Fulltone OCD

Pedal 3 knobs: Drive, Tone, Volume
1 Switch: up mids flat to slight boost, down no mid emphasis (transparent wih less volume)

American Strat and Tele> Psilocybe > Germania 44> OCD> Fender DRRI.

I have been searching for a transparent "American" sounding overdrive to boost the front of my AMP. Compared with Keeley DS1 ultra the OCD is far less buzzy in the upper frequencies when soloing and IMO the attack is far more natural sounding. You almost have to pull the v1 tube (12at7) to stop the keeley from buzzing. What I did not expect is the OCD blowing amay my ts9 modded with the 808 (4558) chip and other hi fi upgrades. One pedal does it all, and this is coming from someone who does not beleive the hype.

Small box built like a tank!

Why would you need it? if it is DOA return it.

OCD-10, Ultra DS1-7, TS9(808)-8, TS9-7, SD1-6

constant fiddling

Save yourself some time and money and make this the first and last!

Easy to get a good sound from it. Like all effects.........just fool with the knobs until you like the sounds you hear.

I'm using this with a variety of other effects ; Clyde Deluxe Wah - Analogman Bi Comprossor - Analogman Bi Chorus - Mxr EVH Phase 90- OCD or TS808( analogman silver mod ) - Ibanez AD 9 - Ernie Ball volume pedal, all before the amp and a Maxon AD900 and a Demeter Tremulator through the loop of a Mesa Lone star. Guitars are American Deluxe Strats and a Gibson Johnny A Signature. I've used this at home, at rehearsal and a gig since buying it.

Although I'm very happy with the sound of the other OD I have, a re-issue TS808 modded by Analogman ( Silver Mod )........every once in a while I like a little variety and figured I would buy the OCD to throw on my board when in the mood or to give me the flexibilty to use one or the other as a backup.

I really do like the sound of this pedal, I should point out that it is very different from a tube screamer type sound........whereas a tube screamer is rich, smooth and warm, like a 6L6 powered american made overdriven amp.........I would have to say the OCD is a bit more brittle and harsh sounding ( I don't mean this in a negative way )....more like a marshall with a treble booster thrown in front of it.....a very cool sound, but very different from a tube screamer....The OCD is more modern sounding than a tube screamer, but wont take you into Nu metal territory ( which I'm not into anyway )..I'm just trying to give you an idea if your reading this deciding to buy one. It is very tranparent sounding and it's true about the picking dynmamics on this. They come through great. You can get that great " kiss of the pick " sound easily with this for those that know what I mean. The sound of your guitar really does come through this thing. For instance the 2nd and 4th positions on a strat sound great through this pedal....the quack and bell like tone is never covered by the OCD. It sounds better in front of an amp thats already a little overdriven than a real clean amp.....I think a tube screamer is definitely better in front of a clean amp than this and sounds more natural. Occasionally I fill in for bands In my area and am forced to use whatever they may have in the back line...usually a Fender Twin or Deville........in those situations I would not use this pedal I would bring the tube screamer.

The tone knob seems to act like more of a filter on this....a little different than on some other OD's I've used over the years. It reminds me of a Rat a bit in this respect...except the knob ( filter ) goes in a different direction than a Rat. I found a usable sound at about 10 o clock on the tone knob. Anything lower sounds muffled to my ears and anything higher starts to sound too brittle and ice pickish. I dont agree with the manual stating the tone is nuetral at about Noon on the pedal. It absolutely adds high frequency at Noon. I like the LP postion best thus far with the volume dimed and the drive anywhere between 3 O clock to noon. Overall I like this pedal a lot. To me it sounds like a modded Boss DS - 1 a bit. A much, much better and more transparent sound than a stock DS- 1....but it's closer to a DS - 1 than a tube screamer for comparison sake. Also this pedal is the quietest OD I've ever used...the signal to noise ratio is excellent.

Overall this is an excellent sounding pedal and well worth the bucks. Definately a keeper. I believe my Analogman Silver TS 808 will still retain the number 1 position on my board, it's smoother, warmer sound suits the sound I'm going for more......but this will definately take it's place now and then.....and may force me to get a bigger board so I can use both !

I have a Fulltone wah, a couple of years old that I've never had a problem with. This seems to be equally solid. The knobs have a solid feel and smooth taper.........there's also something very cool about the way it looks. I love the type style they used to print the lettering on this ( what can I say, I used to be into graphic arts ).

