Visual Sound Route 66

This is an update on a post I already made about this great sounding pedal. I don't normally do this but I felt the need to say something about Visual Sound's customer service. It is truly amazing. I had a problem with the overdrive side of my pedal cutting out and at first I thought it was because on my bass boost switch. I emailed them about it and I got a prompt reply. Dana Weaver was very nice and she offered to send me another one right away. Less than a week later I got it and installed it and it turned out that wasn't the problem. I emailed her again and again she was very nice and helpful. I finally figured out that it was the footswitch and again I emailed Dana to tell her and she said she would send me a new one. Not only that I happened to mention that I also owned a Visual Sound Angry Fuzz and I was wondering if they happened to have t-shirts. Guess what? She totally sent me a free t-shirt as well. Customer service like that ensures I will keep buying Visual Sound products for a long time.

This pedal is very easy to use. I like the bass boost switch on the overdrive side which lets me taylor the effect for either the bridge pickup (with the boost on) or the neck pickup (with the boost off). The compressor is also easy to use, and both sides work great together.

I have used the 1st and 2nd versions of this pedal (not the V2) and I like both of them a lot, though the second version is a little better - has a bit more "gain" on the volume potentiometer. I can get very good "Clapton bluesbreaker" type sounds with the bass boost on using the bridge pickup (humbucking pickup), and nice fat bluesy sounds with the bass boost off using the neck pickup. It is a great pedal (the 2nd version gets a 10 and the first version maybe a 9).

No problems with reliability, though I haven't subjected it to abuse, so this is hypothetical to some extent.

Great customer service! They got me some parts (a battery cover and some rubber feet) which had been missing when I bought the pedal (used), and were very pleasant people to talk to. They seemed to appreciate getting customer feedback about their products (including some critical comments). All in all, great customer service.

I just like this pedal a lot - the combination of compressor and overdrive is very useful to have, and I can get the sounds I am looking for (mostly moderately overdriven sounds - blues, etc., with a bit of compression). I would definitely get another pedal 9the same kind) if mine were lost or stolen.

I have the V2 version which is the latest. This latest version includes all the upgrades that Keley would perform which lowered the noise level quite a bit compared to the one I had before. Very easy to use. It was a plug and play to get great sound. The manual shows you where to dial it in for certain styles. It nails the TS-8 sound and then some. The tone is incredible and it is very quite. Loves single coils.

Use a Fender Deluxe Tube Amp and many variations of a Strat. The new version is very quite. What is most striking to me is how much less hiss the compressor side has. They really did a great job at making that the best compressor I have. If you want SRV it is there all day. I can pull some Hendrix out with no problem. With the Fender Amp, forget about trying to nail Metal.

Built like a tank. It is supposed to be built for 20,000 stomps or more.

I did purchase another pedal from them off of ebay. They sell some of their refurbished pedals there. Great to deal with. Very friendly.

I play blues, rock (Hendrix to STP)and anything that catches my ear. This pedal is perfect for early rock and all blues. If you are looking at a TS-808 pedal (everyone seems to have the chip now), this is the best. I have several other brands and this newest version of Route 66 is so much better. I am selling the others as a matter of fact and this will become by main pedal. The compressor is outstanding. It is true bypass. I also just use the compressor with other pedals and it is outstanding as a stand alone. If you want a simple rig, this all in one is so great in front of a tube amp.

Fairly easy to use. works the same as most overdrive/distortion pedals. needs a fair amount tweaking going between humbuckers and single coils though (fair enough really)

really good. i used the distortion side for a nice blues crunch sound, and kicked in the compressor for a bigger, sustaining lead tone. sounds mint.

in a word, terrible. ive had this pedal for about 2 years and i have had everything go wrong with it that possibly could, and all just after the warranty ran out. the LED lights flickered on and off, the overdrive side cut in and out, when the pedal was moved or knocked slightly whilst on it would emit a brain alteringly loud screech. after paying a fortune to get this repaired, the compression side now seems to lose about half its signal when i kick it in.
going on what the other reviews say, i must have just got the dud one made on friday at 4.45, but its still irritating, especially when you're a music student and cant pay for pedal repairs!!

Fantastic sound, unfortunatly its inability to stay functional has left me somewhat suicidal.
go for the route 66 Version 2. apparently, they have the same sound but with most of the design kinks fixed up!

