style subtle drive that reacts amazingly to your attack to full out pumpkins madness in comp cut mode.

I didn't hear the full potential of this pedal until the other day when I rented out my rig to a band for a recording session. They had strats and les pauls running through my pedal board and my good ol' Laney(which are the best deals in tube amps on the used market). The studio was Pro Tools/Logic with a Manley mic pre. I can't tell you how good their guitar tracks turned out. I know that Manleys make everything sound fat and that things were doubled, but damn it sounded good.

For the last 2 years, I was in a band called Elseworth Dragon that stems from the Smashing Pumpkins, Filter, Manson type of vibe. I took the FD2 all over the southern california club scene. I NEVER had a problem in any circumstances except things like power strips crapping out on me and little things like that.

I wrote Mike and email just to tell him how great the pedal was working out for me. He answered it like the next day thanking me and telling me to send him a cd of our stuff. That is great service. If I could afford it I would get everything he makes, because they are great products made by great people.

These are all over ebay, you need one if you are a serious guitarist.

For someone reading this, don't think that you will put this in front of a solid state practice amp and sound like stevie. But, it will be better than any dod, boss, eh, etc. type of sound. But, put this in front of a tube amp of any kind with a decent guitar, and I dare you to try and get a bad tone, on any setting.

I have to share one last story. I was playing a gig a while back at this outdoor, carnival kind of deal. The bass player was supposed to bring my half stack, cause he has a truck and I have a nissan. Well, he didn't and I panicked. The openers had a rectifier, but they had to head back to san diego. So I scraped together an old crappy peavey PA and some unknown bass cabinet with like 6-10's. I was expecting to have crappy tone, and basically play clean all night. But, to my surprise and delight, it sounded good, damn good when that thing got warmed up. All it took was a little tweaking with the gain and tone nobs. Then I broke a string on my strat with active pickups. So I grabbed the singer's tele, and that sounded damn good too.

Very easy to use. Suggested settings were also good.

Obviously, everyone knows this is has great sound

One of the footswitches broke after having it for a very short time. It was never dropped, never mistreated, just probably defective. In general, the unit is reliable, but for this amount of money for a pedal, the standards are higher. There should be better testing. One of the selling points of this pedal was the great components (i.e. switches that supposedly last 10x longer).

The treatment I got at customer support (Mike Fuller himself?) sucked. yes i was very nice when i called. This was a defective pedal, and I was treated as if I had done something wrong. Instead of being nice about it, the person I spoke to was really jerky and defensive. The pedal was fixed but now the switches don't match: one has plastic cover, the other doesn't. That's a minor complaint, but the treatment I got totally sucked. I will not buy Fulltone ever again for this reason.

Great pedal, but my bad customer support experience really soured my on Fulltone.

Very easy to get this pedal to sound good. I bought this originally used, so there was no manual.

Using this with a Top Hat Club Deluxe and various Reverend, Fender, and PRS guitars. Other pedals in the chain are a Fender tuner, a Barber Burn Unit, a DOD FX10 for volume boosting, and a Dano PB&J delay unit. Very quiet and provides a mild to intermediate distortion for what is a fairly squeaky clean amp, at least with the settings that I use. Not currently using the pullout uncompressed settings, but in terms of noisyness these are just fine too. The Fulltone adds perfect levels of drive.

Absolutely dependable. I gig without a net when it comes to pedals, although there are usually redundancies for any breakdown that would cause trouble.

Dealt seldom with Fuller, but when I needed a warranty replacement footswitch for my Fat Boost he had it here in the Midwest within 3 working days. He may be curt and surly with people occasionally, but I sure can't fault the speed of his response.

I've played guitar for close to 30 years now and play a variety of stuff; I think this will work well. Originally bought it used for $90.00 at a Guitar Center, then really had no use for it since I was playing multichannel amps with plenty of sonic options. Sold it, put a Voodoo Sparkle Drive on my pedalboard for a mild distortion option to add to my clean sounds. Bought the Top Hat to rediscover a little simpler way of doing what I do, and found that no overdrive pedal I had sounded right with it. Borrowed this back from the friend I sold it to and it sounded great, so I bought it back. Sold the Voodoo and bought an old style Burn Unit for high gain tones. I'd more than likely buy this again if lost or stolen, but the Tone Pump or new Burn Unit would get a look too. I would love a way to toggle the red channel into a denser, gainier distortion, but at most non-wedding-band volume levels there's probably adequate gain here for most rock, aside from Nu Metal or industrial stuff. This pedal is great for a lot of Steely Dan types of moderate gain rock music; most of "Two Against Nature"'s tones sound like they came through the use of a Fulldrive. Definitely makes music, not trouble. I'm waiting for the excitement to settle a little before trying to get my hands on the Distortion Pro, which sounds like a real winner.

This is a follow up to my other review. I recently found out how to convert the newer flat mids models to the older NFM style. It's easy enough, all you have to do is cut one wire, and the FM circuit is defeated! I replaced the overdrive pot with a push/pull pot that switches between the two modes and viola! Don't waste your $$ on an overpriced TR100 on ebay, buy a new FDII and do this simple mod. The midrange hump in the green mode is similar to my old ts-9, and there is more gain available, the boost mode is un-affected by the mod. I reccomend using a push/pull pot to switch between the two modes, it increases the versatility of this pedal and is totally reversable. The mod can be done within an hour and with only having to purchase a P/P pot fo around $13, I highly recommend it!

Pretty strait-forward here. Anyone who knows how multi-channel pedals work will have 0 problems here

I have to go with a 10 in this category. I even went in to this review wanting to be critical, but in my experience with this pedal, a 10 is as critical as I can get. I am a guitar major at college and have spent many years playing through all sorts of different stuff - Marshall, Mesa, Hughes and Kettner, etc. - This pedal has made all the difference in putting my tone over the top. I use this for its sweet warm overdrive and then kick in a Rat and it screams - Very happy!

Looks solid as a rock and haven't had any problems yet - good craftsmanship.

Looks like Mike and the gang out at Fulltone is approachable enough - haven't had any problems yet.

A beautiful piece of non-digital sounding goodness. I play all different styles, and although this pedal doesn't get that "over-the-top" gain that some might be looking for, it sings, sustains, and is a real gold mine of an overdrive - THE BEST I'VE HEARD

I have had this pedal for about 2 months and I have been really impressed with how well it sounds. I have really enjoyed playing around with different sounds and I really like how versatile it is.

This pedal sounds incredible!!! The true-bypass really saves tone, where most overdrives suck tone and make a lot of noise. You can do just about anything with this overdrive.

I don't really know. Like I said, I have only had it a couple of months but it seems to be a pretty tough pedal.

I have tried to ask them questions, and tried to call them and they are pretty worthless as far as customer relations. It is really frustrating because they don't answer the phone, and they don't respond to e-mail

I don't know how many overdrive pedals I tried but this one just stands out from the rest. I play mostly rock and country in a cover band in Okc. I would most definitely buy another one.

Pretty easy to use I guess, not much different than most pedals.

My set up goes like this...Gibson ES-335>>FulldriveII>>'66 &/or '67 BF Pro Reverbs, I also use a ES-175, when in the studio. I play jazz mostly but also some funk and blues so I don't need an outrageous amount of gain. I play clean about 80% of the time and only use overdrive occasionally for a little grit ala John Scofield when soloing. Unfortunately I can't seem to warm up to this pedal, regarless of where it's set in either mode it just sounds harsh. It's the flat mids model and that may have something to do with it, I'm not sure. For rock chords and rhythm it sounds good, nice and crisp, with very good note definition, but I think it's too brittle for single note lines. I have since gone back to my original ts-9, which for what I need sounds perfect. The ts-9 sounds much more smooth, and had a better "feel". I guess I like the mid hump after all! I do like the transparency of the pedal, it doesn't mess with your eq, although a little midrange boost wouldn't hurt, it helps cut through the mix better. I have a feeling that the older, orange model FD would be a better match for what I need, but they don't make them any more, and I'm not willing to shell out $$$$ on Ebay for one. The pedal is incredibly well made and I'm thoroughly impressed with the craftsmanship, but the tone falls short somewhere. While the FDII has alot going for it that my ts-9 does not, (true bypass, comp cut, boost), the ts-9 wins out overall because of tone and feel. Chances are, for most people this pedal will be perfect, I'm just picky=) So Mike, if you do read these, you should consider offering the FDII in 2 flavors, original and flat=)

Buily like a tank, no worries here.

I've heard they're great, but I've never had to use them.

The FDII only gets a "7" because no pedal gets a "10" and I had to bump it down a little for the harshness. Great features including true bypass are a huge plus, especially for someone who only uses the pedal occasionally. Seeing that Mike Fuller appears to be a strat guy, I have a feeling the pedal is optimized for single coil pu's, and not humbuckers, but I could be wrong. If I could find an Orange FD at a reasonable price, I'd consider it, the Flat Mids one is not my cup of tea.

Very easy to use. Straight forward knobs that are very intuitive. May be a bit too senitive on the vol pot. The two switches provide a good two channel thing- great for a one channel amp

Like others have said, transparent, which I why I bought it. I play a Carvin DC135 thru a Soldano or a Carvin combo and I want to keep my tone where I've worked so hard to get it. I've used many gain based pedals and although it doesn't have the punch or the over the top nature of, say, a Sans Amp GT2, it won't add uncalculated color (although, it could it you want to go there). On that note, I was kind of hoping it would have a bit more grind in the boost setting, but if you have a quality amp set up right, at stage tube saturation this thing makes your rig sing/scream. Nice beefy, complex tones without that sterile digital sound that many of the stomps out there have. You have to play around at the sound check to find the right amp/pedal/where you stand mix. Find that and woo, bliss.

This one works fine.

Nothing to rate

This thing is one quality box! Like others have said, if you have a bad amp/axe this will only excentuate the bads. Then again, if you have a cheap shitty set up woldn't pay $200 for an overdrive pedal. Really nice compliment to a quality high gain amp, like my Soldano. Pushes the tube glow thing to where you want it to be when you want it to be there- can you ask for more? I've been on a spend it as it come in mode, as of late. If it were stolen, I would stop buying other stuff for a while to get the $ to buy another one. I'm very much a try-new-stuff-and-move-on type of guy, so for me to say that I'd buy the same thing again means a lot. Bring your amp to the store and try it out with YOURS. It's one of those finite quality (there's that word again) pieces of equipment that you'll either way love or just appreciate. I'm betting you'll love it.

BTW- i never give 10's here

I just picked this up yesterday. The vast majority of favorable reviews, here, lead me right to the unit. Well, plugged it in as soon as I got home and the thing didin't work! It's such a nice touch to see a hand applied Mike F. signature w/date and what I'm assuming is the QC guy, Bob w/date. I'm not sure what Bob was into the day he checked this one out, but for $200 and the lower producton volume boutique image thing they should at least make sure the thing works before releasing it. I'm bring mine back to the store and I'm sure the owner will take it back. I'm thinking, I should just swap it out for another one, but I'm having a hard time, out of principle, to do that. If I do, I'll submit another review that will, hopfully, cancel this one out. No excuses accepted here Mike!

4 knobs any guitarist can figure out. Volume, tone, overdrive and boost. They all do what they're supposed to do. Enough said!

I've owned my Fulldrive 2 for over 3 1/2 years so I feel fairly competent in my review. So, having said that, I'll say this. There is not another overdrive pedal, that I've played, that sounds as good as this one. Every tone your little tone heart desires resides in this little beauty. From a gentle tone boost, to screaming sustain at mid gain level, it's in there. Not too hard to find either. I do suggest using this pedal with a good tube amp and it'll shine.

I've stepped in this thing for over 3 years and it hasn't stepped back! Enough said. Built extremely well.

I've emailed Mike a few time and have always gotten a response within a day. I've also spoken with him on the phone and found him to be very receptive and helpful. Good guy who cares about his products and the people who use them!

For what it's designed for, you can't get a better pedal. You can throw money away with lessed-priced units, ie. Boss, Ibanez, etc., but for my nickel, this one rules!!!

Simple to use. Easy to dial in a variety of sounds.

I play a custom strat (Warmoth neck, Rio Grande pickups)through a custom built 1971 Princeton reverb. David Allen of Allen amplification built me this amp (upgraded power transformer, Reverend 1250 speaker, his "raw" feature) and it sounds unbelievable.

The GOOD: The Fulldrive 2 does a great job of producing overdrive tones in front of a clean amp. The overdrive is natural and sweet and the range runs from "just breaking up" to "violin tones". Additionally you can clean up the tone with volume knob tweaks and the tone stays true. You can get Stevie Ray here with ease. Very musical stuff.

THE BAD: The compressed mode really rolls off the highs on my strat. I completely lose all of the sparkle I treasure so much. When I switch on the Fulldrive 2 I immediately feel that I have lost the complexity of my guitar and amp. I am keenly aware that there is a pedal in the way. The mids are boosted a bit too much for my tastes as well so I don't really feel the compressed mode can be described as transparent.
The non-compressed mode is much more transparent but does not give me enough overdrive. I find myself switching to the second boost swith where the tones can get harsh.

In defense of the fulldrive, for my rig I may just be in the market for a good clean boost pedal. I would love to trade this for one of Mike Fuller's clean boost pedals.

This pedal is much better than some of the others I have owned: Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive, BOSS Blues driver, BOSS OD3, Various Tube screamers, Tube Works Tubedriver, Maxon OD etc...

I have only owned this new pedal for a month. The Fulldrive 2 looks incredibly well made though. Cool looking pedal and it was signed by Mike himself!

Never needed customer service.

This pedal just dosen't do "it" for me. I think I am going to try the Menatone Red Snapper. I have heard great things about the transparency of that pedal.

The most amazing pedal ever....Larry Carlton, Robben Ford, etc. You get that mature, in-between, hard to get gain/overdrive sounds.....

Use with a tube amp....you'll smile

i've had to tighthen the washers/etc. on the switches

he seems like a busy guy...his stuff is great, he's busy, so he's gonna be short and to the point

great for blues, jazz, rock, and heavier sounds too with humbuckers

This pedal is very easy to use. You have two channels and two led lights. You have volume tone and a really nice feature two separate overdrive's for each channel. The manual is very informative.

I am using a Gibson Les Paul Custom SG and a Dr. Z Mazerati head with a marshall vintage 30 4X12 cabinet. This pedal is not noisy at all! Has a good amount of gain and is super quite. All the controls on the fulldrive 2 dynamically affect your sound. The first being the comp cut switch which can give you a very good clean boost on the first channel and a ballsy overdriven tube amp distortion sound on the boost channel with the compression off. When you push the volume knob in you add in the compression and get a more saturated overdrive. It's nothing as saturated as distortion box's like a big muff but it's not meant to be. I can go on with all the tonal possibilities. What ever tone you want out of an overdrive pedal you can get it out of this one. I've owned a ts9 for a while and sold it when i got this thing. Ts9's are anything but transparent and muddy up your sound. The fulldrive is definately transparent. Do not expect big muff type distortion or any kind of over-saturated distortion, it's an overdrive pedal!!!

I've gigged a few times with it no problems, but don't expect any. This pedal is very well built.

Fulltone does a good job of returning e-mails quickly. I asked him if he knew anyone who could build me a good footswitch for the marshall jcm 2000 tsl 100. He didn't know anyone who could but e-mailed me quickly about that. That should say something.

I write my own songs and play in an original rock band and have been playing non-stop for 7 years. This pedal along with other fulltone affects have given me enough options to help come up with many varied tones. Options are always great and out of all the overdrive pedals on the market and believe me I've played a bunch this one is of the best quality and of the most tonal possibilities.

MIKE READS THESE!!! Very, very prompt in e-mailing me. Seems like a good guy. He was quite courteous to me considering all I wrote.

