Fulltone OCD

This thing sounds awesome through Deluxe Reverb reissue, and that's saying a lot. I plowed through a list of pedals that incluced a Keeley modded Tube Screamer, a ToneBone Classic, a Fulltone Fulldrive II, and a Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive, and all those pedals sounded fizzy through both channels of the Deluxe, especially the tremolo channel (which still has the notorious "bright cap" in place on the input). The OCD really pairs up with with the Deluxe Reverb, particularily for higher gain stuff. Hat's off to the folks at Fulltone on this.

Do these guys exist? I've tried emailing a few times and never received a response.

Best OD I've found for the Deluxe Reverb. Gave me a damn good gain channel to go with the spanky clean tones you get out of the reissue.

Just like any other overdrive effect, but with an extra switch.

What an effect. WOW. The sound is big and dimensional!

Seems to be built to a very high standard.

I have emailed Fulltone in the past and was responded to within a day.

I am in a cover band doing everything from The Eagle to Tom Petty to Metallica to Finger 11.

He is my set up

Musicman Sihouette -> Bad Horsie wah -> Fulltone OCD-> MXR EVH phase 90 -> Fulltone Choral/Flange _Boss DD-3 -> Mesa Boogie Dual Recto

Between the channels on the amp and the OCD I have it all. I have never been happier or sounded better!!!!!

The OCD does something special on each channel. I LOVE THIS OVERDRIVE!

One of the things i love about these type of stomp boxes is the ease of use. This has a drive knob, a volume knob, a tone knob and a switch to go between two different types of overdrive settings. How much easier than that can it get.

I have only done one review before and that was on the Boss GT-8. I try to be as objective as possible as i know what one person likes others will hate, however if you are thinking of buying this pedal i think you will know what sort of sound you are after.

I use this pedal straight into the front of my amp (as i do all my pedals) my set up at the moment is-
Fernandes Ravelle Elite
Boss TU
Fulltone Clyde Wah
Fulltone OCD
T-rex Tremster
MXR Phase 90
Line 6 DL4
Marshall Mode 4.

I play prog rock in a sort of Alterbridge meets Pink Floyd meets Porcupine Tree way.

This pedal i use in two ways the first is to help balance the really distorted sounds i use, not to boost but just to add a little top end.
The second to give me a really nice blues tone on the clean setting.

I have to give this thing a huge thumbs up as it does both jobs really well.
The best thing about this pedal is it does not colour the sound of your guitar but only adds its own sound on top of how your guitar already sounds.

When using this on the clean settings it gives you a good 60's-early 70's vibe (think The Who live at Leeds or early Zep.) I like to use this on the Hi frequency setting with the tone at 10 o'clock, the volume at 12 o'clock and the drive at 1 o,clock. if like me you like to back off the guitars volume and tone and control things that way this pedal will be perfect for you because it really does respond to what your doing. If you back off the volume on the neck pick-up you can get a good jazz tone (think Ronny Jordan.?
If you use this on the distortion channel be careful about how much gain you add on, like i said i only use it to add a little more cut and top end but it does its job very well once again without changing your tone dramatically.
the two distortion types work well one gives you quite a bassy deep overdrive kind of like Albert Kings the other gives you the Who type sounds.

In short its all good!!

Not sure but you do get a 5 year warranty!

Its a small company so i hope they still use those ethics but i have not had to deal with them.

If you play out and out metal its a big no
If you play Grunge its a no
However if you play just about anything else you will find some setting you like.
Personally this is the best overdrive pedal i have owned, I will not protest to have used all of them out there but this is better than my old TS9 much better than the Boss BD and better than the Marshall Bluesdriver.
If it was stolen? Without a doubt i would get another one.

It's a plug and play pedal, tipical easy of use of a little OD box. Mine was the second version, more mid-range oriented than version 1, the other one that I've heard.

I've runned it with a Fender Pro Reverb 73' - Fender Stratocaster USA and Ibanez S2020. The best sound I reached was with humbuckers, it was more plenty of power....but this box lacks basses in power chords. Great tone for vintage rythms and combined with a BB Preamp it was very easy to dial a good sounding violin-tone. This pedal is very transparent and respects the tone of your guitar, that's something most of the guitarist like. For Marshall sounds I prefer it against the Plexitone of Carlmartin but I thing it's not the definitive Marshall sound in a box. Anyway, a high category stompbox.

