Visual Sound Route 66

It is pretty easy to get nice tones out of this pedal. The manual actually comes with some pretty nice presets that, after a little tweaking, can sound pretty decent on any amp.

I'm running a 1980s American strat into a Nick Greer Sonic boom then out to a DD-3, DD-5, DL-4, Voodoo Lab Tremolo and Electro Harmonix Small Stone. For my amp I use a Reverend Hellhound 40/60 Combo. The pedal isn't that noisy when you are using the sides separately. When you kick in the compression side and the distortion side, however, get ready for some hissing. It is very very very noisy when both sides are used simultaneously. But, there is an easy fix for this...don't use both sides at the same time.

Seems to be well built. I haven't had any problems yet.

Really easy to dial in - I've been using multieffects for years (still happy with my Boss GT-3) and I also use a Mesa Mk IV. Both are tweaker's favourites but I was looking for something that would work in a quick and dirty jam setup with a Deluxe Reverb. It's so much easier to setup and get a couple of really useful tones.

I don't think of this as a recording tool, but as a live tool. As such it sounds really good! Sure, it's a little noisy with the compressor pumping away but for live, that's pretty much buried under the cymbals.

It has a really nice tactile feel to it - when used with my Deluxe Reverb with gain at around 4 it takes you to the "can do no wrong" playing place. Not easy to reach in a jam setup so it makes this a really useful device.

I haven't used it for very long so I can't comment. Looks pretty solid though.

For blues, rock and fusiony jazz jamming I'm finding this a very useful pedal. It's really easy to get a useful sound. Nice and fat without going to squealing feedback to easily.

I've used the gain channel on several Boogies for lead tones and still love them but find their a little finicky to set up for a drop in kind of jam. This Route 66 is great for that setup.

I'd replace this if stolen and would recommend it to anyone who's looking for a compact, versatile, easy-to-use overdrive/compressor combination.

I'd give higher points if it was studio quiet but for the money and the intended application it really does a good job.

Two thumbs up!!

It's a pedal with a few controls. You plug in and fiddle with knobs. Easy to make it do what it does.

I was really disappointed by it. I use a tele into a Blues Junior and I usually play uneffected. The effects I have are a Maxon OD808 tubescreamer and a Danelectro PB&J mini delay pedal, both accessed in their own loop of a Loooper switching pedal. That means when I play clean my signal goes straight thru the Loooper pedal to the amp and the signal only goes to either pedal when I access it from the Loooper.
I've owned or used a number of tubescreamers and this Route 66 did not work like any of them. Usually I can set a tubescreamer so that it sounds pretty close to the clean sound (a little bass loss sometimes), and then add drive or volume to suit so when accessed it sounds like my guitar and amp 'beefed up', but with the underlying sound of the guitar fairly unchanged. I think they call that 'transparent'. The Route 66 didn't do that. It changed the whole tone and timbre of the instrument, and even turned right down there was still alot of drive. Too much. And the bass boost was a joke. I put the Route 66 in one Loooper loop and my Maxon 808 in the other to A/B them. There was very little bass loss with the Maxon (about the same as the Ibanez TS9 reissue I used to have). But with the Route 66 turned on there was ALOT of bass loss. And when I turned on the bass boost switch which was supposed to add the bass back in there was STILL loss of bass compared to the Maxon...or having the Route 66 turned off. It added LOW MID frequencies. Not bass. I checked and rechecked and it was unmistakable. Loss of low end even with the bass boost on.
Then I A/B compared the Route 66 and it's 'true bypass' when turned off with by alternating the signal straight to the amp through the Loooper and then thru the loop with the turned off pedal. There was a BIG difference in tone. It was much more trebly going thru the turned off Route 66 than going straight to the amp. And I was using short, good quality cables.
I LIKE my clean sound. I don't want a pedal to change it. That's the whole point of having a 'true bypass'. 'Buffered' my arse.
And as for the compressor, there was so much crackling and noise when I turned it on...and I was so annoyed with the overdrive and the 'bypass'...that I didn't even bother trying to get it to work for me.
I packed it up and put it for sale on ebay.
I hope the guy who bought it likes it better than I did.
I'll stick with my Maxon.