This an update on my earlier post: After speaking with Mike Fuller, who read my post, I decided to move the FD-2 around on a board. I had it between a Sparkledrive and an NS-2. I had , in that place, recieved a lot of noise and loss of tone. After switching the sparkledrive and FD-2, the problem is solved. The pedal sounds great...it is a keeper and I feel like an idiot for my earlier post. THIS IS A GOOD PEDAL...in the right position.

Tone connoisseurs:

This is quite simply the best overdrive pedal available on the market. It produces a spectrum of tones from mellow overdriven purrs all the way to compressed violin-like distortion -- compromising nothing in between.

Sounds great on rhythm as well as lead, whereas most other pedals may sound great on lead but produce an undefined blurr of noise for chords. Overdriven chords ring true with every note articulated.

Two footswitchable stages of overdrive (drive and boost) allow greater tonal flexibility without having to make changes to the knobs. And every sound you can dial up on the FD2 knobs is very useable -- turning the tone or the boost all the way up, for example, still produces a useable sound without becomeing harsh or losing tonal complexity.

What truely makes this a great pedal is its tonal transparency. I am somewhat of a tone freak, but I rely on the nuances of the guitar, pickups, and amp to define my base tone. I play a custom made alder strat with flame maple cap and maple fingerboard, using Lindy Fralin Blues Specials --> straight into a reissue 65 Twin reverb. I ordinarily stay away from pedals and gimmicks in the signal path. My clean tone is right where I want it to be, but I was looking to add some dirt to the signal. The most important thing to me is that a pedal not color the tone and take away the characteristics of my setup. The FD2 will let your true sound shine through while adding whatever level of drive you can dial up. So if you are happy with the clean sound of your rig, the FD2 will sound amazing. If you are looking for drive or distortion to cover up for ill-sounding equiment, the FD2 will probably not work any miracles.

The FD2 is also very sensitive to your playing dynamics and guitar volume changes so you can be playing calmly and cleanly for a while on the drive channel (without the drive muddying up the sound) then dig in a little harder with the pick attack and the sound will break up according to the intensity of your playing.

I've found my tone heaven with this pedal, just hoping some other tone freaks can benefit from my experience end their quest with the FD2. Tried the BD2, TS9, Jeckell & Hyde, Metal Zone (yuck), Big Muff Pi(USA) and have not been happy with any of those compared to the FD2.
Peace

I suppose it is easy. 4 knobs and lots of different tones. Decent manual, but I recommend finding your own. The only tricky part is finding a use for the comp-cut push-pull.

I got a PRS CE22 and Fender strat>morley bad horsie>VOODOO LAB SPARKLEDRIVE>FD2>compROSSer>Danelectro slap echo>boomerang>4x10 peavey classic 50. I have had this thing for 5-6 months now. I got to admit I gave into the Harmony Central Fulltone FD2 propaganda peer pressure. I listened to the sound samples and played it ,and it sounded good, but then it just sunk in how much I paid and how there are better pedals. Now, I am not that impressed. The normal and boost functions are a great idea, but I dont like the tone all that much. It lacks the balls and crisp nature of the $120 sparkledrive. I wanted a nashville>santana>srv>phish tone out of it...but I did not really get it. HOWEVER!!! I does sound good at band practice and gigging levels. It is your call. If I keep the pedal, fine. If not I'll either get a analog man ts9/808 or a BANZAI COLD FUSION (AWESOME PEDAL). THE FD2 IS EXPENSIVE HYPE. I have had it long enough to know this. As opposed to the "10" or perfect score, I give it a "so-so, eh. It is alright"

Heck yeah it is reliable. Built well

I feel (from what I have read) If Fuller read this review he would come to my house and kick my butt. I have heard he can be a little blunt/rude.

I play folk/country/jammy(phish)/blues christain music. I fits alright, but not like a SPARKLRDRIVE. I have been playing for 6 years, and it is a miracle that I could afford this thing on a college budget. If it were lost or stolen...I'd be pissed, but I'd get something else. GUYS, IM NOT TRYING TO BE A NEGATIVE JERK, BUT THIS PEDAL IS HYPE IN MY OPINION. Save less money and get a SPARKLEDRIVE($119), then save a lot of money and get a BANZAI cold fusion($199)!

Very Easy to get a good sound.
The Manual is good to show a novice how to use an overdrive.

Clapton Strat > Full Drive 2 > Soul Bender > Morley Volume/Wah > Boss RV-3 Reverb/Delay connected to SKP Powered Board then to, either, a Fender 65' RI or a Marshall JMP 2150 100 watt combo.

It's not noisy at all compared to my old BOSS, Ibanez and MXR pedals.

The Effect controls are subtle and very usable for my needs.

This pedal helps me get the sounds I like... I can't compare the sounds to any other artist since my setup is unique. I don't know another artist that uses my setup.

The overdrive is very nice and uncolored which lends to punching through the combined stage volume. I don't overdrive the rest of the group, but I can be heard distinctly folded in the sound.

It hasn't let me down and I have no reason to believe it will.

I work as an Electronics Quality Assurance Inspector (18 yr.) for a US Government Contractor in my "Day Job". I inspect high tech circuit cards and associated chassis and am used to seeing some of the finest workmanship in the world. I have seen the circuits of many amps and pedals throuhout my music equipment handlings and found Fulltones workmanship and materials to be among the best I have Ever seen. Both of my Fulltone pedals are built to exceed Mil. Spec. standards.

I would... and DO use it without a backup. If it DID quit on me in the middle of a gig... I would have to adapt. That's part of the Thrill of playing Live!

I have no doubt that Mr. Fuller would be able to get me straightened out with Any problem I may have with his pedals.

I play Classic Rock, Blues, Pop, Country, Jazz and Any other tasty tunes that catch my ear.

I've been playing since about 1965ish. Electric since about 1967. There was several years in there that playing was my Only income... I starved.

I would replace it if something happened to it.

I love that it is about the most versatile, sweet sounding pedal in a small package. It just feels comfortable to me. There isn't anything that I hate about the pedal. I like being able to have three drive options...
(1. Bypass- my guitar and amp singing in their clean voices.
(2. Overdrive- controlable sustained overdrive. (sweeten to taste)
(3. Boost- the ability to slightly pump up the volume or drive the front end of my Twin into outer space.

I can't think of anything that would make This pedal better.

It is one of my most used tools.

I have owned a Lot of pedals. I found myself buying every "Hot" pedal on the market since 1970. I found that most of the pedals were junky and weren't worth the money I paid for them. This IS an exceptional pedal. If you are looking for an Over Drive, pay a few extra pennies for this one and you'll have a true Modern Classic to hand down to your Grand Child.

It does what it was designed and built to do Very Well!

Fulltone makes World Class Pedals. You won't regret buying it.

This unit is simple enough. 4 knobs, Volume (w/ Compression Cut push/pull switch), Tone, Overdrive, and Boost. 2 channels, Vol, Tone, OD for Green channel, Boost for Red.

You'll understand below why I rated this category 5.

Hamer Mirage II -> Blackstone MOSFET OD -> Dyna Comp -> FD 2 -> Boss Octave -> Dunlop Mr. Crybaby Super -> Boss DD-5 -> Lee Jackson Boost/Gain -> BBE 482 -> Fender Quad Reverb.
I have owned the FD-2 for about 8-9 months now and have never really liked the sound of it at all. It always seems to be lacking in ballsyness. The green channel w/ Compression on is very compressed to my ears and so does not play very well with the Dyna Comp. The Red channel with Compression on does not do all that much boosting. I found more favorable results with the Comp-cut switch pulled in that the pedal intereacted more nicely with the Dyna Comp (I get that nice initail overdriven attack followed by a cleaner sustain), and the boost definitely boosts alot in this mode. I guess my problems with it are more preferential: its just not the sound I'm looking for.
I have gotten much closer with the Blackstone: alot darker sounding, more rich, fatter. I think most people like the uncolored sound of the FD-2, but to my ears it sound almost like my guitar tone in the foreground, with overdrive in the background, as opposed to the two being layered together.
My biggest complaint however is in the design of the pedal. The knobs are fairly close to the pedals, and so I have found my foot hitting the volume knob on numerous occaisions, either bumping up the volume or bumping the Comp-Cut switch to off (a problem I alleviated by placing twist-ties around the shaft of the knob so that the thing could not be pushed down.) The Blackstone has taken the other extreme and made the controls screw-pots that must be turned with a fingernail or guitar pick. I would seriously consider a way to control the FD-2s knobs if you want to buy one of these. A great sound doesn't count for much when you are constantly hasseling with knobs in the middle of the performance. Maybe this pedal would be better used in the studio.

This pedal looks to me to be very solid, both internal and externally.
I do use this without a backup.

I've never dealt with Mike Fuller.

I play mostly jam-style music. We like to try out all sorts of genres. Basically, if its interesting music, from whatever style, we'll play it.
As I said before, the FD-2 just wasn't the sound I was looking for. I'm much happier with the Blackstone, but I don't consider my dislike of the FD-2 to be indicative of bad craftsmandship on the part of Fulltone, I'm sure this pedal would sound great for some people, just not me.
I will probably hang on to this pedal just because I'm kind of a gear pack rat. Maybe I'll let someone else in the band give it a try.
Basically, if you bought a Fulltone and didn't like it either, give the Blackstone a try. I've heard Klon makes a nice unit as well.

It isn't too hard to get this thing to sound good, but it takes a little bit of tweakin'. The comp-cut lean boost is very easy even though I don't us it too much.

Various Strats > '70 Fuzz > FD 2 > Philpott tych octavia > BF Fender Pro. I've already sold my TS9\808. Don't get me wrong, I love my TS9, but the FD2 is just more cost effective, & IMHO sounds just as good or better. Now lets keep in mind that my amp sounds awesome to begin with. I believe that is the secret of the FD2. Tube Screamers color your tone just enough to help a bad amp sound good, but if you already like your tone the FD2 is awsome. I never had chance to use 2 TS in series, which I've heard is the shit, but I'd rather not spend almost $300 dollars when I can get more features in the FD2. The day I bought this pedal I only had about 15 minuted to mess with it & then I had a gig to play.Just for kicks I brought it & put it in my chain. It was the foundation of my sound the whole night.I'm hooked!!!!!

This is a beautiful pedal inside & out!! Even if I had a choice I would feel safe with this pedal.

Never dealt with Mike

I play newer blues rock like Doyle Bramhall, Kenny wayne, jonny Lang or SRV. I use this where I would have used my TS.If it was lost I would cry like a little girl because I am a broke college student & probably couldn't afford another one right away. This pedal has become my foundation.

This isn't brain surgery. It is VERY easy to dial up a good sound right away. A minor complaint is the comp-cut feature. I understand what it does & why the pedal becomes so much "louder" when cut. I can only say that I wish there was an auxiliary switch for this feature and a buffered output (either to boost the compressed signal, or to reduce the non-comp'd tome). I'm a natural born tweaker, and I basically spend an entire gig getting everything "just right", just in time to pack it up and go home. I gig with the FD2 & one of my Tube Screamers ( either an 808, a TS9/808modded, and a TS9 that actually sounds better than the 808's with its "cheezy" chip). unmodded with one of the really emarrassing chips). Each of these pedals does have its own personality, but the TS's seem to be more forgiving (I can set them up once and use the same sound all night). The FD2 requires constant adjustment in order to maximize its available tones. This is kind of a bummer since I'd really like to use a single pedal for everything.

I won't rehash all the praise this thing gets, because it's all true. This pedal sounds great for most people. This is assuming the player is also great. I seem to remember a saying about not being able to polish a turd...

I will save my comments for what I feel are the things lacking in this pedal. First, I think this pedal gives an excellant variety of rhythm tones. Its very responsive to my playing. Sadly, the thing I feel is missing is the lush syrupy tone for leads. I'm a strange type of player, I guess. I play in a blues/jazz/alt/rock/jam band kind of situation, so you'd expect a mellower sound. But in my leads, I really like the feel/sound of using 2 tube screamers together. Its not necessarily the distortion I'm after, but the clipping/compression that naturally occurs when these pedals are abused in this manner. I don't expect this pedal to act like it was two pedals, but even when used alone - it's not quite the same feel. Duh!! After all its a different pedal from a different company. But the literature does claim that the FD2 is a "Tube Screamer eater". For the most part it lives up to this reputation. It just seems that a single Tube screamer can cover more of this ground that the FD2 can (eith in the green or red mode). It almost seems like that point between the green and red, just skips over my "sweet" spot altogether.

Again, I still have to go with a very high rating. I only wish there was a control for the amount of compression we can squeeze out of each channel (the comp & comp cut built-in just doesn't do it for my leads). I know it was designed this way to reduce noise/hum, but I'm willing to suffer through a little noise for this. Also, for people like me, it would be cool if the pedal was designed to act like 2 seperate pedals running together in series. I'm sure 2 "green" channel FD2's would produce a perfect tone for me (I'm just not about to buy another one of these pedals at almost $200). Also, I must confess that I'm a little bit of a tinkerer (having modded and built some pedals from scratch). So when I got this thing almost 2 years ago, my first thought was to crack it open and experiment with different chips a la the TS mods and/or clone the "green channel" circuit, so I could replace the red one (achieving a sort of dual TS tone in one box - HEAVEN). What a schemer I am... But, when I got the pedal home and sat down to map it out I discovered that the circuit board is covered in some kind of epoxy paste. Since I did not want to sacrifice my new prize, and did not have access to an X-ray machine. I abandoned this idea. Pretty smart idea for Fulltone to protect themselves thisway. I didn't want to profit of his ingenius design, but I am a little concerned about the possibility of something going bad or getting fried. I'm a do-it-myselfer and I like to have access to the components in my personal property. But, I can't blame him at all, I'd probably do it myself if I were in the business of making and designing pedals. Again, 99.99999% of you will love this thing to death. I can personally get through a gig and still feel good about it, even If I do miss my "2nd pedal lazy man crutch".

Never had a problem. The pedal seems well built and weel constructed. Furthermore, if the switches or pots ever go bad they are very easy to access/replace. I've not had to go through any of this in the 2+ years I've used this pedal. I've read a bunch of these reviews and have seem quite a few people complain about the reliability of this pedal (specifically the switches). I just want to say that they might call them "stomp" boxes, but it only takes a little tap. My experience with my Fulltone products tells me that other users either have a particularly bad box from the factory, or they practive jumping jacks on their switches. I believe someone commented in another review that they'd rather go through warranty/repair with Fulltone, then with another Mega-Corporation-Too-Big-To-Care-About-You-the-Consumer. I'd have to 2nd this, from all accounts I've heard it is clear that Mr Fuller values his reputation for making superior music products.

I've never had a problem, and I've been using the thing for years. Hopefully, I will never have to deal with the Fulltone company, but from these other reviews, I feel comfortable knowing that they are there if needed.

Jazz/Rock/Blues/Alt/Funk Jam Band-y. Nothing too loud, too angry, or too wimpy. I've played for a little over 15 years. Current "live" rig is... Home made strats (Warmoth, etc...), Homemade Tele, Ibanez Lawsuit Artist, and Taylor Koa Acoustic. These drive one of these pedals (TS9, TS808/9, FD2) and a Fender '63 Reverb Reissue looped through a 100watt Marshall PLexi Super Lead (very clean amp - sometimes with or without jumpers if I could ever make up my mind on whether I like it or not). Ocaasionally, I'll run stereo through my Plexi & 70's Fender Twin (which has EVm speakers that way about a million pounds - so it has to be a special gig). As fra as this pedal goes it fits right in to my existing rig perfectly, but I really wanted to replace my Tube Screamers. It sure would be nice to have one little box to step on on stage instead of 2 or 3. Maybe a little bit more compression when in normal mode would help this for me. I think this Tube Screamer like comp[ression was intentionally left out to help reduce any extra noice that might creep into the signal path. Again, a litle extra noise doesn't bother me as much as the feeling of no gain. Tube screamers are popular because they seem to play themselves & provide little resistence for your strings to sustain. I guess I keep getting hung up on this aspect, although I do feel the pedal is almost as good as it gets in the analog distortion world.

