Fulltone Full-Drive 2

Like most stompboxes, this one is easy to use. Dialing in the right tone only takes a little tweaking. The manual discusses the controls sufficiently. My only beef is that it uses a pull-pot to access uncompressed overdrive, I would prefer a switch.

I should preface this by saying that I am happy with the tone of my current gear (Fender Roadhouse Strat & Groove Tubes Soul-o 75) without any additions. The reason I mention this is because the FDII seems to be a transparent addition to my setup. When the pedal is bypassed is doesn't color my tone at all.
But the fun is when I engage the pedal and it sounds like my tone but WAY BIGGER. I love the range of tones the FDII produces, from "clean with some grit" to "mid-scooped TS-808 distortion" to "near-fuzz". When I add the variable Boost I get just the right amount of added volume, gain, and sustain (so sweet!). I haven't even mentioned the uncompressed mode that ranges in tone from "just a little bit punchier" to "molten tube overdrive".
All of the tones this pedal produces are very musical.

I could easily take out the chickenhead knobs. But the rest would withstand all of the abuse I can dish out.

I have had nothing but good dealings with Michael Fuller with regards to my direct communications with him. I may have disagreed with him on a Usenet newsgroup or Harmony Central Forum but it has been a real pleasure to do business with him. He understands what it means to be a guitar player looking for a dependable pedal that faithfully produces "The Tone".

Yes, it is a premium priced pedal. Yes, it is painted Corvette Orange. "Yes honey, it is a necessity." Yes, I would purchase it again. Yes, I would recommend it to a friend. YES ... YES ... OH BABY, YES!!!

It's hard to get a bad sound out of it; most of the range of all the knobs is usable. The fact that it can footswitch between two drive settings makes it even easier to use, for switching between, say, rhythm and lead, or (using the guitar's volume control and/or pickup selector) two volume and lead settings. There's some overlap between the two channels' ranges, so you're not locked into using two radically different sounds. The two channels share volume and tone knobs. LEDs show the bypass status and channel (even when bypassed).

Using a Boss AC adaptor, there's a slight hum when it's on; not objectionably loud (though you might notice it if recording; try a battery), and gone when bypassed. This pedal can get a wide range of distortion sounds, especially "classic" era sounds (late 60s-mid 70s). The overdrive channel is better than other overdrives I've tried because it doesn't attenuate the high and low frequencies. In other words, it preserves the character and settings of the guitar and amp. The boost channel is good for thick, sustaining leads, and all the way up, it approaches fuzz intensity. In the uncompressed mode, it cleans up nicely when you turn down the volume on the guitar, and it's good for adding a bit of grit to thicken country leads (the Eagles would love it). It has true bypass.

No problems in 3 months of light use; it feels well built.

I mainly use it with Fender tube amps, playing rock/blues/country. I don't really need to have any other overdrive or distortion pedals, because this one does it all excellently. For metal, it's probably not quite tight and scooped enough (but I don't play that style).

as simple as it gets, three knobs-volume, gain, and tone. every sound that comes out of it is good.

this is my favorite overdrive, and was the main lead solo tone on a great deal of my last CD "LVX NOVA"...it is much like a ts-808 era tube screamer, but MUCH bigger and fuller sounding (no pun intended, mike!). it is the best overdrive i have ever used, the only other one that is as good is the Klon Centaur, but that was TOO clean for me...the Fulldrive will get nice and dirty, if you know what i mean :-)

i bought Fulldrive I, #34, back when they came out, and currently have #101...it is over 2 years old, and i have never had a problem with either of the Fulldrives i have owned. it has been on countless gigs and sessions. i used to worry about the switches, but mike was right, they ARE sturdy!

mike is great to work with. never had a problem with him. he's VERY confident of his products, so much so that many take it the wrong way...but i happen to think his pedals are the best custom effects that one can buy, bar none....my experiences with him and his effects have been 10 all the way. that's why he gets 10's all across the board for my review. my favorite effects, period!

this is the one for overdrive, sweet, warm, round, and dynamic. it's the BIG tone...sounds GREAT into a Fender combo amp...this is no high-gain RATT tone pedal....think Ts-808...but this thing KILLED my TS-808, i have a/b'd my Fulldrives with all sorts of overdrive pedals, and the Fulldrive has always been THE BEST for me....just my opinion. but you owe it to yourself to check one out. i haven't even heard a Fulldrive II yet, i still have the old Fulldrive I!