It was generally well built...but when I first got it the on/off switch for the compressor crackled. I carefully pushed it a few times listening to it....and the switch failed. Before I had a chance to actually use it. I had to ship it back to the company via the seller to get it fixed. It was when I got it back the second time that I was able to actually try it out and discover that I didn't like it.
Not their fault, I suppose, in this case. Just unfortunate for me.
It seemed OK otherwise.
But I'll knock a couple points off for the switch failure anyway.
It did crackle the very first time I used it so they probably should have noticed it before I bought it.
Actually I'll take off 3 points for that...

See 'Reliability' above.
They fixed it as their policy said they would. Pity I had to pay for the shipping.

Other people may like it and they are welcome to do so. I'm only stating my personal opinion.
And I say 'good riddance' to it.

Probably the easiest to use compressor or overdrive pedal out there. The manual is only "so-so" though. You really need to play with this thing and experiment to get the sound you want. However, unlike other compressor pedals, this experimentation process only takes a few minutes, as opposed to DAYS for some of the other units.

I play my telecaster through this thing and, since I bought the Route 66 over a year ago, I really haven't played my tele without using the compressor side of this pedal. The compressor just brings my telecaster to life -- I love it. I also love the bass boost, which significantly takes out the "ice pick" on the high E string when I have it cut in. However, I really don't like the overdrive section -- it sounds too phoney for me. Soooo, great compression -- great bass boost -- poor overdrive -- only gets a "7" in the sound category for a pedal that is advertised as a dual-use pedal.

Built like a tank -- gig freely without a backup here as long as you have the "One spot" DC convertor and plug it into an AC outlet.

Never dealt with the company.

I love this pedal for the compression and bass boost it gives me. I've been through a few compressors in the past and they all came up short until I found the Route 66. However, the overdrive on this thing is lackluster at best. If the unit were stolen though -- I'd buy another for sure.

this is a really straight forward pedal. on the overdrive side, you've got controls for drive, tone and volume. the compressor side has controls for sustain, tone and gain. mine is a brand new 04 model which is upgraded with a heavier duth housing and and new tone on / off switch for the compression side. overdrive side features a bass boost switch. the nice thing is how quick you can dial in a usable tone. not a ton of tweeking to find a sweet spot.

i'm palying a 72 reissue thinline telecaster with humbuckers into a peavey classic 2x12 tweed combo. the amp it's self has a decent distortion channel, but i could never really adjust it to give me a nice overdrive without sounding thin and fuzzy. so my search was on for a quality overdrive since i don't have ocassion to need anything too heavy for my sound. this overdrive is really nice for giving your rhythm work a nice bite without saturating the chords / notes to the point of sounding fuzzy or distorted. basically the sound of a good tube amp starting to break up at high volume. it can actually produce a fair amount of borderline distortion if you really crank the drive cotrol, but then you're dealing with a bit of fuzz which i don't really dig. to my ears, setting the drive anywhere from 10 o'clock to 2 o'clock will produce a huge range of usable gain. the tone control on the overdrive side will produce quite a bit of coloration to your guitar tone. it takes a bit of tweeking, but you're sure to find a variety of really great and usable tone setting. the bass boost is always on on my pedal. it adds i really nice low end presence without adding distortion. on to the compressor... it's really an awesome clean boost as well as a steller compressor! you can get a huge signal boost without a hint of distortion adding presence and sustain to clean solo passages. used with the overdrive, it will give a nice volume boost for solos and push the overdrive just over the edge, adding a bit more grit and sustain for some blues rock soloing. the tone on / off for the compression side is a nice touch. i leave it off all the time.

