Lovetone Brown Source Overdrive

Very simple - 4 self-explanatory knobs. If you can't figure it out, you should likely be playing acoustic guitar exclusively.

This is simply one of the most amazing pedals on the planet. the term "Overdrive" isn't really correct, as it doesn't really push a cranked amp over the edge; neither is it a "distortion" or "fuzz" machine. What it does is very, very subtle - in fact, some players messing with it seem to think it does very little at all. Sitting by yourself with a guitar and good amp, you notice small tonal changes but it's hard to pin down what it is doing.

But play it with a band or in the studio on a track, and the whole world spins in reverse. Basically, this unit takes a good amp's tone and takes it to Plexiland; through various Fenders, Holland, Bogner, Soldano...whatever...the settings sound like different settings on a cranked-up plexi Marshall. Through a *Marshall* it has a Klon-like effect and sounds like "more" of what you already have.

It's almost impossible - play clean through a 40-watt, 1x15 BF Vibroverb, kick in the Brown Source and you'd swear you're playing through a Marshall stack...do it with a Twin reverb and you get a slightly different flavor of the same tyhing, but not "Fendery" sounding - it just sounds like you changed settings on your Marshall compared to using it with the Vibroverb.

You CAN dial in some pretty good grind with it, but to me that's not the point - what it really dos well is give you a completely different amp, and a REALLY good one. Pulling that off with a Twin or Deluxe Reverb (or Bogner Uberschall) is something that does not seem possible until you do it. It really belongs in its own category - but it's not an amp emulator and really not an overdrive - it's an amp "changer".

One important note - with a cheap amp its effect is very minimal. With better tube amps it really starts to shine - and as I said, you notice it FAR more in a band or recording mix context than fiddling with it alone. If you liek to play somewhat-clean (or mildly-dirty) rhythm and then really "cut through" for a lead break, this IS the pedal to have. NO mush, NO washout, NO blur - great string articulation and attack sensitivity.

It has to be the most "under the radar" of Lovetone's pedals, and something that''s gone unnoticed by many players - some who may have tried it in a store and thought "eh - no big deal...it doesn't do much".

Hope it stays that way so prices don't go nuts, because I want a spare. It's simply become essential.

No problems at all. Case is rather light as is the switch, but I don't beat my stuff up much and can always replace a switch.

Never had to deal with them, although Vlad did answer some tech questions a few years ago very promptly.

I've been playing 40+ years; everything from bluegrass country to blues to blues/rock. Usual guitars are a custom-built "Nashville West" Tele, a Trussart Steel DeVille, a '63 Jaguar, Variax 500 and lately a lot of Fender 400 pedal steel (but not normal country pedal steel). I use a wide assortment of tube amps and effects as well. This box literally works with everything; one of the few I can (and do) use in every context except acoustic (and yes, it's tremendous with pedal steel!)

The Brown Source is easy to use: Tone (for a subtle eq variance), Volume (overall level), Preset switch (for different distortion colors) and a Drive (for the amount of distortion as it relates to the Presets.)

This pedal is tricky in the sense that when recording, (which is all I do) it sounds kinda raunchy by itself.... but when mixed in the track it has a fat midrange especially when using the two heavier sounding presets for solos. The biggest sounding presets are good for lead playing and really good for slide. The two less beefey presets are more suited to rhythm playing; they are "smaller" sounding with less body which is o.k. for semi-clean tones. The Brown Source is only moderately sensitive to picking dynamics. For what I do, this is fine.

I actually had to have the rotary preset switch replaced about 4 months after buying it... so I just can't give it the highest mark here. It has now been working great for about 4 years. It stays on a pedalboard.

When the pedal broke I contacted Vlad by phone and he was more than happy to replace it... I simply didn't want to go through the hassle of sending back to England. So, he asked me if I was good with a soldering iron. I am o.k. with one but just couldn't trust myself to fix this thing. Vlad was willing to step me through the process of resoldering the connections... I think of that as very kind. It wouldn't have helped anyway because it turned out to be a faulty switch.

I play all styles of guitar and only do studio work. In all honesty, I find myself using the Brown Source as a true "effect." In other words, I rarely ever leave it on all the time. I DO use it for solos all the time but only the solos... if I'm asked to do a rockin' slide track, I will leave it on the entire time. Overall, I have to give this pedal a "9" because it suits my needs well.