Like most effects of this grade, you have to play with it. The manual doesn't say much if you want an original tone, it has the "Stevie Ray" TS 808 setting and one more setting called fusion, so the manual don't do me a lot of good! It has a function called "Comp-Cut" which is a push/pull pot, it cleans it up quite a bit so it can be used as a clean boost.

I mainly use a late '90's tele with Seymour Duncan Nashville Studio pickups, and a strat with Lace Sensors into a '63 Brown face Princeton or a Budda Super Drive 30, no other effects besides the Fulltone. It hasa very light overdrive when the boost is off, have you ever heard the Counting Crows? Yeah, thats the tone, or some of the Tom Petty stuff also. Very natural with the Princeton, the Budda takes it well, but much more of a modern sound. The comp-cut switch tosses a wrench in the tone, it makes it kind of sharp and ice pick like, but if you like the classic American amp/Telecaster tone as I do, it can be used sometimes. I also heard that Rich Robinson of the Black Crowes uses this pedal, I can hear it on the records but it's not quite that thick. This pedal is great for chord work, but not perfect for leads.

I always gig without a backup, probably because I can't afford a back up now!

I bought it from Analog Man (ww.analogman.com), Mike is the greatest, I have NEVER had any problems contacting him even thought I'm sure he is a busy man. I will always by my effects through Analog Man. I never tried to contact Mike Fuller, I've heard people have mixed emotions.
So for "Analog Man" Mike, on a scale of 1 to 10, Mike is a 15, but Fuller I have no idea.

I play folk/rock, country, classic rock, blues, classic R&B, and modern rock. I own many other stomp boxes, some of my most used pedals are a mid '70's MXR Distortion+, TS 9, Big muff Pi, Analog Man modded Fazz Face (awsome pedal, see review) an Expandora(three knob version), and a little pedal called a Black Cat Freddy Fuzz (also a great thick fuzz tone). I'm not going to say run out and buy a Fulldrive II, it is not for every one. It is great for country, but for rock or blues, by an analog man fuzz face. I really don't think that it's worth $200, I would not have bought it for a dime more than $165. My advise if you are looking to purchase a Fulldrive II pedal is to go out and buy a few records with this kind of effect on it, records like "August and Everything After" by the Counting Crows and for the stiffer tones of the Fulldrive "By Your Side" by the Black Crowes, maybe it's a crow(e)s thing? I personaly wouldn't buy this pedal again, but on the other hand, I'm not going to sell since it is wonderful for chord work and I bought it for $165!

It's really easy to operate. It has enough features to keep tweakers happy, but not enough to discourage a plug and play kinda guy. 4 knobs: Volume, Tone, Overdrive, and Boost. There are 2 switches, one for the overdrive and the other is a "boost", which acts kinda like a 2nd channel. Another cool feature is the clean boost mode, which is activated by pulling the volume knob up. The manual is okay, but not entirely necessary in my opinion, although I do like the sample settings that Mike describes.

I'll get my current setup out of the way:
American Tele -> Fulldrive 2 -> Boss DD-5 -> Ernie Ball Volume -> Fender Twin Reverb.

Here's the story (and a giant yawn fills the room...)--

Okay, if you know the Twin, then you know that thing does NOT distort at any reasonable volume. That's fine, because hey... that's the nature of that particular amp. But sometimes I like to play rock (a la Quicksand, Helmet, Hum, etc.) and I needed an great overdrive to compliment the incredible clean tones of the Twin...

I tried the Sparkle Drive by Voodoo Labs, and I must admit, it sounded pretty good. Very funky, and decent growl...but it just didn't do the trick for me. I used to have the Daddy-O by Danelectro, and for its price, sounded okay...kinda cheesy but okay. Ibanez TS-9? Good sound, but come on, everbody seems to have this pedal, and I can't help but to think that it's overrated (IMHO, it is!). Then there's Fulltone's Fulldrive 2. Here's another one that's highly praised...but after plugging it in, I know why! It's just so much more versatile than the TS-9. You want blues, you got it. Its simple to dial in a great blues tone. The overdrive channel, or first channel as some would call it, is capable of some heavier sounds as well. Not brutal/nasty 5150 style distortion, but good throaty distortion to deep "buzzsaw" sounding growl. I've never heard such good tones come out of a overdrive stompbox. The Fulldrive doesn't seem to color the tone of my amp, it sounds very natural...I think it's what the Twin would sound like if it could break up. I do agree with the guy before me when he said that the quality of your rig determines the sound quality of the Fulldrive. If you use this on a shitty Peavey combo, you probably won't get a good sound. But use it with a decent tube amp, and you're more apt to get a good sound. I wouldn't recommend using this with any solid state amp. This is by far the best overdrive on the market, but again, this is just my opinion. Everyone hears things differently, and this is especially true with distortion.

It's built very well, with the jacks and pots mounted on the chassis, instead of the PC board. Looks like it's gonna hold up for quite a while.

I've never had to deal with Fulltone's customer support. Some people seem to love Mike, others think he's an asshole. I really can't comment on his service, but either way, he makes fantastic stompboxes.

I can't give any piece of equipment a "10"...nothing's perfect. But the Fulldrive is certainly the best OD, hands down. It seems to compliment my rig very well...kinda like the Twin's long lost preamp! Very worthy of all the buzz. If you're interested in overdrive/distortion, give it a shot. Sure it's a little on the expensive side, but if you value your tone, this is the only way to go.

Simple. Can dial in 2 separate gain levels so you can have a gritty tone or a biting solo tone. Kool. Don't mess with the comp cut, it'll tear your head off.

Makes any amp sound great (just like me!). Not noisy (no unnecessary HISS). Great sound at any setting. Makes even my polytone sound like a cranked up ol' Fender amp.

Still new so can really comment. Looks to be exceptionally well built, probably why they cost a bit more than other pedals. Definitely worth the $.

N/A

Best pedal for blues, rock, fusion, or wherever tasteful overdrive is needed. I've used Ibanez tubescreamer, boss pedals, ProCo rat, SIB varidrive, any many others but this beats 'em all. Thank you Mike Fuller.

Like you need another review, right??? Oh well, my 2 cents...

It's a pedal - very easy. 4 knobs, two footswitches, not much to figure out.

My disclaimer...I'm not really much of a distortion pedal guy. I've used a Chandler Tube Driver Rack Mount and a Tech-12 GT-2, but that's about it as far as distortion. No wait, I've also got an ancient EH Muff Fuzz that I used to use for direct recording.

The Fulldrive 2 has lost of good sounds, but I suspect it depends heavily on your basic guitar/amp sound. That is, if your basic sound is good, this will sound good. I doubt it will 'fix' crappy sound.

The first channel is very Tube Screamer like (at least from what I understand). Simple overdrive, you can back off the guitar volume and keep it fairly clean and crank it a dirty it up more. Excellent SRV thing happening there. The boost channel is a different story: much dirtier, but very smooth. Surprisingly, I was able to get lead sounds similar to Ritchie Blackmore on the Machinehead-era lps. Since I love that sound I was pleasantly surprised.

I mainly use the Fulldrive with a Mesa Blue Angel and a Fender Strat. To be honest I use it sparingly, but it's really nice to have with a single channel amp. It doesn't muddy things up tonaly - the guitar and amp are still very much the main sound, as opposed to some pedals which sound very processed.

Heavy case, solid footswitches, inside it's very clean and looks very well made. I don't bring a backup to gigs, although it's not an absolute critical element to my sound.

Haven't tried to contact Fulltone.

A great pedal - future clasic ;) ?? I like the sound of some of the Ibanez Tube Screamers and the TS-808 pedals, but with the $$ they're going for I would *much* sooner opt for one of these.

I play a wide variety of music, and this adds real nicely to the sounds I can get.

I've been playing 26 years. The only similar effects I've owned are the Chandler Tube Driver Rackmount (also very good sounding, but not *quite* as flexible) and a sans amp GT-2 (great sounding, but not as good as an overdrive pedal).

If this disappeared I would definitely look into getting another one...used of course!

Very musical pedal - not an obstacle at all!

It's Extremely easy to get a wide variety of (excellent) sounds, and it's very responsive to subtle changes in the controls. This does mean that you should spend some time playing with it and getting a feel for it's range of control and how to skillfully manipulate the sound.

It does the job it sets out to do and does it excellently. The main reason i'm writing this review is because i spent some time searching around the net reading up on the different overdrive pedals available, and i wanted to share my findings and hopefully steer other towards the pedal that is right for them. The only pedals i was able to try in stores were this, the voodoo labs sparkle drive, and the boss odr-3. (however, there are many sound samples availble through musiciansfriend.com and tonefrenzy.com that i also perused). i used a ~73 silverface with a number of fenders & gibsons for comparisons:

-Voodoo Labs- has a very clean, transparent boost that gives the sound a nice texas-style drive. it sounds excellent as a pure clean boost (turning the 'clean' mix to 100%), and dialing in the overdriven signal sounds very nice as well. i thought it fell a little flat switching over to the 100% overdrive signal, where the sound got a bit raw and crunchy - not that this is necessarily bad, but not what i was looking for. overall, this can produce many excellent sounds, but has a more limited range of effect than i desired. at ~$110, it's worth every cent (if it does what you want)

-boss odr-3- this can make for a good lead boost, but it loses much of the guitar's original tone. the sound it makes is pretty good - a nice balance of smooth & crunchy - but it will definitely disguise your guitar and color the sound for any other pedals. for ~$60, a good buy.

-fulldrive 2- the main qualities that i was looking for were transparancy of effect, range of tonal palette, and quality of overdrive. this pedal is a perfect marriage of those traits. from 0-100% overdrive brings the signal from a pure clean boost to a great blues lead, and the boost feature manages to kick up the sound into an amazing lead that can cut through the mix yet still remain smooth and round sounding. the comp-cut feature is nice for when you want to preserve the full attack of your playing, or you can turn it off to smooth things out. my only complaint, which i've seen pop up in a few other reviews and is the reason i can't rightfully give this a 10, is that the overdrive does lose some of the fullness of the bass. it's hardly a drastic change and might not even be noticeable in a band setting, but it should be mentioned nonetheless. at $189, it's an expensive pedal, but you definetely get what you pay for.

all three of the pedals had a small amount of noise, but it was virtually negligible. as for other pedals, the klon was out of my price range, but from the sound samples it seems to be a much better clean boost than the fulldrive, but very limited in range. i also talked to a guitar tech about the visual sound rt 66 - which he says is comperable to the fulltone in having a range of effect, but the cheaper price tag on it doesn't buy the same quality of sound or workmanship (which seems to concur with the sound samples). there were a number of other pedals that i read about & listened to, but the fulltone was a keeper. **note** i really wanted to try out the nobels odr-1 or odr-s, but no one in cleveland has ever heard of them, much less has one in stock to try out. it's a $40 pedal which consistently arises in overdrive discussions in comparison to the fulltone (for better or worse, depending on the person), and is definitely worth checking out if you can find one.

the pedal is extremely solid and seems like it could take quite a beating. i haven't had it long enough to comment on road wear and the like, but i'll definitely run around without a backup.

if i were using anyone else's scale, i'm sure this pedal would have received straight 10's, but i like to leave the extremes open for something i missed or might find in the future. i am completely satisfied with my purchase and would highly recommend that anyone at all interested in this pedal find a dealer and give one a test drive. please feel free to contact me with any questions concerning the pedals i've discussed.

IT JUST GETS EASIER THE MORE YOU USE IT

HAVE HAD MORE TIME TO PLAY WITH THIS PEDAL NOW AND COPARE IT TO MY OTHER OVERDRIVES. I AM NOT DISSAPOINTED. ITS A GREAT PEDAL. BETTER BY FAR THAN MY BOSS SD-1 (TIAWAN MODEL WITH A JRC4558 CHIP) AND I ALSO HAVE A BOSS SD-1 MODIFIED BY ANALOGMIKE AND THAT IS A GREAT PEDAL TOO. I SWITCH BETWEEN THE FULLDRIVE AND THE ANALOGMIKE BOSS SD-1 AS THEY BOTH GIVE DIFFERENT SOUNDS. THE FULLDRIVE DOES SEEM TO ADD (BRING OUT!) SOME REALLY SWEET HARMONICS IN THE SOUND AND APPEARS TO LET ME REALLY CONTROL THE FEEDBACK. OF COURSE FOR ALL THOSE THAT SAY "THIS ISNT A METAL PEDAL" ETC WELL THATS ALL GOTTA DEPEND ON HOW HARD YOU ARE OVERDRIVING YOUR AMP IN THE FIRST PLACE AND MORE SO HOW SOON YOUR VALVES OVERDRIVE. MINE OVERDRIVE REAL EARLY (I CANNOT GET A CLEAN SIGNAL OUT OF MY AMP UNLESS I TURN IT DOWN TO A RIDICULOUS VOLUE LEVEL) SO I CAN GET A KICKING METAL SOUND IF I WANT WITH THE FULLDRIVE. FOR THE RECORD I DONT PLAY METAL, JUST GET A SWEET OVERDRIVE WITH THIS PEDAL.

SEEMS TO BE BUILT LIKE A TANK

FURTHER TO WHAT I WROTE IN HERE EARLIER I HAVE THINK AS FAR AS I CAN GATHER THE JRC4558 CHIP HAS A LETTER "D" SUFFIX. SOETIMES "DD". ACCORDING TO ANALOG MIKES HELP THE TWO CHIPS SOUND THE SAME. I, BEING A NEWBIE TO ALL THIS WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT JRC4558 WAS A DIFFERENT CHIP TO THE JRC4558D. I NEVER HEARD BACK FROM MIKE FULLER ON THIS SUBJECT OTHER THAN THE ONE E-MAIL. BUT AS SOME PEOPLE HAVE POINTED OUT ON OTHER FORUMS IT IS NOT MIKE FULLERS PLACE TO EXPLAIN THE ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS OR HOW TO MODIFY ONE OF HIS PEDALS!
AND WOULD THE PERSON WHO E-MAILED ME WITH THE WEB ADDRESS OF THAT FORUM PLEASE MAIL IT TO E AGAIN AS I HAVE REFORMATTED AND LOST THE URL!
NONE OF THIS SHOULD DETRACT YOU FROM BUYING A FULLDRIVE2 THO, IT'S TRULY A GOD SENT PEDAL FOR PEOPLE HUNTING THAT OVERDRIVE SOUND WE HEAR EVERYWHERE ELSE!
THANKS.

AND YEP IF IT WAS STOLEN, I'D STILL STEAL YOURS!

After owning this pedal for over 2 years and gigging on weekly basis I thought that a fresh perspective would be in order. Very easy to use and tweak to ones flavor.

Used with several different amps in the past couple years. I have it in line with other pedals and it performs quietly and reliably. I wont go on about my setup, but I use this pedal exclusively with the unit on at all times...then use the boost side for over the top solo's. Excellent for guitars with low-medium gain pickups, ie: vintage style single coils, antiquities etc...

Used extensively with zero problems 2+ years.

Same as rest...quick email responses. Dont bug the guy, he's kind enough to give help, but not there for talking shop for the hell of it.

Great PROFESSIONAL product. They are pricey, but you get what you pay for. This is not DOD/Boss/Danelectro territory. This pedal is as vital as the amp and guitar I use. Pay the extra few bucks and get quality and tone vs pedal of the month club.