i've only had mine a short time, but they are made with really heavy duty housings. i can't see this pedal ever falling apart unless heavily abused. it seems to be as tough or tougher than anything i've used before.

have had no dealings with visual sound, but from what i've read, they are a fine company set on building quality products.

i play a music that is a fusion of rock, blues, jazz, funk, latin, ect. a cross between phish, santana, srv and sting if you can imagine. i consider myself to be fairly knowledeable about good guitar tones after 15 years playing. as far as overdrives goes, i've used a reissue tube screamer, reverend drivetrain, danelectro daddy-o and overdrives from mxr. the closest competition of the overdrives i've used is the reverend drivetrain which also sounded really good. but, when you consider that you also get an awesome compressor to compliment your overdrive, there's really no contest. i also use the visual sound h2o chorus / echo which is really awesome. if someone stole mine or i lost it, i'm quite sure i'd buy another one. the only other pedal that interests me is the voodoo labs sparkle drive which i might check out. as far as versitile analog pedals go, this one can't be beat as far as bang for the buck. if you're shopping for overdrives, don't hesitate to put this one on your list of "must try" pedals.

Easier to get good tones out of than a TS9 thanks to the bass boost. I'm only giving it a 7 because, though the pedal is easy to make sound good, there are plenty of bad sounds available, too. Higher scores should be saved for pedals that sound good no matter how you set them. After all, how much easier to use can you get than that?

The TS9 side is brilliant. I honestly see no reason to hang on to my modded TS9 now that I have the Visual Sound pedals (I've got their J&H pedal, as well) & the bass boost opens up a whole new range that should be available on a Tube Screamer but isn't.

The compressor is a big let down, unfortunately. I've never owned a vintage Ross but if those things sound this noisy & color the sound this much then I really don't ever want to own one. It's a shame, too, because the actual compression is extremely smooth & has a great release.

After all the negative things I said about this pedal, I actually would buy another one (or a J&H) if something happened to this one simply because it's the cheapest & perhaps best way I know of to get a vintage TS9 tone. Love it or hate it, the TS9 has permanently left its mark & anyone that plays sessions or cover gigs had better have that sound available in their toolbox. Since HC describes a 10 rating as being a "fantastic value", I've not choice but to rate it a 10.

Pretty easy to use... 3 knobs and 1 switch for each effect... comes with a booklet if you need settings to rip off someone elses tone.

I'm using this with a Les Paul and a Tele running into a Twin and a Deluxe... OD is great, very versitale, with lower gain, gives a nice tube amp breakup sound, can get moderate rock tone. I use the compressor mainly for clean boost, does a great job giving me fat lead tone. I'm not interested in getting anybody elses tone, I got this to help out my own... I love it.

No idea yet... had it about a month, nothing bad yet.

No clue.

I play my own brand of blues, I find it to be excellent, you could probably nail Stevie's tone, with the OD being a pretty close replica of a TS808, but again, to yound players... find your own tone, unless you want to be a tribute band.

easy, although the micro switch bass boost for the overdrive is placed over on the compressor side of the pedal for some strange reason (the newer model has it over on the od side now and a new switch on the righthand side that bypasses the tone knob for the compressor)

at first i didn't like it that much, i just wanted an od pedal and i happened to see this one in a local secondhand shop one lunchtime. the od reminds me of american beer commercial jingles (i should've taken a hint from the name of the pedal -"route 66 american overdrive"!) but it's grown on me over the past 2 years. the od is smooth and compressed (so much so that having both od and comp on simultaneously is too ott for me), not enough gain for thrash metal of course but is enough for an 80's hair rock simulator. i don't use the comp that much, only now and then, mainly with chorus for that cheesey 80's clean sound with sustain set at 11 oclock so it's not too hissy. the comp is loud btw, even with vol set at 12 o'clock there is a boost - totally the opposite of of my old 80's boss cs-2 which causes your volume to drop out when you switch it on. but i'd rather the comp had an attack knob instead of a tone knob (like the cs-2) - i just don't use the tone knob because i don't want it muffled and i don't want it hissy.

