Visual Sound Route 66

I got great tones out of this pedal after two minutes - all the controls do exactly what they say . It's a doddle to use .

Using this pedal with a Strat and Trace Elliot Velocette (same as Gibson Goldtone) amp I can get superb Hendrix, Chilli Peppers tones and even better country rock tones at bedroom volumes . When I turn it up, superb becomes awesome . The compressor is excellent on its own, far better than my Boss, with a shed load of gain if I want it . Combined with the overdrive it catches fire! For stinging chord work it beats any other unit I have tried . Surf,The Clash, Sparklehorse, it's all here . Downsides ? This is not a Death / Nu Metal pedal, so Slipknot or Raging Speedhorn types should look elsewhere, and it can get noisy with the drive and volume up, but seeing as I use single coils and listen to Sparklehorse what do I care ! Turn up the sustain and gain as well and feedback insanity ensues - great for Sonic Youth impressions . Also the overdrive is noticeably stronger with the bass boost on .These are minor faults (to me) when compared to the plus points of this pedal . When I run this into my Big Muff - Oh Lordy !!!

Looks bombproof. In fact it looks like a fall out shelter for cockroaches .

Had a hell of a game trying to find one in the U.K. E-mailed Bob at Visual Sound and he got straight back to me with help . I eventually got one mail order from the German distributor Musik-Produktiv for 150 Euros (about 95 Quid) . Try www.musik-productiv.de . They were incredibly helpful and spoke perfect English, and even allowing for mail and currency charges were #30 cheaper than in England ! And it only took three days to arrive !

Its Just what I wanted from an overdrive pedal .If I lost it I would definately get another, but not at U.K. prices . #130 is a rip - off, but 150 euros is a bit of a bargain .

Lovely analogue OD and Compression.Stomp switch for each side.Manual switch for added bass on OD side(if you`ve got nimble feet you might be able to flick it on mid solo)

The OD is good,beeter than most not as good as some.It`s the compression side that holds an alladins cave of tone.Dial up a mild drive on your favourite valve amp(mines a Marshall JCM900).Wind all the controls up on the compressor and then stomp on it.Then bathe in sonic bliss.This thing is XXXXin` smokin`.Switch to your clean channel .Start playing some Bo Didley,the punch will make your clothes hurt.Wind the compression down a bit,back the pedal tone off a bit and you can make your Marshall sound like a Fender.(I only play single coils so I don`t know how it sounds with humbuckers).
The compression alone gets a 10.OD aswell!this pedal is a 10++.

Lets face it,nothing lasts forever.But it is fairly sturdy.The Battery sits in a gap in the circuit board wich seems a bit foolishly designed.Use the D.C.input(9v)and it may save snapping the circuit board.I never use any back up gear,and I would have confidence in the pedal.(see other reviews)

N/A

I`m a very typical guitarist.Over the years I`ve tried to assimilate all the great styles.Charlie Christian.Django,Jimi,Carlos,Nile Rogers, FZ,the Three Kings,the list is endless.I like effects,but ultimately they bore me and pale into insignificance compared to straight in your face guitar tone.Guitar,valve amp with reverb and one pedal.For me it`s a tele with a baseball bat neck.Marshall JCM900
50 watt dual reverb combo loaded with a celestion(as all marshalls are)and this pedal.If this pedal were stolen it wouldn`t be the end of the world but I would try to by another.Try plenty before you buy.
I also recommend the session Jerry donaghue pre amp(Monster mid scoop)
Marshall bluesbreaker pedal.Don`t waste your hard earned cash on some vintage piece of bullshit(E.g.Ibanez Tube Screamer).Good luck to all those looking for the final piece othe jigsaw for there perfect rig.
This pedal may well be it.Try it.

This is an update; see my Sep 2000 review.

This is an update; see my Sep 2000 review.

Here's what I wanted to update. I've been playing this pedal hard for nearly two years now and am very impressed how well it has held up.

Most recently I was backing up Sally Taylor (daughter of James Taylor/Carly Simon) for five nights in, of all places, northern Thailand. The first two nights were at a very primitive outdoor place called Rasta Cafe, in conditions I'd say approximated setting up and playing at the beach, complete with plenty of fine sand and high humidity. The crowd was dense and unruly and moshed all over my cables and effects, spilling beer right and left, etc. Someone knocked my Strat over and dinged it bad; the jewel light on my vintage Vibrolux Reverb stopped working and the reverb knob broke in half; my Boss DM-2 gave up the ghost, almost nothing came through unscathed.

Of course the 66 been subjected to pretty heavy treatment throughout the last 19 months or so, but after that particular gig it looked like it had been through a war - caked in mud, paint-chipped all to hell, bits of mysterious color that could be vomit and/or blood as far as I can tell.

The Rte 66 never hiccupped, and worked just fine for the next three nights at a tamer venue.

So I just wanted to express kudos to Visual Sounds for building their stuff right.

