Visual Sound Route 66

This pedal really is a piece of cake if you've been playing for a while. One side is setup like a TS-808 while the other is a Compressor/Sustainor. The instruction sheet can give you a push if you can't figure it out too.

I am using a Strat with Rio Grande pickups (2 halfbreeds N/M, Muy Grande B) into various effects (depending on the gig or session) into a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. This pedal is exactly what I have been looking to find for years!!! I have had PRS, Gibson, Yamaha and Ibanez guitars running into Several Boogies, Marshall and Ampeg amps and must say that my setup is the best ever. (The PRS into the MKIII was awesome but I still think that this sound is better) If used properly, you can get any sound out of this pedal you want. I use it rather minimally on the settings and set a modded TS-9 after it for really hot and crunchy sounds. Otherwise the three different combinations possible with the pedal at a time are incredible. The compressor/sustainor channel alone is worth the money. The screaming clean leads I get from it are sweet and singing. Kicking in the overdrive with the bass boost is a dream for both leads and rhythm.
I only had one problem with this pedal (read below)

My first gig out with this thing was a disaster. I went to hit a lead, and the sound died. I took it home to re-create the problem, and it would. It seems that there might be some kind of issue with using batteries with this thing. After 5-15 minutes of use mine would die out one channel at a time (starting with the compression) even with brand new batteries. I bought a boss 9v regulated adapter and now it works like a dream. Everyone that hears my sound now exclaims that I have a sweet smooth tone. The reliability has been great since then. I'll give a 7 here only because of that fateful gig.

Bob is a great guy. He offered to pay for shipping and get my pedal back to me the next day..... I love the pedal too much to let go for even that long.

I play a wide variety of styles... Jazz, Funk, R&B, Country, WorldBeat, Fusion, Rock, Latin (I stay away from heavy metal and the likes usually). This pedal is perfect for what I do.
I have been playing guitar for 17 years, and am really actually a bass player by nature and own mostly bass gear. If stolen, I would run (not walk) and get a new one. This thing smokes my Modded TS-9.
If you are looking for that smooth sustainy sound (especially for a strat), check this thing out.

Very easy to use, even without the manual. A number of useful sounds with different settings.

I love the combination of Compression/Phat Overdrive! The Compression side helps mellow out my clean sound and the Overdrive side gives me a warm growl for a bit of an edge. Love it!! Just what I need for Alternative/Rock/Mellow Contemporary Worship music.

Set up is like this:
G&L Legacy Strat
into
Route 66 (using that tone delivery thing, ya know...)
into
Purple Bud Wah
into
Boss DS-1 (for midrangy, fuzzy, crunch)
into
DOD FX 90 Analog Delay (for warm, bouncy, slap-back)
into
Boss TU-2 Tuner
into
Peavey (I heard that cringe) Delta Blues (30w tube) with a 1x15.

Can't leave home without it!!

Groovy so far...

Couldn't tell ya, yet... hope I don't need to find out. But, I do love the way the company seems to be run! And I think their website is excellent! Please GET US THAT CHORUS/DELAY PEDAL QUICKLY!!

(PS if you guys need anyone to demo a prototype or anything....:)

I love it... I wish I could afford the J&H model too, with the soon-coming Chorus/Delay pedal, but, alas, I'm a mere youth pastor with limited cashola (like everyone else I'd imagine).

The Route 66 is just what I needed for leading our Jr. High worship team in contemporary worship. Warm, round, phat, and with an edge when I need it. Thank you so much for the sweet deal!

Easy to use and hard to get a bad sound.

Strat > Rt 66 > Fender Twin Amp. I have the compressor gain at guitar signal level (I already have a clean boost on my amp) and the overdrive volume a little higher, which means that both knobs are BARELY ON. Set up like this, of course the pedal is NOT noisy at all. I leave the compressor on all the time, which squashes the dynamics and smooths out my attack. The compressor 'pops' on the attack if the sustain is set high. The overdrive is simply the best I've tried - smooth and sustaining, with higher gain than I expected. Even at very low volume through a practise amp, the overdrive sounds fantastic. The bass boost fattens up single coils nicely.

Hard to say, but the black labelling scuffs very easily.

Never had to deal with them.

Being picky, I have to say this pedal is an ugly-looking beast and, to my mind, oddly designed. A square or rectangular shape would have made the pedal more stable and less likely to flip over when stomping on. Also I'd have preferred the compressor on the left-hand side with the green LED, and what's the overdrive bass boost switch doing on the compressor side? The main thing is the sound, though, and this thing definitely delivers. Although not an issue for me, as I have the compressor on all the time, I feel such a quality pedal really ought to have true bypass.