build quality is just ok. seems decent enough. made in taiwan - so not as 'boutique' as it looks. folded metal like electroharmonix use so beer could spill in the gaps at the edges. naff and loose battery cover on the base for more beer to seep into. big rubber feet (need to cut these down if velcrowing to a pedal board). battery leads are flimsy like on most pedals so need to take care when changing batts. hasn't broken down so yes i'd say it's reliable.

never dealt with.

so so. its only a transistor pedal od not a tube amp so what did i expect?!. better sounding (from memory) than my old boss od that i sold years ago back in '94. my stating the obvious advice for you is:- don't buy blind based on reviews. try it in a shop and make your own mind up. it's a bit overpriced for what it is i think. new they cost #130! for home playing volumes this isn't a bad od pedal. not bad at all, and you get a good compressor to boot.

Simple to use. Dial in moderate settings, adjust from there (it's compression/overdrive, not too complicated...)

Manual is helpful, if a little redundant. It was very good at making me feel real happy with my purchase, however.

My unit is exactly the same as the one pictured as of 6/21/04. I understand Visual Sound has produced a different model with a newer external switch for the Bass Boost and another switch on the Drive side, I am not aware of its function, though.

Stratocaster -> Fender Ultra Chorus Amplifier

Rt. 66 -> Digitech PDS 1000 Digital Delay on FX Loop

This unit is pretty damn quiet for an OD/Compression pedal, unless you turn the SUSTAIN way up. (Running it through the FX Loop probably has something to do with that, it cuts alot of hiss and hum)

This thing is by no means whatsoever weak. The Drive channel on the amplifier is fairly weak as gain peaks out. However, with the Rt. 66 I now have oodles and oodles of Gain and Drive AND TONE to fiddle with. For one pedal, I can generate far FAR more sounds than any digital multi FX processor for roughly the same retail price ($135). The sound is genuine, and lives up to Visual Sound's claims that it is indeed an exact copy of a Tubescreamer. I have A/B'd it and this is not totally true; a Tubescreamer is a Tubescreamer, and it will, of course, sound great... However, this thing, combined with the compression sounds better to me. The drive on its own is okay, but with the compression it is all kinds of godly.

I love Mike Einziger's work. This pedal will add alot of headroom to your sound, every time I have desired more drive/gain/tone I am amazed at how low I have these controls set, and how much more room I have to produce a new sound. I have yet to need a sound that has peaked this pedal out.

Built like a tank.

I would never NOT use this pedal.

never dealt with 'em...

Check out the website though, customer service doesn't seem too far out of reach.

For what it is limited to, this pedal really does a lot. A new sound can be had with every little twist of each nob, which is something I can really appreciate, because I can't really afford to buy boutique pedals to produce only a couple of new sounds.

Very, very nice pedal.

An excellent addition to anyone's board for not a lot of money.

I expect all of Visual Sound's pedals to soon become very, very popular.

If you have a Boss or DOD type drive/distortion pedal, A/B the cost and the sound with this thing, I can almost guarantee you'll be wishing your money had been better spent.

Two effects in one. Overdrive and compression. Kudos for having a separate tone control for each effect. The overdrive also has an overdrive control and volume. The compressor (besides tone knob) has sustain and a gain knob. Ther is also a bass boost switch (which I keep on) for the overdrive. With my amp it helps, but that's just my rig.