Very straightforward- 4 knobs(1 push/pull) and 2 switches. What could
be easier than that. Comes with instructions but one doesn't really need it, it's that simple

Very versatile. Does that SRV stuff very well and more. I once had an
original TS-808 and it never sounded this good, that is why I sold it
and no regrets on my part. My signal goes from a Fender 60' custom shop strat into 1)Klon Centaur,2)TR100, 3)69' pedal, 4)Experience pedal,5)Boss CE-5, 6) Boss DD-5, and finally into a Boogie Mk 1, Mk 4, or Marshall 69' SLP r.i.

Never had a problem with it yet but if I do I'm sure Mike Fuller is there to help. Built like a tank, with those heavy duty switches, so I
really don't think I'll experience any problems with it

Never had to deal with Mike Fuller, himself, but I am told that he's
a nice guy and would do anything to help you.

I Play mostly Classic Rock(Zeppelin, AC/DC, Queen,etc.)with a bit of
Clapton, Hendrix, and of course, SRV, along the way. Been that way since I was fifteen. I own a number of guitars from Les Pauls, Strats,
an ES-335, and a PRS McCarty- all of which I consider indispensible.
Aside from the effects I've mentioned above, I also have a Jekyll and Hyde, TS-9 R.I. w/ 808 mod, and an XXL pedal. These are also excellent
pedals, but none compares to the grind and grit of the TR100. It's just pure Blues heaven. One last thing, about those original TS-808,
they are too overrated. If I still had mine and had to chose between it and The TR100, I'll pick the TR100 hands down. The TS-808 is too
ratty and weak in my opinion, whereas, the TR100 is smooth, less noisy, and has more gain if one chooses to add to it(But really, you don't need to- just set volume, tone, and drive at around 12 o'clock
and forget the rest. It and the Klon Centaur are my favorites.

i've had this pedal for about an hour. havent even bothered looking at the manual yet, just wanted to plug it in and play. i mean heck, it has a reputation to live up to after reading all your reviews about it! i twiddled the knobs a bit and found where i liked em. left it at that for now. oh! fiddled a bit with my amp as well.

les paul gold top (p-90's), few strats and tele's. havent got anything with humbuckers to try it with yet. marshall superbass (70's) (which badly needs new valves!) orange 4x12 and a power brake. nothing else, no reverb and no other effects.
not noisy really, i was standing two feet from the amp so you can guess the fun i was having. (i was trying this at home)took about 3 minutes of tweaking and blow me sideways jenna jameson, i nailed "ten years gone" down to a tee. sound was spot on and considering the set up aint really anything like pages and i had no reverb i was impressed. made me smile. i been playing over twenty years and once, and i mean once i had a sound i liked. lost it when i bought the amp responsible and the seller kept the kt77 valves from it. stuck in mullards and poo city. never mind, part of the fun is hunting ya sounds!
the fulldrive aint all idiot proof for great sound but its in there. i cant wait to try out other rigs and guitars with it.
a lot is down to ya guitar set up and ya amp. set ya pick-ups to the right height. get a good guitar, one strat can sound shit. another supposed to be exactly the same can sound great. there's so many variables, its a mine field. the fulldrive is kicking tho. may not be an answer to prayers(nothing on its own is) but very very useable.

jeez i only had it an hour. wish i could afford another as a back up but theres other pedals to buy/try. crowther audio hotcake one day when the next windfall comes in.

well i read on other reviews about the tr100 version of this pedal. some sed that model had the jrc 4558 chip in it. i opened mine up and saw a chip with jrc4558D written on it. hm i thought i'll mail mike and ask him if there is any reason i couldnt fit a jrc4558 chip.
heres his response
"I don't get it...it already has a JRC4558, why change it?"
i have mailed him back to try and get more info. just have to wait and see. i live in the sticks and with the net i wish there was somewhere i could go and find out all the relevant info on effects, this chips does this, these capacitors do this, etc get them from here. i wanna learn stuff about it but it's kinda like a secret society. isn't it? anyone got any good sites? please let me know.

i've tried allsorts before. big muffs (originals) 'lectroharmonix hot tubes (originals), bd-2 and on and on. plugged em in and it's always been "jeez what a sack of shit". have yet to try the sd-1 and od-3. i have two sd-1's coming, one a modded sd-1 and an od-3 on its way. cant wait to compare them.
yeah it helps big time. i'd have to buy another if it was stolen. i wish it was the tr100 that others say is better, i wish mike would sell a kit so i could turn it into a tr100 or maybe let us know how we could do that(that'd add to the fun mike!). i really wanna do that!
played lots of gear thru the years and wish i'd had one of these years ago. if yours sounds shit i'd check your set up first. maybe, just maybe you need to get new valves first or ya guitar set up right before you can blame the fulldrive2.
p.s if your reading this mike, dont suppose you wanna mail me with the details of how i can change this fulldrive2 into a tr100?(mans gotta try askin,lol!)

Very easy to use. If you have used pedals before it's a walk in the park

I use a Marshall JCM 900 with a Peavey Wolfgang and Ibanez S series guitars.The Fulldrive does not change your sound or add any noise to my current setup.It is very ballsy sounding pedal.The gain is light to medium which I found was effective to use on any clean or dirty channel amp.The Fulldrive 2 does have a compressed sound that I noticed in the boost mode, but this added to sustaining notes on lead runs.

The Fulldrive 2 is built very well and semms to be able to withstand considerable punishment. I would say it is built as well or better then any pedal on the market at this time.

I have e mailed Mr. Fuller once to get his advice and received an answer the next day.As has been said before ,try to get some of the other companies to respond that quickly. I remain impressed.

I play rock and classic rock for the last 25 plus years,usually playing at least two weekends a month.I have owned Boss ,DOD ,Morley,and tons of other pedals and the Fulltone pedals simply sound great ! I would not hesitate to buy another one and do have other Fulltone pedals that I can not live without. Great pedals made by a guy who plays guitar ,what more could you expect or want

How easy do you want it? Volume, tone, gain and boost. There is also a pull pot for compression cut just like the other Fulldrives. One footswitch for bypass and one for added the variable boost. Of course like all Fulltone pedals it it true bypass.

I was a little hesitant to buy this as I bought it used off of the net without first trying it out. I'm glad I did. Compared to my blue Fulldrive 2 with flat mids the TR100 has more gain. It also has a presence to the tone that is hard to describe - like a sheet was lifted off of the amp or something. It just sounds more immediate than the flat mids model.

I've been using a blue flat mids moddel for a little over two years now without a single problem. I never had a backup before, and don't see a reason to have one now. Fulltone products are built to last.

I emailed Mike with a few questions when I bought my blue flat mids model. He was prompt to reply, with short but helpfull answers.

I play classic rock and blues styles. I've been playing now for about 15 years, though I played some before that and stopped for about 10 years. My main guitar is a Gibson 335. My curent amp is a Fender Bassman RI, though I'm looking to score a Silver Face or Black Face Super Reverb. The combination of the 335, Fulldrive 2 TR100 and Bassman is just a killer classic rock, blues combination. If it were lost or stolen I'd buy another asap, if I could find one! I'm already looking for a spare just in case.

Very easy to use. There are controls for volume, tone, gain and boost. There is also a pull compresion cut switch. The pedal sounds good just about anywhere the controls are set, but sounds absolutely awesome when dialed in.

I bought this used off of a friend who went digital a few months back - his loss my gain, he he! I've heard other Fulldrives and they do sound good, but this one has a quality to the tone that was missing in the others. My band mates commented on my tone the first night I used it in rehearsal. It just blended with the other instruments and allowed me to be heard without having to turn up to ear bleeding levels. This pedal rawks the blues!

Built like a tank. I've heard Mike stands behind his stuff. I've already giged with it without a backup, feel no need to have one. Fulltone stuff is rock solid.

I've never dealt with Mike, as I bought this pedal used. No opinion.

I've actually had the pedal now for about 7 months. My friend bought it new, and then bought one of those Line6 Swiss Army Amps. He just sold it to me for what he had paid for it new. I've been playing for about 20 years. I play mostly blues and blues rock, with a little country thrown in their. My main guitar is a Callaham strat with Fralin pickups into a Black Face Vibrolux reverb. The combination is killer. If the pedal was lost or stolen I'd beg, kill or steel to get another one.

Too easy. This is not brain surgery here.

I play a Strat Plus Deluxe into an Ampeg Reverberocket. I never even touch the second channel..i leave it clean...with this pedal..i dont need it. I have a TS-9, mod to 808 specs. This pedal KILLS it in every way. Its transparent, and musical and sweet as anything. I still use my TS-9 with this pedal though, for when I need a distortin rather than an OD. Together...they are amazing. Seperately...the Fulldrive 2 is the King.

Its built like a TANK! I cant say I'd have any problems with it, ever. No backup necessary...

Cant say...havent needed it.

ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE.

Doesn't get much easier

The best overdrive I've ever heard. Does light-med gain perfectly. Clarity but with some hair on it. I love this pedal!!

The only thing I don't like about this pedal is the boost switch only kicks up the volume if you have the gain set fairly low. If you have the gain up, the boost adds more gain (and muddiness) but no volume. That aside, this is a fantastic sounding pedal. It's one of those pieces of gear that you buy and keep because it's so great. That's the cheapest kind of gear to buy!

Very easy to set up and get good sounds. I especially like the footswitchable boost with LED and the comp cut feature. In fact, I would not use the pedal were it not for the comp cut feature. My only complaint here is the comp cut switch is on a push pull pot. I hate push pull pots. A separate toggle switch would have been much better. Also, as space on my pedal board is limited, I would have rather seen the case be laid out more like the Fulltone 69 pedal. This is a minor complaint but I just traded my Fulltone Supa-Trem for a Diaz Tremodillo for that very reason (I actually like the sound of the Diaz a little more as well).

I've been playing guitar for 15 years. I play mostly noise pop and
vintage rock, surf, country etc. For amps I use Marshall and Fender reissues, Hiwatts, Orange and Sound City. For guitars, it's American Fenders and Hamer USA.

I have had my Fulldrive 2 for about 6 months now and I wanted to wait until my Klon Centaur arrived before submiting my review.

I have played many good overdrives over the years and of all of them I think the Fulltone Fulldrive 2 is one of the very best. I was hoping there would be a very clear "one is way better than the other" when it comes to the Klon vs. Fulldrive 2 debate. In my mind there was no clear "winner" as they were both excellent for different reasons. Here's my take on it...

Clean Boost (unity gain/tone set flat)
Fulldrive 2: Not very transparent. With the tone set flat the FD2 adds a little loose bassieness to the signal. It's not a bad sound just not transparent. This added bass really sounds good when you lay on the gain and the overdrive starts happening. To get the FD2 to sound more like the Klon as a clean boost I had to turn up the tone.

Klon: Very transparent. Not 100% but about 99.9%

Overdrive
Fulldrive 2: Like I stated earlier, when you start adding the gain to get a nice overdrive, the FD2 really comes into it's own. The added bass fills out the sound perfectly without getting muddy. It has a lot of presence and aggressiveness while remaining smooth and just plain rockin'. Kick in the boost and you get great lead tones and fairly heavy and chunky rhythm tones. I couldn't get this pedal to sound bad (unless I kicked in the comp mode).

Klon: The Klon is a kick ass overdrive pedal but it has a totally different voice that the FD2. The Klon is brighter and a little more aggressive than the FD2. The treble knob is very useful for adding even more brightness or mellowing the sound out. You can back the treble knob without your tone getting dull and flubby. You can also jack up the treble knob without fear of your tone making your ears bleed. Overall, compared to the FD2, the tone and feel are a little more natural and direct almost like the Klon is part of your amp. It's very rock and roll!

Overall I give the FD2 a 9 to 9.5 because 10 represents "pristine sound quality" and the coloration that the FD2 adds, while not a bad thing, is not pristine.

I would count on this pedal to bring on the rock without fail.

Here's where I have a real problem. I had just purchased a Full Drive 2, '69 pedal and a Supa-Trem pedal all at the same time. This was quite an investment on my part and a statement of the appreciation I have for the sound of Fulltone pedals. I was so pleased that I intended to buy a Deja Vibe and a Clyde wah. I sent Mr. Fuller
an e-mail complimenting him on his pedals and a request for the dimensions of the Deja Vibe and the Clyde wah as I was putting together a pedal board and I wanted to leave the space open for his pedals. After spending a ton of cash on 3 other pedals, I figured this wasn't too much to ask. After several weeks went by without a reply, I resent the message. It's been 6 months and still no reply. Now I know he can get my e-mails because I ordered some 3dpt switches and a adapter for my '69 pedal from him and I got them right away and an e-mail receipt. I was pretty disappointed, so much so that I decided to buy a Roger Mayer Voodoo Vibe and a RMC3 wah pedal. These items were of similar or better quality than the comparable Fulltone pedals and I found that I was able to get e-mails within a day or two from their manufacturers. I will gladly give my money to whoever makes the best pedals even if the customer service is bad, but
when it's a close call on the quality I'll go with the company that gives the best customer service.

I really like the Fulldrive 2. I would not sell it for a Klon and I would not sell my Klon for it. I happily own them both as they are both, in my opinion, the best overdrive pedals out there. If you can afford them both get them. You won't be disappointed. The customer service issue and the design complaints in the "Ease Of Use" category and the coloration are the reasons this pedal does not score a 10 in this category.

If it were any easier to use...I could do it in my sleep...4 knobs...2 buttons...

Absolutely the finest overdrive pedal I have heard...it comes SO close to my old Fender Tremolux in terms of tone that it scares me...just super smooth and very natural...the comp cut makes it louder and makes it sound raunchier, which is great for beating the input of my old fender, but since I gig with a Carvin VT50 head and 410, and I use the Fulldrive for my rhythm crunches and then switch to the VT50's lead channel for solos, the raunch is all taken care of by my amp...I just need a good smooth overdrive for rhythm work...and this pedal delivers...there is so little difference in tones that it all sounds like one amp...and I can do it all at a very reasonable volume level...which keeps my bandmates happy...

I forsee no problems...the thing makes Boss pedals seem flimsy. I have gigged without a backup for it and will continue to do so...the thing is a frickin tank!

Never had to deal with Mike Fuller...but more likely than not I'll be buying more of his products!

I play in a blues/funk band...and this thing is just perfect for what we play...I've been playing for about 12 years now (I'm only 17, tho)...and I have managed to amass quite a collection of crap over the past couple years..but it's all crap that I love...I have yet to sell any of the gear I have purchased in the past 2 or 3 years...so I'm pretty satisfied with what I buy...I don't tend to make impulse buys...except for this one...I was at Willy's American Guitars and I saw the thing in the case and tried it out, only to find that it was exactly the pedal I wanted for gigging...so...200 bucks later I own one...and I could not be happier...go buy one...NOW, DAMMIT!!!

Its easy to get a great low to medium gain sound out of this pedal.
You really cant go wrong for what it does, I mean you got volume, tone, overdrive and boost amount. Simple. Could have made a 3rd switch for the compression mode but hey I still love the thing.

I use a Fender Telecaster with a Duncan little 59' that I have a splitter switch for. I play it through a Fender Twin. Its not noisy cept when I use the single coil mode on my 59' which isnt very often but its not super loud buzz or anything. The sound has stayed consistant for as long as I have had it. I use it on compression mode just as often as I dont. The compression mode sounds like youre playing 2 channels at the same time. Clean and dirty at the same time like playing a driven amp at the same time as the clean one, its really neat. When uncompressed the volume jumps up and its more of a plexi type overdrive. I wouldnt say its as glassy as a plexi but it has that same "balls" kinda sound. My one complaint about the sound is that it gets kinda muddy when trying to achieve some higher gain sounds but its really not a pedal meant for that. I cant wait to hear the Distortion Pro thats coming out, I will probably use that for all my high gain fancys. With this pedal you get a really warm, really clear great lead tone with alot of sustain especially in compression mode. Love the clarity!!! If it didnt get a little muddy on some settings I would have given it a 10. I think it works better with single coils.