This is an update; see my Sep 2000 review.

OD AND COMP. WITH A BASS BOAST. TOOK ABOUT TEN SECONDS TO REALIZE THIS WAS AN INCREDIBLE SOUNDIND PEDAL.

PEDAL IS INCREDIBLE THE OD SOUND ALONE IS WORTH THE PRICE. THEN ADD A VERY VERY GOOD COMP. WITH A SMOOTH BASS BOAST. YOU CAN'T GO WRONG HERE.

I PLAY WITH AN ADAPTOR BUT SURE YOU COULD USE THIS PEDAL WITHOUT A BACKUP.

NEVER HAD A PROBLEM.

I PLAYED THROUGH EVERY OD PEDAL I CAME ACROSS. OWNED MOST AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER. I PICKED THIS PEDAL UP IN A STORE JUST ON A WHIM. LIKE I SAID I'VE BEEN PLAYING THEM ALL AND LOOKING FOR A GREAT WARM BLUESY, TUBE SOUNDING PEDAL. THAT SOUNDED NATURAL,COULD HERE THE INDIVIDUAL NOTES WHEN CORDS ARE PLAYED. I TELL YOU, WHEN I PICKED UP THIS PEDAL MY JOURNEY ENDED. BIGGEST FEAR IS THEY'LL STOP MAKING THIS AND MINE WILL SHIT THE BED. ONE THING I HAVEN'T HEARD MENTIONED MUCH IN THE REVIEWS FOR THIS PEDAL. IT IS VERY, VERY, NOISY WHEN YOU PLAY THROUGH THE COMP. BUT THE SOUND WILL BLOW YOU AWAY A SUPERB SOUNDING COMP. AND THE BASS SWITCH IS LIKE GRAVY. REALLY.

The pedal combines a basic overdrive unit and a compressor, each with a separate footswitch. The overdrive unit has a limited range, so it's easy to get the good tones that it has. The compressor operation is also straightforward. The most important controls on each involve tone. The overdrive emphasizes low mids, even without the separate bass boost switch, so I tend to leave the tone control cranked up. The compressor is voiced brightly, so that tone control is left at about 12 o'clock.

Like lots of us, I've been through a zillion overdrive or distortion units. I went for this one because it combined a compressor and overdrive, and I think they all should. Sometimes you want the overdrive to kick in for background crunch, and for solos you want the volume boosted, and this does both. I'll never go back to a single footswitch pedal again.

The overdrive sound is pretty much a one-trick pony. It's a good simulation of straining the tubes, but the heavy metalers, or even Marshall/HiWatt aspirants, may find it lacking.

The compressor is a delight. Most compressors muddy the sound; this one brightens it. I use it mostly for a volume boost, but with just a touch of squeeze. It helps the overdrive stand out for solos, but with a great bonus--it makes the clean sounds better as well. A great example is that it compensates superbly for the loss in volume on the 2 and 4 positions on a Strat.

I give it a 9 for sound. I was tempted to go lower because the overdrive is only fine, with limited range, but the compressor convinces me to go higher.

The unit is in a solid metal box, and everything seems sturdy.

I had a little trouble with another Visual Sound unit and compatibility with non-VS AC adapters. As other reviewers have noted, the head of Visual Sound will be right back to you to answer your email. I haven't had to exchange a product, but the help and support is fabulous.

I'm the sort of person who likes multiple separate effects, so I can control them on the fly rather than hoping that the pre-programmed sounds will cut it at the gig. For those like me, this is a great pedal. One can easily set it to give a good background distortion, tight projecting solos, and an excellent clean boost. The FullTone may have slightly better tone, but at a considerable price premium. A Sparkle Drive sounds good, too, but with only one switch, you can't easily control volume and have so much at one's command. If this disappeared, I'd get another.

The overdrive is very easy to use, with the standard drive, tone, and volume controls. The compression also is controlled by 3 knobs, but it takes a bit of time to learn how to get useful sounds out of it, and also how to use it with the overdrive. The bass boost switch works on both of the other effects, and improves the entire pedal

The overdrive is one of the best I've ever used. Straight up it sounds like a TS-808, and with the bass boost switch it sounds even better, giving one of the smoothest and fattest overdrives I've ever heard outside of a tube amp. The compression is a bit harder to use, but serves very well as a tool to add a bit of boost to your signal, or to make your overall sound brighter and chimier. The compression is a bit noisy, but all compressions are.

It hasn't broken yet, and seems well constructed.

I haven't dealt with them yet, but I have heard good things from others about their responsiveness and willingness to help.

This is the best pedal I have found for getting versatile tube-like overdrive without having to dime a tube amp. If mine is lost I will buy another one. It will do anything from adding a bit of boost to your signal without changing its basic character to giving a solid hard rock sound (especially with the bass boost switch).

Simple to use. The only odd thing is the 'home' position markers for the knobs are at 3 o'clock not 12 o'clock.