I found that I got very usable sounds out of this right out of the box and just after plugging it in. I got very good sounds out of this pedal after just a bit of twiddling the knobs. Unlike other compressor pedals I've had I was able to get the tone I was looking for almost immediately . The manual also gives you some examples to get you started.

The Route 66 says it's two pedals in one but actually it's 3 pedals in one. The compressor, the overdrive and also a clean boost. I'll start with the compressor. It is very transparent and does not color your tone unlike the MXR Dynacomp. Which I found to be more of an overdrive than a compressor. Pete Townshend once used one for that very purpose. I also found it to be a lot easier to use and get a good sound out of it unlike the Boss CS-3. There is some hiss the more you have the sustain knob turned up but the sustain is great. The clean boost is very transparent. Not quite as warm as my MXR Micro Amp but still very usable. The overdrive is Tubescreamer all the way. I have a TS-9 which I modded to TS-808 specs and when I A/B'd them side by side they sound almost exactly alike. In my opinion the Ibanez Tubescreamer is exactly what an overdrive pedal should sound like. It is the yardstick to which all other overdrive pedals are measured by. The Route 66 has done a great job of nailing that tone and with the added compressor it gives you one thing the Tubescreamer somewhat lacks and that's sustain. The bass boost is a nice feature to give more of a full sound but I found the tone switch to be completely unusable and it muddied up my tone.

This pedal has a very smart design and seems very solidly built. I wouldn't worry about gigging without a backup. Does anyone actually go around with 2 of every pedal when they gig?

Haven't had to deal with them so I couldn't say.

I'm very happy with this pedal. It's cleared up quite a bit of space on my pedal board. I no longer use my MXR Dynacomp, my TS-9 Tubescreamer and my MXR Micro Amp. The 3 pedals I have always used are a clean boost, a compressor and an overdrive. This pedal does all 3 and does them very well. I find this pedal to be very inspiring and if something ever happened to it I'd replace it in a second.

New model with two tone switches.

I'm not trying to get anyone else's sound, I have my own. This delivers clean distortion and compressor is very powerful. I rarely use them together, becuase it is overpowering. I use Am Deluxe strat, Les Paul, GS, and a hybrid semi-hollow body. All sound good, but the SG really stands out with compressor engaged. I use the tone boost on both sides for the strat. The compressor adds a lot of bottom end on my Fender tube amps, Champ and Princeton while still keeping it clean. Sounds very much like an 808 as advertised, perhaps better when you add the compressor.

I have heard of this comapny before so I have no idea.

I hope I never have to deal with them, but I have no idea.

Great pedal, two pedals in one, plus tone (bass) boost for low power amps. Works great with Champ, Princeton, Deluxe, even my Mesa 30 watter. It sounded good through a tranny amp when I bought it, much better at home with tube amps. Not for metal. not enough gain for that. Sweet singing sustain can really make a good guitar sound even better. Sould improve your sound using any amp, i tested with a 30 watt SS Crate amp, and Mexican Tele, so I figured it would sound much better with my equipment and it does diliver, but try it first.

It is simple to use. It's basically two effects in one. Half of the pedal is an overdirve with three knobs (Drive, Tone, Vol) the other half is a compressor with three knobs (Sutain, Tone, Gain).
There is a boost switch for the OD to give it some more low end. And there is also a tone switch on the compressor section to give it some more highs.It's easy to get a wide range of sounds out of it.

It is advertized to sound like a TS808; i can say that this is almost true, 'cause i've played a TS808. The overdrive is very smooth, and very clear. The definition of each note is very clear even on heavier settings. I can get good blues sounds out of it.
The compressor was exactly what I was looking for, very versatile giving a great range of tonal possibilites. From a tight squashed signal, to sustain that last for days. Being able to turn each effect on and off independently of one another is a great option.
My setup:
american standard fender strat > Crybaby Wha Wha> Route66 > Danelectro Cool cat > Behringer Preamp Boost> Electro Harmonix Holy Grail> Boss DD3 delay> Fender Hot Rod Deville 212.

It's made out of steel so it's durable, and I'm not worried about it dying on me.

they are very kind; you can get a very quick reply by e-mail.

