Fulltone Full-Drive 2

simple to use. no manual necessary. mine is a white knob flat mid model. i think made in 2000. i have had it about 9 months and have held off on a review because i didnt want to add the same as every one else.

this thing kills a ts9. use teles, strats, LP and 335. great with all. mostly use fender vibro king. i have used on probably 50 shows and i like it better each time. no loss of bass, no tone suck when off. great. not a "heavy" distortion, but pushes a great amp to be better. the key being if you use crappy gear, a boutique pedal is not going to solve the problem.

built like a tank. one of the knobs did strip somehow, but company sent new one for no charge. sweet.

see above

playing 25 yrs. 15 of those constant gigging. mostly southern rock, country, rock and blues. would definately replace if stolen. compared to almost all other OD pedals, this one will drive the amp, but still retain the voice of your guitar. unbeatable sound. i hate to add that with everyone else, but it is no hype. i spent years and tons of $ on "hype", but if you have a good clean tone to begin with, this will definately enhance it. Crate amps and some shitty guitar won't cut it. i recently bought a distortion pro to complement this and it does. great products. not cheap, but if you factor in all the $ spent over the years on crap, it is a bargain.

Couldn't be easier to get a good sound out of this thing. The manual is well written but not necessary if you understand what a volume, tone and overdrive knob do.

At the moment, a couple of my guitars are in for some work so I have only been able to play it with my Les Paul Classic and I have been blown away by how great it sounds I can not wait to get my strat back with new pickups to try this out. There is zero noise when either the main channel is on or even when the boost is on. I can easily get the tone that I hear in my head. It can go from a great clean boost (Comp Cut) to a nice fat tubey blues sound (Vintage).

As soon as I got it home, I opened it up to pop out the battery as I prefer to use it with a power adaptor. The look of this pedal inside is impeccable. It is written on the Fulltone website that after playing a Fulltone pedal and after looking inside a Fulltone pedal.... if you don't understand why the price is what it is that you SHOULD go play something else. Well this couldn't be more true. The craftsmanship is top notch. I totally rely on this pedal.

I emailed Mike Fuller in regards to a question I had and I got an immediate reply. It was a lengthy reply considering the question I had and Mike totally set me straight. In a good way!

I play a wide variety of styles and have an equally wide source of influences. I have been playing for about 15 years now. My current set up is either a Les Paul Classic, Fender California Strat or Ibanez 540 Radius into Budda Wah -> Fulltone Mini Deja' Vibe -> Fulltone Ultimate Octave -> Fulltone Full-Drive 2-> Fulltone Distortion Pro -> Johnson J-Station (set to Blackface for a clean speaker sim.) -> TC Electronic D-Two -> TC Electronic M-One -> Delta 1010 soundcard for direct recording and output through M-Audio SP-5B's. The J-Station is the only Blackface speaker sim. that I have found to be useful. I have a Boss GT-5 and GT-6 and have a POD XT and a Yamaha DG Stomp. I am considering getting a Palmer Speaker Simulator so that I can run my pedals into my Fender Twin for direct recording but for the time being the J-Station is my best alternative. If it were lost or stolen I would buy another Full-Drive 2 withough hesitation. I really like the way that I can get a nice clean boosted sound or a nice Tube Screamer type breakup with no noise and tube-like dynamics. Much more so than with an actual Tube Screamer. It is the most musical pedal I have tried. I can go from very clean to a full on fat tube sound by simply hitting the Boost button. I have not found a single thing that I have about this pedal. My favorite feature is the Boost switch that just takes the pedal over the top. I have about 20 different overdrive pedals ranging from a Visual Sound ROute 66 to an Ibanex Tube Screamer and the Full-Drive 2 smokes all of them in terms of realism and tube like feel. If there was anything I wish it had it would be a 3rd channel that would allow you to go from Comp Cut to Vintage to Boost all without have to change the little toggle switch. All of my Fulltone pedals have opened up a whole new world of inspiration for me. These pedals are worth their weight in gold and soud equally as good.

I have found this pedal to be fairly easy to use, but it took me a couple of weeks to figure how to get the most out of it. Not sure about the manual, i bought this used without a manual. maybe i'll try to order one.