At first I wasn't overly impressed with the sound but I have grown to like it. The overdrive does colour the sound, but in a way that I like. There is a bass boost switch which is good in theory but is too woofy on the gain channel of my Marshall JTM 30. A pot to control the amount of bass would seem more useful to me. So the overdrive without it is a little thin. This thinness is an advantage in some ways. Ninth chords sit in the mix very nice this way. I had been yearning for more grind and harmonic content, but now I'm content with this overdrive adding a little burn to the notes.

The compressor I have no complaints about. It is fat sounding. If your clean sound is a little lame, this will deliver big time. I wish I had this years ago when I had done some county gigs.

To rate these individually I'd say the overdrive is an 8 and the compressor is a 9.

No problems here. I've gigged for about a year with it. Odd shape though.

I bought this at Steve's Music in Toronto. The salesperson mishandled the order twice. Next time I would probably buy it off ebay. The feedback system would keep bozos like this in check.

I don't have any beef with Visual Sound however, and I suspect that their great.

I'm fairly pleased with it. I would like to see more boost available on the overdrive side (the compressor side has a ton of boost). And the overdrive side could have a way to control the amount of bass.
Also on my rig (Nitefly or Jackson into JTM 30) the overdrive and compressor don't seem to work that well together, but sound fine individually.

This pedal is very easy to use and the manual gives some great guidlines on settings.

The OD drive gives a great bluesy sound and the compressor works great for a clean boost. Also the bass boost switch with the OD makes for a great OD tone

It is very dependable and I gig without a backup.

I promise you will not find better customer support any where. I have been emailed directly by the owner, even had a follow up phone call from the owner. Bob is a great person

I would buy this a again if it were stolen. I have been playing for 20 years. I like blues, southern rock, classic rock sounds. I primarily play praise and worship music.

The unit is very self explanatory if you have worked either an overdrive or compression before.. Just set some dials and play.. You do need to play with the unit to get what you want, that's true for most pedals I think.

I play blues and classic rock, so the tones I'm looking for, depending on the tune, go from a Les Paul through a Marshall to SRV to BB King. My Amp and guitars helps with that to a great extent(a Rivera, Les Paul, 335 and a Strat), but this unit seems to help me to that end as well. If we are gigging in a space where I can't drive the output section of my amp as much as I would like, this unit seems to give me the added cruch and drive I'm looking for. This unit seems to give me both a warm compression sound (warm not meaning bassy, but as in un-harsh) very similiar to the Ross, yet without making my downstream effects hum. The Ross does sound better, but since it's apparently become collectable and valueable, I'll save that for recording or sell it. The overdrive is warm, the bass kick is nice depending on the guitar im using, through my les paul on the bridge pickup it can be nice, throughy my Strat on the neck pick-up it sounds like crap. Depends on the guitar and what you are playing. I am a lead guitar player, pure and simple. So lead tone, anywhere from searing and hot to SRV to cool jazz influenced, is what im chasing, depending on the tune. Bass flabbyness or too much bass is my enemy as well as enemic or harsh or brittle top end. I don't play metal, although I don't think a metal player would be all that interested in this pedal. I strongly state that WHAT you play and How you play are more important that ANYTHING a pedal, guitar or amp can add, but this pedal will certainly can add to your tone when used in the right spots.

I have backup.. I never gig without backup of some sort. If it died during a gig, I'd go to plan B. It seems pretty sturdy to me. I haven't had it long enough to make any assesement here.

I have no idea.

For what I play, I like this pedal. I won't use it every song, as the song and the space will dictate what sounds best that day. I have other overdrive pedals (a FD2 and a Ts-9), both of which I have a like/dislike thing going. We all are searching for tone that fits us, that suits our styles. For me, this pedal will work for some circustances and tunes.

It took me 30 seconds to dial in some nice overdrive. The manual says the overdrive was voiced to be like a Tube Screamer TS808, I found it between an early Boss OD-1 and a Tube Screamer (it could be a bit more transparent). The compression channel works better for clean boost (give your amp a little more headroom). However, I was also able to dial in some nice dirt on it as well. Running both channels together was tricky, but you can get some usable sounds out of it. The lay out is very simple and usable.

I have been playing with my 1965 stratocaster through a 1960 Tweed Vibrolux. I will be experimenting with some other sets up, but right now it works fine with the strat/vibrolux setup.

I haven't had it long enough to rate it for reliability, but it looks to be pretty solid and should be fine....however, I would bring my Boss OD-2 as a backup (the Boss OD-2 I have is actully a nice pedal).

I haven't had to contact customer support and hope that I don't!

I play mostly Blues & Rock and this is a good pedal for style. I have been playing for about 7 years. I have been looking for a nice overdrive pedal and this one seems to be the one. I compared it to a Klon which would have cost $300.00. The Klon was a nice pedal, but I found this one to be it's equal and price was not the issue.