Fulltone OCD Version 4

Easy to use. Typical set-up: Vol=1 o'clock, Tone=12 o'clock and Drived= 1 o'clock. You do not need the manual to use this pedal, if you have any experience at all with OD pedals. There is not a bad sound out of it. OCD v1.4

Set-up: Tele ('07 American Series)>Fulltone Deluxe Wah>AnalongMan SunFace Fuzz (NKT-275)>(Fulltone OCD (v1.4)>Zvex Box of Rock>Fulltone SupaTrem>Boss DD-7 Delay>Korg PitchBlack Tuner>Victoria 45410 (Bassman).
There is no discernable noise.
You cannot get a bad sound out of this awesome OD.
I can cover any classic/hard rock, except metal, which is like fingernails on a blackboard to a tone freak, as myself.
Mark Knopfler, Eric Clapton, Gary Moore, Buddy Guy, BB King, Scott Holt, Albert King and all of the Blues Kings.

Built very solid with excellent internal quality.
Have used in many gigs and do not see a need for a back up.

Though Mike et al can be somewhat curt and short in his responses, I've found he and his crew to be helpful. Many geniuses are a little eccentric and odd. I'll take the quality of pedal over "Mr. Nice Guy," if I have to make a choice.

Has responded to my requests fairly quickly. When my dear wife placed an order for Fulltone interconnects and guitar cords for a Christmas present, she said they were very nice to her and she knows next to nothing about guitar stuff.

I have been performing since 1959 and have done many styles, but I dearly love the Blues and Classic Rock. I own a vintage '60 Fender Jazzmaster that I played in my first band in 1965. I also own a vintage mid '70's MusicMan 112 Sixty Five amp. I am the archivist and learned my first cords on my grandfather's Gibson SJ-200, which is the first one made and is in the Nashville Hall of Fame Museum.
I love just how easy it is to find tones that sound good. If one sets the tone and drive to the top 12 o'clock position and volume where needed, it is a very good starting point. This OCD driving a Fender Bassman is absolute tonal heaven...luscioscious tone! You must have a decent tube amp for the OCD. Don't even think of writing a bad review on this if you have anything but a good tube amp, as that's what this is designed to drive! I have used it many times while performing and is my "go-to" pedal. In fact if I had to chose just one pedal, it would be a Fulltone Version 4 OCD. That's how highly I think of it. (I like the ver 3 as well). If I could have two pedals it would include the Korg PitchBlack Tuner (+/- 1 cent). Though I have recently acquired a superb Marshall type pedal in the Zvex Box of Rock, though it is equally as excellent as the OCD, it is not as versatile. If one wants to just have an "overdriven Marshall-amped classic rock type sound," then the Zvex B.O.R. is the ticket to tonal heaven. Otherwise, get the OCD and never look back. It makes a great amp proud!

Very easy to use but the power connector would be better on the top. I use a one spot MP8 daisy chain (X2) and the right angle has to point so that the wires run back on the connector. This is because the dc jack is too close to the output.

I set the gain at 9 O'Clock the tone full up and the volume at 12 and there was no boosting going on at all. When I set my Ashton Tube Overdrive in the same way there is a significant volume boost. This pedal does not have that at those settings. I turned the volume up full and there was some pushing of the amp but nothing like the 30dB the manual claims. I owned a Boost n Buff which has 35dB gain and used with the gain at 2 o'clock it had plenty of boost. The OCD was not anywhere near what that gain level was. I then left the volume full and set the gain at 12 o'clock and it had a good boost level but by then it was coloring the tone a lot and there was nowhere to go from there. There is some harmonic content coming through but nothing special compared to a treble booster. Basically the manual and the hype say it has heaps of boost, heaps of harmonics and minimal tone coloration. Well that isn't true on any count. The actual sound quality is really good, but the coloration and dynamics of the pedal is pretty awful. It really doesn't clean up when pushing an amp. As you turn your guitar down the pedal itself cleans up, but it still outputs a lot of volume so the amp is still pushed. If you take the Tube Overdrive then when rolling the guitar volume down the amp will become clean with the guitar on 1. The OCD with anything like a decent boost level doesn't do that. I can only score it a 3.

It's built like a work of art. The most impressive things I've bought. Construction and finish is really good. It has a big warranty and it is made to last on the road.

I contacted them with their contact form, anyway they rejected my email domain as too much spam?!? Pretty pathetic stuff. It really pulls down the whole show being like that. I'm sure they know it doesn't work but they don't care.

I found this to be the biggest let down of any pedal I have ever bought. I put it on eBay within an hour of getting it. I use Marshall 2204 style amps with Weber Blue Dogs and Gibson guitars. Since I sold this I just bought a Fulldrive 2 Mosfet. I think that is more like things should be for pushing an overdriven amp. Looking forward to getting it.

Stompbox with three knobs. Volume Tone Gain. HP/LP switch.

Pros: easy to get a good sound out of it. dont have to do a lot of tweaking.
Cool boutique lookin "OCD" written in black on a white case, i like it! plus the size of the pedal is a plus! its not crazy big or crazy lookin.
i like that you can use 9 or 12V

Cons: the screws to get to the battery are on the side and they are wierd twist knobs! i dont like that. also the power adaptor is located on the left side. i guess i am just used to BOSS pedals and they have the adaptor on the top.

i play with a MIM Fender Strat, i upgraded the pickups to Dimarzio Virtual Vintage Area 61' 58' & 67'. that is plugged into the OCD then into my Fender HotRod Deville w/4x10s. i also have a Boss DD20 in the effects loop.

i LOVE this pedal but im not good with discriptive words but i'll try. i started off comparing this with the FT fulldrive 2 mosfet, and i was already leaning toward the mosfet before i tried them so i got it instead of the OCD. a couple of weeks later after using it i decided that i wanted the OCD so i got it as well and played with them side by side. i eventually sold the mosfet and now just use the OCD.

this pedal sounds great with dynamics. you can leave it on and roll back the volume on your guitar and play a little softer and it gives a cleaned up tone no matter how you have the gain set. i typically set the volume to 12oclock and the tone and gain at about 2oclock.

a lot of overdrive pedals sound fake to me and this one just sounds natural! i love it!

it looks tough enough, i dont know about the twist screws though.

i would and do gig without a backup

i play worship music generally, at home i hit up blues scales too. ive been playing for about 13 years and i have only recently in the last year been messing with a lot of pedals, the OCD is my favorite so far. if it were stolen i would definitely buy a new one, however i might try one of the earlier models.

Very easy to use 3 knobs and a tiggle switch

Sounds AWESOME! I love this pedal and use it almost exclusively. The only time I go to a different dirt box is if I need a high gain sound. The OCD does rock and hard rock, but not neccesarrily metal. It does what it does extremely well.

It seems to be built really well and is handmade. So far I have no issues at all with this pedal as far as reliability goes.

N/A

I really want to give this pedal a 10, but I will give it a 9 and I will explain why. After turning the gain past 75%, there is no audible difference. In other words, setting the gain to max will give you the same sound as having it at 75%. Why is this? Anyway, if I could access that last 25% of gain... Anyway, the pedal still rocks!

Very easy to get good tones from this pedal. There's really no bad settings - all are usable & musical. Three knobs and a toggle - how hard can it be?!