I use a Tele 72 Custom>boss tu-2>boss cs-2>fulldrive 2>guyatone mc-3>fender hot rod deluxe. Its a fairly simple setup that works well in the context that i play...mainly blues/funk/rock. i don't know if this is possible, but it seems like the fulldrive actually makes my rig quieter. before getting it the chorus was noisier. I absolutely love the overdrive on this pedal. warm, organic, natural, very responsive to my playing, breaks up beautifully. very bluesy when i want it to be. after trying different settings i found that if i match the volume to my clean channel and then turn the overdrive way up with the comp/cut switch up it sounds incredible. the harder i play the more overdriven it sounds and vice versa.

haven't had it long, but it seems very sturdy and so i'll give it a 9. i will be using it at gigs without a backup.

no experience here

I play blues, funk, rock in a jamband format. Been playing for 28 years. I also have many acoustics (martin,taylor,gibson) and a few resonators (round and squareneck). i also own the PA for the band...mackie mixer, laney speakers, audio-technica mics. currently shopping for a strat. If this fulldrive were stolen i'd hop right back on ebay and find me another one. this box has really helped me find my sound. in the past i used an mxr+ distortion. there's just no comparison, even though its really a different kind of pedal. the fulldrive overdrive is just so juicy, makes me wanna play all day long. warm, organic, so responsive....reminds me of all my blues heroes. the only negative i have found is that i had to remove the rubber feet in order to apply velcro so that i could attach it to my board, small pain in the ass, but no big deal. great pedal, highly recommended for those who appreciate warm, tube tone, overdrive.

It's pretty easy to work with as far as overdrive pedals go. I've got two of the older orange FDII's from the mid-90's and one of the new custom shop FDII's.

This pedal has earned a permanent spot in my blues/rock rig. My usual blues rig is a pair of PRS McCarty's --> Demeter Compulator --> FDII --> Menatone King of the Britains --> DR Z Route 66 --> THD Hotplate --> early 70's Marshall 4x12 slant cab with greenbacks. I used to use the FDII with an old blackface Pro Reverb I had and it sounded equally great.

I use the FDII for a very mild overdrive sound, and I use the boost for solos. Works great. The tone know really covers a lot of ground in lower gain settings.

Here's a cool tone trick I learned from Zachary Vex: Imported Japanese 9-volt batteries tend to be slightly overcharged and sound excellent in fuzzes and overdrive pedals. They give these pedals a bit more gain & touch sensitive. In the FDII they are simply magical.

I've been using Fulltone pedals for about 4 years, and have a Choralflange. No problems at all.

Mike or his assistant usually return my messages in a day or so. However, Mike is usually blunt, sometimes rude, and twice he's been flat-out obnoxious.

I've been in the industry a long time, and I have to say that Zachary Vex is equally busy with his boutique pedal company yet he always makes me feel like I'm the most important person on Earth whenever I speak with him. The same goes with the guys at PRS & Mesa Boogie.

Mike, if you're reading these reviews, I would humbly ask that try to be a wee bit nicer to your customers. It won't cost you anything and will definately help your business in the long run.

I've been playing Fulltone pedals (FDII's and a Choralflange) for 3-4 years and they're all built very well and are extremely musical. They're as professional grade as it gets.

However, when I compare the customer service to other companies I regularly deal with (Dr. Z, Z. Vex, Mesa Boogie, Taylor, PRS), I just can't justify a higher overall rating for a Fulltone product.

This is an update to my first review.

Well, I've got to change my opinion to some degree. I was able to crank of the Marshall TSL 100 and the tone of this unit really came through! I was quite suprised by the clarity and focus. I still reserve my prior opinion to low-volume playing.

1 for low volume
7 for cranked tube amp

Hungry, Hungry Hippo!

Whats there to say about "Ease of Use"?

Guitars: Fender Strat 67 Reissue, Fender Strat-Malmsteen signature
Gibson Les Paul, Ibanez JS100
Effects: Boss NS2, Boss EQ, Boss HM, Boss OD1, Korg AX1500G,Morley Wah
Amplifiers: Fender Blues Deville, Crate 15W practice amp, Line 6 Flextone 2

It took me a while to tweak this unit to my liking, did some experiments as to where to position this in my pedal chain. Also experimented on using the FD2 together with an AX1500G, morley wah, boss eq and NS2. Finally pinned the result I want. A sound so fat and full of balls, and i mean REALY FAT. I ve read the other reviews, and one guy said it sounded spitty and flatulent...well i guess some patience in tweaking it will be worth it...
I too was frustrated after buying it and used it in my practice amp at low volumes, because i do not hear any sonic differences. But putting it thru the Fender amp, i was blown away by it. I do not even have to put the volume of the Amp pass 4 where a without it, i go to 7 or 8 on the Amp volume.
A piece of advise is: Do not turn on the BOOST of the pedal when you are already using another pedal's distortion. Then it gets out of control, u'll feedback and noise...I only turn on the boost for rhythm guitar playing, on solos, i turn it off and rely on my other distortion pedal

its brand new.....lets see how it goes.

its brand new.....lets see how it goes.