It's built very consistently, no problem with this.

Didn't have any problem with it.

I play rock, blues, jazz, funk and sometimes more heavy stuff. It suits very well for rock and the styles that need less gain, for heavy rhythms I thing it's not the best choice becouse the definitin of bass notes. I used it for AC/DC riffs and things like that, combined with the BB Preamp I ghot a killer tone for soloing. I've sold it because I wanted another type of OD, a more Dumble oriented, but I thing it's a great buy for the money it costs.

Just 3 knobs, so how hard can it be?

Well, it took me a few weeks of experimenting to find the sounds I liked with it. It never sounds bad, but this is a pedal you want to work at, and when I did, I was rewarded. I can flat out NAIL Page and Hendrix with this thing. Think Page 1973 The Song Remains the Same Soundtrack. Yeah, that. Awesome. Roll off the volume on the ol' Les Paul, still got tone! Plug in the Strat, step on the wah and it's Jimi time a la Band of Gypsys. I run this pedal through a Marshall DSL401 all tube combo with a Les Paul, a Strat & a Tele. It does it all. Best distortion pedal I've ever had.

So far so good. 1st Fulltone pedal I've ever owned.

Never had to deal with them.

Pricey, but worth it. Every penny. I would buy again. It makes me want to buy more Fulltone stuff. And I will soon.

Simple pedal this is what drew me to it. just volume tone and drive with the helpfull hp/lp switch. this is stock version 3 brand new.

Sound is such a hard topic to discuss but you have to believe the hype with this pedal i have used many pedals over the years and i was and still am set on the maxon rod-881 witch is a tube based distortion/overdrive pedal. i was looking for something a bit diffrent with a more simple plug in and play attitued and the ocd has done that. without being obvious it sounds just like it says like a cranked up marshall early fender. I play through a victoria 5112 and with that cranked the tone of the ocd is very similair just with more versatility with tone and gain (the amp has just one volume knod and thats it simple!!!) i was very happy to hear that there is plenty of gain on tap for good old fashioned classic rock and some new stuff as well and it really does clean up nicely. great pedal and best of all now i can officially say all my gear is made in the USA.

so far so good but what i read about i should be fine i baby all my stuff anyway.

I play mostly good classic rock and early 90's rock this bad boy handles everything exeptional. think Zep meets Sabbath and the who the stones with a bit of pearl jam neil young and you can see what i play. like i said earlier i play out of a victoria 5112 with a Gibson LP Classic Antique with 57 classics, Gibson LP Jr with Jason Lollar P-90 (super pickup) and a American Ash tele. all great guitars through the amp and pedal great stuff here I just with I bought one a while back i would have saved a bunch on useless pedals.

It is easy to use since there are only three knobs and one toggle switch. It is not easy to get good sound of it though. The tone knob is EXTREMELY sensitive around 10-1 o'clock so getting that sweet spot tone is difficult. I am comparing this to other boutique pedals. If its boutique you should be critical and these little things should be done right. This is not done right. The drive and volume knob are done right.

A VERY VERY Fizzy product. I own a V1 and my friend has a V3 and they are different but not different enough to make it sound GOOD. There is this overlap of booming bass over the fizz so there is not middle ground and the treble sounds like a cheap pedal. Humbuckers are the worst for this pedal, single coils work best. The best tone out of this pedal is when the drive is down all the way, just like a dirty boost/drive that barely drives. This way the pedal isn't doing too much driving which then reliefs the fizzyness.
I am comparing this sound quality to other pedals that produce (or try to) a amp like gain/od sound. The Cmatmods "Signa Drive" does this sound way better (and more sounds as well and its cheaper). Robert Keeley has a few as well that does this sound better.

This is a very very dependable pedal. Built like a tank and has lasted me a long time.

I contacted them to convert my V1 to a V3 (my friends sounds slightly better) and after 7 E-mails and no responses (I tried 3 different E-mails listed on their website) I have waited over 6 months and I give up. I have done mods myself, I may just do it by myself. I used to deal with Fulltone years ago, they were very helpful but now that they are getting to be a big corporate company...well, they stink with customer service. You can get way better treatment from other companies.