Sounds great for blues or classic rock. Definitely not for metal. Running it into a Fender Twin is awesome. Sounds great using the pedal's distortion or using it as a clean boost. Good for AC/DC, Zeppelin, etc. It can run on anything between 9 and 18 volts. Much clearer and articulate at 18v.

Here's where it got dicey. All of a sudden, I just got a loud hum out of it, regardless if I used a battery or adapter. Only had it a year and used it only in a studio setting, so it wasn't road abused. It's great that it has a 5 year warranty.

I contacted their tech support and after some basic troubleshooting, they had me send it in. Turns out, the LED died and that affected the entire circuit. Had the pedal back in 1 week - pretty good considering they're in California and I'm in Florida. The person I dealt with was very polite and genuinely cared about getting the thing fixed.

Excellent pedal for what I use it for - classic rock & blues. Customer service was excellent. I'd definitely replace it if it were lost/stolen.

This is the version 4 of the OCD... but you already know that !

3 knobs... the usual "volume, gain & tone". Real easy.

SETUP:

Guitar: Fender USA DEluxe FatStrat w/Dimarzio pickups (Chopper [Neck],Fast track 1 [middle] & Tone Zone [Bridge]).

Amp: Carvin Legacy 100w Head (EL-34), 4x12" cab (Carvin Legacy)


The pedal is dead quiet, wich surprise me for an overdrive pedal ! But I found the VOLUME to be weak... the volume has to be between 2 or 3' o clock (on LP mode) and between 1'30 or 2'o clock (on HP mode) to match my amp's output !!! That's the REAL BIG DOWNSIDE FOR ME...

BUT for the rest I really like the pedal... once you've cranked up the volume to match the amp's output or just a little further to have a little boost... EVERYTHING IS FINE !

I really like both of the modes (LP and HP).

LP MODE:
*darker sounding
*less output
*less highs
*Chord/Arpeggiated notes are really defined (between 8 and 2'0 clock)
*Tend to fuzz when the GAIN is cranked all the way up (wich I like)
*More "Fenderish"
*Really clean on low gain setting, perfect for BLUES
*Give a great boost to my other overdrives pedals (Xotic AC+, Mi Audio Tube Zone and Blue Boy Deluxe).

HP MODE:
*Brighter sounding
*More output
*Stays clean in all the GAIN range
*Chord/Arpeggiated notes are really defined
*More "Marshally"
*Tends to be more for Rock or Blues Rock
*Give a great boost to my amp's distortion (add some high mids and high frequencies)
*Give a great boost to my other overdrives pedals (Xotic AC+, Mi Audio Tube Zone and Blue Boy Deluxe) add some high mids and high frequencies)... but I prefer the LP mode for that purpose.

Seems to be well build... Anyway, I'll have my MI Audio Blue Boy Deluxe Overdrive and Tube Zone anyway on my pedalboard so that's ok !

But for what I saw it's made for the "long run".

I've compared this pedal with my other overdrives and distortions... and it's one of those that will make it through my "LIVE pedalboard", along with my MI AUDIO Tube Zone and Blue Boy Deluxe Overdrive. I keep my BK Butler's Tube Driver for home... I don't wanna risk to have some beer in it or other things... (you know, it has a $425 value... so, you see the picture).

When I compared it with my Blue Boy Deluxe... I prefer the BBD (bigger output, great versatility, Tube Screamer sounding), but that's a "if I have to choose only one" thinking... Because with the OCD ALSO... it adds some "versatily" to my "palette" of overdrives. I'll keep my BBD for Solo Boosts (with my amp's distortion) but for Blues I'll mixed those 2 (BBD+OCD) or the OCD with a low drive on my amp and it will be TONE HEAVEN !

PROS:
*versatily (LP,HP modes really helps)
*natural sounding (subtle compression only)
*Great TONE in general
*Virtually all settings are usable
*Great for Blues and Rock
*Great for solo boost (amp or with other pedalbox)
*Dead quiet
*Can use it with a 18v adapter for greater output and better "sound" (I didn't try it yet... but I will)

CONS:
*Lack of output (it really piss me off, even if it has enough output, just the fact that the vol. is at 3 o clock, it makes me anxious to lack ouput in a live setup... even if I think I won't... it's just in my head ! ;op)
*Sounds a bit thin

I play the guitar since 1995 and I play mostly rock,metal, blues, acoustic, progressive and a bit of jazz. And I tried a lot of pedals out there (MXR,BOSS,Xotic,MI AUDIO,ProCo, Digitech,T.REX,Morley,BK Butler, etc.) and this is one of my great overdrives along with my MI Audio's, BK Butler's and Xotic's AC and AC+. This have replaced my AC and BB from Xotic because of the LP and HP modes !!! and because I found this pedal to be more natural sounding and less "colouring" than the AC and BB.

So this is a great overdrive... but if you're searching for ONE overdrive just try other models too before making your decision.

here's some "overdrive" clue:
MI Audio Blue Boy Deluxe
Mad Professor Mighty Red Distortion ($$$)
Xotic AC or BB
MI Audio Crunch Box
MI Audio Tube Zone
and surely many others... just search on the web !

Plug in guitar sounds great

2nd best dirt pedal i have owned Fulltone Fulldrive 2 Number one

Should last a very long time very sturdy

Sounds Huge Jeff Beck Strat Clyde wah,Deja2,Octafuzz,OCD4,FD2,DLS Chorus,DLS TapEcho,Red Witch Phasher,Expensive board but WOW sounds great into 65 reissue ..........................................

IMHO this is a very easy to use pedal. It took some getting used to figure out how the switch was to be used- but never had a bad sound- except when dimed.

Sounds good with all amp/guitar combinations I have used.

Yes, but set aside 20 minutes to change the battery. The screws don't strip, but it takes a minute to line them up. (even the salesman struggled when giving me a fresh battery)

No problems. Besides not coming with a hot chick for $150

built good. sounds good even with solid state amps.

First off, the pedal itself is very simple and easy to dial in.

The difficulty came in MacGyver'ing an 18volt cable to power the box correctly. Fulltone does not sell an 18 volt wall-wart and most stores do not carry the premade 18volt cables for my power box; I ended up having to cut and solder a y-cable for my BBE Supacharger. On the plus side, Fulltone did provide instructions on how to rig this up and it was very easy (would not be as easy if you didn???t have the tools).

My first impression was a 6.5 - I was running the pedal alongside my trusty Maxon OD-9 and did not find it to have that much flexibility. At 9 volts it sounded great as an overdrive, but lost tons of headroom at higher gain and volume levels. I was not run able to run my Maxon or other pedals as hot as I wanted into the OCD.

BUT, at 18 volts this pedal became a beast. It does a very good job emulating tube distortion from the lowest levels of crunch to very hot lead distortion (in a classical sense of hot... this pedal isn't ideal if you play in a GWAR cover band). The coolest thing about this pedal at 18 volts is its ability to eat up an already driven signal. I have put boost, fuzz, wahs, and overdrive in the chain before the OCD and have yet to see the usual problems that come up in effects chains. I love the sound of my amp by itself (Dr. Z RT 66), and this pedal makes the overtones go crazy.