I bought it from a reputable dealer. I've never contacted Fulltone. I would only contact them if my dealer could'nt correct the problem if I had one. Whats with everyone calling this guy Mike like they know him or something anyway ?? C'mon get a grip will ya !!

I have been playing since my early teens and I'm in my early forties now. Been in and out of bands for years. I currently play in a classic rock and dance band and we play out a handful of times a month. I'm at a point in my life were top of the line equipment is obtainable finacially and a necessity to my maturing ears. This is a quality piece of gear thats well worth the money for a "boutique pedal ". Again, If your looking for a tube screamer type sound I would stick with a tube screamer....but for something a bit more biting with more of a British, Marshall type slant to it so to speak, you wont go wrong with this interesting and cool sounding pedal.

As easy to use as any other overdrive pedal (gain, volume and tone) with the added swith LP/HP.

Played Les Paul-type guitar w/ Seymour Duncan JB on the bridge through the pedal into a Victoria '59 Bassman ripoff.

The pedal is quiet and covers a wide, veeeery wide range of tones, from subtle overdrive to fuzzy distortion. I was curious as if this thing would work as a boost to my amp (which is a '59 Bassman reissue) by turning the volume all the way up and the gain at about 1 (7 o'clock, I guess). I even took my trusty TS9 reissue (stock) to compare and found the O.C.D. better - in a sense that it has more output, more high end and a more 'in-your-face' sound. This pedal is trebly, but you can't control it without problems. Couldn't really tell the difference between LP and HP modes except that the output level of the latter is higher than the former. Tried other settings on the pedal, and found it nice up untill 3 or 4 o'clock; after that the pedal starts getting fuzzy and I don't need that because I got a Big Muff. I'm not that knowledgeble on class "A" amplifiers to judge whether it sounds alike a distorted amp running on this class, so I'll pass it foward.

Fulltone effects are very well and hand built. I mean, there are pros using stock Boss pedals for years without a problem, why would you have a problem with a boutique hand-made pedal like Fulltone?

Before trying the pedal in the store, I e-mailed the company asking some questions about the pedal and Mike Fuller replyed it in 24 hours. Very nice!

I play everything whithin rock: post-punk, punk, metal, alternative, classic, etc., etc. and have been playing for 15 years. I own a '59 Bassman reissue, a Gretsch Sparkle Duo-Jet, a Fender Jazzmaster and a Yamaha AES620. Pedals: TS9 reissue, Boss Turbo Distortion, American Big Muff, Maxon D & S II and a few modulation pedals by Boss.

Man, I would say you need to check this thing out. There's no way you're gonna find out if you don't play it. Take your guitar and a reference pedal with you to the store and try to test the pedal in an amp that is most similar to the one you have.

In comparison with my TS9, the OCD wins because it's much more clear. I think it would do great in dark sounding amps, but mine is on the bright side so the TS9 is o.k. I'm mostly a bedroom player, so I can't tell whether the OCD cuts through live; I know the TS9 does because it's very mid-rangy - the frequency that the human ear can mostly hear.

I rate it a 9 because I was not that impressed as I thought I would be, given all the hype about it.

Very straightforward. Three knobs (for output level, distortion level, and eq) and a mini toggle switch for selecting high and low "output". The manual is brief but tells you what you need to know to get going.

Running an American Strat, Epiphone Elitist Les Paul, and Warmoth Custom Tele into a Peavey Delta Blues with 15" speaker. 90% of the time I run the pedals into a clean amp setting. I'm using the Fulltone ac adapter (9 volt). I've not tried it with an 18 volt adapter yet.
I waited months to finally get this pedal. Lots of hype around it. I have lots of other Fulltone pedals (70 Pedal, Distortion Pro, Full Drive 2, Fat Boost) and have used lots of other overdrive / distortion pedals in the past as well (Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face, Pro Co Rat, Boss OD's and Metal Zone, Danelectros, and on and on). I don't know what I was looking for from the OCD. Something transcendental, I guess.
I find that I prefer the high power setting vs the low power setting. Switching to LP seems (to me at least) to just lower the output and punchiness of the sound vs the HP setting.
With drive set low (below 9 o'clock) and volume up and tone around the 12 o'clock position, this box does a good job of beefing up a clean sound to SRV type of clanging Strat (much like my Fat Boost). I found myself playing in this setting for blues stuff. This pedal also cleans up very well with the guitar's volume knob; I could actually get my guitar volume down to about 5 before the sound lost its vibe (vs down to about 7 on the Full Drive and about 8 on the Distortion Pro).
Bringing up the drive to around 12 o'clock ads some nice overdrive and breakup to the clean sound on my amp. Great for crunchy rhythm work.
Maxxing out the drive does give a sound similar to Class A amps (like it says on their website). Even through this heavily distortion setting, notes retained good clarity overall.
This box sounds equally good with humbuckers and single coils.
Was it worth the wait? Is the hype true? I'll say that this is a very versatile pedal in that it can go from giving a nice fat boost / overdrive or add some very nice amp-like distortion. It reminds me of old non-master volume Marshalls. Great sound for classic rock. I think this is probably one of the best overdrive / distortion pedals I've owned. It does cover lots of sonic territory, and although it won't replace my other pedals, it will see heavy use for getting that "go to" sound for classic rock. For that classic rock sound, I think it's hard to beat. I think the OCD and Distortion Pro cover the same sonic territory, but the OCD wins out here because it sounds more natural...more like an amp.