Fizzy sound, terrible customer service but its a reliable pedal as far as durability goes. The tone knob is obnoxious and is very fizzy pedal overall. I am musician who has plenty of boutique pedals and I am being very realistic with my review. I am not bias just because I blew $150 on this pedal. I have had this pedal for 3 years and I am being truthful because I know many people buy it and just have this "oh this pedal is awesome" feeling because they just bought it. Fulltone has won't return any E-mails and now I am going to mod this pedal myself. There are plenty of other companies to look at before just buying this one. Frantone, Cmatmods, Robert Keeley, Mojo Hand, Barber, G2D, Menatone. All of them have pedals cheaper or at the same price. Good luck!

Just a drive pedal, three knobs for Drive, Gain and Tone plus a HP/LP mini switch. Doesn't get much simpler.

In order to give you an idea of what this pedal is great for, I need to explain a little about my tone and the history of my gear.

I play mostly strats into non-master fender amps (silverface vibrolux and super and a blackface twin). I usually set the volume to just below the break point and use my drives as a boost to saturate the tubes.
For a while I was making my own pedals and at that time I purchased a bunch of overdrives to use as a reference like Analogman's TS9/808 mod, Keeley's TS mod, Keeley's Rat, Fulltone FD-2 and so on. I still use my Mojo Drive but I rotate other drives in my pedalboard, depending on what makes me twitch at the time. Then a friend of mine came across with the OCD and I thought I'd give it shot. Man, was I surprised. This is the best pedal I have ever tried (for the purpose I use it for). I have read others saying that it's only good at the low drive settings. Well, I agree. I'd only add that at higher drive settings it is not any worse than any other drive pedal I have ever tried. I just don't like that type of tone and I wasn't expecting anything in that department.

Now here comes the best part: after I got my OCD, I called the above-mentioned friend and we put both drives in a row. This is where it absolutely knocked me down. We tested it with a 62 strat and a Fender Vibrolux set at around 5 (this is where my amp just starts to break). The settings on both OCDs were approximately - level at 2 o'clock, drive at 8 o'clock and tone at 1 o'clock. Pure heaven.
The clean was just that - the clean the only gets a bit over the top if you play really hard. The "crunchy" sound (one OCD) was what already blew me away a couple of weeks before. Excellent saturation and really nice musical drive. Now the "lead" setting (both OCDs) is something that made me buy another one as soon as I got home. It sings so sweetly and no matter how overdriven it is, you could still hear every single note, the tone of the guitar shines through and it's balanced, not middly, PLUS, it's dynamic as hell, if you play a little softer, it gets cleaner and if you play really soft, you get back to the clean department. Amazing. After our little testing session I had a rehearsal and I tested it with the band and it works in the noisy rehearsal setting, not just on its own. Well, now I am eagerly awaiting my second OCD. You won't see my other pedals on E-Bay, I love them all, but this one really IS special.

Don't expect any problems. Never had a pedal die on me, except for the cheap plastic ones.

People bitch about Mike a lot. I once asked a question (on FD-2) via email and got a prompt answer. No problems there.

OK, the questionnaire part.

I play mostly blues and soul, but I also work with some pro rock bands and use the same setup with them, only they have to supply the Marshals for the big stages :)

I have been playing for (almost exactly) 30 years. As I said earlier, I play mostly strats (a 62, a 69 reissue, a 76...) and Les Pauls (72 Custom, 72 Ibanez LP Custom). No matter what guitar/amp configuration I use, I use the same pedalboard and work from there.
If this (ugly looking but great) pedal was stolen, I'd get a new one immediately. No wait, I got a new one even before it was stolen.

As I said above, I loved the fact that the guitar tone was not screwed up, if anything it got richer. (and I LOVE my primary tone). I use it on the LP setting. To me it seems that it sounds less harsh and more adjustable on that setting.

I A/B'd it with a bunch of other great overdrives. Every single one of those is great but for what I need the overdrive for, this one is the best.

It absolutely does its job and improves my tone.