My local guitar shop told me the Fulltone guy was kinda of an ***, and their opinion was confirmed in a hilarious email chain my brother had with the owner. To put it lightly, Michael Fuller has very high opinion of himself and takes any thing even remotely smelling of critism as a declaration of war. I bet this guy loves the smell of his own farts.

On the plus side, you can be assured that the dealers carrying his pedals know the details on what they are selling (because he has told them exactly how much better his pedals are than others). I am also confident that any company as proud as Fulltone would fix/replace a pedal that broke-down due to a manufacturing problem; if not, no one would buy gear from such a group of self-important pricks.

Kick *** pedal. Would be a ten if they made their dealers carry 18 volt cables and walwarts.

I can't get a bad sound out of this pedal. So that makes it completely easy to use with any of my amps and guitars; a real plug and play pedal. However, it's loaded with multiple sweet spots for each different amp/guitar I use it with and dialing in the various great tones is very satisfying. It comes with a 1 page printout explaining everything about the pedal in great detail, ( with the exception of which version the pedal is.? ). The shop I bought it from said it was a version 4, but I don't know for sure. The serial # is 23245, either way it's the most killer sounding and versatile OD pedal I've ever played thru.

I've played my '08 american std strat, a mexican std strat and my 80's westone w/gibson classic bridge hb, all w/maple fretboards thru it. The 2 amps I've been running the ocd thru are both low wattage class A amps, silvertone model 1481 w/6" jensen and an epiphone valve jr stock combo.
The british or hp mode rocks on the valve jr, really opens it up and gives it tremendous presence, in what is a somewhat boxy and dark sounding amp, good sounding amp alone but nonetheless. I was pleasantly suprised because until now none of my od's really did better than okay with that amp. I usually just preferred to use it alone, which was too loud for most of my situations when cranked and too boxy/squashed for lead playing really.
The silvertone is absolutely awsome with this pedal, hp or lp mode and with the knobs dialed anywhere on the pedal or guitar. However, on the hp mode I was able to get it somewhat muddy at high amp volume and drive setting. Could be the tube rectifier, the 6" speaker I don't know, it struck me odd though cause of my 2 small amps the ST has the most headroom. But it's still not a bad sound and it's useable, just not for playing where totally articulate note definition is needed or your preference. SRV and Hendrix heaven! Blues, rock to heavy rock. This pedal is very quiet and very inspiring.

I know it's a quality built pedal, but time will tell. This is my first fulltone pedal so I don't know.I'll give it a 5 til I do, it's a 50/50.

Never dealt with Mike, but it doesn't sound like his support is as abundant as his ego. I quess you can act like an *** when your pedals sound this good.HA!HA!

I prefer bluesy, classic rock playing and I have found my ultimate boost/OD/distortion pedal. As much as this pedal will rock and scream, what I love the most is the way it boost my amps natural od and it's amazing low gain performance, because that is what I haven't been able to get from my other pedals. But it's equally great across the whole sweep of the drive knob, for me that's a first. I'd like Mike to put this pedal out with a seperate boost like the fulldrive has. And yes, I want a second one now.

Plug it in and play! Although it takes a 9v battery I also run mine from a modified mobile phone charger

This pedal is something else: I've ditched my other pedals (Vox Satchurator, Boss Blues, Digi Monkey) and just use this in mid-gain position. The guitar vol control dictates the tone, from quiet neutral to loud valvey.
Robin Trower is one of my all-time guitar gods, and this pedal means I can get his sort of sound. All I need now is to have his playing ability....

Dunno, but given it is handbuilt I guess there will be no problems

Dunno.

I just love this pedal.
The only improvement I can think of is an additional footswitch like the Satchurator which whacks gain to max.

It's a stompbox, not a 747...Yes, it's easy on the brain

After a "number" of years of playing, I picked up a few rules. One I have recently adopted is....never (and I mean NEVER) pay more than $50.00 for a disto/OD pedal...new or used! That's just MY philosophy. Unfortunately, having ignored my own rule, I broke down and forked over $150 for the OCD. I was disappointed and less than impressed. The tone was lacking in the high end department and the low end was kinda "flabby" (lacked definition)and there simply wasn't enough "Drive" to call it a "distortion" pedal.(The word "distortion" is clearly printed on the box) I tried tweaking and tweaking and it just kept coming up flat. I walked away and then came back to it several hours later and it still didn't talk to me. I used several strats, one with a 54 custom shop P/U in the neck position, through an Ampeg VT-22 a VT-40 and a Blackheart 5 watt "Little Giant" all with Celestions, Jensens and various other speakers. PLEASE NOTE: I, in no way, shape or form, am bashing this pedal or it's makers... I'm sure it has it's uses, but just not for me. My Arion MTE-1 "Tubulator" has better drive, EQ and response as an overdrive than this pedal did...and I think I paid $12.99 for the tubulator and I have tried alot of pedals both overdrives and distortions....i.e. The entire Marshall line, old and new (kept only the shredmasters, still use them), Keely modded DS-1 (sold it), MXR Dist+ and the III (nope), Barber DD (Pretty darn OK), Menatone stuff (Pretty Good), DOD 250 (Nope), Ibanez TS9DX (just OK)...etc..etc.. Blah, blah, blah, you get the idea. The OCD just didn't float MY boat.

Can't find any flaws here. Looks and feels like it was built to last forever. I just didn't have it long enough to form an opinion.

I'm sure they're all fine people, didn't need to check in with them.

I am a "Rock" guitarist..... not a metal guitarist or a blues guitarist. I can play both of those styles as they are both incorporated into the "Rock" sound. I know what I like and I know what I don't like. I wanted to like this pedal but I had to send it packing. It's a lukewarm overdrive at best, teetering on a mild distortion. It just didn't give me a chubby. I definately would not have ever advertised this as a distortion pedal. My fave overdrive pedal to date, the Tubulator, hands down (check out the reviews here on H/C). I mainly use a Shredmaster, a Boss MT-2 and a current fave, The Washburn "Soloist Distortion" that I got at Target for $30.00 bucks (Love it). With those pedals you can "dial in" a useable "overdrive" sound as well as a full out distortion tone. NOTE TO FULLTONE....Take the word "distortion" off the box, it really isn't one. Just a small guys 2 cents worth.

Very easy to use. Three dials and one mini toggle switch.

This is my favourite stompbox of all time! I've been playing over 20yrs and have owned tons of gear and this is by far the best piece of gear I have ever owned, hands down. There literally are no bad sounds with this pedal. The one thing that it will not do is super high gain, but this pedal was not designed for that. It's quiet as a mouse, even with the gain maxed. The tone control is great, as it never gives too much or too little. This pedal makes me look forward to playing my guitars. I play both strats and Les pauls and this pedal sounds great with both.

Fulltone makes great stuff, very high quality.

N/A

I never EVER give 10's, but I really cannot find any faults with this pedal! Some people ***** about the placement of the power source on this pedal. Well, as long as it sounds like it does, I don't care where they put the power source. If fulltone were to ever introduce a high gain version on this pedal, I think they'd have the boutique od/dist pedal market all to themselves. Fulltone pedals are great, but the OCD is just unreal.