This pedal is idiotproof. If you need a manual for it, you should quit guitar playing right now! You really can't get a bad sound out of it. It is very warm sounding for a solid state unit. I have the one with the pull drive knob, which really fattens the sound. There is a tone knob, which I set to 2'o clock with my LP Standard, a volume knob (I max this one out) and boost knob. The boost knob controls the boost channel' This pedal in general is not too bright sounding, which suits me fine. I use it with a 1987X Plexi Marshall hooked up to a Power Brake. It is not a metal sound, but it is very toneful, and I get people asking and complimenting me about my sound.

I use to punch the front end of my Marshall. I set the drive at 10'o clock and pull the knob. I don't use the boost channel as it mushes the sound too much. I plug into the BOTTOM left input in my Marshall and set the high treble volume to 2'o clock. I control my stage volume with the Power Brake. The problem with the power brake is that it cuts high frequencies too much at high attenuation. Anyway, it's an awesome sounding set-up. It is not a metal set-up, but the combination of the fulldrive tone and the Marshall power section adding its own compression makes it a very "creamy" sustaining sound, specially when playing lead. It has a very forgiving feel. Kinda like a good Mesa/Boogie, but with a Marshall-like tone. The fulldrive tone doesn't mess with the Marshall character, which is why I like it. When I use the fulldrive's boost channel as the only source of gain, ie: with the Marshall clean, I don't like the sound as much. It sounds just like an TS-9, good sound but no hard-on! That's why I gave it a 9. As far as solid state pedals, I think it is the best one, along with the TS-9. I think this pedal is at its best when you use to complement the sound of your existing amp, assuming you have a good one!

Hasn't let me down yet in 6 months. I am getting a backup, though.

Never dealt with them.

It is a good overdrive pedal. Probably the best solid state one. A little bit pricey, but definitely worth it. i'd like to compare it to the Matchless tube overdrive or the Boogie V-twin. Different price ranges, though.

It's easy to get a great sound. Versatile controls.

This is a very good overdrive pedal and it's ability to bypass much of the compression is very cool. What this pedal will not do though some have claimed it will is do the tube screamer 808 thing. It will get in the ballpark, but it sounds much more like a TS5 soundtank pedal. The edge it produces is harder and more edgy than an 808. The 808 has a beautiful sweetness that the Fulldrive 2 could not duplicate in an AB test. Conversely, the Fulldrive 2 had more different sounds and a wider gain range than the 808.

Looks well made. I wouldn't worry about a backup.

No knowledge

I didn't buy it. I took it home to test it out through a Matchless Chieftain with a PRS McCarty and a Fender Strat with Fralins. It is a great sound, but the lack of sweetness that the 808 has kept me from buying it. If I wanted a little more rocking sound though, I'd definitely give it a listen. I loved the uncompressed sound and the boost control did a great job of sending the sound over the top. It's just a little too hard edged for my blues-based sound....

Pretty simple, 2 footswitches(1 for bypass/overdrive, 1 for boost) 4 knobs(volume, tone, overdrive and boost)one knob has pull feature. Set your volume, then your two distortion levels and your set for 3 footswitchable sounds:Bypass, overdrive, and boost.

Very transparent, doesn't change the fundamental tone you already have. Adds a warm, very musical overdrive or a heavier distorted tone, doesn't obscure the high or low end. With the pull pot activated it removes most of the compression from the pedal, giving less drive, and even more transparency.

Built in a heavy steel enclosure, would use without a backup.

Mike was nice on the phone and took time to answer questions.

I would buy it again, I love the way it does not change your fundamental sound I'm playing through an expensive, excellent sounding rig already and didn't want to lose the sound I already had. Compared it to a Matchless Hotbox Both sound good, but at half the price this is hard to beat. All testing done through a Vibroking and a 54 Custom Shop Strat, it sounds better with the strat than with my PRS. Definitely try this pedal out if you're in the market for a new ditortion box.

Pretty darn easy to use. As stated before four knobs: Volume, Tone Gain, Boost. The Volume has a pull feature for a less compressed overdrive.

Well enough can't be said of this pedal. It is definately the Holy Grain of overdrive pedals. I use this pedal to drive the front end of a 65 Twin Reverb RI and it sounds excellent (guitar = Strat Plus Delux). The tone knob for me is usually set at about 3:00. With my setup I find this to be more middle of the road than 12:00 (ie in my hands the unit is dark and bassy). The standard (compressed) overdrive is everything from smooth to balls out AC/DC type drive (especially with boost mode). The pull volume mode (less compressed) is absolutely essential for blues work. This puts any tubescreamer to shame. Another nice bonus of the FD-2 is that it makes your amp sound good at low volumes too. But in front of a loud Twin Reverb its heaven. The boost channel can effectively be used as a boost for solos in both modes (compressed and less compressed drive). The true bypass is transparent.