I've never had a problem with any of my Fulltone pedals. I'd gig without a backup because I could use my Distortion Pro if the OCD crapped out. But seems unlikely. Fulltone pedals are really nicely built.

NA

I play blues and classic rock mostly. This pedal works very well for these genres. I play some metal too, and I don't think this pedal works as well for that. I've been playing for over 20 years and own and have owned lots of good (and some bad gear).
I think players who like classic rock and blues and who like nicely made gear should consider picking one of these up. It covers lots of ground and offers tons of tone sculpting capabilities. Plus it has excellent "feel"...which is not easy to find in a distortion box. And yes, this is called an overdrive pedal, but it also ranges into full-blown distortion.
The only feature I'd consider adding would be a second footswitch to go from LP to HP settings, but I didn't really miss this. Again, I prefer the HP setting.
As with most of Fulltone's stuff, the OCD adds so much to my tone that it makes me want to play more. And that at the end of the day, that's what it's all about. Get one, turn it up, and enjoy!

Straight forward - plug and go.

With the High Peak and Low Peak modes this pedals can go a little deeper and be more things to more people. Taken at face value this pedal is as easy as it gets. Knowing what guitars sound best with what amps and with the HP and LP modes really opens this pedal up. The more experienced the player the more this pedal shines.

With about a million choices for overdrive and given the hype on this pedal you really have to wonder what to do. With the first units going for stupid money I stayed away until I could at least get one for List Price. My Blue Blood just wouldn't let me pay $300 bucks for a $179 list. But I digress.

This pedal is the real deal. I played it with my 57 Gold Top and a Marshall JTM 45 Bluesbreaker and BOOM! All the notes are there without having a kinda of synthetic clean superimposed on top of the dirty. This pedal blends them seemlessly. In LP and HP mode this combo was really versitile. I was getting beautiful singing feedback with a very vocal quality.

I then put it in LP mode and plugged my 60's Relic strat into my Custom Vibrolux reverb. Very nice indeed. I still prefer an AC booster or FD2 in this situation but the OCD really sounded amazing. It made the Vibrolux just explode with low end and beef.

I gotta hand it to Mike and Fulltone. This pedal is the swiss army knife of Dirt Boxes. This one is a Keeper. I have a ton of distortion / Drive boxes. This is lives up to the hype in every way.

Kudos Boys!

Fulltone stuff has always been the best.

Mike told me about this pedal about a year before he released it. I was really interested in something of the sort. Mike has always been very laid back and cool with me. I have no reservations about his commitment to his products.

Not much else to say other than GREAT! If you want to go from Dumble Singing sustain to Jimmy Page with one box and really make it happen (NO modeling needed.) This box is for you. If you want the Mesa Boogie Over compressed over saturated mush - you will not be happy.

Once again Fulltone has a winner.

I think it's pretty simple to understand, but the tones seem to change when you change volume settings, so you have to kind of get used to that. When you change the tone knob, it almost seems that the tone that you're going to end up with is based on where your volume is set. In that aspect, this pedal is hard to figure out. If your stoned or something, or your brain farting around, yeah, it's easy to use. There's only 3 knobs, a toggle switch and an on/off button.

I play this through a Kendrick's modified 40 watt '63 Fender Vibroverb reissue with a Celestion 10" and a Jensen 10". I have a customized 15 yr old Fender Strat with an awesome Warmoth neck, Van Zandt blues pick-ups, capacitor mod to accentuate the highs when decreasing the volume on the guitar. I have a Dan Electro DC-3 with Seymour Duncan pick-ups and PRS electronics. I also use a Dunlop 535-Q wah, a Boss twin Delay DD-20(?) and a bunch of Boss effects.