This has been covered 3 knobs, vol, tone, gain. Then the toggle for hi and low voicing.
Hard to find a bad sound, the volume range is huge (issue will be noted below)
Looks cool and fits any board. Only slight issue is the battery change, though they added knurled thumb screws for easy access. The latter is no issue for me as I use a power supply.

Sounds great as an OD, volume boost or a grinding distortion sound. All three knobs have a wide range of effect and I have it on the HP toggle setting most of the time for a beefy tone.
This is a pedal a person might want to duplicate on their board as it has a good range of tone and volume one might use for different sounds.
I have an issue with the pedal when it is put after a buffered unit in the chain. It loses volume big time, but sounds fine on the other side of the pedal, in this case a Pete Cornish P2-Fuzz. (see below regarding support)

One look inside and you see quality, even if you don't know electronics. Very clean with a nice bright blue LED.

In my opinion the owner is a slightly arrogant musician wanna-be. I've attempted to get information from them on 2-3 occasions with no reply on the last regarding the OCD input impedance. The question is simple and I'm still waiting. The other instances had to do with manual clarifications as I have the Clyde DLX wah and the OCD. The Clyde manual states that you can leave a battery in it and not worry about a drain as long as the a/c jack is in use. The OCD manual did not state this and I sent a message asking if this was true for both pedals. If, so I'd leave batteries in them. The one and only reply I received had them telling me their pedals did not have this feature? If I could have been talked down to in an email, I was. In the mean time I've got Pete Cornish (God Father of pedals & and boards) waiting for my input impedance question, so he can help me. So a guy who regularly communicates with R&R legends follows up with me twice, while Fulltone can't be bothered and to some degree post this on their Web-site. Thank you very little.

The pedal is great, but be careful where it is put in your pedal chain. Their service is a reflection of someone's large Ego and I would not count on them for service...........Fortunately the pedals are quality builds, so fork over your money, but don't ask questions.

Three knobs and a switch. Volume, Gain and Tone. The switch is for HP and LP. HP gives you more gain and volume and will color your sound(feels like more treble?), LP is more transparent with less gain and less volume.

This pedal sounds fantastic! I don't think there are any bad settings on this? VERY well designed in my opinion. It never gets noisy, even with the gain cranked. Both LP and HP modes are very usable. On the HP mode, I tend to back off the tone a bit to reduce the extra treble. In the LP mode, I turn the volume up a bit to compensate for the less gain and less volume. This lack of gain and volume in the LP mode is NOT a negative at all, it's just voiced differently and like I said is VERY usable. Some people think it gets muddy when the gain is cranked? I find that whenever this pedal starts to get "muddy" (I don't think it's very muddy at all), I turn the tone up and problem solved. Remember that different guitars and amps will give you different sounds. I like playing with both humbuckers and single coils, bridge and neck positions. The neck pickup on my Les paul studio sounds muddy with this pedal, but the neck pickup on my Les Paul Standard sings with this pedal. Bridge Humbuckers sound awesome with this pedal and with single coils sound good too; you may have to tweak the pedal to compensate, but still, you will get very usable, musical sounds. This pedal also reacts really well to your picking, VERY dynamic. I can have this pedal on at all times and as long as I adjust my picking technique, I can get it all from light to hard, simply by picking harder or softer, even with the gain pretty high. I give this pedal a 10 as far as sound goes, because unlike so many other overdrives, this one actually deserves it. This is my favorite pedal at the moment. I simply love it!

Hand built, seems pretty sturdy. Changing the battery is a bit of a pain though. I'm used to the simple battery change of say a Boss pedal and this one requires more effort.

Never had to deal with them

I play different types of rock music and this pedal covers it all. You can even eq it and pull off some metal sounds, but let me be clear that this pedal was not designed to do metal in the traditional sense. In other words, if you compare it to a high gain pedal, it won't be able to hang with it, but like I said, i don't believe that this pedal was made for that anyway. This pedal is pure tone, very very nice pedal. I highly recommend this pedal to all mature players who want real tone and not just distortion (there's a difference between distortion and tone). People ***** about the ac adapter jack placement? Are you kidding me? With the results I get from this pedal, you can put it wherever you want!

This is the V.4 of the OCD. Not too much to add here ??? 3 knobs, very smooth controls, HP/LP switch essentially making this a 2 in 1 pedal. User manual is not too informative but I guess you don't really need it.

Let's face it ??? this is the most important part and I think I have something to add here which you won't see in other reviews:
My setup is Gibson Les Paul/ Am. Telecaster into Crybaby/tuner/Boss Ge-7/MXR Blue Box/OCD/Boss BF-2/Digidelay to Amp.
I rehearse with my band (alternative rock) in various rehearsal spaces meaning I play through a different amp every week (JCM900, JCM800, Twin Reverb, Laney, Solid State amps ???. the list goes on). For years this variable in my setup had me stumped ??? How the hell do I get a good overdrive/distortion tone setting when such a huge part of my sound i.e. the amp constantly changing?
I've been through a lot of pedals over the years but constantly battled with tone. We all know that pedals color the sound and some pedals work better with certain amps. Pedals that sound huge when you are playing alone at home seem to disappear when in a band situation ??? dynamics disappear, mud appears and what do you do? You run to the amp/pedals and start to increase treble, volume, fiddle with knobs during the rehearsal/gig trying to find a setting which will let your guitar be heard clearly (blink if this sounds familiar!).
My last pedals (note: not pedal) before the OCD where a tubescreamer into a RAT. Don't get me wrong, the RAT is a great pedal and has that fuzzy edge to it but even though it is harmonically rich ??? it has nothing on the OCD!
I A/B'd the RAT, a modded Boss DS-1 and the OCD at what my ear perceived to be the same drive settings. No doubt about it, the RAT and modded DS seem to filter out some frequencies of the spectrum when compared to the OCD. The OCD is so rich, it really sounds like a good Class A Amp. The dynamics are amazing; picking hard or soft will yield clean to overdrive and every level in between. Turn down your guitar volume a (especially in LP mode) and the OCD cleans up to a VOX like chime (A smile will light up your face - I have yet to hear an overdrive pedal ??? tube or other that does this as well).
Most importantly: The pedal sounds great with every amp and cuts through perfectly in a band setting. I setup my OCD to taste according to whatever amp at my disposal and I haven't found myself going back to change amp/pedal settings in the past 5 months! For rhythm, the OCD gives me clarity and crunch I need and for solos, the OCD boosted with the Boss Ge-7 Eq cuts easily above the band with a beautiful "pro" tone. I have yet to find an unusable setting. I haven't looked at ebay/harmony central/youtube pedal reviews for 5 months since getting this = G.A.S salvation.
PS. It even sounds good when boosting software like Amplitube for home recording

Solid build, knobs are smooth with just the right amount of friction. Switch is solid and build seems indestructible though I still think the RAT wins in this department.

Never dealt with them.

I've been playing for 14yrs in various bands. Been through many guitars/amps/pedals and play everything from blues, funk, rock to shred and metal. My idea of a great overdrive sound is SRV/Robin Trower drive to Led Zep/STP/Pearl Jam to Zakk Wylde. For years I tried to look for that holy grail of drive ??? the one that will consistently project the tone in my head from any amp I use.
It may seem like an expensive pedal but when compared to the option of constantly buying/selling inferior pedals it is worth every cent. Best $150 I have ever spent!
Another tip to Mike Fuller if you are reading this: add a footswitchable clean boost that includes the option of switching the LP to HP mode and watch the devastation of the overdrive/distortion pedal market!