The Route 66 really does allow you to plug-and-play with each effect. Within a minute you'll have very usable tones for either effect. When I have the overdrive kicked in (or the fuzzfoot from Captain Coconut 2 tuned on) I use the compressor as a lead boost. When I play clean passages I keep the compressor kicked on all the time and just turn the volume on my guitar down. A cool thing playing clean with the compressor is with my Route 66 compressor gain at about 1:00 I can roll the guitar volume up to get a slight break up in my amp and get some great tones (think of 'Lights' by Journey or 'Lenny' by SRV)

The reason I gave the Route 66 a 9 instead of 10 are for two reasons: #1: the flat settings are at 9:00 instead of 12:00 (minor gripe); #2: When I kick the compressor on for leads with the Route 66 overdirve on, the voulme does not seam as loud as when I kick it on with the CC2 FuzzFoot or just my amps clean channel. This also might mean I need to woodshed more with my stuff.

As for a manual, I got this unit used so no manual. But you don't need it.

Tone. Isn't it all about tone.

With that said, you'll be happiest using this with a tube amp.

The Route 66 overdrive channel is said to be based upon Ibanez's original TS808. Never played through one personally so I cannot give a true A/B comparrison. With that said, the Route 66 overdrive is a very good sound. Going into my tube amp, it sounds very organic and warm. The tone knob allows a great deal of flexibility. With my Les Paul plugged in, and some knob twistin', I could get some early ZZ Top and UFO tones (LeGrange, I'm Bad-I'm Nationwide, Too Hot to Handle etc.) With my Strat Plus with Lace Sensors I was getting some pretty good SRV, Chris Duarte' type toneage. Again just playing with the tone knob. For once there is an effects unit where the tone knob does NOT screw up your tone.

The compressor, well let me put it this way....I WISH THERE WERE TWO OF THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I would leave one all the time with the gain around 1:00 and and a slight compression and the other for lead boost. This S.O.B souds delicious and is relatively quiet considering what it does. You can dial i enough pre-amp gain to push you amp into overdrive while on cranked on the clean channel.

I have an original MXR Dyna-Comp and a reissue Dyna-Comp. Both are very noisy compared to the Route 66 compressor. I have to give Visual Sounds credit, they built a compressor that made me yank my Dyna-Comp off my pedal board.

Heres an idea for VS. Build a uniti with two of these compressors in it. I'd buy it in a second.

There are the tone Pros, now the Cons: if you are running the Route 66 overdrive pretty dirty and use the compressor as lead boost, it will get kind of noisy. Part of it is the nature of a compressor, the other part is that with the compressor adding in pre-amp gain along with volume boost and then overdrive, well...it's a recipe for noise.

Also, for those of you looking for Hi-gain, metal machine boxes, this ain't it. You won't be able to scoop your mids or get the soft fuzzy type of distortion. This critter's overdrive tone can best be described as "PRE-big-hair/cucummber-in-my-spandex-80's" tone. If you'r looking for a Warrant/Poison/Ratt tone, look elsewhere.

My rig set-up is starting to finalize (again) thanks to this pedal(s). My main axes are: 89' or 91' Fender Strat Plus with Lace Sensors, 99' Gibson Les Paul Standard, 82' Gibson E/2 Explorer and a 97' Epiphone EDS-1275 Jimmy Page model double-neck. These go into a 535Q CryBaby>Route 66>FoxRox Captain Coconut 2 into a Peavy Classic 50 2-12 combo tube amp. FX loop runs a Boss BF-2 flanger> DOD 690 chorus from around 1979> Line6 DL-4 delay.

I've only had it for about a month but it seems very sturdy even heavy. The knobs feel very smooth but solid like they could take some abuse.

Have not had to deal with them

I have been playing for over 20 years and have used tons of different gear. Many of which in moments of stupidity, I traded or sold. The hardest tone I've have ever tried to get is a good overdrive with a stompbox. This pedal goes a long way.

In the bands I've played, we always played some originals along with ZZ Top, SRV, Bonnie Raitt, A.R.C. Angel, STP, Mellisa Ethridge and other classic tunes.

This pedal is living up to what Visual Sounds website and the other people that have written reviews here claim. And what's best, I've got mine for a steal at $67!