I love guitar music of any kind all thru my life.i have been playing the past 15 years, and gigging for almost half that.This effect pedal enhances your sound. Do not expect major distortion out of this unit because its not what it is for. its good for shaping the guitar sound, and boy it really cuts thru the mix....
A piece of advise is: Do not turn on the BOOST of the pedal when you are already using another pedal's distortion. Then it gets out of control, u'll feedback and noise...I only turn on the boost for rhythm guitar playing, on solos, i turn it off and rely on my other distortion pedal

very easy

I used this in place of a ts-9. not the same, lacked character to me. Be good for a clean amp I bet, but didn't work for me. TS-9 to boost an already overdriven amp is much better. All depends what your looking for. This doesn't have the edge of a TS-9 and I meesed with it for quite some time but never was quite there. I strongly disagree with the last guy (Frank I think) it's all a matter of taste. Mike Fuller makes excellent equipment and that's not SVR dickhead, probably Mike.

awesome

never needed it

I like a tube driven agreesive (but not medal) sound. I like to hear a guitar cry when I push it. This pedal just didn't create that. Maybe it's not supposed to. Good for a clean amp to make it oversriven. Basically turn it into a 3 channel amp. The boost is one of the best I've heard, I mean you really get a BIG boost in volume, very cool. Just not what I was looking for.

Very easy, not much else to say.

I use a wide varitey of guitars (1972 telecaster deluxe, rickenbacker 360, old 50's silvertone hollowbody, strat loaded with duncan 5-2's), running through either a silvertone twin twelve or hiwatt custom 100. I play lots of diffrent styles (beatles, wilco, velvet underground, belle and sebastian, zepplin, mogwai, at the drive in, blood brothers, t.rex, chambers brothers). ton's of influences. every sound out of this thing is useable. Covers all the bases.

I've toured the country 6 times, I would rely on this thing more than either of my amps.

no need

For the older style rock I like to play, this is the sound. The only other distortion I use is a vintage big muff, obviouslly a very diffrent sound. Sounds good live, sounds good on record. There is no coloration of your guitar, or amps sound. I could waste alot of time talking about how great this pedal is, or you could go buy one. So go buy one.

It's a very straight-forward unit with a simple layout.

Think Jumanji, baby (see below)!

2000 Les Paul Studio into a Marshall JCM2000 Half-Stack. As this unit does nothing more than drive the input of your amp, it's pretty quiet.

In my opinion, this unit is very transparent, in that the tone and character of the guitar is unaltered. However this is where I will stray from the pack regarding the sounds available in this unit.

I don't like it at all. Granted, I only played it with a Fly Deluxe and the aforementioned LP, but the overdrive is very spitty and flatulent. I cannot imagine anyone trying to achieve this particular sound or a use for such a sound. The useful range of the drive knob is very narrow and limited to the 1st quarter of its rotation. I've had plenty of time to play around with this device, but I can't find a satisfying sound within it.

I'm glad that I don't own it because I find it unsatisfying. IT does seem well thought-out and engineered to last.

I'm not trying to sway anyone here or be a smart-alleck, but this unit sounds like a pack of flatulent water buffaloes in the throws of passion--heaving and undualating in a shallow pond.

Maybe I was looking or expecting some grit or distortion out of this box, but realize that I went in knowing that this is an Overdrive unit. All I wanted was some nice, thick grit and what I got was humping hippos.

It's really that bad...It will make you think your speakers are blown regardless of the position of the amp's tone controls. It also makes noises similar to dying preamp tubes...Don't even try this thing out with a neck humbucker.

Mike Fuller seems to be a reputable fellow, but why is he using a clip of SRV playing a live song to demonstrate the sound of one of his pedals??

Extremely easy to set up and use. Mike supplies an instruction manual that explains all functions. The unit is built like a brick and is hand numbered and signed(by Mike) on the back. Just plug it in (9volts or 18volts) and your off and running getting great tones right away. There are many tonal options with this unit and all of them are fantastic.