Simple to operate. It has volume, tone and drive. Also a switch to go from HP to LP. Read about it online to learn what the switch does, but basically, from what I can hear, HP gives you more gain and more bite?

I'm using this pedal with les pauls and strats into a matchless cheiftain combo and a mesa boogie mark 1. It seems to like humbuckers better than single colis, especially bridge humbuckers. I like playing single coils with a big muff, so I can't comment all to much on the ocd with single coils, but I can say that it sounds great with humbuckers. I like the HP mode for heavier overdrive (which never gets insanely heavy, but is still very usable and musical sounding). The LP mode is cool too and I use it for lower gain settings. This pedal really does sound like a cranked marshall. Lots of harmonic overtones. When I first read about the harmonic overtones, I had no idea what they meant by it, but now that I've heard and experienced it for myself, I can tell you that they are there and they sound wonderful! This is a really REALLY great overdrive pedal. I see why there are so many people crazy about it, it truly is a very unique sounding pedal. I've never played a pedal like the ocd. This pedal sounds amazing and will cover a lot of ground as far as styles go. The only thing it will not do is the crazy over the top metal thing, but this pedal was never geared toward that kind of music. I must say though, that with a decent outboard EQ, you can get some scooped tones out of it. I don't think it was meant for that, but just know that with an EQ (I have an old Ashley parametric EQ), you can get metal tones.

It seems like it's built quite well, very sturdy.

n/a

I've been playing a LONG time and have owned so much gear; amps, pedals, rack units, etc., and I can honestly say that I do not remember the last time a piece of gear has blown me away like this. I can find no fault with this thing. This is an amazing pedal. I shied away from it for a long time, because everyone; so it seemed, was playing this pedal and going on about it. I tend to purposely go against the grain, but I played one out of curiosity and could not believe my ears! You have to play one to know what I'm talking about.

Pretty easy to figure out and use. Volume, gain and tone. There's also a mini toggle swith to go from hp to lp (high peak, low peak). What this does is to change the character of the pedal. Hp gives more drive, low end and will color your sound, but in a good way. Lp is more transparent and will give less gain; this setting is better (in my opinion for) for lower gain settings.

I NEVER give 10's, but this pedal is just that good! It gives me exactly the sound I've been looking for. I've always played heavy music, but am now playing in a band that does not require heavy distortion. So, I decided I needed a good overdrive pedal, something that does light to medium overdrive. Most of the pedals I tested out just didn't do it for me. I tried the ocd with a les paul, through a matchless cheiftain and WOW, there was my sound! There is a difference between overdrive and distortion. This is an overdrive pedal. If you're looking for heavy distortion, look elsewhere. This pedal is all about tone. There is a difference between distortion and tone. This pedal, even on lower gain settings, gives the sweetest tone you've evere heard. Harmonically rich, musical sounding overdrive. I can even crank the gain in the HP mode and use a parametric eq to scoop some mids and get a good metal sound. The pedal cleans up really well too, with your volume knob. Just roll it back a little to clean it up, even in the higher gain settings. This pedal is just brilliant, I don't know what else to say?

It seems solidly built?

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This is an overdrive pedal, NOT a distortion pedal. It will give you amazing tone but will not do the metal thing too well. I'm sure there are some players out there who will understand that after playing for 10yrs or so, you begin to develop better taste in guitar sounds and you begin to see things like the ocd as a godsend. After a while, the buzzy high gain thing just bores me. I find a quality tone, rich in harmonics so much more interesting. This overdrive pedal is all i need now. I see myself using it for the rest of my years in music. It really is that good.

Most settings yield VERY usable tones. Knobs are easy to operate and are very smooooth. Battery is easy to access. The 9v-18v adapter plug for some reviewers state its in a weird location. To me I DO NOT really see the problem. The guitar cable and the power supply both plugged in without any interference from each other at all. They are almost exactly the same distance as my Crybaby Wah power supply and Cable. My only guess is they must be using some strange off the wall cables and power supplies.

My setup is a Vintage Gibson SG into a Z-28 with a 1X12. The tones with this pedal depend HEAVILY on the equipment you use with it. It will open up your sound and let you know where YOU need work. I call it my "class a" amp in a box. ANY mistakes you make while playing will be not hidden in a sea of buzz. Second if your playing with an Arbor guitar into a Fender Frontman15 then you will notice even MORE!!! how badly you need to go buy a better rig. Now, if your guitar rig is a quality one you will be treated with overtones and dynamics that only a cranked Tube amp WFO will give without waking the dead. Running this pedal at 18 volts vs 9 volts does make a tone difference. More so with the LP mode.In HP mode I prefer 9 volts at rehearsal and lower volume levels. On stage I prefer the HP mode at 18 volts. Your mileage may vary.This pedal also plays well with others.It likes to have a clean boost before it especially during solos.

They have a reputation for quality. From looking at its inside Id say its as well made as any pedal out there and light years ahead of most.Fulltone seems to IMPROVE on vintage designs,not try and relive them.

Never dealt with them

I play Blues-Rock-Soul-Funk. It is versatile enough for anything but death metal.

Very easy to use

with both strats and les pauls this is by far the best sounding Overdrive pedal on the market today. you can turn the level all the way up with no noise at all. If this Pedal was $400 I'd still buy it and I have tried everything including all the keeley pedals.

It's a Fulltone so you know it's built like a tank and will last forever and a day.

never need it but sure it's fantastic.

If you play blues , southern rock and/or classic rock then this is a must have pedal and you'll want to throw out all your other OD and Distortion pedals.

This pedal is straight forward and easy to use. Hard to not get great tone wherever you set it!

This is the holy grail of tone! I never turn mine off! I run an old Thomas Organ WahWah into it and then into my Blues Jr. The tone just rolls out of the "Made in England" green back Celestion. This pedal isn't for everyone.. if you want pure noise buy a metal distortion... this is a dynamic pedal that reacts to the input you throw at it... I have never in the 35+ years I have been playing used just one pedal before... This is it!... If you don't like it you need to add some dynamics to your playing and drop the fast scales.... or buy a metal pedal.

Hasn't let me down yet... Use it several times a week.

Never needed them

This is lie I said before the Holy Grail of tone.. the only problem and it is minor but still... is the power jack location....it is big and it is too close to the output jack!

Without reading the manual or checking out the specifications on Fulltone.com you might be hard pressed to know EXACTLY what the difference is between HP and LP mode simply by using it, so a point or two off for that.

Functionally this pedal is equivalent to a Boss SD-1/DS-1 in that there are controls for output/volume and amount of gain, and a Tone control that boosts or cuts the high frequencies. Like most pedals, just turn the knobs until you hear something good.