This thing is a tank! Its purty too

I dunno

Great for the clean/dirty sound up to a medium gain overdrive.
Awesome pedal!!

It doesn't get any easier, I tried the Prescription Version of this pedal and in contrast I gave up on the Prescription pedal in about 5 minutes. Why should an overdrive pedal be complicated? Volume, overdrive and a tone knob, I don't need more knobs.

It doesn't sound like anything, which is the best thing about it. Just natural guitar sound. Start with a good guitar through a good tube amp and you can't go wrong. You can not make this pedal sound bad at any reasonable setting and it is rich in harmonics. Lack of harmonic overtones is usually the downfall of most pedals.

Its brand new so I can't say. Its built like a tank though. Good components etc.

I don't need any as of yet, the simple manual told me what I needed to know. I noticed that the tone knob was different than most (and in a good way) and the manual explained why.

I am a professional player and have played more gigs than I have had hot lunches to crowds of 10 to 10,000. We have a former Santana member in the band and he could play with anyone but he plays with us. We do a blues come Roots Rock and Reggae vibe ala Bob Marley meets Carlos Santana. I can bang the Carlos tone very realistically and I don't have to play a Mesa on Volumes 7 to do it. This pedal does not play make you a better player but it does allows you to do what you do best. I have tried virtually every OD pedal, tube pre-amp etc, this is the best for the style we play. I will likely have a OD yard sale soon. I must have at least a dozen. This pedal will be appreciated by experienced players, beginners will likely go to something that makes them sound like a circus, not a guitar.

Simple. Like other Fulldrives there are four controls: volume, tone, gain, and boost, push/pull comp cut, no rocket science here. Easy to dial in great tones the minute you pull it out of the box.

This is where it shines imho. I've owened a bunch of OD pedals including: Blue Fulldrive 2 (pre flat mids), Fulldrive 2 flat mids, Limited Edition Yellow Fulldrive 2 (same as blue flats mids in Yellow box - ask Mike), Klon Centuar, SIB! Varidrive, Budda Phatman, Matchless HotBox, Mesa V-Twin, Barber Tone Pump, Samps Drive-O-Matic, Menatone Blue Collar, Menatone Red Snapper, Reverend Drive Train, Visual Sound Jekyll and Hyde, Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive, Bixonic Expandora, etc.. This is my main OD pedal right now and has been since I bought it about 8 months ago. Where is really shines is live. This pedal is for the gigging musician. I was using the flat mids FD2 before this and found my tone just didn't cut through the band. Now my tone sits perfect in the mix. The pedal adds a low end growl and bite to my Les Paul that was missing with the flat mids version. Also it just rocks with single coils. Like a TS808 on steriods. Compared to the flat mids FD2 it has more gain in the non-boost mode, more growl and bite on the wound strings, it does crunch rythm better and just cuts through the mix better to my ears. If you just want to sit at home and riff in your bedroom you may like the flat mids version better, but if your gigging this one is the sh*(^!!!

I've not had a problem with it or any of the other Fulltone pedals I own/owned: ChoralFlange, Fat Boost, Deja Vibe, FD2 flat mids. I've heard of some problems with the footswitches on early Fulltone pedals but this one has the new heavy duty Fulltone 3PDT swithes so I think it'll hold up. FYI I have had problems with the switches on my Menatone Blue Collar (Fulltone switch on order), Budda Phatman, Barber Tone Pump and my new Voodoo Labs Sparkle drive!

Every time time I have emailed Mike I have gotten a quick response. His answeres are short and to the point and always helpfull. Don't email him if you just want to chit chat.

Like I said it's been my main OD pedal since purchasing it new about 8 or 9 months ago. I've used it with a variety of guitars including: PRS Hollowbody 2, Tom Anderson Cobra, Heritage 535, Gibson Les Paul, SRV Signature Strat with Kinman Avn-W and '60s RI strat with Antiquity II. My main amp is a '66 Super Reverb though I also have a '69 Pro Reverb and '69 Marshall small box 50. The pedal sounds great with all these guiatrs and amps.

See below for the specs- I give this a 5 because there is a lot of interactivity between knobs. The comp cut mode makes this another pedal in itself- I think you need to explore this pedal a while before you can get everything out of it.

Ok, this is where my beef comes in. I have no problem with the Comp cut mode- it is a great clean boost. However, I got this pedal as a Tube Screamer alternative. I find the overdrive tone "grainy" (for lack of a better term). I can get a great Keith Richards type tone, but that's it. I don't find this a smooth sounding pedal no matter how I set it or how much I mess around with it. It does do the grainy, just breaking up thing really well, but that is not what I wanted it to do.

I was going to try to swap out the chip to see if that made a difference, but ole' Mike put a glop of stuff on it that makes it impossible to remove... oh well.

It hasn't broken, but i have only gigged with it 4 or 5 times. I have a bunch of Fulltone stuff, and it has all been good. The one problem I had was fixed without incident.

I had one dealing with Mike Fuller (or somebody there) concerning a dead pedal. There was no problem at all. I have heard less than stellar things about Fulltone's CS dealings, but I had no problem. What do you want- someone to be your pal or someone who backs their product?

So I was looking for a better TS9 and didn't find it. It is not a terrible pedal, but it's not what I wanted. I wish there was a way to try some different options with it, but then there is that silicon goop. I would recommend trying this pedal for a while before purchasing it. For the record, I use it with either a VibroKing or a Bassman. My guitar of choice is a Strat.

It's got 4 knobs that are self-explanatory and a 2 page instruction manuel that is very usefull because this is NOT an ordinairy OD box.It is VERY versatile in both modes and easy to get an awesome TONE.

With a Les Paul and 57'+ pick-ups,I plug into the Fulldrive then got right into an ancient tube amp from the 50's that was probably a small P.A. for a church or a grocery store.It has Volume,Tone and a Phono Knob that doesn't even work.It's 10 watts and all I have for an amp right now,but loud(!) enough for bedroom levels.The reason I describe this amp is because it has NO natural mids and sounds OK but clean and flat.The Fulltone makes it sound SOOOO much better for what it is.My Tubescreamer went over my shoulder.GONE! This FD2 is SO much fatter sounding,even in comp mode and the boost is something sweet.I pull the volume for comp cut and it just gets this massive clean-blow-up-your-amp kinda tone that was what I was looking for.I know it inhances the tone of your amp,in my case it's not a fender or marchall or anything spectacular but it DOES do a great job of sayin' what it's suppose to do.I can't wait to plug it in the REAL stuff!

IT looks solid but I don't like the battery changing set-up.It feels like you could maybe cause damage if your not carefull when loosening the pedal apart,pulling the battery jack across the circuit board and breaking some parts,other tan that,it's so solid.

Never spoke with them.

I REALLY like the fact that it made MY guitar/amp sound like ME.The TS9 sounded a little to boxy and transistor compared to this FD2.IT does an awesome job of making your amp feel like it's going to blow up and gives a strong string dynamic on the fretboard of my guitar that just sounds like the creamiest milkiest warmest and fattest overdrive I've played so far.I've been playing for 14 years all styles and various instruments.For guitar,my search for an OD/Clean boost pedal is only a memory of disapointaments next to the Fulltone.I want to buy another one just "incase" it get damaged.

It has four knobs and two switches as detailed in previous reviews. The ranges are 'safe' and don't allow the user to make mistakes apart from accidentally having too much volume on boost in comp cut mode.

Mim Strat-FD2-Fuzz Factory-AC15ri

With a Strat the umm? stratiness is intact. It is less aggressive than my TS10 (JRC4558D chip) but a lot smoother, more 'natural'. It's an extension of the amp rather than an effect.

Build quality and attention to detail is excellent. The serial number is on the box, chassis and board.

There's a manual, warning about the switches, 5 years warranty and an informative website with an e-mail url. Mike Fuller responded in a friendly manner to a stupid question. Excellent.

The UK dealer allowed a decent tryout and staff were knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the product. John at Peach you are a great bloke.

I have played various instruments since 1981. I started a modest 'studio' last year and have formed a band to hopefully perform the material written in it. I needed an overdrive that worked well at low and cranked amp levels. I wanted a twin-channel one.

The Fulldrive 2 is meticulously made and thoughtfully designed. Potential problem areas are pre-empted (footswitch noises, boost volume too loud). It can be set to work as a conventional overdrive or clean boost, both with two channels. The units 'transparent' sound and limited gain may not be to everyone's liking. It's not perfect. I would prefer independent controls for each channel and for less money would be good. It's expensive especially for something that does not do much.

Would I willingly play electric guitar without it in my signal chain? No.

Easy. 3 knobs for channel 1 just like every other OD pedal ever. Another knob to control overdrive level for boost channel. Really good setup. Pull the volume on channel 1 for a clean boost, or push it for a compressed, gorgeous crunch. So its kind of like having a Fat Boost built into it. Its really simple.

I am the only guitar player in my band, so I need to have a rather wide tonal palette from which to select my crunch tones. I use a Tele into an Octafuzz->Bad Horsie->TS9->FD2->Uni-vibe->HK Rotosphere into a Deville 410. I use the 1st channel for lighter gain and crunch it for a solo with the boost channel. But if we play Live or SRV or something that needs a little more gain, I use Boost for rhthym and boost it with the TS9. I use the TS9 before it because the levels of the pedals are different and it makes the settings a little more normal when used this way. It really is a thing of beauty though. The sound is ultra transparent. It sounds like my guitar straight into my amp but just pushed over the edge. Really smooth tone with the perfect amount of gain. It was really a super investment that I am glad I made. If you are having tone problems and don't know which box to choose to solve your OD quandary, this is the thing for you. I love the FD2. It also works great with wahs and uni-vibes and even rotospheres. Also good to boost the Octafuzz.

Looks good, and could no doubt injure me if dropped on my toe. I am not worried about it because I don't have money for a backup.

Haven't needed any.

I love Mike Fuller. He makes awesome pedals. But before you buy, make sure you have an already good tone. Also, I doubt this would sound good through a transistor amp, but I don't know for sure. It seems to react quite nicely with my tubes and it really sounds lovely. I would replace it after I beat the shit out of whoever stole it. Then I would fall in love all over again. Great pedal.

Doesn't get much easier - input/output and four very self explanatory knobs

Alrighty - here we go... My expectations were high given all of the unbridled hype about this pedal. This, personal subjectivity, and the fact that was comparing this pedal toe to toe with the Hughes & Kettner Tube Factor colors my rating in this category. Which makes me wonder if I am talking apples and oranges anyway...

Let me cut to the chase and work form there. I am returning the Fullrive 2 ASAP and keeping the Tube Factor (best stomp box overdrive I've EVER tried (I have tried most of the relevent ones mesa v-twin, Boss OD series, chandler tube driver, marshall guvnor, Ibanez TS-9, Vox ., Buddha phat man etc. etc) H&K has by far the richest clarity with warm overtones of the lot. In fariness to the fulldrive it was not a bad sounding stopbox and if I for some reaon needed to go all solid state (??) for my over drive this would be a great pedal. But when I plugged it in it sounded like a tube screamer with more control over parameters. Thinned out my sound instantly - even with the volume, overdrive and eq settings as close to my H&K as possible... My setup is the following in order. AmStndrd Stat or Am made Jmaster into a Dunlop TVP-1 (volume trem) into the H&K Tube Factor (substituted the FD-2 for the trial) then comes the Fulltone '69 (great pedal) then a digitech Whammy reissue, Line 6 delay, Boss PH-3 (with exp. pedal), Boss PN-2 (Trem/PAn), Boss Tuner, Ernie Ball Volume pedal and Finally into a Vox AC30 (Korg Reissue. I have an overdrive on all the time so having crysatline richness and broad sound cord voicing is key. All of this said, I would recommend this pedal for anyone who could not afford the extra $30 bucks to buy the H & K but for the price you might as forego a few beers and reatyourself to an H&K.

Haven't had it long enough. Though I know Fulltone effects are very well built...

NA

Been playing a long time - long enough to have tried way too many efects, amps and guitars. The kind of music I like to play is melodic, dark, alternative pop with guitars ranging from jangly clean to echoey tripped out tones. As I mentioned the FD-2 was not a compliment to my existing sound so I am returning the pedal to the store where it was purchased. It is, however, I good transistor based overdrive pedal...

Very easy to use. You can dial in a variety of tones without having to fiddle too much. Plug in, dial in and off you go. I don't care too much for the push/pull comp knob. If I needed to use that in a gig situation, I'm not going to stoop and and pull. Fulltone really should have provided an additional stomp button.

I'm using a 74' Gibson Les Paul Custom thru the FD2 straight into my Marshall JTM 2x12 Combo. I like a classic rock tone rather than using every box in the world. By being this way, I wanted the get the best possible overdrive out there. I started here on HC and looked around elsewhere and found that this was one of the highest rated OD pedal in production. So, I bought one and have been convinced ever since. It's very smooth and provides my clean channel with a warm, creamy saturated thickness that I have been looking for my whole playing life. I can easily nail tones ranging from Duane Allman to Jimmy Page. The boost button provides another option but I find my self utilizing my volume knob more than anything. If you toy with your volume knob on about 7 or 8 the FD2 responds accordingly I have found. I simply turn up to solo and I get that "bite" that I need. If I need to or feel like it use the boost switch but I'm not as knocked out by it as I am the standard OD.

So far, so good. I'm a little concerned with the stomp mechanisms. They seem too cheap. Especially when one considers the price of the unit.

N/A

I play classic rock/blues and this IS the pedal for overdrive in my opinion. I've been playing over 20 years and as far as I'm concerned this is it for the price. I've yet to try a Klon or a TS808 but I would really question if the market price on these are worth it. Are they that much different or better than these? If my FD2 was lost or stolen, you bet I would replace this in a heartbeat. You just can't beat the smoothy cream it provides. Although I wish it had another button for the Comp feature and better made stomps, I'll still stand beside it. I love it.

I picked this up, expecting it to be as cool as my old Fulltone 2. I was wrong, it was better! Easy to use, only a couple of knobs and buttons. The manual was brief, but the pedal doesn't need much.

I'm running one of my Strats > wah > Fulldrive II TR100 > Fulltone 70's > ZVex Fuzz Factory > ZVex Seek Wah > Electro Harmonix Small Clone > Boss DM-2 delay > Ernie Ball Volume > Fender Deluxe Reverb Reissue w/NOS tubes. I can get about any type of vintage/modern sounds I like with this, even though with this rig I tend to play mostly a blues/rock kind o'thang. This pedal is very transparent, with just a little compression (in a good way) and sounds best when playing at louder levels. It seems Mike Fuller designs his stuff with the working guy in mind, not necessarily the bedroom player. It cops the tubescreamer stuff really well, and has much more gain than the regular Fulldrive 2's. I love this thing!

I don't know of anyone who has ever had problems with Fulltone's gear. I don't have a backup, and there were only 100 of them made. All my gear is pretty solid, and I'm pretty careful with it.

I've never had any product problems, and have sent several emails to Fulltone. I normally get a response back, but Mike doesn't have time to b.s. I wish he did, I'd love to talk gear with the guy.

I play a blues/rock mix with this rig, and it sounds great. I've been playing about 20 years now, but I've always been mostly a fun/weekend gigger at best. I have a rack system I use for 80's style rock, but the vintage-style rig gets more and more use. I would try to get another if lost or stolen, but would probably see if I could get Fulltone to modify a stock one to this spec. I do wish it had a volume boost, but you can't have everything. It's just easy to use, easy to setup, and built to last. I've played through just about every overdrive on the market, and this is the best.