I'm running this with a Ernie Ball Silhouette Special(w/ Duncan Custom Shop EVH humbucker) thru a Bogner Shiva 1x12 Combo. Other effects in the chain inclued: Vox 847 Wah(modded for True Bypass), the Fulltone, Fulltone Choralflange, and a Boss DD-3 Delay straight into the amp. The Fulldrive is VERY transparent(True Bypass when off) in the chain which allows the tone of the amp/guitar to come through. I use this primarily as an overdrive for my Clean channel and it is very quiet when engaged. It does get a bit noisy when used with the Gain channel(but I don't need it with the Shiva's gain). The pedal basically gives me 3 tonal options on the Clean channel: Pristine Clean(w/ pedal off), bluesy Eric Johnson to SRV rythem's when on and the Boost function is sweet for a boost on your lead's or as a slightly dirtier rythem setting. Note: This is an Overdrive pedal, NOT a Distortion box. Your not gonna go from Clean to a Nu Metal tone with this on hehe. It's perfect in the chain with a really good tube amp and guitar for clean boosts and lead boost.

I've only had the pedal for about a month now and it's working perfectly. It's built VERY well and is in a steel case. I could run over it with my car and I bet it would still work fine.

All of my contacts with Fulltone have been very positive. Mike returned all of my emails within 24 hours to answer my questions. Great company and very personable..they are there to help you find YOUR tone.

I play anything from blues to metal and this pedal helps me cover alot of ground. I've been playing for 19 years and have tried a ton of overdrives/distortions and this is by far the most useful box I've had. If it were lost or stolen, I'd get another one immediately as its now a huge part of my setup. It sounds amazing when on but I really love how it is so transparent in my FX Chain when it's not in use. This allows the tone of my amp to stay true whether the pedal is on or off. The only thing I wish it has was one of the Fulltone AC/DC regulators included with the pedal(for $180 they should toss that in imo). If your looking for a really good, hand crafted Overdrive with many tonal options, you cannot go wrong with the Fulldrive(same goes with thier Choralflange pedal).

Idiot proof - easy to set-up any tone/

I run this in my all-Fulltone rig consisting of clyde deluxe,DV2,CF, and FD2! This goes into a Guytron GT100 and my PRS SIngle cut with Rio Grande BQ Bucker (bridge) JB59 (Neck). Awesome,awesome. Quiet and as clean or dirty as you want without changing your natural direct to amp tone...this thing enhances not encroaches on your tone.

A tank couldn't smash this thing

These guys are busy, but they always get back to me the same day (whenever I've had a question regarding tips, technique of usage, etc.) Email works great with them- no problems

I play pop/alt rock-this thing cuts through the rest of the band just fine - My 2 channel amp is now 4 channels thanks to this...AGain this thing will enhance your tone and give it that something extra to propell you...once you get one, you can't live without it-like an appendage, you'll carry it with you everywhere youy play! Believe me! AFter 20 years+ playing through every countless pedals - from Rat to MXR, Boss, etc. This is the real deal for serious pros.

Mine is a 2002 model. I have to admit when I first used it I didn't really understand what it did. I didn't really hear what all the hype was about, I put it away and basically forgot about it for about a year. Then while going thru some stuff I decided to check it out again. The second time around I got it! It is a very good boost with just the right amount of sizzle. Maybe it was the amp I used it with, but I was blown away. It made my amp sound huge and gave me sustain that could last for days. There are more than enough different ways to tweak this pedal to get a sound uniquely yours. So on the ease of use thing, I would say that it is very easy to use but you have to go in with the right expectations. This is not a distortion type of pedal, it is a booster that can add some gain but it is meant to be used in combination with your amp's gain or distortion pedal...and it really does work great for bringing your amp to life. But you probably know this already.

Virtually transparent with just a bit of sizzle at certain settings. It is all good. True bypass...you can't go wrong. I find that I keep it on all the time and hit the 'boost' for a little extra umph for leads, works great for me.

Built tough. No problems with any fulltone products.

Excellent response to email and phone.

I mostly play guitar rock music. This pedal works great, I recommend spending some time with it, it will really help any guitar/amp sing like never before. Excellent value considering the sturdy hand-made construction. The warranty is, 5 years, which is great for a piece of equipment you are constantly and purposely stepping on. And with the true bypass you know your tone is preserved.

This is a continuation of my Fulldrive II review from 10/11/02.

This pedal, with its four knobs, and push/pull-pot (Volume knob can disengage the circuits compression) is pretty straight forward.

The only difficulty one could have is deciding which setting(s) they like best, as the pedal is absolutely musical.