Anything else I'd like to share? Well, did I mention it was ugly? The cheap cheesy font doesn't do it justice :) Did I also mention it didn't really matter?
It is a bit pricey but a serious musician should be able to sacrifice couple of hundreds for a good pedal, especially if it lasts. I have had too many useless pedal in my life to be picky about the price. If you settle for a TS7 or the like, this is definitely not a pedal for you.

This overdrive was recommended by several Fulltone dealers. It is very easy to use, no instructions are needed.

I am using the OCD with a MIM & MIJ Strats and an American Tele and a Deluxe Reverb RI. The only other effect being used is a Boss CS-3 compressor. The OCD adds very colorful harmonics along with the OD. Combined with the compressor and sustain, I can get feedback on just about any note and then shake it into a new harmonic! This effect is addicting. I had a JTM 45 RI and this sounds better without going deaf. I also have a new Fulldrive 2 Mosfet which is very good but it is so clean and transparent it isn't as much fun as the OCD even though it is more versitile and nicer looking. I'll give it an 8 because it colors the sound, I'll give it a 10 because it colors it well.

Nicely hand made in America

N/A I feel very confident in the quality.

I'm not crazy about the color. I would definitely replace it if lost.
PS: Pot the pickups in those Mexican Strats. What a difference.

The OCD is actually pretty easy to use: Just three pedals and a High Peak/Low Peak (HP/LP) switch. But it doesn't get a 10 in this category because it takes a bit of time to get dialed in. I require different kinds of distortion depending upon the song, so I had to spend a bit of time actually documenting knob and switch positions for different songs. That's not a bad thing though because I spent a few hours sitting in front of my amp fiddling around with the different sounds it can produce depending upon the knob and switch positions.

First off, for gear, I play out of single, modded Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. For guitars I use a Strat with TexMex pickups, and an ES-335. I only have a couple other boxes: Ibanez TS-808, Boss CE-3 chorus, and a BBE Sonic Stomp. While I love my Tube Screamer, it's mostly a big midrange booster. It's a great sound, no doubt, and it will always have a place in my signal chain, but I needed something "different," and OCD fulfilled that want in spades.

The OCD should be called the "schizo," but in a good way. It can scream with pleasant, creamy distortion in one setting, but a flick of a switch, and a turn of the knobs, and you can get crunchy, preamp tube breakup; another turn and it'll give you a FAT compressed tone. This is what I love about this pedal: It can produce a plethora of distortion effects, though I have to admit that you have to take the time to mess with it, but that's half the fun.

As another reviewer mentioned, this pedal works best driving a single channel amp, or in my case, driving the clean channel of a two-stage amp. I tried it with the drive stage of my Hot Rod, and the break-up was plain ugly. But in the clean channel, WOW is the only word I can say.

The touch and input sensitivity of the OCD is nothing short of incredible! Lighten up your attack and you get a clean, sweet, but edgy tone on the edge of breakup. Lay into your strings and the OCD will resound with rich overtones and harmonics. Similarly, back off your volume, and you change the character of the distortion; crank it, and the sustain and scream you get out of the pedal will put a smile on your face!

Finally, the OCD does all this without muddying your tone and losing dynamic range! I was flabbergasted when I took it for a test run at my local gear shop. Some distortion pedals I've tried in the past seemed to add a lot of compression and make my tone sound flat, but the OCD acts more like a tone enhancer. This pedal rocks!

I haven't brought it to a gig yet because I've only had it for short period of time, but from what I can tell, reliability should be no problem. The build quality of the OCD is very high. It has a solid, metal casing, and the switch is pretty heavy-duty.

Haven't had to use 'em yet.

Now that I've got the OCD, it won't be leaving my chain unless someone steals it. At that point, I'll definitely buy another. I know I was rather long-winded in the sound quality section of this review, but to sum up what I like about it, I just dig its versatility in producing a variety of distortion sounds. Twiddling with the knobs and HP/LP switch might seem a bit tedious to some, but to me, exploring what sounds this pedal can produce has been an absolute joy!

I'm not giving it a 10 because of how much I had to tweak it and document the settings, for the different songs I'll be using with, but consider my 9 more like a 9.75.