This is a follow up post to my earlier post. Since I posted earlier I got my ts9 modded to 808 specs and some other new additions to my line up.
I know have a 1971 SF Twin Reverb (no master volume) and let me tell you the difference between tubes and solid state is the difference between night and day.
I run my setup like this:
60s strat>Teese RMC3 wah >MXR loop selector > Route 66 > Line 6 DL4 > Twin Reverb.
The Ts9 is in the loop selector so it comes before the route 66 but is taken out of the chain when I don't use it.
I leave the compression of the Route 66 on all the time I like having my signal remain constant and I like the compressed tones I get. I use the ts9 for light and medium crunch, mostly rhythm work and some lead work. I use the OD on the route 66 for heavier OD.
The main thing I do is turn the two on together. with the compressor it keeps everyhgin pretty level and I don't have either of the OD's set to extreme settings. The result is a thick full long lasting OD. I can hold a note sustaining for 8 measures or more, without having it thin out. (And this is on a strat!)
Putting the Ts9 and Route 66 side by side, the Route 66 nails the Ts9 tone no problem, but that's only the begining. The tone of a ts9 with drive at 10 is at about 6 or 7 on the route 66, so you can keep adding more gain to get a much fuller robust OD (the bass boost also helps in this department)
I'm very satisfied with my setup, I really can't pick favorites among the two pedals because they each have their respective uses in my setup. And the combination of the two gives me the thick never ending sustain I always dreamed of.
5 months down the road and I'm still 100% satisfied with this pedal.

I have used this thing on several gigs now and it has never failed me.

After my first review I got a very nice email from the boys at VS, it's nice to know that they're looking after their customers and doing everything they can to keep them happy.

Simply put, one side is overdrive, the other is compression. Three knobs per side (OD = drive, tone, volume....Comp = sustain, tone, gain). Oh yeah, there's also a bass boost switch. It has 2 step switches so you can turn on OD, Comp or both. Easy. It comes with suggested settings, but I didn't use them, it was very easy to get great sounds out of it.

My rig is 1981 Gibson 335, 1991 Am. Tele, 1981 Gibson Victory MVX into a 1977 Fender Pro Reverb (70 watts). This thing sounds great. The compression is very clean and clear. Using this you can nail Cropper and SRV tones, you know the big fat assed clean sound. The overdrive is modeled after a Tubescreamer (which I have never played through, or heard live that I know of) and sounds GREAT. The bonus is that both effects can be combined for really great results. I also have a Boss Blues Driver, Vox Valve-Tone, and a Marshall Edward the Compressor pedal. This thing eats all three of them alive.

Steel case...seems sturdy enough.

Unknown, but they have a toll free phone number and website.

I have been studying guitar for 2 years, playing mostly blues and classic rock. I'm no expert or virtuoso. I love this thing. I decided this year to pay money for quality gear rather that wasting $ searching for low cost fixes that weren't quite right. This is worth every penny. If it were lost/stolen I'd buy another immediately. I compared it to the Z Vex Super Hard-On, and the clean boost was it's equal, but the 66 adds this great overdrive and costs less. I wanted to try a Klon Centaur, and Fulldrive 2 but the store was out. But the fantastic compressor and the low price puts this ahead, right from the start. Get your kicks on Route 66!

Pretty easy to use, but when someone is using the two effects together they can easily run into a lot of noise or uncontrolled feedback. This is not a defect, it has to be this way for each effect to have a high range and there is a warning in the manual about it - I'm just giving it this rating because it may not sound great right out of the box. The manual has some good sample settings but it could contain some information about just how the compressor is working (as you turn the knob, are both the threshold and compression ratio affected?).

I'm using this pedal with a G&L Skyhawk and a Gibson Firebrand SG through a JCM 800 2204, a blackfaced '75 Deluxe Reverb, a Sovtek Mig-50 and an Epiphone Electar Tube 10. I also use it with a Fender Elite P-Bass through the Marshall amp. It sounds great with all the setups and the fat switch really fattens up single coil leads. I compared the overdrive side to a reissue TS9 and it sounds as promised - quite similar but with a little more gain and a little less mid harshness (some people might prefer the brightness of the TS9). Considering that it cost around the same as the TS9 reissue but adds a compressor and useful bass boost, this is a great deal.

I was a bit disappointed that this unit doesn't offer an uncolored clean boost - I was expecting it from the description I saw in a catalogue. The preamp on the compressor side noticeably colors the sound, even when you're not using any compression. On the positive side, though, the color ain't all that bad - it sounds good on my bass when I play it though the Marshall and it really opens up the sound of the Epiphone amp, which is normally fairly boxy.

As long as you're careful to avoid overbearing noise or feedback, the two effects can be combined for beautiful, liquidy, endless sustain leads.