The unit is housed in thick (16-18ga?) steel and is very durable. I wouldn't hesitate to use it without backup. But I'll give it only a 9 as I have only had it for 2 weeks and haven't gigged with it yet.

I've spoke to Mike Fuller a few times (via e-mail) and he's always been responsive. I can't imagine not getting good customer support from Fulltone

If for some reason this was lost or stolen I would have to run out and buy another one. I cannot live without this pedal. The versatility is well in excess of its price.

*****ATTENTION****** THERE'S A NEW UPGRADE FOR THE F-D2 THAT WILL GIVE YOUY TRHE CLEAN BOOST! IT CONSISTS OF CHANGING THE VOL. POT TO A PULL POT THAT GOES FROM DIRTY TO REALLY CLEAN WITH A 30% BOOST CAPIABLE. THERE IS A NOMINAL FEE THAT MIKE CHARGES BUT WELL WORTH EVERY PENNY OF IT.YOU NOW HAVE THE OPTION OF GOING FROM REAL NASTY DISTORTION TO VERY CLEAN AND EVERYWHERE IN BETWEEN.

SEE MY PREVIOUS REVIEW

Using this pedal is a piece of cake. Start out by setting the Overdrive control at zero and the Volume and Tone at 12 o'clock, then experiment from there! I also own an original Fulldrive, and I loved it so much I bought a 2.

This pedal sounds very close to an AC-30 cranked. I have owned Rats, Tube Drivers, XXL's: nothing comes close to the sound this baby gives. I use an original Fulldrive for my rhythm sounds (love the way it sweetly and slightly fattens up single-coils)and an early 2 model for my leads. The amount of bottom this pedal is unbelievable! If you are sick of your overdrive box brightening up your sound too much (as I was) this box is it.

Built like a tank. Components all of the highest quality, true bypass, I have experienced absolutely no problems with either of my units. Battery life seems excellent as well.

I have spoken with Mike Fuller on the telephone several times, and each time he has been extremely cordial and helpful. He is always willing to provide suggestions and discuss what ever changes are in the works. He has never once rushed me off the phone, or acted as if he was too busy to talk (all of our conversations have lasted at least 30 min. Mike has always listened to my opinions and treated me with as much respect as I imagine he does the "big boys". I really can't rate him high enough in this dept.

As mentioned previously, I own two Fulldrive pedals. At the time of my first purchase I bought a Tech 21 XXL. The Fulldrive blew it away, so much so that I returned the XXL and spent my refund immediately on another Fulldrive (by now a model 2). Recently a luthier friend of mine repaired a Gibson J-45 which I had come across. He probably did about $500 worth of work (it was a '46 or '47 that had resided in a home only heated by a wood burner). When the work was done on my guitar, I inquired to my friend what I had owed him. " I really would like one of those Fulldrive 2 pedals. Can you get me one of those." I did, and when it arrived it was one of the first Corvette-Orange models. I did several blind folded comparisons: his sounded every bit as good as mine. More than anything else, these pedals have helped me achieve that elusive sound in my head we all search for. As I told Mike, if I had spent two grand on a boutique amp and gotten the same sounds I would have been thrilled. Buying a Fulldrive 2 is a much more practical alternative!

As long as your IQ is above 80... vol, tone, gain, boost controls, on/off, boost footswitches.

See below

Heavy duty construction.

Mike Fuller is competent but not allways friendly. As a matter of fact he is pretty much a full of himself ass.

I got a good deal on this used one so I bought it. I had played the Fulldrive1 before and didn't care too much about it. I am not impressed with the fulldrive2 either. Channel 1 (lower gain) is good for a tube screamer type of sound (ala Vaughan). For that type of sound this pedal does a very good job. It seems to me that with the tone all the way up, the eq is flat, and treble is cut as you roll it to the left antil it becomes very dark sounding. The good thing is that it does preserve the low end pretty well (unlike most distortions). At low gain, the distortion is sweet, and the guitar tone is pretty much preserved but the pedal cannot boost a clean signal without distorting it even with the gain in the minimum (major disapointment); in this respect, the Centaur (Klon) does a much better job. The boost mode was very disapointing. It just increases distortion, but it sounds nothing (to my ears) like a crancked tube amp at all. If you use it with an already overdriven tube amp, it will give some sustain, but that's about it. The boost control does not have much impact on the volume. I think it sounds best at around 9-10 o'clock to add just a bit more distortion when you need. For nice saturated tube sounds, I think the Tech 21 XXL or the Ibanez Tube King are much better. For saturated tube distortion, get an XXL or Tube King, for lower gain, get a tube screamer, or even better a centaur or a Expandora.