Having 2 footswitches and 4 knobs and a push-pull on the volume, I'd have to say that this pedal is very easy to use, and even though it's a bit more complicated to use than Your average 3 knob overdrive You will be able to get a great sound in
just a few seconds.

Man. this is by far the best overdrive/distortion unit I've ever used.
I've used the FD-2 with strats,teles and my 90's Les Paul, playing through my amps including a Fender Bassman w/2x12"
Egnater TOL100 w/ 4x12",Egnater TOL50,Orange 120 w/4x12",and I have to say that the pedal sounds suberb in all the cases.

The overall feel of the pedal is that it will work forever.If You do buy one, be sure to open it up and check out the inside of the unit, This is like a technicians dream! it's even painted on the inside.

OK , the Fulltone pedals is not the cheapest stuff aruond, but with craftsmanship like this I feel that You get value for Your money anyway.Since buying this pedal I've also bought an Ultimate Octave pedal , and I like that one just as much.

Very user friendly.I got great tones right from the start.I played at a local jam-night the day I got it and was hooked instantly!

I play a Fender Tele and Strat with Joe Barden Deluxe pick-ups into a Boss compressor,Fulldrive 2,Maxon delay into a Fender Hot Rod Deville
4x10.I like a little dirt on rhythm and either basic clean boost for solos or more gain depending on the song and my mood.This pedal delivers on the dirty rhythm and the boost is somewhere in between clean and "gainy".I'm still experimenting with it to get an ultra clean boost but over-all i'm very pleased with the pedal.

No problems in two months of gigging at least once a week.

Haven't called or dealt with Fulltone.So far I have no need to.

I play a lot of hard driving country-rock with a good dose of blues and this pedal kicks my ass!I've played for going on 15 years and tried a few pedals like the tube screamer and bixonic and the chandler but the fulldrive is a much better sounding and more versatile pedal.I've used it live and in the studio and have nothing bad to say about it.I prefer the comp-cut option but it's nice to have the choice to use it or not.I would definitely replace it and actually I'm considering buying a second one just to have around for back-up.I like this pedal!

Very easy to use. I Like the compressor.

I play Les standard, Fender USA strat and a PRS through Mesa DC-2, Marshall 1974 super Lead.
Sound quality is excellent.
Now here is my problem with this pedal. I purchased this pedal based on the rave reviews here on HC. After playing through it I found other pedals which I own (Boss SD-1, Visual Sound Route 66) to be very similar sounding. So my Boss SD-1 purchased new for $35 sounds very close to the FD-2, yet $160 less. The Route 66, which has compression also sounds as good and around $75 less.
I do not dislike this pedal, do not get me wrong, as it appears to be well made and top notch components are used. It just does not sound better or more tranparant than the other ones I own. In a mix sound difference is negligible.

Very reliable, never had a problem.

N/A did not need to use.

Plug it in and go! Manual is brief and to the point - this is an easy device to use. The dual footswitch is great! There's nothing I'd do to improve in this area.

Sound is why I bought this. I primarily use a strat through a couple Fender Pro Jr's (one cranked through a THD HotPlate) with various and sundry effects in line. If you want your strat overdriven and have it still sound like your strat, you should give this a try.

Also: The on/off switchable compressor is, to my ears, transparent. Great for sustain.

This sounds great through a clean amp, I also like to use it with a cranked up Pro Junior (with the compressor on) to get more of a soaring "Satana-esque" sound. Again, no complaints, nothing I'd do to improve this.

I've had it about a month - so far so good.

Mike Fuller is a one-man shop - doesn't have a staff to support this, but he will talk with you and provide some direction. I found him to be very helpful. I'll give him a 8 because there is room for improvement - hopefully he'll be successful enought to add staff.

I play classic rock, blues, jazz, etc etc. This pedal is great for the blues and rock genres. I've been playing for 30+ years. Electric guitars are Fender Strat, G&L F100, Gibson 125T. NGM pedalboard contains Axess BUF signal buffer > Dunlop Crybaby (Mod'd for true bypass by Pedal-Racks Tom Pecoraro) > Fulldrive 2 > Morely volume pedal > Line6 DM4 > Line6 MM4 > Songworks Spring Reverb Pedal > Morely a/b switch to two Fender Pro Juniors, one cranked through a THD Hotplate. Eurotubes. This pedal is a definate keeper. For the price of a single pedal you get a compressor, overdrive and boost. I didn't compare it with others: I heard what I was looking for. The Fulldrive 2 is one ton of fun!

This unit it easy to use. I find the unit I have is a little tempermental though. I find I end up adjusting my settings more often than leaving them where they are at. The knobs do what they say they're supposed to. They just don't seem to stay there.

Here's the thing, it sounds great when it works! This thing craps out on me sometimes. My set up is a AM Strat with Texas Specials, Vox Wah(true bypass mod), Boss TU-2, Fulltone 70's, FD2, CE-2, MXR Phase 90, MXR Micro Amp, into a Fender Reverb Deluxe. Like I mentioned earlier, I don't like the time I have to spend fiddling with this thing during a gig! But this is sound quality so I will return to this later. The two stage boost is one thing that I like, I'm not sure if I really need it though. I used to keep the comp. cut knob down but now I don't use any compression from the pedal. Which is another problem since I have to jam something under the knob so that it doesn't go down during a gig. Anyway, it does sound great when it does what it's supposed to (I'll get into this in the reliability section). I don't need to re-write the other reviews.

I have been holding off writing this review because I was hoping the pedal would snap out if it (like it has a personality or something??!!). I am really stuck on this issue. I am pretty worried that this thing is going to totally crap out at a gig. Actually, there have been many times that is has crapped out!! I have to give it a whack for it to work again. That really pisses me off!! I find the pedal is VERY inconsistent sounding. Other reviews are glowing for this pedal, it may just be the one that I have. Usually the pedal starts out sounding fine, then it gets thin, harsh, it's like it looses it balls! It ends up sounding just like a shitty distortion pedal, it farts! Anyway I gig with it but I am not sure for how much longer. Which is really disapointing because it used to be great. It's stamina sucks!

Mike is has been helpful for the most part with other things I have purchased or modded. On this issue they have been pretty less than top notch though. I emailed him about this problem and he said to send it back. Well that's fine and dandy but I am not sure what I am supposed to do in the meantime without my OD pedal! I can't really afford to go out and buy a new pedal evertime I need to send the thing back for repairs. I guess I am asking for too much. Overall Mike is a friendly guy to deal with.

I bought this pedal because of what it was supposed to do with my guitar and amp set up. All I really want out of an overdrive pedal is what the FD2 is supposed to do. I like the sound of my guitar and amp and the FD2 doesn't bother it for the most part, until it starts to crap out. Then I get frustrated and want to throw the pedal across the room! I hate the inconsistency and lack of stamina this unit has. Again I am worried about it breaking down for good during a gig. I suppose I need to get a another back up. On a more positive note my 70's pedal is great. Awesome fuzz, just what I was looking for. Overall the FD2 gets great reviews, but this particular unit I have is really starting to get on my bad side. Hopefully it won't be as moody in the future.

Effect very easy to use, almost impossible to get a bad tone from it.
Manual w/ suggested settings simple but helpful. Also be sure to use carbon zinc batteries for cleaner tone. Only complaint is that the knobs can be moved very easily, I have to reset to play after packing up.

Vox Wah>Fulldrive2>Dunlop Univibe>IbanezDE7 Delay>Fender VibroKing w/ either a 65' or 73' stock strats.Fulltone is quiet and sounds fantastic does not seem to ALTER the TONE. I'm new to effects, never liked them but since I can play a little now I figured I'd better look for TONE since that really is what it's all about. I have a Ibanez Tube King which is terrific but a little too dirty for my tastes. But the single most important feature of the fulldrive aside from it's immaculate construction is the TWO CHANNEL feature I LOVE THAT. I like a little OD FOR RHYTHM but for leads I like to be able to crank it up a notch. This is a wonderful feature. I got frustrated with the one setting of the tube king or any pedal for that matter. Boost channel has compression, so it's smooth and sustainy without sounding processed.

I would rely on it, however, it's always good to have a backup, whether a fulltone or otherwise. I have not had any problems whatsoever.

not applicable thus far...

I bought the fulltone by accident. Bananas Music San Rafael, turned me onto it to try, they swear by it. I thought okay, took it home plugged it in - NO BIG DEAL for that price. I was going to return it until I played it with my band - Surprize! The Fulltone comes alive, rich textures, harmonics, smooth and clean quiet you don't notice it's tremendous musicality until it's in a live situation. No kidding! Awesome presence - needless to say - I did not return it! 'Nuff said. True bypass is good will NOT load down signal AND no noticeable loss of bass when OD kicked in. Excellent!Expensive but worth it. Handmade boutique item great tone and wonderful craftmanship. Designed by a player with players in mind.

I've had my Fulldrive 2 fm for 1 1/2 years and it's really easy to use.My only complaint is the pull comp nob.I you have big feet like me you will end up hitting it and clicking it into the comp mode.I found a way around this,just take a little tape and put under nob to keep your big feet from pushing the nob down.lol

I plug a 56 relic strat or a real 52 tele into a boss c3 compressor with a bypass switch to a fulldrive 2 to a soul bender to a univibe to a rockhard echoplex(if you haven't heard this unit check it out,it's way more reliable and sounds every bit as good if not better than the original)then into a Top hat ambassador 35 or a 60's pro.I love the tone of the fulldrive.If you're playing quiet the compressed mode will help you get a good overdrive sound(I've talked to Mike and he uses the compressed mode,volume 11 ,tone 12 overdrive 10 or 11 and boost 12 or 1 and the boost mode is mostly used with the bridge PU)I have been using the comp cut lately and really like this mode with a slightly overdriven amp.

I've had a drunk guy spill a beer on my pedal,drunk singers step on it,had it fall outta my cheesy pedalboard,and even had a drummer drop his road case on my pedalboard and guess what?,it's still works,wooohoo.

I've talked to mike alot and he's a really busy guy.If you call mike make sure it's for help not just to shoot the sh*t.I have learned a few tricks from mike and he's a really cool dude.I think he's got a bad rap from a few people,most likely someone asking him some really silly questions.Mike is very helpful so if ya have any questions email him.

I do alot of sessions and this pedal works like a charm.I've been playing 15 years and have seen pedals come and go and this is a classic.If it were stolen I would put a pic of it on milk cartons under missing pedal.I guess you can tell I love this pedal.I have alot of pedals,ts 9's ,808, and alot of whacky pedals and the fulldrive has its own voice so I can't really compare it to anything,it will please the ts 9 and 808 fans.I wish the fulldrive had a talent booster so on those bad nights it could get me through.I hope this review has been helpful.

This thing took me a couple of weeks to find the tone i wanted... because every time i changed a parameter it sounded so damn good i didn't want to change it again for a while! This pedal CAN NOT sound bad or weak or anything negative no matter how hard i have tried. Granted, i like a warm fat overdrive that still lets my guitar's natural signature seep through. This might not be a pedal for heavy metal guys, but try it anyway, you never know. My only regret is that the "comp. cut" switch is a push/pull pot, and not a separate switch that i can hit with my toe, that is why it didn't get a "10"

I am using a strat modded with duncan humbuckers, then through a gazillion pedals and into a Mesa/Boogie Blue Angel. I like the full drive because of the true bypass. (with a gazillion pedals, signal degradation is a concern). As i said before, this thing just does not sound bad, ever. I got jimmy herring and warren haynes within seconds of plugging it in.

backup? why? i suppose if somebody heard the thing and decided to steal it. Other than that i can't imagine why i will ever need more than the one i've got.

Mike Fuller has one of the most educational web-sites in the business. If that isn't enough, he returns emails within 12 hours. Yes, him, not a secretary, the prez himself.
What more can you want?

Sometimes a piece of gear gives you such a great sound that it inspires you to play beyond your normal capabilities.
The fulltone full-drive 2, to me, is just that.
Granted, i stated my complaint about the "comp. cut" feature, but the tones i get on a daily basis make me forget about that quickly. How can i give it any less than a "10"?

There is a slight learning curve here. As everyones setup differs somwhat this is to be expected. Generally easy to get around though.

I use the Fulldive 2 with a bunch of other pedals. My setup goes like this: Fender DLX Strat >> RMC Wah>> FD2>>SIB Varidrive>> MXR Phase 100>>Voodoo Labs Tremolo>> Boss DD5 >> Riveira Knucle Head 50w amd Riveira 2/12 cab. This setup producess a trmendous tone very usable and versitile. This pedal is a must have if you are into blues/rock, very awsome! The voicing is perfect and tones are sweet.

Built like a Brick. Very well made pedal. I can't affort a second one therfore I don't use a backup.

No experience.

Beutifull peice of gear. I would recommend this pedal to anyone. It's really a God sent! Some users have tried comparing it to the Tubscreamer line. I just have to say that IMHO it doesn't sound anything like the tube screamer, the voicing is much nicer. You will hear the difference if you comare them, I did! The Tubscreamer is a classic pedal, I can't knock it. You should really try the FD2 though, I'm sure you will agree that it's in a class all by itself. This pedal is like a contemporary classic. It's definately a keeper!

This pedal has a straight-forward set-up and the boost feature is almost an essential element. The manual offers settings that I found to be personal preferences of Fuller, but still useful.

The sound quality can approach being perfect under my standards. However, unless you're playing an outdoors show or in an arena, the volume required to attain this tone usually can't be reached in smaller venues without irritating a few people (sound guys). I think the compression cut function is the better sounding one, but this needs extreme volume in order to have the desired sustain for lead play.

I've honestly gone through 3 of these pedals. It has great sound, but man can you please put more than 2 cents into the footswitch manufacturing please? Luckily I was able to return for refund from the best guitar shop-Willies American Guitars in St. Paul, MN.

Everything is warranted for about a year with the exception of the footswitches. I wonder why.

As mentioned before, the tone is almost unbeatable, but does me no good half way through a set when the damn green line won't turn on! I would still recommend this pedal with intention of installing heavy duty stomp pods. I play a custom tele (humbukkers) through a tube fender blues delux combo. I enjoy the Maxon overdrive as well, maxon analog delay, dunlop wah, and boss compressor-sustainer. If my Maxon overdrive gets stolen, I'll give Fulltone another shot because I do miss it and its boost feature.

Fairly simply to use. There is a slight learning curve when you first intoduce this pedal into your rig but were talking very little fuss.

My rig is as follows: Fender American Std. >>Fulltone Clyde Wha (Awsome pedal)>>Fulltone Ultimate Octave>> Fulltone Fulldrive 2>> S.I.B. Varidrive (This pedal is the Real Deal!) >>Prescription Vibe Unit >> Fulltone Supa-Trem >> Dr.Z Prescription 2/12 combo. This setup is totally Awsome! It took me so long to put this together well the buying part was quick, making the bread took a while. This pedal sings, it producess a sweet overdrive , very thick and juicy. The tone that is produced by this setup and the Fulldrive 2 is unbeleivable , makes shivers shoot up my spine. The Fulldrive 2 is a winner, it is an essential part of my tone. Very nice overdrive padal.

