Lovetone Brown Source Overdrive

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.

The Brown Source is a very simple overdrive pedal that is really no different than any other overdrive pedal out there. Immediately, you can dial up a tone that is suitable with which ever amp you are playing through. Any knuckle-head could figure this pedal out- it's a 70's retro pedal man!

I have a 1967 Marshall SuperBass which was converted over to Superlead specifications. I also had a master volume installed which I got out of Aspen Pittman's book. I use either my Les Paul or my "freak" custom Kramer guitar. This pedal is absolutley quiet. And since I use it with batteries, I dont get any of that power supply noise. One thing I've noticed about this pedal is that it is very subtle. Maybe thats why its not so "buzz saw." This is simplily a overdrive pedal. If you are looking for that metal "buzz saw" tone, knock on someone else's door. And if you have a old marshall that needs a kick in the butt, but you dont want to modify it, this is the pedal to get. I've tried tube screamers, fulltones, Boss stuff, and even a Mesa Boogie V-Twin, and Lovetone beats them all. What I always hated about tube screamers is that they take that nice round low end off even if you set the tone knob panned hard left. With the Brown Source, you dont get any of that. Thats why my ultimate overdrive pedal search is over after buying this pedal. I give it a 9 instead of a 10 because I have plugged into a clean amp before and it wasnt as pretty. Does work awesome with a already overdriven amp, which I think it was designed for.

I've heard that Lovetone stuff was a little unreliable. I havent had any problems with it so far. I peeked inside and it looked pretty solid. I probably would not bring a backup to a gig because its really only a overdrive pedal.

I dealt directly with Vlad from Lovetone over the phone. He was extremely helpful with any questions I had. And he told me that they were going to start phasing out some of their pedals including the Brown Source. But he sent me one anyway. Everytime I emailed him he immediately emailed me back. And thats important to me. He gives a shit.

Like I said, if you have a older Marshall you should check out this pedal. They are a little expensive, but that shouldnt matter if you want good tone. I would definately buy this pedal again, but I would be worried because I had enough trouble getting the first one. I give the Brown Source a overall rating of 10. If you are tired of what that tube screamer does to your sound, pick this up.

Dead simple...only four knobs. Once you get that the tone select switches don't do anything unless you've dialed up the high end of the tone knob, you're off.

Superb...Clean, transparent, and highly variable. Check out the Lovetone web site for effective audio demos.

Sturdy, but the first one I got had to go back...didn't work. Review in GP mentioned other problems with Lovetone stuff.

I bought mine from the only retail source I've heard of in this country (US): Rudy's Music in NYC. They have good service. I'd be cautious if I had to deal only thru the mail with a UK company.

Basically, I LOVE it. It does exactly what I wanted: adds HUGE flexibility, vastly improved dynamic response, and widely varied tone options to my studio rig, which is a Boogie Studio preamp into an ADA Ampulator then a DP-4. My guitar has a varitone switch, which throws different capacitors across the wires at different settings. Combining this with various pickup and vol level settings, I can get this box to completely explore the subtle range between clean and screaming, much more so than I could without it. At Rudy's they called it REALLY subtle, compared to their other gear, such as Fulltones and Klons. I'd looked in vain for something that didn't just crap out when you get to the low gain range, and this is IT. Full on, it's pure Billy Gibbons. Lovetone says some people call it Keith Richards in a box, which is pretty apt. I call it wonderful.