The FullDrive 2 is nothing short of GREAT! And my quest for ultimate tone, I've about tried them all. Tired of programming? Just plug this thing in and you can chuck all that digital gear into the nearest bargain bin. Four knobs, four functions. All fairly self explanatory... except maybe the "Boost" feature. I didn't get a manual with the pedal since I bought it from a friend, but a quick e-mail note to Mike and he dropped one in the mail to me.

The sound quality is very good, and the pedal is fairly quiet even when idling in the Overdrive mode. When you find the sweet-spot, it will deliver a saturated, creamy, singing tone... sorta like an enraged Soldano. It is never brassy or harsh... even with the Tone control in the extreme. Of, couse... this may vary depending on what type of amp you're using. I use it to add crunch to low-key rhythm work and to add a nice edge to leads... it works well for both functions. I was using an old TS-9 Tube Screamer and Boss Blues Driver for these two sounds, but the FullDrive 2 booted these guys right outa the saddle. The distortion tones sound better (for my tastes) in the 50-75% range. Run you guitar volume in this range too, and you'll have plenty of headroom to kick up you leads when you need to. The pedal is very sensitive to input... both from your pick "attack" and the guitar's signal. The Boost feature is best used to fatten up you Overdrive signal. It won't add a lot of gain, especially if you're max'd out on your guitar volume. I just read a note from another user who has recently had his box upgraded (by Mike Fuller) to increase the boost and add a little more "bottom" to it. I'd be interested to see if this was a user mod, or if I need to send it off to the factrory.

The FullDrive 2 is built to withstand almost anything! With a heavy steel housing, good switchgear, and knobs big enough to nudge with your feet, even the glossy finish is tough enough to take a lot of abuse. And (if bought new) the FullDrive carries a lifetime warranty. I usually carry the old TS-9 along simply to satisfy my paranoia, but I have no doubt that this pedal will always be there when I need it.

The only time I needed any support was when I asked for an owner's manual and that was handled very promptly... like, the next day. So, I have no complaints in that area.
We'll see what happens when I hit Mike up for the upgrade!

If I lost all my gear and had to replace it...yep, I'd buy it again. I use a Matchless SC-30 and the pedal makes a perfect compliment to an already great amp. I also tried it through an old Bassman head and a 15" speaker box. .. Sounds pretty damn good like that, too. It doesn't seem to work as well with solid-state amps as it does for tube amps. I've tried a lot of different stuff to get the "perfect tone" and I've come to realize that the K.I.S.S. theory holds true here, also. Start with a good sounding amp and add ONLY what is necessary to make it better. You can bog yourself down with crap and get so involved in operating your gear, that you forget what you're there for in the first place.

RAY CHARLES COULD USE THIS WITH NO PROBLEM. 4 knobs & two switches w/led indicators for on & boost. there's a new upgrade that Mike told me about that took him about ten minutes to do. It gives you a clean boost and better low end.

I've had this since May and have been contiually impressed with how wonderful it sounds.I have a Matchless HC-30 and this pedal sounds like my amp on "10". No matter what amp I use this in it sounds like that amp. Very natural sounding. I replaced a TS-9, a Gov'nor and two Bluesbreaker pedals with just this one!!

I'd stake my carrer and my life on this pedal. I've used it on around 70 gigs and some sessions since I got it and I never had any doubts as to even wondering if it would hold up. It's built like a rock.

Mike's a great guy who always has time to answer any questions I have. He told me about the upgrade(even though I thought it sounded super before it sounds that much better now)I took it over and he did it while I waited and never complained about his schedule being interupted.I wish that there were more people in the industry like him instead of a bunch of "I know what's right" self serving assholes!

I wish I could afford to buy a bunch of these to give to all my guitar playing friends so I wouldn't have to listen to bad overdrives ever again.This pedal is very musicial and invites inspiration. This was my first FULLTONE product and now I own four of Mikes' pedals.It's really helped my quest for great tone.