And the dual channel functionality is great - I cannot live without it.

It won't make you play better...but if you know how to play, it will help you sound much better.

My gear collection has grown some the past year.
Guitars: 88 Fender Tele (MIJ) w/Seymour Duncan Hotrails & (2) Epiphone Les Pauls w/ Seymour Duncan JB's in the bridge.
Effects: Boss TU2>Ibanez FL9>Fulltone FDII(18V)>Vox/Keeley Wah>Ibanez AD9>Tone-Jam Sniper EQ. DC Brick providing power to the pedals.
Amp: 50 watt 1978 Marshall JMP & Red Bear 4x12 (Celestion G12L35's).

I may have added some goodies, but the sound is still OMFG awesome.
I still prefer the compression removed from the circuit - that hasn't changed at all. But the biggest change came when I powered it up with 18 volts via my DC Brick. WOW.....

On 18 volts the FDII is even more. The thing I like best about it is that its very natural and amp-like. Its like turning up the pre amp gain on my JMP, only better. I don't like artificial, fake, saturated distortion. I like organic, natural drive. I want to hear the am and the guitar. Powered on 18 volts, the FDII gives me what I like....AND ITS A TWO CHANNEL DRIVER/BOOSTER !!!!

The thing is tits.

My single channel amp now is basically 3 channel fire breathing motherf*#$er. Yummy.

Being the tone snob I am, I have since tried the HBE Power Screamer, dual TS9's, TS9/BD2, the Mesa V Twin, Barber Tone Pump & Direct drive (both let me down...). You know what ? They all failed to win me away from my FDII. All failed.

I am so excited by my tone that I cannot contain myself. I have found my sound - the somewhere between Adam Jones (TOOL) and Dean DeLeo (STP).

Check out www.remedylost.com for some sound reference.

Well I have had it for over a year, and it seems to be just fine.

The only qualm I have is that the foot switches were sticking some, once in a while. I have since lubricated them (WD40) and all is back to normal.

I would like a second FDII just to have, but I sleep fine knowing that my FDII won't fail me.

Everyone at Fulltone is awesome and super friendly.
I don't try to shoot the shit with them, but I am not being an ass either. I have a question, I ask it, they answer it. Pretty simple.
Responses have been very professional and very fast.
No complaints.

The FDII is part of what I do.
I am addicted to the clean boost it provides when powered with 18 volts. I am hooked on the dual channel functionality. I love what it does for me...by working woth my gear to make a better tone.

The FDII is all that. After all of the reviews its gotten so far it really is deserving of all the 9/10's for each category.

If you need to hear the FDII in action, doing something other than blues/classic rock, check out www.remedylost.com

Piece of cake! "Overdrive" sets normal channel distortion, "boost" sets boost channel distortion. Volume and tone affect both channels. Vintage/FM/Compcut sets the type of gain on both channels. A couple of pages describing the controls are included.

Two words: scha weet. Great clean boost in compcut, vintage and FM mode both deliver that nice bluesy sound. Only possible gripe is that there isn't much difference between FM and Vintage on my setup. But, seeing as it sounds great on either, that's OK.

The only thing you might be able to do to this pedal is break one of the plastic knobs by hitting it repeatedly with a hammer.

I bought it from a Canadian dealer, "Terry's guitars". They were excellent. I haven't had to talk to Fulltone themselves at all, nor do I expect that I ever will.

This pedal is awesome for bluesy tones or just giving good clean boost control with compcut. I play a lot of different styles, and this pedal's flexibilty is great.

Easy as Pi!

Very nice, open, amp like quality with this pedal. Versitile in tone. Everything from clean boost, blues, rock & beyond and they all sound very natural. The comp / cut is a useful feature. Using this with two solid state amps at the moment. Can't wait to tube it! I also use a Barber Direct Drive, Vox Valve Tone and a Boss Blues Driver. They are all excellent sounding pedals and do very similar, but different things. They all compliment each other well and it's nice to switch between them for various overdrive flavours.

Looks to be very solid in the build department. I can't imagine anything going wrong with it.

I've yet to deal with them, but from waht others on this site say, it sounds like I would ahve no problem with service if anything did happen to it.

Great pedal. I would be satisfied if this was the only overdrive I had. The fact that it's two pedals in one is a bonus. Look at the roster of Fulldrive users. If it's good enough for them...it's obviously good enough for me!