I've been playing for 18 years, I play blues,classic rock, and jam music. (Hendrix, SRV, Dire Straits, Led Zeppelin, Creedence Clearwater Revival, etc..) This overdrive is what i was looking for, nice thick and smooth, just the right ammount. And the compression is amazing. I've played several other pedals both compression and OD, and other combinations. This pedal blows them all away. The T-Rex Alberta maybe is the only other pedal that is better.This is the best pedal for the money, it combines two effects, and does a great job of keeping them independent of each other, and at the same time offers great possibilities when they're combined.

Very easy. The compressor is great and TS is just fabulous in this NEW Rt66 pedal - well done Bob !

It is 9.5 actually but Ok I give it 10.

I still have my old Rt66 that was noisy and muddy in the TS scetion and this is a major improvement.

My Barber TonePress or Keeley moded MXR are probably better compressors and my Keeley BD-2 phat is probably better than Rt66 TS but overall this pedal is hard to beat and I like it a lot - a keeper.

I play since 1960 and have all the very best gear in the world.

I wrote to Bob that Rt66 Mk I is not good enough and they delivered this Mk II model. It sounds great.

So I wrote to Bob again and asked for the Mk III model that will cost $250 but will have perfect compressor and perfect TS in one box :-)

Still, if you gig a lot then this is a must purchase.

Its very simple to use, push the button, turn a few knobs and go!

The sound of the compressor is absolutely heavenly, I've never heard a better clean sound than this compressor added with the tone control
"on". Ik play on a strat deluxe (ash) and a fender bassman 59 reissue.

It enhances the sound really bringing it to another level.
I play on 2 effect setups:

the first is a combination of the visual sound H2O (chorus and echo/delay), a jeckyll and hyde (high gain distortion and overdrive) and the route 66, finished with a volumepedal and a RMC wah.
All together in one flightcase ready to get almost every sound I need. I play rock, blues, pop and so on...

I recently wanted to get a sep higher and bought a G-systen (TC electronics) als a very nice peace of effects!!! But after programming several sound I kicked the Route 66 in the effects loop replacing the TC electronics compressor to maintain that unique sound I only managed to get by using the Route 66...

The overdrive section is also super... This pedal has it all...
Very nice work!

It's build very rugged, never had any problems...

Never needed them...

My advice is , if your looking for that one killer sound that not shapes but supports your guitarsound, don't hesitate get this Route 66 pedal.
(I should send a fee tot visual sound for promoting their products, haha.. but its really that good.)

A combination of the H2O, The jeckyll and hyde and route 66 is like having a threesome .. perfect sound.

Off course, you should also look a t the rest of your gear, it has to be ok to.

easy to use overdrive, the comp is rather noisy though.

I use strats and early metal panel Marshall amps.
I have used all types of drives in the past and used to also own a J&H.
I like the Route-66 much more and it seems to have more gain on the TS side which I didnt know.
Pedals that have been on my board in the past are as follows, OD-3, OD-1, DS-1, SD-1, Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive, GT-3, Mi Audio Crunch Box [still on the board] H.B.E Germania, Juice Box, OCD

I just picked mine up this evening after being blown away with the creamy amp and pedal combination, lots of gain on tap and really seems to make a good tube amp work hard. think Eric Johnson tone.
I dont use the compressor side, its very noisy when used in conjunction with the TS side plus I have no need for a comp.

I didnt think I would ever come across another drive pedal that would beat or equal the Crunch Box but this one equals it and gives me a creamier tone by a tad.
If youre a toneful player you will most likely enjoy this pedal.
the buffer seems to sound good and makes all my other pedals and amp sizzle a bit more without being harsh.
great for classic rock and blues stuff.

dunno but you would think it to be a tough pedal.

Ive heard good things.

Ive been playing for about 20 years and am a professional player.
We do the cover band thing for the most part aswell as other side projects.

I consider myself a true tonehound in every sense of the word, spend my time on amp and pedal forums alot because I just love all things tone.
this pedal is a keeper,
big tone, bass boost switch which is a good feature for combo amps,
lots of gain on tap, [I run mine with volume at amp unity and gain at 12 o'clock, tone at 3/4.
if you have a good amplifier and are happy with your base tone, this pedal will take you into tone heaven.

If youre not happy with yours, chances are youre playing the wrong amp, amps n cabs/speakers are at least 70 percent of your overall sound so get with the program.
If you dont believe me, try this.
play a cheap guitar through a cheap amp aswell as the most expensive guitar you can find. then repeat this with the same guitars but through a good amp. voila.