This pedal isn't noisy and certainly not weak by any means. My God, weak? This thing can get so freakin' loud it's almost unlawful. It's kind of like the old recording adage that louder is perceptively better.

It's an awesome sounding pedal. I waited for 2 months for the thing. It didn't bother me because I'm a very patient guy. It's the best pedal I've ever had. It makes my amp sound like it's on steroids. It's a nice, warm, smooth distortion. That's my take on it. It does sound Marshall-esque. I just sold a JCM Slash and i've had a JMP 70's 100 watt lead. The pedal does sound a little like a Marshall.

When I first got this thing, I was in heaven. But then, like another reviewer, I found that when I played with a band, the way that the OCD spreads the EQ makes it a little harder to cut through a band than my punchy, Boss DS-1, which seems to put a stronger mid-range in the mix. That's why I say that the OCD seems smooth to me, because it shimmers the high ends. The bass response is defined, not mushy. I was amazed at how well this thing made my bass response sound when toggled to the HP setting.

The tonality of this pedal is a true work of art. The harmonics are rich and the tone is detailed. Though I don't think it's the Holy Grail of distortions, it blows away anything I've played through except a Budda tube distortion that I played at the NAMM show. I gave away my Boss Overdrive after getting the OCD. I can't imagine why someone wouldn't want this pedal. This pedal is all that Fulltone claims it to be and probably one of the top 3 greatest distortions of all time period.

Seems pretty reliable. It appears to be built very solid. I've never owned a Fulltone before, though they've made a believer out of me and I'll be back, you can bet your britches. I'll buy at least another 2 pedals from Fulltone.

haven't had to deal with them

I play surf guitar, rock and a lot on my 2 classicals. I shoot for the sound that John Frusciante gets on By the Way. I also love Van Halen's first few albums, Def Leppards first 2. I have been playing for 27 years. I have owned a plethara of amps and several guitars along the way, mostly Fender and Marshall.

I would buy 2 more of these if I was touring. I almost bought another one after I got this one, but I'm just a weekend warrior now. What do I love about it? It's the best pedal I've ever owned. The tone is warm, real, developed, rich and open. The OCD looks cool and has a cool blue light that gets pretty bright and reminds me of a star when I'm listening to the sound of the pedal and looking at the light at the same time. The blue light was a nice touch for obssessive/compulsive people -clean.

What do I hate about it? I don't hate anything. My favorite feature has to be the HP/LP toggle, as it's quite a drastic change from one to the other, mostly volume wise, but increased bass and treble. I also like the variable voltage that you can supply to it, instead of just 9 volts. And the switches seem solid. I can't compare it to other products because it's the best distortion i've played through of its kind. I chose it because I've heard some really good things about Fulltone and the name of the pedal fit my personality to a "T", plus the description on the Fulltone site made me know that I found my match in a distortion pedal. And the description is right on, note for note. You can't go wrong if you buy this pedal. It's hard to get though.

you dont even have to try to get a good sound out of this they're all useable, and finding what you want is just a tweek away. but it aint gonna be the metal choice. very much a blues/rock pedal (apparenty fuller made it for himself first, and that's what he plays, so it makes sense).

the sound is wicked, really subtle and then full on when you want it to. I run it through a fender deville 2x12 with a strat and a tele, it's my primary distortion tool, i use it through the clean channel and then boost it with the 2nd channel. I keep the gain on the amp at around 4.

Yeah its noisy, and you'd hope so from a distortion pedal (i use an MXR smart gate if i need to, and that works a treat).

you get a really warm eric johnson sound when you have the tone down, and a really cool crunchy vibe when you turn it up, with a little drive you get instant robben ford.

It knocks the sh*t out of all the O/Ds ive ever owned, tubescreamers, Rats, etc.

I've had it for 6 months and it's not gonna break. having said that i wouldn't chuck it down the stairs.

N/A

I play blues rock a bit of jazz, it rocks for all, even works like a clean boost.

Definately buy another but only used on ebay, not new: they're too expensive in the uk, and mike fuller wont allow the US dealers to ship them out new (so he can charge a good ?200 in the UK). but then if you want pro toys then you gotta pay pro prices...... I tried a lot of stuff, with and without valves in (H&K tube factor, Varydrive, Bottle Rockett) all around the ?200 mark. this beats them all in looks and performance.

the Hp/Lp is cool just allows for more tweeking, and a greater variety of tones, Hp being "brittish" and Lp being "tweed".

oh yeah and the light is blue, so that makes a nice change!