Built well, but too soon to tell. I don't anticipate any problems...I'll let you guys know if I do. Not to mention M. Fuller.

althought I have ,like, tons of his stuff I've never had to contact him for any reason. This is a good thing. I've read reveiews that say M.Fuller is a self ricious dude and very bias to his own pedals...well I would be too if they were this good! On the other hand reasons have been given as to why Fuller might be up tight at times. One reviewer tried explaining that M.Fuller is a Business man and a working musitian, sometimes he doesn't have time for people, We should understand this... I say that's a crock of S#*T! The bottom line is WE (musicians) are what makes M.fuller continue doing well. He gets free advertising via word-of-mouth and these review groups from us and we get the privillage of buying some really expensive boutique gear that M.Fuller has made us adicted to! "Let me bend over so you can Kiss My ASS! as I am a contributor to your furure, present and past success" is what should be said about that noise. I Can't live without FullTone stuff but I can do without poor additudes, if that's the case. I spoke with the Klon guy and although he is very busy he DID spend the time with me and explained everything (Really cool dude!) ...so I am concidering ordering one because not only does the product pack a high standard of quality and tone but the person behind it seems to care about his customers. Actually ,I just remembered his name, Bill from Klon. He told me that the fulldrive 2 and the Klon Centauer should NEVER be used together. The Klon is a natural OD Pedal that Bill has worked his ass off designing and developing. Bill says his product shouldn't be compromised by some other overdrive pedal in the loop(or at least don't use it together with other OD's Modulation and Delay effects are obvoisly ok to use. It should just be used to enhance your current rig. I understood what he was telling me, and he wasn't knocking the Fulltone product.

Well I think the Fulldrive is certainly a MUST HAVE in it's own right. There are lots of pedals out there and only very few Keepers two of which have just been mentioned. Listen to this: IMO The Fulltone Fulldrive 2 is a winner!

Getting a good sound is very easy. The sound to me is strictly overdrive sound. Kicking in the boost in overdrive will get more sustain. just watch the tone knob when functioning the boost. This pedal gives more of a creamy Hendrixy type of sound for me.

The fulltone is not noisy in my setup. Here is a tip. I emailed Mike about the ac adapter. do not use the Boss PSA 120-T adapter. Use the Boss ACA adapter(which is true 9 volts). Using the ACA adapter makes the sound smoother.I use the FD-2 with a TC chorus and a Klon Centaur. Sometimes a Vox Wah. I run this through a Marsahll JCM 900 series 100 watt half stack. As for guitars I use a Fender 62 Reissue Strat. I would describe the sound of the FD-2 as Hendrixy/Robin Tower etc.

Seems to be reliable. I have heard problems with the footswitches on the pedal. Just remeber it's a guitar pedal not a clutch on a pickup truck! I have emailed Mike on several occasions. He got back same day if not within the hour. I like that.

Mike will answer all and any questions.I have heard he is biased towards his product. Do you blame him!!So is the dude from Klon. It's a competiton thing.

I have been playin since 1978. I have tried all the Boss line pedals. Ibanez Tube Kings and Ts-9's.Mostly everything out there. This pedal is the best by far.Not a metal pedal. if you want that get a Metal Zone. The tone on the FD-2 is nice.Also works as a nice clean boost in comp mode.Be careful on the boost on comp mode!!

Straight forward pedal. The pull-knob is awkward for pulling. It's little, tapered and if your hands are sweaty it's really hard to pull on this thing. An additional switch would have done the trick. This way you don't have to get down on your knee to mess with the thing. Also the boost only works in the overdrive mode. It would be nice to have it as a stand alone option.

Great overdrive tone. Soft edged sound. The boost kicks it alot. Be careful where you set this.

Here's the rub. I've had it two-weeks and it pooped out this morning. It's fine on the bypass mode but nothing comes out in the overdrive. It worked last night. This morning I wanted to work on some material and was disappointed that it didn't work. After reading what others have experienced I recommend you take a back-up pedal.

Never dealt with them. Reliablity for a pedal is crucial. $35 pedals have lasted forever. I have a pile of distortion and overdrive pedals. None have ever had a reliability issue. I own: Stamps Overdrive, Rats (two of them), Modified TS-9, Maxxon OD, Expandora, Boss (several, and as you can see, you just can't ever find the right tone. I don't care what the support is. At this point my trust in this thing has been compromised. I can't trust it any more. Sure, it could go out again and I could have the greatest support team backing me up. SO WHAT. A distortion pedal should not go out, PERIOD.

I am a blues guy at heart. I play popular music. Whatever gets work. I still rely on a blues tone and then some to fit in with the variety of music I have to play. I've played for 35 years. This is a good blues pedal (in fact it is blue, sorry, I had to get that in). Two things about this pedal and they combat each other. Reliability and Tone. A pedal should work each time you step on it. You should not worry about back-ups. Playing is about playing and NOT wondering if your pedal is going to work tonight or not. Reliability could destroy a gig and your mood. BIG THUMBS DOWN FOR RELIABILITY. The TONE is great. But at what price. For $180 it's not THAT great. And to worry about how long it's gonna last...you decide for yourself. I'm getting rid of this thing.

It takes some tinkering to find your tone but it's pretty easy, as are most pedals.

I use vintage strats and custom made strats and plug from the fulldrive 2 into my '67 Vox wah intome Fender Super Reverb.It's a quiet pedal and is exactly the sound i was looking for.This pedal is Awesome.

Mine was bought used and was made 3 years ago and doesn't have anything wrong at all so i'm confident it will handle a high level of abuse.i would never bother with a backup

never dealt with and probably never will.

I play jazz,blues, and country and this pedal gets me where i want to be in the tone spectrum.I would defintiely buy it again if it were stolen and would recommend anyone who likes the tubescreamer to buy the fulltone fulldrive 2, It gives an overdrive very similar except it has nice bass range the ts' don't and it's not as phony sounding

It's very easy to use, because it's so hard to get a bad sound out of it. The manual comes with two sample settings. I tried the first one, and after a little fiddling, found the perfect sound. This is the blue FM model, by the way.

I mainly use this pedal between a les paul standard and a 68 Deluxe Reverb. I set the amp up for a good slightly overdriven sound, and then use the fulldrive to give it a boost. With the pullswitch up, it sounds just like the guitar, only louder. The boost switch is great, too. It gets really crunchy without sounding buzzy.

It hasn't failed me yet.

I once had a question about a first issue soulbender, and Mike was more than helpful.

I play blues and old rock. This pedal is a great addition to my setup. I used to own a ts9 that couldn't hold a candle to this sweet pedal even afterI had analog mike mod it to a ts808 circuit. The only thing I don't like is that the comp cut switch is a pull switch. It's a bit more than I'm used to paying. I don't think I'll pay this much for a pedal again.

Ease of use is simple. 4 knobs & 2 channels, Normal & Boost, The
knobs are from left to right: Vol., Tone, Overdrive, Boost, (for the
second channel only) Knobs are very sensitive, but in a good way.
They allow for a huge tonal pallette.

Incredible! I have owned many OD's including a couple of Boss,
a plethora of TS-808 & TS-9 Tube Screamers, A limited "Yellow"
FD2, Blue FD2 & a Jekkyl & Hyde. This particular FD is the ULTIMATE
OD I have ever heard. It has the JRC 4558 chip and you can really hear
the likeness to early TS-808's. However, this sick pedal offers a much wider
range of tone shaping capabilities & is "FAR" more responsive to "pick attack".
I play in a very active cover band and this thing shines from Zeppelin to Godsmack
to Neil Young & everthing in between. To me, this is truly the "definitive" OD. It
has much more gain then the current "Blue FD2". It is the "warmest", "smoothest"
OD I have ever heard...........Period!

Fulltone USA, built like a tank. If their is a better made pedal in the world .
I have never seen it.

I have called Mike Fuller on many occassions & have always received
excellent advice & Mike was always more then willing to answer all my
questions no matter how trivial they may have seemed. Top-Notch!!

As I mentioned above I currently play in a cover band & we cover all
facets of Rock. I have been playing about 4 years & have been through
more gear then most 30 year players. I run either a Custom Shop Nocaster
or a Les Paul DC Standard--> Fulltone Deja Vibe 2--> "FD2 TR100"--> Fulltone
Fat Boost & I use a Voodoo lab Pedal Power for juice & I run it all into
a Reissue '63 Fender Vibroverb. As you could imagine this setup makes for
some mouthwatering tone. Their is not one "bad thing" & I would add or subtract,
"nothing". I am inspired everytime I plug & stomp on this baby. It is by far & away
the most "musical" pedal of any kind I have ever heard. & by the way it
absolutley smokes the current FD2. The only down note I could think of does
not apply to me.......Mike only made 100. Good luck finding one for under $400.
The new ones are long gone. I have no affiliation to Mike Fuller or the Fulltone
company in any way.

This pedal is a sinch to use, it has 4 knobs, volume, tone, drive, and boost, plus two foot switchs, i/o jacks and 9v adapter jack. The manual was simple but to the point. It took me less than a minute to find a useable sound a get a good feel for this pedal.

I play a 99 american deluxe strat through a wah->fulltone dejavibe->the fulldrive->way huge aqua puss->fulltone fat boost->'65 fender twin reissue. This is the limited edition orange pedal with the old TS-808 chip in them, comissioned by Thomas Roberts. This one is #86 of 100, get 'em while you can. I got mine over the web at www.guitarzan.com (i have no affiliation with them or fulltone, just trying to be nice) It is a very quiet pedal and it is true bypass. It has a sound not unlike a tubescreamer, though my TS-9 is a little more harsh and raspy, the tr100 has a very warm sound. Another noticable differance is feedback, I have always had problems getting feedback with my TS-9, I can creat very musical feedback with the fulldrive. It is also worth mentioning that it has more sustain than the TS-9. This pedal has a tone of mids and the lows are pretty good too, I am still making up my mind on the highs, though they seem a little weak to my ears at first. I have the pedal set as follows: volume: 11 o'clock, tone: 2 o'clock, drive: max, boost: max. I leave the boost on all the time for added gain when clean or distorted. The boost mode was a little dissapointing, but I attribute that to my misconception of what is was supposed to do. I was hoping that it would be a volume boost for pushing solos over the top, but that is not what it is intended for, it just adds a little gain, no volume at all really. Its a very versatile pedal, with a comp cut feature available too, which changes the sound of the pedal dramatically.

This thing is built like a tank, solid is an understatement. I have a TS-9 for backup, but thats not because I have any lack of faith in the reliability or craftsmanship in this pedal. It is a well built product.

Good warranty and informative website, though I have never dealt with Mr. Fuller yet.

I play mostly rock, the blues, and alternative and I have been playing for about 9 years now. I gig and record often and this pedal is probably going to end up being my main overdrive. If it were stolen I would try to replace it. I wish the boost mode actually boosted the volume and that is the only reason I am giving it a 9. It is a quality pedal, I highly recommend it, though just remember it is only a pedal, it cant work miracles, dont get too caught up in the hype or you may be dissapointed.

Absolutely easy. I took about 10 minutes to dial it in. My settings rarely change but I'm sure if I needed good sound that was different, it'd be easy to dial.

I use a CIJ '52RI Tele, a CIJ '54RI Strat and a Danelectro Baritone guitar, with a Clay Hullett Tweed Deluxe knockoff or a Hullett-modified RI bassman (modded to the '59 circuit)

the unit is very quiet. The single coil pickups are noisy.

the effects always sound great. I'm not trying to get the sound of my favorite artists, I'm looking for MY sound and I get it with the FD. This box does not have a bad sound in it.

I depend on it every gig. I use it without a backup. I did break a foot switch but Mike sent me another one or half price.

I've only spoken with Mike once but he took care of me and was not terribly short with me. He was busy and didn't linger but he's in business. I liked him fine.

I play blues, blues rock and a bit of country. I've been playing for 35 years and this unit is by far the best O/D unit I've ever used.

If it were stolen, I'd buy another in a heartbeat. I love it's ease of use and it's TONE. This box is the s***. I can't say it any other way.

I compared it to a RI TS9, a Morley JD-10 and a Boss Blues Driver and this unit SMOKED them all.

I like everything about this unit *except* I'd like the comp cut feature to be a footswitch, not a push-pulll.

I use an MXR RI Dyna-comp (for slide) and a Boss RV-3 reverb. That's all. No other effects needed.

All stompboxes are easy to use. Tweak a few knobs and presto!

I play a Carvin Strat and Heritage 535 primarily through a Fender Hotrod Deluxe. The FD-2's overdrive is a little too grainy for my tastes. Also sounds midrangy. The gain boost option is good and quite usable. It gives my Fender that Voxy sound. It doesn't perform as well, though, in my signal chain as when flying solo.

Looks solid to me. I like the knobs. They're easy to see in dim lighting.

N/A

I play blues, rock, jazz, ballads, chicken-picken, and even a few disco'ish numbers when the band twists my arm. I've played for 21+ years and have about 6 stompboxes on an SKB pedalboard. I bought the FD-2 as a lead boost to suppliment by Boss BD-2, but the Boss blows it away for less than half the price. The Boss has more girth and is more lively. The FD-2 doesn't color my guitar's tone, but it seems to take away the punchiness (kinda lifeless). Although, I like the FD-2 better than my Marshall BB-2. The FD-2 (alot of 2's) works best as a gain booster.

This is a great overdrive pedal. It is simple to use and doesn't "color" the sound of your guitar or amplifier. If your guitar and amp sound good, then this pedal will sound good at any setting.

I use a G&L Asat Z3 (tele style) and a Guitar Factory (custom hollow body/humbucker guitar) through a '65 Deluxe. The pedal is pretty quiet. The sound is great! I purchased it to get a sound similar to what Robben Ford uses (I couldn't afford the Dumble).

It is completely reliable, I play live and never use a backup.

You can get Mike Fuller on the phone, so that is easy. It never has needed repair.

My first love is Blues. The pedal is good for that. I end up playing pop/rock in live situations, and it's 2 channels and bypass allow enough flexibility to cover most situations. Sure it costs a good bit, but other than the Matchless Hotbox this is the only pedal I've ever liked.

Lots of options. The comp cut mode is great for a clean boost or hitting another pedal hard. The compressed mode is great for slide playing.

Sounds good even with my Roland Blues cube 30 amp. Matches up well with s/c and humbuckers. Single coils get a slight edge. This pedal loves to be played out. When you get out with a band or at a jam it shines. Really sounds good with my Marshall Studio 15 and a delay pedal. I was always skeptical of this pedal until I heard it in a band context. Now I know what all the fuss is about. If it starts sounding different check the battery. Good battery life. After a year and a half I'm impressed.

So far so good. Sure feels hefty. No backup required.

No contact with Fulltone. Don't expect any problems with the pedal or customer support.

Great pedal for the blues/rock thang. Musical, dependable, and two switchable levels of overdrive. Been playing for 27 years and this is a great pedal. Compared with others I own, a TS10, JH Ultimate overdrive, Ibanez SD9, Voodoo Lab Overdrive, Dean Markley Overlord, Marshall Guv'nor 2, and a Blackstone 2 this one is right there at the top.

Easy to use, easy to tweak. Dead simple.

Sound quality is always very subjective. Rather than go on and on and on....I'll tell you why I bought it. I'm too old to gig anymore, and quite often too tired to lug my boogie to a jam. I wanted a pedal that would probably make any amp sound good. What's the point of this review? I go to jams with this pedal and usually plug it into whatever is available, usually an old solid-state Peavey or somthing. This pedal makes any of them sound good. If you want to travel light, a guitar and this pedal is a great solution. I can't recommend this pedal for H.M., anything else is great.

Don't gig anymore. I'd use it without a backup, it's just a pedal.

Fuller is opinionated, egotistical and busy. Probably could be my twin brother. He know's his shit. Just don't expect instantaneous feedback.