Easy, it's easy. Basic OD setup, with the exception of the tone switch, which is very cool and works for nailing down different types of OD sounds.

When you consider the parameters this pedal offers in terms of its natural color, it deserves a 10. When I think "Brown," I think highly-compressed Van Halen stuff. This pedal may take an already pushed amp to that point (I wouldn't know, I don't play that way), but as for my setup (18W Class A amp w/ 2x12 closed back and a Les Paul) it works wonderfully as an alternate color to my preferred tones. It has more of a speaker distortion sound, more of a natural earthy grit, not a heavily compressed OD at all. Pretty natural, and I think it pulls off not only "Brown" sounds beautifully, but as I said, many other parameters for experimentation within the "Brown" spectrum, even fuzzy.

My father had one, sold it, and regretted it ever since. He used it for a while with no problems. I don't expect any problems.

Never had to deal with the company.

It covers many dirty sounds very nicely. It goes all the way to Fuzz, which is very nice. I think this will tickle your pickle if you are looking for a "different" sound than the conventional smoothness of a Fulldrive or something along those lines.

straight forward overdrive. has a four position switch that governs the tone control

i'm using this with an SG, tele, and schecter tempest into a marshall JCM 800. its a light overdrive. a very good sounding one at that. it provides just the right boost to the marshall. i leave the volume all the way up and then adjust the gain knob until the sound hits the right thickness.

I also have a silverface twin at home that never seems to sound right with any dirt box except for this one. all knobs on ten and fire away.

I've been touring with it for a while now and had no problems. i always have a backup overdrive in my toolbox just in case i need it but really it just takes up space. besides...this is pro gear, take care of it and it will last

very quick to answer email even though they aren't made any more. and they have an official repair person, if you are willing to ship to england.

really though how much support do you need for an overdrive pedal

this thing does what it does very well. it is a very natural sounding light overdrive pedal. its not extremely high in output but to me that adds to the ease of use. i essentially only have to worry about one knob.

i think it is extremely flexible...not because it has a bunch of sounds but because i've not been able to make it sound bad, which goes back to not having a lot of sounds. it does what it does and i like it a lot

Even with the worst hangover in the world you can manage to use its child friendly controls.

Right. Here's my cob:

Hinted in the blurb to this pedal is that it'll make you sound like "keef in a box". RUBBISH.
I cannot stress this enough.

I've got a roomful of classic valve amps - Ampeg, Matamp, Sound City, Old Marshalls & a 60's Vox AC30. Plug a Tele, Gibson 335 or 3 pickup Les Paul Custom into ANY one of em & I sound like Keef. As soon as I put the Brown Source into the path.......bye bye keef-tone, hello transistor overdrive.

If you've got a tranny amp, well maybe this pedal'd be better to use rather than the amp's drive, but if you got a halfway decent tube amp, forget it & spend the cash on a new set of valves.

Like all Lovetone stuff it's built to be handed down to one's great great grandchildren.

Vlad. One in a million.
Even tho I sent the pedal back in disgust he's still talking to me.

There are better overdrive pedals out there that for the same price will give you MUCH better and MORE tones. Take it from me, if you want a sound like valves being pushed, then go get a device with valves in & push em. For the price of this pedal you can get a decent 2nd hand old valve head.

The closest I got to "keef in a box" (& as I'm actually lucky enough to own a black 3 pickup custom) was with an old Guyatone Tube Overdrive pedal, medium gain, tone controls centred, into my AC30 brilliant channel with no cut. Now THAT'S exactly the guitar solo in Sympathy for the Devil".

I was disappointed in this pedal initially. I nearly pawn it off but changed my mind at the last minute and stuck it in a dresser drawer. a few months later I bought a pedalboard and gave me an exuse to get any pedal I had and test them out. The BrownSource was one of these and then I discovered what it does best. The overdrive function alone produced a rather lifeless tone and next to nil volume. But in conjuntion with other distortion & overdrive pedals with the volume turned all the way up and the gain set minimal it gave these pedals much more balls and presence. Especially my Electro-Harmonix Big Muff. It definitely enhanced nearly all my distortion pedals, minimally affected the overdrives. If you've got a Big Muff the BrownSource will get get you a whole new pallette great ballsy tones.