For grins and giggles, the HP mode provides more volume, a bit more distortion, and boosts the bass and upper-midrange of the EQ spectrum in order to get a bit more of that classic Marshall "honk", a la a JTM45 or low-gain JCM800. LP mode provides a cleaner, less colored overdrive tone that takes its tonal cues more from your guitar and amp than from the pedal itself. The tonal and volume differences between the two modes, in my opinion, are not very subtle. That's not a bad thing, and in fact some might view it as having two pedals in one. I tend to use the OCD in HP mode more often than not.

This is my first "boutique" overdrive and what I've learned from this pedal is that you're not necessarily getting more gain, volume, or range of control over a sound. What you're paying for is BETTER sound, a smoother, more "pro" sound compared to mass market boxes out there.

In my opinion, this is not "just" an overdrive pedal, as the amount of gain available past 3 o'clock is equivalent to most mass market distortion pedals. That said, I do use it as a higher-gain overdrive (usually with the gain set around 1 o'clock) and boost the OCD's input via a Boss SD-1 set at max level/min gain to get some extra sustain for leads or heavier rhythm work.

This pedal's range of tones fit just about anywhere - bluesy overdrive, chimey cleans, scorching rock. With the addition of a boost pedal in front of the OCD, you can get some higher-gain tones. Not scooped-mid metal, but definitely right at home for shoegazers.

Compared to functionally-similar pedals set for like tones, the Fulltone OCD has smoother treble, more defined mids, and tighter lows than other pedals. The OCD is also tremendously more touch and pick sensitive - even with a guitar's volume full up, picking or plucking lightly will cause the pedal's sound to clean up tremendously. Turning down the guitar's volume provides another means to control the amount of dirt, and unlike some other pedals, the tone does not significantly lose treble when guitar volume is reduced. For those that like to ride the volume knob, this is a good choice of overdrive pedal - not great, as there is a LOT of gain on tap here and even at minimum guitar volume settings there is still a bit of clipping. If you want your tone completely clean, you're going to have to turn it off.

This pedal is used as the primary dirt-maker between my guitars and my Crate V16 Palomino 1x12 combo, which has been retubed with a 12AU7 in V1 for more clean headroom, and outfitted with a Weber 12-5 Beam Blocker in front of the stock Celestion 70/80 that was installed in the combo.

For the price paid and the reputation Fulltone has earned/been saddled with, I would hope this pedal is as bulletproof as it looks and sounds. At this time, however, I have no opinion on Fulltone customer service as I haven't needed it.

See "Reliability" for the same answer and spirit.

The bottom line: I wish I bought this pedal years ago. I consider it almost like an amp, not just an overdrive pedal. Treated as such, the quality and range of tones available are stunning. I find myself playing much more since I've had this pedal, and I find myself playing more creatively. Better sound creates better ideas?

Three knobs (volume, drive, tone) and a switch (HP and LP). How much easier can it get without being having a brain and the ability to communicate... Hopefully that one is in the works soon :D

The guys at Fulltone have definitly picked the perfect name for this pedal. The OCD is one of the most versitle little stomps I've yet to play. The directions pretty much tell you exactly what to do to recreate any of the sounds the pedal is capible of producing. I use it for my Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier. Any former or new Rec owners know that with the gain being pushed past the 1 o'clock position the amp develops a thick film of mud in the sound and you loose any characteristics of the guitar. I have tried Analogman modded TS9s and 808s, the Fulldrive, varios boss and vintage pedals... but the OCD has one thing the others do not. The ability to keep the full bottom end and not color the sound. I do not know how this happens all I know is I love it.

I play higher gain speed metal in the vien of Blind Guardian, Iced Earth, and Dark Tranquillity. The one thing I don't do is scoop out the mids and crank the gain. This pedal helps me get the gain I want out of my amp and keep the clarity and tone of my guitar and pickups coming through clear. Every time I play it at rehearsal the band has to comment on the other guitarists dry thin tone compaired to mine.

The pedal is completely transparent which is why I fell in love with it... As a clean boost if it weren't for the obvious boost you wouldn't know you clicked it on, even on higher gain settings. As a stand alone pedal it's a great way to get a good clean distortion and not cancel out the tone controls on your amp. Too many pedals change the tone and you loose the tone you've been working with on your amp.

My set up is simple: Guitar (w/ bill lawrence L500s or Dimarzio Steve Specials > OCD > Noise gate (for pickup microphonics) > Mesa-Boogie Dual Rectifier.

So far so good. build like a tank, though the little screws they give you are hard to line up correctly sometimes and could cause them to become stripped form impatient users.

Haven't had to do anything.

25 different types of pedals, this ONE does most everything I need it to do and does it correctly the first time!

Ver. 1.4. Very easy to use; you can get a great sound with the knobs dialed almost any which way.

Not noisy at all. The sound quality is wonderful. I really wasn't expecting for it to sound quite this good. Best results will come from quality instruments. My mid-eighties Tokai Tele and '78 Les Paul Custom sound wonderful through various amps... I tried an early 70's four-input Marshall, a reissue Vox AC30TB6 and a '72 Twin Reverb (with JBL's) and each one sounded fabulous (especially the Marshall). I will say that I tried a cheap strat for comparison and it sounded pretty aweful. I'm giving it a "10" because it is going to take me off the amp market for a while thus saving me some $$$.
Go to the fulltone website and read about it. It does everything he said it will. I'm very impressed with it.

Looks very solid and heavy duty. This is my only Fulltone pedal so far, I can't imagine any one needing a back-up for this one unless they are worried it'll get stolen or something at a gig.

I couldn't contact via phone, but Scott in the shpping department was very helpful in the purchase via e-mails. He sent it out the same day he received payment. One thing to note is that the company is closed on Fridays. The pedal has a 5 year warranty which is great! My experience thus far has been fine.

Like I stated before, this pedal is taking me off the amp market for a while. I haven't even tried it with the rest of my stuff yet, but I'm sure I'll get great results. I met someone the other day who said that he didn't like his pedal and sold it. I really can't quite comprehend it. I just got mine so I know it's the version 1.4. Maybe he had a 1.3 or something.. I don't know. My pedal really makes good amps and guitars sound fabulous. I can't wait to play it some more.

Version 4

Simple to operate. Only problem is deciding where you're going to set the knobs...every setting sounds good.

I'm still not sure if this is an overdrive pedal or a distortion pedal...maybe it's a hybrid. But whatever it is, I really don't care. It sounds fantastic. Sweet classic rock tones are all over this thing. Great blues tones too. I've got other pedals to do the super high gain thing, so this low to medium gain pedal was exactly what I was looking for.

My humbucker equiped gtrs (Les Paul,SG,335) sound full and rich and have a very tight low end with excellent harmonics. This pedal is just so musical it's hard to stop playing. But I think it sounds even better with my single coil gtrs (Strat and Tele). With the tone and gain knobs set to about 10:00 I can get that Marshall plexi type tone. I've never gotten that tone out of a pedal before.

The pedal also "plays well with others"...hitting it with either my Barber compressor or Boss SD-1 booster pedal sounds great. It also gives me a really sweet and sustaining lead tone going into my Tonebone Am Classic. Sounds great thru my Marshall and Mesa amps, but I really dig it thru my Fender Hot Rod DeVille 2x12's clean channel. Turns it into a monster amp.

The transparency of this pedal is second to none. It's quiet or a dirt box, and it cleans up well when you roll back the volume.