I've not had the chance to run it on 18v, but aparently is cooks even better. It certainly sounds great on 12v anyway.


So: pricey, but worth it. go second hand and get a proper bargain.

All the controls are straight forward and self explanatory, except for the HP switch, which is for more upper mid/distortion.

This is a "clear" distortion pedal, which is the conclusion that I came to by comparing it side-by-side with the Tube Screamer, Fulldrive, Tonebone Classic and Rat distortion.

When engaged, espeically in lower gain settings, all of the rest of pedals had that honkiness in the midrange or filtered out some frequencies (especially the lows), thus coloring the tone, giving the pedal its unique sound (I use the term "color" not necessarily in a bad way).

In comparison, what's unique about the OCD is that it didn't really change or filter out anything, thus resulting in sound that's clear and true to the original signal, i.e. open, non-nasally midrange, better low frequency response and fuller body, etc. By the same token, however, OCD didn't really saturate the tone with syrupy smooth tube overdrive (which again is not necessary a bad thing) like some of the other pedals do. In higher gain, the above stayed true but less apparent due to the heavy amount of distortion.

I like this quality of the OCD, which I think is unique that I don't often come across on pedals. The OCD really shines when it's used in combination with alrealy overdriven amp to give a little more of juice, or with a clean amp to give a little bit of edge without coloring the tone or filtering out certain frequencies.

I've had a few Fulltone pedals in the past with no problems.

Never dealt with them.

The OCD is a great sounding pedal. It's not a do-it-all distortion pedal, but its transparent tonal quality makes it unique compared to the majority of other distortion pedals. My only complaint is about the high price (thus a 9), but if you know what you want and if you can get it, money should be no concern, or should it?

Just like any other Od, it's easy to figure out, three knobs and a switch.

I picked this pedal up yesterday, after reading the reviews, and listening to clips, and was convinced it would meet my low gain needs. I'm using a boogie lonestar, and thought this would contrast the vintage marshall sound of my amp nicely. I was sorely disapointed. The pedal is great, it's just not my thing. I aggree with a previous reviewer's comment that like the fulldrive, and Fuller's other makings,there is a certain fizz or bite to the top end that makes this pedal unusable to me. With the tone knob on 0 and the lp switch engaged, I could almost mask it, but I had no definition in my tone. As much as I'd like to keep it, it's going back, and I am picking up an 808 reissue, which was my original plan.
I want to reiterate, this isn't a horrible pedal, and for any kind of blues or more raunchy rock, it would probably be great, maybe even with a marshall type amp it would be better, but for a very light OD, into a clean amp, it just doesn't do it for me.

I had a fulldrive for a while, and it was built like a tank, so I would guess this would be too.

Well, does it need to be said? Never had a problem, but plenty of folks have.

I'm a funk randB player mostly, with a few dabbles in jazz and jam type music, and I've been through more pedals than I could ever recall. I think I've had at least 30 OD's in the past 5 years, so I may just be picky, but I wanted to throw my opinion out there just to offset all the perfect 10's. I wanted so much to like this box, but I just couldn't. Sorry Mike,

it's as easy as it gets. drive gets you more distortion. volume makes it louder. tone makes it cut through a bit more, especially on humbuckers. the hp/lp alters the midrange a bit a gets you a fairly different tone. very useful for recording

my setup includes: les paul standard, tele, strat or es-335 into a keeley compressor versus fulltone fulldrive II, fulltone '69 pedal or octafuzz into a rivera chubster. i really use no other effects other than this one when i'm running it which i'm finding is about all the time these days.
the effect has nosie but certainly not much with humbuckers and it's really not been a problem.this pedal is simply fantastic. i diagree with the indiidual who stated the black crowes tone was not possible with this pedal. quite simply, this pedal through my rivera is about the closest i've come to rich robinson's tone. perfect for jimmy page, and about any other classic rock song you have heard. it lets the amp breath and is very musical.
The beauty of this pedal is that i've tried it in fenders and marshall like amps and it always seems to sing. well worth the money

built like a tank like all of his pedals

hear mixed reviews so no comment although i'm sure it's easier than some of the mass pedal makers

i play my own rock-n-roll similar to the black crowes, mofro, zeppelin
i've been playing for about 18 yrs
i'd buy it again in s second were it stolen
the best feature of it is that you just turn it on and it sounds friggin outstanding.
for those audiophiles out there who are looking for the tone that fuller preaches on his site, what you see is what you get. great pedal to come out in a long time