The first one I had was defective - it would sometimes turn all the way off when I hit the switch and then, when I hit the switch again, it would come back on with a loud pop. I haven't had any problems with the replacement and the case certainly seems pretty tough. I do use it at shows without a backup, but that might demonstrate my foolishness more than the reliability of the pedal!

As I said above, the first pedal I got was defective so I contacted the company. They were extremely helpful and sent me a new pedal (with money to cover the cost of sending them the defective one) in a couple of days. Bob even called to ask about the particular problems I was having with the pedal! I was very impressed by the customer service and it would definitely make me more likely to buy one of their products in the future.

I would love to compare this pedal to the Fulldrive or the Barber Tone Pump, but I don't know anyone who has these and I can't afford them, sound unheard. I took a chance on this one (because of the lower price) and I'm glad I did. I would buy another if it were lost or stolen.

Pretty easy to get a killer crunch rhythm sound, especially with a good tube amp like a Marshall, but the beauty of this pedal is the tons of subtle shades you can get by combining various amounts of distortion with the compressor.A huge fat lead sound is also a snap,and the "OD bass boost" fattens and rounds out the tone.

I use a Hamer Special modified with a Duncan Antiquity humbucker straight into a Marshall 30th anniversary 3-channel tube amp. Too much compression with the Rt.66 can get very noisy, like any other compressor. Truthfully, even with the bass boost engaged, the low end is'nt as big as on my straight Marshall. However, the "juicyness" factor really increases as you dial in a sound with just the overdrive side of the pedal. The notes become more liquidy and "tubey" without getting "fizzy" or ratty sounding as some OD pedals can. The compressor side of the pedal really helps my anemic clean sound of my Marshall, making it not so harsh and better able to blend into the mix. Really a good pedal for getting Blink 182 and Lit type sounds. Really meaty.

Seems to be very solidly constructed, able to withstand some kicking around on stage. Solid feeling footswitches. Nothing cheap looking or feeling about it.

I thought I had a problem with my pedal initially (which turned out to be something else in MY signal chain) and e-mailed the company about how to get the pedal back. Bob Weil (designer of the pedal) personally e-mailed me back within 12 hours (on a weekend) and told me where to send it. Upon receiving it, he called me after going over it, finding no problems, and suggesting where in my signal chain the problem might be. A great guy, and outstanding customer support.

If you own a tube amp, this pedal will definitely help your tone. Better than any other OD pedal I've tried/used through my 25+ years of playing. Much fatter and juicier than my old Boss OD2 or ProCo Rat. And much more versatile, too. Great with a clean sound or a dirty sound out of your amp, there's something you'll find to enhance your tone either way. Outstanding.

Very simple and very easy to get a good sound out of this pedal. Each channel has many usable sounds and anyone should be able to get some playable tones rights away. The footswitches (there are two) are located close together so you can push both with your foot at the same time if need be. The manual has sample sounds that actually sound good and are a great starting point to exploring and creating many new sounds.

This guitar pedal is truly superb. No one can argue that you don't get what you pay for and more. I played this pedal through a real 65' twin (with Jensens) and a reissue VOX AC30 with blue speakers. I used a Fender 57' reissue strat and a 62' reissue (both US) since I prefer their overall sound. I tried the overdrive channel by itself and was really impressed. I found the OD to be rich, responsive and very dynamic. It sounded better to me than the overdrive on the Visual Sound Jekyll and Hyde even though they're both modeled after the Ibanez TS808. The overdrive was extremely good, especially for a unit in this price range. I didn't try this unit through a Les Paul but imagine sustain and creaminess would definitely increase dramatically. I also like the fact that there is a bass boost on this pedal that fattens up the OD if need be. Tube screamer and their copies are notorius for being weak on bass response. Not a problem here. The compression on this unit is also good, and can definitely add color and sustain to the overdrive if used together. The compressor is great for chicken picken, soft playing, or for fatting up a good lead tone. I especially like maxing out the OD and cranking up the compression a bit for a huge sound and great feedback. The noise when you combine both parts of the pedal can get out of hand so you'll have to watch your settings unless you can live with it.

The RT. 66 is built extremely well and I can see using it on a gig without a back up. The one thing I didn't like is the battery compartment which is really just a minor detail.

I have emailed Bob but missed him when he stopped by my store during his NAMM visits. Bob is always courteous and very willing to talk to you if you have any questions or concerns

I play and am interested in all styles of music and plan on using this pedal for OD and compression. I can see this pedal being useful to any guitarist who needs an overdrive or compressor. Blues, Rock, Country players will appreciate this pedals versatility and good sound. If this pedal were lost or stolen I would definitely buy it again without hesitation. The overall sound of this pedal will surprise many people, especially given its price. There are some people who have reviewed this pedal and commented on how it doesn't exactly sound like a TS-808. My response is: WHO CARES? This pedal after all is only $169.99 list and is much better than your typical TS-9 or TS-9DLX pedal currently on the market. If you feel the need to pay $200-$300 on an a TS-808 fine. Before you do though, give this pedal a good going over. The RT.66 isn't meant to be an ultra transparent, clean boost pedal of the Fulltone/Klon variety but a great OD/Compressor at a great price. I would say as far as sounds and price go it is also a much better value.