How simle do you need it !?

playing my musicman luke through my pittbull 50 cl set to a really good rock crunch on green channel. All controls set to 12 o clock on the fulldrive2. Perfect !A solo sound that increases the drive enough and fattens the sound without mudding it up, slightly less treble than my crunch sound.Just perfect singing fat solo sounds.I have owned loads, tube screamers of various ages etc etc etc, but nothing touches this thing. Had reservations about the price but tried it and would buy another tomorrow.
I have been looking for this sound for years

Built like a brick s**thouse.

No need for it yet.

I have the Luke as mentioned with the vitage trem not the old floyd crap, and a PRS McCarty Soapbar, through a VHT Pitbull 50 CL head and Marshall four twelve with vintage thirties. Play rock/blues so like a nice transparent rock crunch sound and a big fat focussed compressed lead sound, the VHT red channel doesn't seem to compress the lead tone too well at the volume I use it so I leave the amp with one setting, green channel set to high gain with gain around 1 o clock.
Hit this pedal on top of that and I'm in heaven. Thank you Fulltone!

easy to dial. comp-cut changes level quite a bit as you might expect- everything else requires little work.

gibson sg and 67'v reissue- humbuckers with sunn solarus (very clean tube head).
'sound' is as close to transparent as any gain-box I've heard. highs are not compromised (or colored much either)- absolutely NO loss of lows. amazing really. 'sounds' exactly as billed- like your amp with even harmonic natural gain.

great construction. very solid. power supply works great. switches are great and click in and out crisply. a perfect 10.

they were cool to buy from.

it's a 'drive' and not a 'distortion' pedal. put it in front of an amp you like and you'll be very happy with the results.

If you know what you're looking for, you'll attain it within minutes, provided your amp is producing a good clean tone that you like.

My rig is a Fender Vibro Verb '63 reissue w/2 10" Weber Ferromax speakers, JD Telecaster w/Fralin pickups, Gretsch 6122S, Buddah Wah, Line 6 DL-4 Delay. This box is quiet and very transparent. The effect is godlike. Dazzling drive. I'm in heaven.

This thing is built like a Hummer. Maybe better. Just open one up and looking at the wiring job and you'll agree. Rugged, reliable, ready to rock.

N/A

I play all styles and do a lot of session work. This always delivers the god-like tone that I need to do the job. The ONLY reason this box doesn't get an average rating of 10, is because CHILDREN WRITE IN AND COMPLAIN ABOUT THE COLOR KNOBS THEY RECEIVED AND CRAP ON THE RATING WITH A SCORE OF "1"! I think that review should be recalled.

Awesome! I am pleased with this pedals simple use. Yeah I know what your going to say "aren't all pedals easy to use?" true enough...
but with some modeling pedals you may have to be an engineer or devote way to much time to "dialing" in the sound or effect you may want.

As far as the setup I keep it real simple. I run this with a crybaby and that is it....I can't stand a drowned out or muddy signal..plus I feel that with to many pedals your trying to hide for maybe lack of talent?
As far as amps go I am using Mesa, Fender, & Gibson with a Les Paul
with this classic setup there is no lack on the FD2 FR. I was also using yhe FD2 blue model with the pull switch ( I bought it used ) now compared to each other BLEECH the sound was flat so I just cranked to use as a distortion(it could of been cooked). Overall it does a job and does it well.

Can I depend on it? sure I can! much more than my crunked bass player.
With out a back up I'd have to I don't have another one and I can't get one until someone dumps it one me.

Very helpful with a quick response.

As far as styles of music I play everything from jazz, blues, rock, funk, reggae, and this with the opition of BOOST covers it all.
I have been playing all my life. Now if it were to be stolen I'd replace it if I could. I have tried lots of diffrent pedals like EH and the Ibanez stuff nothing could compare, this is damn near as good as it gets I also love the fact that there are about 97 other people that own this pedal!(you know who you are)
Peace.

Very easy.

Not noisy to me. Don't like it with my Marshall & L.P. but can't live without it with my Strat & '66 Twin!

When I first got this pedal I noticed the Overdrive pot was a bit scratchy but because I loved the tone so much I decided to live with it. Well, it gradually got worse until finally I HAD to do something. I emailed Fulltone & their respose was "send it back." That was the whole email! Anyway I reluctantly mailed it out on a Sat. afternoon wondering what I'd do for the next month or so w/out my Fulldrive. Well I got home from work on Thursday and noticed the small package by my front door. NO WAY!! It's true, mt Fulldrive was back & fully repaired (better than when I first got it) in less than a week!!

See Above.