I'd also add that I compared to a friend's v1 OCD and while both sounded great, the most glaring difference to me was that my v4 OCD had a smoother volume pot and there was more gain in my v4 pedal.

Superb low gain and medium gain drive pedal! Can't say enough about the great tone Mr. Fuller packed into this pedal.

Seems quite sturdy. I've had great luck with my other Fulltone pedals, and I have no worries about this pedal. Too early to rate though.

This is exactly what I was looking for in a drive pedal - something I could play classic rock and blues with, nothing too gainy or metal sounding. I play mostly classic rock, Texas blues, and a little jazz fusion. I've had 2 other Fulltone pedals before the OCD. One I liked a lot (FD2), and one that I sold after a few years of trying to figure it out (Dist Pro). The OCD has given my pedal board a huge tone upgrade!

I've been playing the guitar seriously for over 30 years, and this pedal is absolutely a keeper.

This little pedal has 3 knobs one switch and you can power it with 9 or 18 V DC! So I think it's very easy of use!

It sounds amazing! I Play with a Marshall JCm 900 and I use the OCD as a Booster for bluesy sounds o n the clean channel and on the overdrive channel as a booster to make it to an heavy metal sound. Even if I use it on my clean channel as a distortion Pedal like my Tonebone Plexitube it sounds great and has enough gain to make some heavy Metal!

For sure I'll use it on my gigs!

I think if you need a booster an overdrive pedal or a distortion pedal which sounds like a marshall then you need an OCD!

3 knobs, no frills, what can be easier than that.

Anyone that states this is a bad pedal just doesn't get it. One of my band mates gave me his to use after my boost pedal went south and I must say, I was FLOORED! This may be the greatest boost/lead pedal ever made. I use a Fender strat thru a Crate TV6210 (all tube amp, no longer manufactured because Marshall filed a law suit claiming it was a perfect replecia of a Marshall, which in fact, IT IS! Its a great amp.) and the very next day, I went a bought my own. After playing with the settings, I was even MORE floored. Now I am not a big pedal player, I usually let the amp do the work but for cut thru leads and sweet ringing rock stuff, don't bother with any other pedal. Get one and forget the others.

Don't know, its new.

Time will tell, but right now, its PERFECT!

I will say the early ones sounded really good. I bought a newer one off a company on ebay, which is a different story. But, to say the least, I dont know why they say this is an improved version, but it is the biggest waste of 143.10 I ever spent. It is sad that I am now stuck with a piece of useless garbage. I will never ever reccomend fulltone products to anyone.

This is garbage.

I am sure it is reliable. It will not get used, and I will not cheat someone else out of their hard earned money. I know now, firsthand, how it feels to be shafted with a 150dollar pedal.

None from the company that I bought it from on ebay. I would never buy from them again, due to their no return policy. The only thing they could say, was that they were sorry I didnt like the pedal.

Watch out, for the makers of this useless pedal, and the worthless ebays out taking our money.

This review is for the Fulltone OCD Version 1.4 (version 4) This pedal is as simple as it gets. I tried it out at the store and within minutes I had the elusive tones I have been searching for for years.

I play a Gretsch Duo Jet 6128T with filtertron pickups. My set up is:
Gretsch>>Boss TU2 tuner>>MXR DynaComp (used as clean boost)>>Fulltone OCD>>Ibanez TS9>>EB Expression pedal>>Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeller>> 1967 Blackface Princeton Reverb Amp. The amp is set clean as the Princeton amps do not have a master and volume knob. Only a volume. It is difficult to overdrive this amp without making your ears bleed. I do not play at super-high volumes, but at the volumes I do play the OCD is super quiet on or off. The guitar and amp's natural tones are not affected by the OCD in any way. They are kept very pure. I have the OCD set to a great crunch tone (Volume @ 12:00, Tone @ 3:00 and Gain @ 9:00) and use the MXR Dynacomp as a boost. This combination gives me a phenominal smooth lead tone perfect for soloing. The sustain is unbelievable. I love the touch sensitivity of this pedal. The dynamic capabilities of the OCD are amazing. It's difficult for me to describe the tones I can get from the OCD, because of it's versatility. Everyone has different gear and the OCD will react differently to all of them. I am simply saying this pedal works for my particular gear and playing style. Because of the OCD (the closest thing to boutique I've had), my Boss Blues driver and Boss Overdrive/Distortion (although they served me well) have been shelved. My TS9 (Tone sucker) is not far behind them. This pedal also sounds superb with a good strat. Back off on your guitar's master volume for light breakup and turn it all the way up for soaring leads.

The OCD is solidly built. Period. Very heavy gauge steel housing far superior to some mass-produced pedals. I love the 4 knurled screws that make it easy to access the battery. I have to be honest and say that the first OCD I bought lasted about 30 minutes and the footswitch failed. I had never heard of this happening and am very reluctant to even mention it as Fulltone has a long track record of very reliable gear. It must have been a fluke. Mr. Fuller will probably wonder what I did to break it, but in all honesty, I did nothing to the pedal to warrant the failure. I baby my gear and do not abuse it in any way. Nevertheless, the store where I purchased it were also very surprised at the failure and gladly replaced it. For this reason, I keep the TS9 on my pedalboard just in case. Because of my amp, I cannot afford to lose my overdrive/distortion tones while playing. I am only giving this a 7 rating to be completely honest, and this should NOT deter anyone from purchasing this pedal! If this one were to break, I would replace it with another OCD in a heartbeat.

I have not had to contact Fulltone.

I have been playing and recording music for over 20 years. I know the tones that get people excited, and I know the ones that are marginal. I have tried many distortion pedals and most of them pale in comparison to the OCD. My style is along the lines of John Mayer, Coldplay, U2, Neil Schon of Journey, and Elliot Easton of The Cars to mention a few. This pedal covers them all with a little delay and/or reverb sprinkled in. I love the fact that right out of the box it erased years of marginal tone that I had settled with. If I could change one thing on the pedal, it would be where the power connection is located. I would place it more toward the back of the pedal. No big deal though. I am not suggesting that the OCD is the "holy grail" of distortion pedals, but for the money, you will be hard-pressed to find one that is built or sounds as good as the Fulltone OCD. I would hope that no one would ever buy any effects pedal based on a review. Get out there and try as many as you can. Then decide which one makes you melt. The OCD did that for me.

Fairly typical controls for an overdrive but it doesn't say it's an overdrive on it which is really just lame. Also a switch labeled hp/lp might as well not be labeled at all. The position of the DC jack is ridiculous being on the lower left side.

Works OK in the bedroom but just sounds like a typical transistor fizzy and unnatural when used live. It might be good if you believe the hype and don't know any better.

As an overdrive adding some drive doesn't really sit well with an already overdriven amp which really is a fundamental flaw. As a booster it changes the tone in the wrong way, too much bass relative to the treble.

Should be fine right up until it dies an hour after the warranty runs out.

The company? well Mike has a reputation for being a first class p***k so customer support all depends on the dealer you get it from.

I have been playing electric guitar for 23 years. I own various things. Not much doubt as to why these are being dumped on ebay all the time and why there has to be a constant new version to try to sustain sales.

Three knobs and a footswitch. Works on 18 volts as well which is how I run mine.