The pedal was easy to use, all the knobs operated as marked. I didn't need to read the manual, I just started tweaking away and got what I needed pretty quickly.

I use the Rt 66 with a variety of guitars. I mostly track rhythm guitars using a Fender 69 RI thinline Tele, cranking the gain on the pedal. I set the amp, a Yamaha/Soldono T50-c, clean when I do this. The distortion never turns to mud, and the full character of the guitar comes through. When tracking lead, I usually play a Fender Strat, modified by me to resemble a Big Apple Strat, with slightly different electronics. Here I use the pedal just for a slight "clean" boost, the amp set for medium high gain. This gives a liquid overdrive type of sound that I like, and consequently use pretty often. Not too much here to complain about, it will get a little noisy when you run both sides of the box at the same time. This is normal when running a compressor after an overdrive stage, and I don't often use it this way anyhow. The other way I run this is to play a Gibson Blueshawk or LP Standard through it using only mild compression, no OD, in the FX loop of the same Yamaha tube amp. I use it this way in my 3 piece blues band as it keeps my level in check and helps me cut through.

I do use it without a backup. Heavy gauge steel chassis with what looks like pretty hefty switches. The knobs/pots are far enough away from the switches to avoid getting stomped on.

Never had a reason to contact.

I play and record mostly rock/metal originals, and have a working blues band as a side project. I've been playing for over 20 years, and never really used any FX at all to speak of. This one, however, does what I need it to do. I have over 12 guitars, Fenders, Gibsons, Charvel, Kramer, Guild, BC Rich. All have a particular "voice" and purpose. My only amp is the Yamaha T50-C, which I use as a combo in the blues project, and a pair of 2x12 cabs, homemade, which I record with. I record in my home midi studio on PC and a Roland VS880, using Cakewalk and a host of midi instruments. If it were stolen I would get another one post-haste. Again, it's probably the only thing that I'll put between the amp and guitar. With the compressor in the FX loop, you still have control of your sound with guitar volume dynamics, while the compressor keeps things punchy.

Easy to start with solid basic tones from the manual, and then branch out on your own. Overdrive has three knobs (Drive, Tone, Vol), compression with three knobs (Sutain, Tone, Gain). No "attack time" control like my old Ibanez CP-9, but I don't think its needed. Boost switch for the OD fattens the low end a bit. One of the best features is the separate footswitches for each effect, which can be stomped individually or together with ease. I like doing rhythm parts with some sweet compressor, then break into leads with the overdrive only with boost: one stomp, very cool.

Gibson Nighthawk > wah > Route 66 > chorus > delay > modded Yamaha G50-112 II (very loud, very clean amp). This pedal is very quiet except at the extremes (to be expected in an analog compressor). Not true bypass, but has a circuit that actually helps suppress noise down the line (see VS web site) without sucking tone. I've always found in 20 years of working with pedalboards that with good effects, 90% of the noise comes from crappy cables and can usually be improved with a good connector cables and some patient tinkering. Can get excellent SRV, Clapton, and Keaggy tones. Had a TS-9 Tubescreamer I bought new in 1982 that I traded for this plus $: the TS-9 was too thin sounding for a solid state amp. This pedal is fat enough to get the tones I've wanted.

Solidly built, very nice quality: love the form factor. Cream colored paint will probably scuff up easily, but I'm careful with my tone babies. Gig without a backup.

Haven't had to deal with them: Pedal is 6 weeks old.

I play classic rock, electric blues, praise and worship. Have played on and off for 30 years (started with a garage band in 1965 and never looked back ...). Have an Ovation "Josh Smith" 1114-4 classical with a Martin bridge pickup, and an Aria Pro Les Paul Custom copy made in the late 70's that's my humbucking fuzz machine for classis rock tunes. Have some weird tone machines like a Korg "Mr. Multi" wah / double wah / phaser pedal. The Route 66 is the best single pedal I have ever owned (even my vintage Small Clone I bought new in Nashville in 1982 that I used as part of a trade for this, with no regrets). Comparable to any Ibanez tube screamer (I owned one...) or any other tube overdrive, with a compressor that sounds like a Way Huge Saffron Squeeze (way better than my Ibanez CP-9), this is ONE GREAT PEDAL. It's a great tone machine for the music I do.