I love the pedal & I'm very pleased with the company. I'll definitely look to Fulltone first when I go looking for other pedals

Very self explanatory...Volume knob controls volume...tone knob affects how much high frequency in the overdrive you hear....overdrive affects how much overdrive...and boost affects how much GAIN, not volume boost is provided in the second channel. also included is a cool toggle swith in between the tone and overdrive knobs that changes the overdrive sound and "compcut" works great for a clean boost.

The best solidstate overdrive pedal i've ever heard. my setup is this: 1997 am. deluxe fat strat with vintage noiseless pickups or 1999 american tele> MXR Supercomp> Ernie Ball Volume> Boss BD-2 Blues Driver> Ibanez TS-9 tubescreamer> Fulltone Fulldrive 2> Boss TR-2 tremolo> Line 6 MM-4 Modulation> Boss Noise Reducer> Line 6 dl-4 delay> Fulltone fat boost> Fender Twin Reverb reissue.

It is a noisy pedal, yes, but not noticeable when im not playing thanks to the noise reducer. it is very much worth the noise for the quality of sound this thing produces. simply amazing. my last overdrive pedal EVER.

The boost is a very nice option, but keep in mind that it is not a volume boost but simply adds however much gain you want to it so that you can fatten up a sound without adding volume...get a fatboost or a klon to boost it.

Sturdy. Never had a problem, and i would use it without a backup even though i do have 2 other overdrive pedals on my board i use for diff. things.

I've never had to deal with them at all.

I give it an overall rating of 10. i can't help it, it just sounds so good. i play mostly experimental indie rock and this pedal blows me away. i would buy another one with out any question if this thing were lost or stolen. i don't see any downsides to this thing unless noise annoys you. This thing inspires me to write a song everytime i play on it. i love it!

I was able to get a good sound very quickly after I turned the pedal on. There aren't many knobs to tweek and each one is pretty self explanatory. The mini toggle switch in the middle might take a few minutes to figure out but the manual explains what options you've got here. I would note that I heard no difference in sound, tone or volume between the "normal" OD channel and the boost channel when the mini toggle switch was set to the vintage position. I asked the store owner about this - and he said the boost switch does not work in the vintage mode. The manual does not address this issue. It really doesn't impact me because I prefer setting the mini toggle switch to the FM position.

I will primarily use a mid 90's Fender Strat plus or an early 80's Fender Telecaster - both guitars have a Seymour Duncan Hot Rails pick up in the bridge position - running into a Fender DRRI, a Fender Hot Rod DeVille 2x12 or a Mesa Boogie DC-5 head and 2x12 cab. I don't think it's noisy at all - I've used noisier pedals. I don't usually hear the sounds of another guitar player when I'm playing...but this is probably as close to Eric Johnson's tone as I've ever heard (toggle switch on FM - Boost switch on and dimed - tone knob slightly more than 1/2 way). Full, fat, creamy tone that works great for everything from blues to rock and beyond. I also love how this is really 2 pedals in one. No need for my compressor anymore because I can get a slightly gritty, compressed boost using the "normal" channel and a fat, rich, sustaining overdrive tone when I hit the boost switch. Both channels clean up well when backing off the guitar's volume too. Beautiful tones man!

I really can't comment here - well no rating anyway. The pedal is still new to me. I've been a Boss pedal guy for 20 years, so this pedal has a lot to live up to as far as being reliable.......but it seems very well built and from everything I've read about Mike Fuller's products, it should last me a long long time.

N/A

This is easily the best sounding overdrive pedal I've ever used in my 28 years of playing guitar. I really didn't think any OD pedal could be built to sound this good.

I primarily play rock, blues, and some jazz fusion. This pedal is a perfect match for the stuff I play and for most of the gear I own. My Fender tube amps and Fender guitars love this pedal. If I lost this pedal I would buy another one immediately - the tone is awesome. The only pedal that I tried out that came close to the tone of the FD2 was the Reverend Drivetrain pedal. Well, sort of close - I A/B'd both pedals against each other and after a few minutes the choice was clear, and the Drivetrain doesn't have the Boost feature of the FD2.

Mike Fuller's a genius and I'm a very happy guitar player. I've been searching for this pedal for a long, long time.