If yer into H.M. this pedal ain't for you. Any other type of rock played through pretty much any guitar/amp configuration will provide value per dollars spent. Well worth the money.

over all quality is good, but it carried too much mids for my taste though and i couldn't cut them with the tone control given or any of my amps controls (that's why i give it a nine not versatile enough

the only thing that bothered me were the switches, they have plastic tops, I can manage to break anything

Mike fuller is very informative but don't ask him stupid questions he's busy

this is a good, dependable, does what it says it does pedal but its' not worth $200 bucks

This pedal is quite straight forward, there are many tonal options, but I don't find it difficult to get a good sound. I do find it to be important however, that your amp is at a good volume(just enough to get the speaker(s) moving a bit), otherwise the sound is quite lackluster. This pedal esentialy gives you three channels:1)your amp's original tone(clean)(2)a boost or medium overdrive(rhythm?)(3)another boost or sustainy lead.

I read a recent review with a guy saying that this pedal sounds just like a TS-9, and basically said that you're wasting extra money to get the same sound. It seems like there are a lot unhelpful reviews by people who are pissed off about something,probably not to do with the gear,but everyone has a right to their opinion. My rig as of now is a G&L Asat into the fulldrive 2 into a fulltone fat boost into a Fender Deluxe Reverb. I was using a TS-9 for a while and it wasn't what I was looking for. Even if the fulldrive did sound just like a TS-9, it would be like having two TS-9's at different settings for different levels of boost with the option of turning them into clean boosts. With the fulldrive I can create musical feedback and endless sustain(in boost mode)at relatively low volume, something I found no sign of in the TS-9. The fulldrive in the first(compressed)mode does sound similar to a tubescreamer, but bigger and smoother. After using the fulldrive on a gig I was able to find the type of tone(finally!)I've been looking for. The first half of the night I had the pedal in compressed mode, and it sounded good, but I felt like I was fighting with it a bit, the way I did with the tubescreamer. Then midway through the second set, during a slow blues tune, I pulled the volume knob up into comp-cut mode, hit the boost, and the guitar just snarled. I realized that the tone I've wanted all along is just the sound of the amp cranked(or nearly), the way many of my favourite tones have been acheived. The problem has always been that I would have to be too loud to get the sound I want naturaly from the amp, it's not fair to the soundman or the other members of the band(especially the singer)to be blow your head off loud, so I've had to compromise tonally on most gigs up until now. Between the fatboost and the fulldrive I have three progressive levels of very full, natural tone at a reasonable volume level and that makes me happy.

I have only had this pedal for about a month, so I don't know with absolute certainty how reliable it is, but everything about is very sturdy: heavy duty switches, in/out jacks, very solid metal casing. I feel very confident with it, but I also baby it because I like it and I don't even want the paint chipped.

Never dealt with Mike Fuller.

I love all kinds of music and guitar players/tones, I love sounds of Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, Ry Cooder, B.B.King, Adrian Belew, Bill Frisell, Danny Gatton etc.etc.etc., but for my playing style(a weird mixture of stuff)the fulldrive 2 really seems to work for me. I would replace it if it were stolen.

This is one of the Limited Edition yellow ones so I had to pay an extra $20 even though I couldn't care less about the color...anyway, I've been playing this pedal for about 6 months so I feel I am past the need to justify an expensive (for me at least) toy.

This pedal is very flexible but I find that I want to use the Comp Cut "channel" (knob "out") for sharp, full rythm playing and the regular channel (knob pushed "in") for solos - there is no way to use the uncompressed mode with the compressed mode without bending over to pull out the knob. That's my only complaint in this category.

I use the FD2 with a silverface mid-70s Pro Reverb and Super Reverb in the following chain of effects: Fulltone Deja Vibe-->Electro-Harmonix Hot Tubes('70s vintage OD pedal)-->FD2-->Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man RI-->all powered by a Fulltone Black Box regulated power supply. Guitars are both humbucker-equipped - Gibson ES-335 Dot RI and a Robin Savoy Deluxe (ES-335/Les Paul cross).

First comment: the Comp Cut "in" setting is nicely compressed for soloing but not so nice for rythm - I don't know what all the hype is about the pedal "not changing your tone" when that is what the darn thing is supposed to do (and it does)! The top and bottom is, you guessed it, squished in this position. Great for smooth to gnarly but not brash solos but not so good for full rythm.

Second: the Comp Cut "up" position is fabulous for rythm playing, especially with single coils - my old Strat (now gone) loved this setting thru my Super and the humbucker guitars sound pretty good too. That said, let me be clear that even the Comp Cut position induces compression - don't believe me? Just switch the pedal in and out and you can hear the top and bottom rounded off.

Because of the voicing of the FD2, I find that I use it soley for soloing: for that this pedal is extremely flexible and so very soulfully smooth - even the boosted Comp Cut "in" stuff remains musical. I also love the fact that this is one of the only OD pedals that I've used where I'm not constantly cutting the treble - very well voiced. This pedal just sounds more and more musical the higher you crank your amp - this is where the compression voicings really shine as they keep your amp/speaker interaction from meltdown.

The bad news is just this: you're going to get some compression from this pedal no matter how you set it and to me that robs my big, fat Fender sound in an unacceptable way. If I want a grinding, all-there rythm, I use my 70's EH Hot Tubes pedal which has absolutely no compression and is the only OD pedal I've ever used that actually sounds like a cranked tube amp (specifically, a small tweed) throughout its range: from crunchy to flabby.

Summary: want a great, smooth, creamy lead or a fat clean boosted lead? Hit this pedal and go for it! Want a Keith Richards or Neil Young crunch? Find another OD unit with either adjustable compression or none at all (I thnik that Carl Martin or t.c. Electronics makes one that allows compression adjustment...). I give it a 7 only because I have to have another OD for rythm.

The switches are the first to go on most pedals but these look really heavy-duty so I bet there's more-than-average life in them. This pedal has a real quality feel to it. I like it.

I bet I would get much better service from Fulltone than from say, Ibanez for a tubescreamer; who do you contact at Ibanez? Are they a subsidiary of Megamusicproducts or something? No worries in this department.

I've been playing for 16+ years and have had the opportunity to play through a lot of amps and pedals. For me, my favorite lead sound is a cranked tweed Deluxe (but I hate it for rythm - give me multiple speakers and reverb!), for clean rythm a mulit-speaker 50W Fender, and for crunchy rythm nothing beats an old Marshall. So, on a budget, I bought some good-sounding 70's Fenders and went for some good pedals: the FD2 gets me the tweed, compressed OD and adds a nice "fat" boost to my Fenders. I had to look elsewhere for the Marshall crunch though. Don't expect that from this pedal unless you really get your amp cranked high so you don't notice the compression -personally, in that sonic area, my ears start to hurt!

Ok, quick note on products compared too: EH Hot Tubes kicks this pedal's butt on not changing your tone and just adding "hairy" OD; modded TS-9 RI was pretty good but I think the FD2 is vastly more versatile and I like the sound of the FD2 better; Real Tube/Ibanez Tube King/Akai(latest tube OD) - these all have 12ax7's in them and I universally hate them - they sound like buzzsaws...ok, give the Real Tube a try...Danelectro Daddy-O not even close...listen to the MP3's on Fulltone's site and compare to those on other boutique effects pages and you can get a pretty good idea.

Wish it had a way to go from Comp Cut "out" to "in" and back...good product and I would buy it again. I hope this was/is helpful to players looking to buy direct without a demo like I did.

Well, to start out, I must say this is the best sounding effect I've ever played! I had a few friends tell me to sell all of my stuff, and buy all Fulltone. I was very impressed with their setup, so I saved up, and saved up, and purchased a Fulldrive II. At first, I was kinda dissapointed. It didn't sound like I had hoped, but I knew what it could sound like, and figured that it must be the way I was setting it up. A few months later, new pickups, new amp, remodeled my effects chain, and got to know my FD-2 a little better, and I am very impressed. It took me two months to get a great sound from this pedal (Hence the six score), but I haven't got even the slightest hint of bad tone since!

Attn: you MUST use this pedal with a TUBE AMPLIFIER!!!!!!! I use a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe 1X12 tube amp, and can't find the end to it's awesome tone! I have also used it on a 100 watt cheesy Crate Solid State amp, with very poor tone! This pedal is best described in this scentence that I have heard numerous friends use: "The Fulldrive II has almost no distortion of its own, it just makes your sound bigger and drives the tubes more." That's why it took me so long to get good tone! I was using a tube amp that I never really liked the distortion on, but once I switched to the Hot Rod, I've had good tone since!

I use a custom Strat, but I have also ran this pedal with an Epiphone LP, a Ibanez (PRS Style), and an American Strat Deluxe, with no problems. I only use it in the Comp-Cut mode, though. In this setting, the change to you signal is slight to none, but it just kinda boosts you volume, letting your guitar and amp shine through!!

This thing is (I believe) 18 guage steel, hand made, and signed by the owner of the company! If that doesn't make it reliable I don't know what does! Built like a frick'n tank, man!! Must subtract one point, though. I am constantly weary that I might bump the knobs out of the settings and have to adjust them mid-gig. They bump easily. I wouldn't gig with a spare, because they are $200.

Everyone lies!!!! I have sent numerous emails to Mike Fuller, and not only has he answered every single one, but usually he does it in less than an hour. He's always to the point and short about it though. When I went to order mine online, the secure ordering page wouldn't work with my older browser, so I called Fulltone, Mike himself answered, and he was very polite, and even gave me a better deal than over the internet.

I've played for four and a half years. I'm not that good, but I know tone!!! This is it! If it got stolen, after many hours of debated suicide, I would sell all of my other effects, and buy a new one! It's really all you need.

This is my favorite overdrive. It was commissioned by Thomas Roberts and built to the specs of his favorite older orange FD2. Basically the same set up as the newer ones but definetly without the newer "flat-mids" design. It is a similar sound to all other FD2 pedals, but has a bit more gain and alot more midrange. Pretty simple to use and has sort of a TS-808 on steroids kinda vibe. I had been looking for an older one for some time and they were either too beat up or too much money. Sometimes both.

My setup is pretty simple, one of 3 Andersons (2 Hollow Drop Top Classics and a Cobra), Fulltone Clyde Wah, FD2 TR-100, blue FM FD2, Victoria Reverberato, and either a Vic Twin or Champ replica. This particular version of the FD2 has a very cool sound. Basically a FD2 with more dirt and more mids. It is exceptionally smooth and rich sounding and works very well with the Andersons and the tweed style amps. I prefer it for lead, but I like the newer version for dirty rhythm playing and set them up accordingly. The extra mids of the TR-100 help to add body and cut for leads and the FM model works well for adding dirt to my clean rhythm sound without altering the EQ much if at all. I'll soon be adding a Fulltone Fatboost, Deja Vibe 2, and Soulbender to my setup. After that, I'm done.

I've never had a problem with a Fulltone pedal. I have no worries.

Fulltone does an excellent job. Michael Fuller stands behind his products.

Excellent piece of equipment. I never let it out of my sight because there were only 100 of these made. I consider it to be a part of "my" sound and can't imagine playing without it. My thanks to Michael Fuller and Thomas Roberts for putting this limited edition project together.

All knobs and such have been listed here before and I'm not going to waste space with all that. I will say that I have the Yellow Limited Edition one. I have not A/B with a blue one but it is my understanding that they are the same, except mine looks cooler:)

I love this pedal. I have to disagre with the people that say it sounds like a TS-9. I have had them, modded to 808 and unmodded and they were always guilty of coloring your sound. Now if you want a TS sound.....buy that pedal. If you want a sweet, smooth ,and transparent OD then get this pedal. You can get close to the TS sound with this pedal but,it doesn't muddy up, get raspy-gritty, totaly change your TONE, eat your TONE, or get thin, unless you want it thinner. I use this pedal with Strats, Teles, LP, Junk and HARP(man it's my secret weapon). I only use tube amps(Boogies,Sovtek(better than my Marshall,old Fender) and you should too. So I can't tell you what it would sound like with a SS amp. The pedal is very quiet, like all Fulltones, even in the Boost mode. I can't tell that it makes me sound like anyone famous, but it does help me sound my best and that is what matters. I use it with other effects and it reacts nicely with what ever I can find in a used bin at the music store. Pure sweet overdrive.

I never gig without a battery, and I try and have a backup OD just in case. I have never had a second of trouble out of any of my Fulltones and I don't expect too, but you never know when that guy in the front row has had a few and wants to help out on the stage and has to trample your gear to get to the mic for his big moment.

Emailed once about settings on one of their other pedals and Mike responded. Class act. He was short and to the point and I thank him for not sending a hey buy this link or any bullshit. JUst the anwser that I asked for .. and from the man himself. What more do you want ....Mike to come to your house and set up your gear??!!??.

I play blues. This pedal is great for that and anything that you need sweet real OD for. Thats all its made to do and thats what it delivers... in spades. I think I will always have one as long as I can play, or untill Fulltone comes out with a better one. It beats all the other OD's on the market, and I have owned or played most of them over the last 12 years. Go get you and send me a thank you. Oh yeah .........send Mike one too. THANKS MIKE !!

very easy to use,play with it for 2-3mins and you'llget the feel of it

ok..here is where i'll get into trouble with some people who read this and own a fd2....to my ears , which are VERY discerning , especially to guitar tones [ i get compliments on my sound all the time] the fd 2 doesnt sound any diffrent than a ts-9 [ i here your gasps already] i have been dealing with all kinds of effects now for 20- years. the fd-2 is a very clean sounding ,attractive pedal..but the difference of tone from a ts-9 is minimal.and for the price of a FD-2 which is about 200.00 or more...its just not worth it in my opinion ...and really was hoping it would blow my socks off but it didnt ....great sound ...but NO DIFFRENT THAN A TS-9...SAVE YOURSELF A HUNDRED BUCKS..IT GETS A 5 FOR TOO MUCH HYPE

STONG AND WELL BUILT

I HEAR THAT MIKE FULLER IS GREAT TO CUSTOMERS BUT I'VE NEVER DEALT WITH HIM

the only difference between an fd-2 and ts-9 is the color...other players who heard mine said the same thing.....sorry MR.FULLER

It is hard to get a bad sound out of the fd2. Iv'e found it works great w/ about any amp. SS sounds a little steril, but I only use tube amps anyways. Four knobs, vol, tone, OD, and Boost and a PP pot to engage cleen boost.

Nothing is a ten! I would call it a 9.8. I use two modded strats w/ torres blues caser harneses, vanzant blues, and Texas Specials. I also use an American tele w/ texas teles, and a PRS custom 22. From the guitars i go into my pedal board which includes Fulltone Clyde to a boss NS2 to a tunner and to two TS9's modded to 808's each w/ a different setup, the first, or "boost", drive at 12' tone at 12 and level maxed out. The second "drive", drive at 4' tone at 11' and level at 12' then into the FD2 clean boost off, vol 11', Tone at 3', OD at 2', and boost maxed out. Then to a fulltone supratrem, then to an ABY box and goes to two amps. 1 goes to a univibe and into a Super Reverb 45watts and 4x10 speakers, and 2 is a Torres Super texan 100 watts and 2x12 w/ a 1x15 extentsion cab w/ an Echoplex in the FX loop. The Echoplex has a Fulltone Echopad, it is one of my favorite pedals, a life saver. The FD2 has almost no noise compared to the TS9's. and has more bottom end and a thicker texture than the TS9's. It is much better for humbuckers than the TS9's. ALbert King, BB King, Hendrix, KWS, and SRV and Michale Fuller are my favorite artists. The FD2 works with all the FX really well. I use the Drive TS9 and the FD2 in boost mode to give an awsome thick Voodoo child sound.

Never had a problem. Fulltone is the most reliable i have ever deld with.

Talked to the man himself, very personable.

I play blues Rock and roll and have been playing for 8 years. i would definately replace it if it were lost or stolen no question. It is truly a music maker. It is not for everyone eg: heavy metal, but if i could only have one pedal it would be the FD2.