I use a Fender Super Reverb re-issue. A Carvin Vintage 50 Head with 4x10 cabinet. I prefer 10 inch speakers to 12 inch. I don't use a lot of effects: Reverbs, Tremelos, Vibratos, Distortions. I used to go crazy with chorus and flangers, I'd use them on every song I'd write but now I'm just annoyed with those sounds. They mask guitar tone too much. If I need spaced out sounds I reach for a Delay Pedal. The BrownSource is really cool, but pricey, That's why I'm giving it an 8.

I've had it a year and a half or so. It hasn't crapped out yet, But I'm not a gigging musician. I don't now how roadworthy it is.

I've never needed customer support. Their website should have online ordering. I had to write to Vlad. It took about 2 1/2 weeks, not too shabby since it came from overseas.

I play Rock and Psychedelic stuff. I love old punk rock. I've been playing 18 years and just can't get enough of guitar stuff. A player for life. Experimenting is the key to the BrownSource. It won't suffice as your main overdrive but it will get ya some extra oomfh! for your other distortion pedals.

Well... it is basically a plug and play thing. I would rather it had a LED or something to know if it's on when I am not playing, but that's a minor issue really.

This thing is amazing. I would never use the word distortion to describe it...
To be honest I am not sure my English is good enough to describe what the BS does to my tone. It is just rounder, fuller, richer in harmonics and sustain. I placed it in front of my other OD pedals (a Lovetone Big Cheese, a Mesa V-Twin and a Boss DS-1) and it just makes them sound better. In fact, I had recently removed the Boss OD from my pedalboard because I found it a bit too harsh sounding. Then I used it in tandem with the Brown Source and it suddently became a boutique overdrive pedal. Really!

I play through Class A British amps. My Vox Ac-15TBX is my main amp, since I can drive it's power valves without going deaf. I have to tell you there is already a love affair going between my amp and my Brown Source...

Here is a rather interesting combination I came across: Guitar-Boss Octave-Vox Wah-Brown Source-Big Cheese in the Curds mode. The result is a complex sound that will make your audience think you've got an analogue synth hidden somewhere and your bandmates will ask if you just blew your amp. I will sometimes use an ibanez autofilter and the results are even weirder!

I don't know... I havent owned it long enough, but it looks pretty strong.

Vlad is a great chap!
He has been really helpful from the first time I emailed him and asked about his products. Sometimes it takes him a little time to answer, but he has never left a message unanswered.

I have played the guitar for almost 15 years now and have owned or borrowed almost every single OD pedal out there.
I think the Brown Source is a luxury and a pretty expensive one to say the least. But there are moments in your career when you say "I think I deserve this".
I have had people approach me after a gig and ask me how I achieved my sound, and the pure joy of hitting the pedal when I am about to play a solo and listening to the tone is something no amount of money can buy...
I don't care if the audience realizes what is going on or not. I know there is a difference and it has a positive effect on my playing.
When I first bought it I ordered the Doppleganger and the Big Cheese as well. I had my doubts about the Brown Source but Vlad was very keen on me trying it out.
The other two pedals are very good and do precisely what I expected from them, but I was surprized by the BS. I emailed Vlad and he seemed pleased to know that it had become my favourite.
"...it is a real player's pedal" he said. And he was right.

Very simple. Dial up the tone and gain you're looking for and hit the switch. It's an overdrive pedal that oozes tone.

If you're looking for that newer over saturated Marshall tone, stay away. This pedal emits what was called "Brown Tone" or "woman tone" from the Plexis and early "Seventies" Marshalls. This pedal is creamy. I play a couple of Strats, one with Texas pu, a 52 Tele re-issue, a couple of Les Pauls, one a 72' Deluxe. I play through a 65 Super Reverb re-issue and an JCM 800 2-12 combo. I have just made plans to sell the Marshall. It is no longer needed. This Pedal recreates that 'Woman Tone". It gives you Humble Pie's distortion, not Poision's. A bonus is using this pedal through the Fender. You get that real Marshall tone with the added punch of the famous Fender highs. Incredible.
My effects chain is as follows. A Fulltone Deja-Vibe2, a Cry-baby,the Brown Tone, a Ts-9, a VooDoo Lab Sparkle Drive, and a Volume pedal. I use the Brown Tone almost always with my Les Paul Classic or the Deluxe. Man does it punch a hole, in the wall. But I prefer my Strats and the Tele through the Ts-9 and Sparkle Drive both on at the same time, with the gains about medium.

So far So good. Well made, easy to use. Love the flip-up access to the battery.