Strat > WOF RMC6 wah>>AM Sunface >>AM Beano Boost>> mojo vibe >>OCD >>Nova delay >> Victoria 20112 (tweed deluxe 5e3).

The sound is fantastic! Very rich in harmonics, and I love that warm grit of the germanium in this pedal. You will notice that all my boosters have germanium in them. You can get such a great pick attack which is missing in so many od pedals.

My only complaint is the noise. I feel the hiss is over twice as loud as my analog man boosters, and this is why it isnt a 10.

Fulltone has a good reputation for a solid product, and you can plug most any power adapter into it without blowing it up.

I have heard horror stories, but who knows?

I play classic rock with a blues flavor. I also play jam band and surf. I have been playing since 1980, though some of the time was exclusively on acoustic.

Id buy it again, and recommend it. I do wish I could understand why it is noisy. Maybe I should write Fulltone and find out.

I have tried many OD pedals over the years and have a HUGE distain for tube screamer type pedals. I am so glad this isnt one.

3 knobs, one switch and a footswitch. Probably the drive knob is the most intriguing, but I'm not using it.

I would NOT recommend this pedal for modern metal.

I'm using this pedal as a boost to my overdrive channel on my amp, so this could be considered using it as a clean boost.
I'm using a modified Reverend guitar with Duncan HBs and I use coil tapping a lot. I'm running this into a Budda SD18 amp. I'm also using Fulltone cables which are excellent!


First off, the one thing that stands out about this pedal is its tone when it is NOT turned on. I have been testing at least 5 different pedals over the last 6 months and a few of them are boutique (Keely). None of those pedals appear to have true bypass even though the websites say otherwise (including Vox Clyde McCoy).

As a minimum, a pedal should not affect someone's tone when turned off and hopefully enhance it when it's on. I honestly would keep this pedal just for this feature since it has helped my tone without even being on. It is noticeably better than all my other pedals.

I have rated this pedal as a 9 since it isn't perfect. Yes it does boost well, but it might would have been better with seperate bass/treble controls.

This does seem to work better with single coil situations and enhances that tone if you take the time to tweak it. I would bet there are better pedals for boosting humbuckers that maybe have a little more TS tone.

But I do agree with many of the comments about the V4 as well as the older OCD models...this is an excellent device and used properly, will give a musician high quality gain boost.

As stated above, I do not use the drive knob and do not recommend this for people ODing a gain channel in their amps. This knob adds things to the tone that does not belong in the gain channel.

N/A

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Could it really get ANY easier...3 knobs and a toggle switch...c'mon...

EXCELLENT TONE...I tried ALL kinds of other distortions and overdrives for several weeks before I cranked this baby up and got "THE TONE" I've been looking for for a long time. Cleans up very nicely or gets down and dirty and the sustain and tone can't be beat even by a lot of the pedals I tried that cost almost 3 times as much (Mr. Fuller please do not read this and decide to jack your prices up tomorrow...lol). I bought the Fulltone Fulldrive 2 with Mosfet a few weeks ago and this complements it perfectly. I wanted a really good overdrive and lead pedal that would take the distortion up a notch and give me a really creamy sustaining quality. This did it. They work perfectly together.

No problems that I can detect. I don't think you'd need a backup.

You could drop this from a plane and it would still probably work. Good solid metal with good baked on finish. Feels solid as they come.

Never had to deal with Fulltone. Have heard that if you have to send your pedal in for repairs it might take a little while but this is just hearsay. Who really knows?

I play alternative rock, blues, pop, country, and jazz occassionally.
I have a LOT of experience with distortion pedals and there are more than anyone would guess. This one stands above a large percentage of them including the Ibanez TS09, DX, and 808s which are favored by many professional musicians. Before I settled on this pedal I tried just about every different type of Boss, Ibanez, MXR, Kvex, Jeckyll & Hyde, Digitech, Proco Rats, and other boutique type pedals. I'm a tone hound like most of you reading this review.

I like that the pedal is compact and allows me to move it around on my pedal board whereever I need it.

I play Fenders, Gibsons, and Ibanez's through a Marshall AVT275 and Rivera M100 Slavemaster (sounds like a Mesa Boogie and Fender combined; very good quality amp) amplifers.
I've been playing for over 30 + years.

If the pedal were stolen I'd buy another one again and pay a gypsy to hex the thief...;)

I know tone preferences are subjective, but I feel that this truly is one GREAT pedal. I think you will love the tone too.

THREE KNOBS DOESNT GET MUCH EASIER THAN THAT.

I RATE THE SOUND 11. THIS THING SOUNDS AWESOME, IT HAS CURRENTLY ENDED MY SEARCH FOR [THE SOUND]. I READ A REVIEW WHERE SOMEONE SAID IT WAS MADE FOR SINGLE COIL PLAYERS, AND I'AM ONE BUT I HAVE TO DISAGREE IT SOUNDS EXCELLENT WITH A STRAT OR A PAUL, THE KNOBS ON THIS THING ARE MORE SENSITIVE THAN MESA KNOBS [IF U EVER OWNED A MESA U KNOW WHAT I MEAN]I HAD A ANALOGMAN TUBE SCREAMER WHICH I SWORE I WOULD NEVER GET RID OF [JUST SOLD IT ON EBAY]TILL I GOT THIS PEDAL. I'VE NEVER WRITTEN A REVIEW FOR ANYTHING BUT I WAS SO IMPRESSED WITH THIS PEDAL I HAD TO SAY SOMETHING.IT IS VERY TRANSPARENT YET DOESNT JUST ADD GAIN TO YOUR SOUND IT ADDS TONE. I MOSTLY PLAY STRATS THRU A MARSHALL 18 WATT[ALTHOUGH I NOTICED I'AM PLAYING MY PAULS ALOT MORE NOW]WITH NOTHING BUT THE OCD AND MY 535Q WAH, ALTHOUGHT THAT MAY GET REPLACED PRETTY SOON BY FULLTONE'S CLYDE WAH. ANOTHER MENTION IS THE HIGH AND LOW PEAK SWITCH, WHAT A DIFFERENCE, ITS LIKE 2 PEDALS IN ONE.I USUALLY PLAY MY STRAT ON LOW PEAK WITH THE GAIN AT 2-3.THE VOLUME AND TONE COMPLETELY CHANGE YOUR SOUNDS, IN A GOOD WAY OF COURSE. I CAN GET CREAMY BLUES TO ALMOST METAL WITH THIS THING [IT EVEN MAKES MY CLEAN TONE BETTER] YOU CAN ALSO RUN THIS PEDAL ON 18 VOLTS INSTEAD OF THE USUAL 9 AND ITS SUPPOSED TO SOUND EVEN BETTER, ALTHOUGH I HAVE NOT DONE THAT YET.I COULD ONLY IMAGINE THIS THING SOUNDING BETTER.

ONLT HAD IT 4 WEEKS, BUT WHAT I HEARD ITS BUILT TUFF.

NEVER HAD TO DEAL WITH

OVERALL IS A 11 IAM VERY IMPRESSED WITH THIS PEDAL IT GOES FROM CLEAN TO MEAN AND EVERWHERE IN BETWEEN. THIS IS THE NEWEST VERSION 4