This peadal is laid out very well. 4 knobs -Volume,Tone,Overdrive,Boost - All knobs are fairly self-explanatory except maybe the boost - This function tends to be more like a second setting for the overdrive than a dramatic boost. The boost channel canbe dramatic if the overdrive channel is set rather low and the boost is all the way up. There is a true bypass switch with a red light and the boost channel has a switch with a yellow light. The volume knob works well and it's easy to match the playing volume of your amp. Thetone function offers a wide range of EQ choices.(or at least as much as one tone control can)

This pedal uses a true bypass switch so it will not "color" your sound when not in use. When the overdrive is engaged there is very limited extra noise -one of the quietest overdrive pedals around. You can dialin the overdrive from just a bit to full bore with great ease.The overdrive sound is very "warm" and not "buzzy" in the least -you willswear it's using a tube but it's not. Very classic sound. If you set the overdrive channel to a low setting and the boost channel to a highsetting than there will be a very noticeable difference when you kick in the boost - If you have the overdrive channel past 12 o'clock thanthe switch to the full on boost channel is not that dramatic. Certainly this pedal could not cover all of a players needs in terms of using it for rythmn and then switching to lead but few pedals can-

The Fulldrive2 is built like a tank and has a lifetime warranty and dare I say is down right attractive!

Very good support - Mike the owner, always answered my E-mails promptly and delivered the pedal in the time period he promised.

Overall - This pedal has delivered the "goods" to my full satisfaction. It's built well and delivers a truly classic, warm overdrive with lots of control over the tone and intensity. This pedal is the most dynamic overdrive unit I have ever played through - It follows your playing volume and picking -soft when you play soft, hard when you lay into it. The clarity of complex chords picked with the overdrive on is outstanding. The pedal's true bypass switch is a god send! - If I had to suggest anything for the Fulldrive3 of the future it would be more specific EQ control and a seperate volume for the boost channel so it could always crank above the overdrive channel.This pedal is not cheap but well worth the investment. A mustfor tube-screamer types. (kicks proverbial "butt" on the screamer)-A very welcomed addition to my tone arsenal.

Fairly easy, just a few knobs and two footswitches

Very low noise (for a distortion box at least) and has a nice tone to it. The boost I didn't find too useful, I kind of wanted to go from a rhythm overdrive to a lead sound but the boost doesn't seem to get that big of a boost (at least with my amp and setup). As far as the quality of the distortion it's very nice, about what I expected from this pedal. Goes from a nice bluesy overdrive to a heavy rock crunch (not really too metally though, if you want that you should stick with a Boss HM2 I guess).

Seems to be a pretty solid metal stomp-box.

Fulltone@aol.com has appeared in the newsgroups and he seems to be a bit cocky, arrogant, and personally comes off as a bit of a prick sometimes. I can't really complain about his pedals (I also have the 70's pedal, see the other review), although sometimes I don't get my e-mail answered and the one time I called he seemed pretty "abrupt" with me (calling him a bit of a prick now probably won't help my cause! ;-)

It's a great overdrive pedal and is the only one I use. My only complaint is I wish the boost would get a bit more but maybe I can experiment with how it's used in my rig. Fulltone did mention to me it works better in the "straight" channel and not the switched/ master volume channel. It has a nice range from a soulfully bluesy overdrive to a fairly hard rock crunch sound (but not quite enough for metal probably which is just fine by me, you should be using a Marshall cranked anyway! :-)

Has Output, Tone, Overdrive & Boost controls. Two footswitches - one for the overdrive and a second kicks in the afterburner aka boost. This pedal sound really really good. The tone control is really flexible but very sensitive between about 3 to 5 o'clock. The high end comes on real fast. Set up like the manual suggests, the overdrive at about 11 o'clock and output can be just over unity gain for crunchy rythm work. Set the boost at about 1 o'clock hit the second switch and blow a Tube Screamer back to another decade.

Through a Fender Blues Deluxe clean channel I can get a '59 Bassman nailed. While it can't be called a metal pedal, it does have copious amounts of dirve in the boost mode. It's really good

Hand built like a brick __________!!

Bouhjt it direct from Mike Fuller. Had to E-Mail 3 times and call twice before he found my order. I wasn't happy with the response time but he was so nice on the phone each time I called, he convinced me it was just a series of screw ups.

YESYESYESYESYESYES!!!!!!!!!!! Not cheap, but better than tring to buy a reliable used tube classic that sounds good BEFORE you chase the neighbors away

This is not your ordinary overdrive pedal. There are 4 dials, and two foot switches. The fottswitches are on/off, and boost. The dials are volume, gain, tone, and boost. The boost depends a lot on the normal overdrive settings. But it adds fatness and a little volume (not enough to go rhythym to lead). This pedal is truly amazing. It is truer to a tube overdrive than the Tube Screamer. It gets louder and more overdiven than the Tube Screamer.

This thing has true bypass, and is extremely quiet even using AC power.

It is built by hand with care, and it shows.

This is the best thing to happen to overdrive since the original Tube Screamer. Well worth the price.