Dealing with Vlad was a pleasure. No complaints at all

Man, I'm in love. I'm telling everyone now. Stop buying pedals from the music stores. Get on the net and find out about the abundence of incredible "Boo-Teak" pedals. Considering the out-standing sound from companies like Lovetone and Fulltone, they are well worth the cost. Save a little, stop ordering out, spend wisely

Pretty straight forward, four knobs and a single footswitch, although none of them do all that much. The rotary switch is a little odd, but simple enough.

This pedal will make some folks happy, especially if they are looking for something subtle. But it offers nothing in the way of boost, you can crank everything to the max and it doesn't really have much punch. In fact it's kind of mushy, which the name sort of implies, in more ways then one I might add...
For the cost I found it to be a poor value and while some of the other Lovetone pedals are quite good, this one is bland. This is an excellent example of a one trick pony and a fairly weak trick at that.

I only had it a short time, while I did have it I had no problems. It is one of the lightest weight pedals I have seen. The construction is flimsy and I can't see it making it through the wars. Definitely not road worthy.

I think the above pretty much sums up this pedal, at least for me. It's very much, no big deal and worth nowhere what they are charging. All in all, a poor value for your money.
I'm sure there are plenty of people who will line up to say this is a great piece. But for myself as a gigging musician who's tried or owned many pedals, I disagree. But that's what this forum is about now isn't it?

Unlike the other Lovetone beasts, the Brown Source is a pedal that doesn't require a long manual read before eliciting useful sounds. The Brown Source has four different paths to choose from. The Off selection doesn't go through the filter and provides the raunchiest overdrive sounds. The rest of the selections, labeled 1-3, provide slightly different tonal characteristics. Lovetone provided a simple single page manual with the Brown Source, which gives you all the information you need.

I use the Brown Source with a 65 Fender Jazzmaster, 92 Charvel Surfcaster and a 98 Danelectro U2 which is tuned to an open G with the low D off a'la Keef. All of these guitars are played through my one and only amp, which is a Fender reissue 65' Twin Reverb. The Brown Source is a super quite pedal. The Brown Source is an old school type of pedal and has a very slight fizzling aftertaste to it's sound, kinda like it's innards are being fried by a jolt of electrical juice....perfect name for the pedal! Generally, I use the Brown Source to put a little dirt on old 50's blues, rock and rockabilly and all things classic rock. Almost Grown to Almost Famous! The Brown Source does work very well when used in conjunction with a wah-wah pedal, but I tend not to get too fancy with her. Several magazine review, plus one of the reviews below mention the Brown Source's superb talent at juicing an overdriven amp. Well, since I own the Mr. Clean of amps, I can't comment on that particular talent. Contrary to an opinion stated below, I do think it sound damn good through a clean amp! Oh, one more thing, yes folks the Brown Sources NAILS the Keef and Billy Gibbons thang! Think "Dance Little Sister". I would like to try this pedal in a studio application on other instruments and recorded tracks. I bet the Brown Source would warm these up nicely.

I've never had a problem with the Brown Source and it seems very dependable.

I have all of the Lovetone pedals, except the CheeseSource, and company spokesman Vlad has always been prompt and helpful regarding any of my inquires.

I purchased the Brown Source to complete my collection of Lovetone pedals and even though "It's only an overdrive pedal", it's a damn good one. Along with many others, I've had what's considered the benchmark for overdrive pedals, the Ibanez TS-9 Tube Screamer for 5/6 years and yeah, the Tube Screamer is a classic pedal. How does the Brown Source compare with the Tube Screamer? Both pedals have areas of overlap at various parts of their sonic spectrums, but the major differences are; the tube screamer has a higher gain capacity, which can provide more dirt for lead work. The Brown Source has a much nicer low end than our Ibanez friend. The Ibanez can get shrill! The main difference between their sonic fingerprints is that the Ibanez has a smidgen of compressed harshness in the upper midrange, which the Brown Source does not. The Brown Source's overdrive characteristics seem more natural, but as has been proven by many, the Tube Screamer is still a great pedal. The Brown Source does the Keef, Billy Gibbons and early 50's rock better and the Tube Screamer does the Stevie Ray Vaughn thing better. My only complaint about the Brown Source is the high price. Since this isn't one of Lovetone's wackier pedals, most people are probably reluctant to depart with $200+, but Lovetone's pedals aren't mass produced, so the price reflects the hands on work and hey that's a given when getting some of the Lovetone vibe.