This i think will be my last review for the FD2. Ive had it for roughly a year and now its safe to say that i found my tone. This thing isnt really that hard to set up. in compressed mod. its the comp cut mod which, once figured out and put the 18v in is the greatesy sound in the worl.d

The thing is a tad bit noisy with the 18v but nothing to get in a fuss about, truly not noticable unless you really listen for it. I first the compressed setting was the greatest thing in the world but now that ive figured out the compcut the compressed sounds like pure garbage! the compcut mode is so beautiful and clean with a good tube amp and a quality strat. the drive mode is just on the verge of breaking up sound. then the boost is this beautiful drive that is not compressed at all and is just pure goodness.

i trust that it wouldnt break.

had a chat with mike a couple of times about other products. always emailed me within the day or the next. very polite and to the point.

i play all sorts of music. from the stones, cream and hendrix to vaughan, pearl jam and nirvana. this pedal makes great for when crunch drive is needed. also can be used as an excellent boost to accompany your amps drive.

Mike Fuller's accompanying manual for this overpriced, virtually useless box gives a few cursory, not-too-helpful settings. It was difficult to use in the sense that I could never dial in a usable sound.

I play a slightly modified G&L S-500 Gold sparkle strat through a Fender Hot Rod Deville. I'm in both a surf instrumental band, and a band that is not a surf instrumental band. The Full Drive took up space on my pedalboard alongside a Pro Co Rat, Dan-Echo, Ibanez Chorus, Boss Tremolo. Anyway, I purchased this FD out at the local 47th st. Boutique, mostly based on glowing reviews, and the fact that, well, if it cost 225.00, it must be capable of something interesting, right? Right away the overdrive sounded suspiciously thin. But I bought it anyway, reassuring myself that I'd be able to dial in an acceptable sound eventually. Boy was I wrong. The comp-cut effect, when engaged, gave you a certain amount of gain on the green channel, but muddied the tone, and basically sounded like thick static from a transistor radio. There is also a needlessly wide discrepancy in volume between the "green" channel and "red" boost channel. In short: the green channel with comp-cut off, is a virtually gain-less volume boost, unless you're playing at arena-rock levels. The green channel with comp-cut on sounds feeble and squashed, and destroys my strat's normally cutting tone. The only time I used the comp-cut was when I combined the FD with my Rat, to get the maximum in thick mid-rangey Jesus and Mary Chain fuzz-blanketing (which wasn't often) The only time I had any real success with this pedal otherwise was playing power chords at earbleed levels (7 to be exact) through an old breakup-prone Super Reverb (with reverb at 1-2)with comp-cut off. Hit the boost channel, hit a "d" chord, and BLANG! the bite was FINALLY somewhat evident. But I play mostly small-to-medium sized clubs, not football stadiums, so this little discovery would ultimately prove to be quite worthless.

This pedal could withstand a nuclear attack

never dealt with Mr. Fuller, probably wouldn't want to.

I've been playing out regularly in bands for about four years, been in and out of different musical situations for about seven overall. I've used overdrives and distortions by MXR, Tech 21, Boss, and now Fulltone. All were equally second rate. I just bought a ts-10 tubescreamer and am VERY content with it so far, but may seek out the Carl Martin Heavy Drive in future. Overall, the FD2 to me was a White Elephant that did nothing to improve my sound. This blues hippie/huckster Fuller should be strung up for conceiving this sadly underachieving one-dimensional pedal. Seems as though a lot of people rate Fulltone high, but then again, lots of guitar players are unaware that they sound like shit, right? These are usually Kenny Wayne Shepherd clones who waste their lives chasing the ghosts of SRV and Hendrix. Get a life, Fuller.

It's an easy pedal to work. This new switch thing is a fucking joke... i tried it with several amps including mesa's, mashall plexi's, BF'd fenders and a couple of matchless's... THERE IS BARELY AND I MEAN BARELY ANY (AND I MEAN ON A SCALE TO 1 -10 IT'S LIKE A 0.5) FUCKING TONE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MIDS AND FLAT-MIDS!!!!!

I do own a few of fulltone's units but this thing just sucks... too muddy, i can get a better tone out of a boss sd-1 and a sound tank ts-5. it's so much easier and beter to use a couple of Maxon OD-808's, and it's more transparent, with out losing the gain... 18V adapter to make it transparent but lose a little gain, fuck that...

do get me wrong it built like an old sherman tank, it just has a shitty sound.

mike's a nice guy, i just think he needs to try again in the overdrive dept.

I returned it.... I like my klon over this anyday!!!!!!it's hard to do an overall rating because it's biult well, and mike's a nice guy, it's just a shitty sounding pedal. and this is just my opinion, and i know 95% of the people out there wouldn't agree with me but that's okay...