Visual Sound Route 66

it's really easy to get to grips with.overdrive and compressor that can be used seperately or both together just like 2 seperate pedals.

i think it sounds amazing.even at it's highest settings you can hear every note which is good.it doesn't turn into mush.it's also really loud which is great.too many pedals have to be maxed out in order to match up your bypassed and effected sound.
the compressor is one of the best i've heard.gives plenty of sustain and works well with other effects.
the bass boost switch rarely gets turned off.it gives the overdrive a real deep tone but still stays clear.

i've had it for about 3 hours and it still hasn't broken.that must be a record.

i phoned them up and they shouted at me.oh well

overall i can't be bothered typing anymore.
buy it if you want.
i couldn't care less

This is a fairly easy to use straight forward two in one pedal. While it's easy to get good sounds out of the compressor and the overdrive individually, making them work well individually and together is a little more difficult. It's a brain buster or anything like that, but it does take a little more effort that just plugging in and playing. The sample settings that come with the manual are usefull for getting your feet wet.

Let me start off by saying that I really love this pedal. My best friend bought one (see the review a little ways down by "Parenthetical") and despite some inital problems really liked it. He he brought it over for me to try out with some new amps that I had bought and at the time I thought it was pretty cool. I really liked the compressor a lot. It gave me the kind of boost that I like for vintage instrumental rock like Link Wray, The Ventures, etc. as well as a nice fat lead tone for clean or dirty sounds. At the time I had a Budda Phatman pedal that I thought was OK and I was looking to buy the Full Drive 2 so I didn't rush right out to get one. A few months later my friend and I were at his studio in preperation for a recording project that we're doing together. I brought my Full Drive 2 over and tried it out through his blackface modified Deluxe Reverb. The Full Drive 2 sounded great (like it does with all of my amps). I then tried the Route 66 through the Deluxe and I was torn between the Full Drive 2 and the Route 66. I like the zesty powerful sound that the Full Drive 2 has, but I also love the slightly mellower drive with a hint of clean tone of the Route 66 and that compressor. Wow! The tone and versitility of this pedal just floored me. What finally clinched it for me was the fact that I was having tremendous difficulty getting a Carl Martin compressor for my pedal board thanks to American Musical Supply which had been on backorder forever. I finally said screw it and cancelled the order and went to Musician's Friend where I got the Route 66 for $99 saving me a ton of cash over the Carl Martin. So not only did I get a kick ass compressor I also got another great overdrive tone for my pedal board. At $99 I can't see why anyone would bother buying a Tube Screamer reissue. With the bass boost you get everything you wish the TS9 had plus you get one of the most musical compressor pedals out there that will provide you with endlessly sustaining overdrive. What a screaming deal. I can also be a witness to the fact that these work great on bass too. My friend played his Fender Jazz Bass Elite through the Route 66 into a 50 watt JCM800 into a 2x10 and a 1x15 cab. The sound was very punchy and tight without sounding small and clicky. When he kicked in the overdrive it didn't wuss out like some overdrives do with bass. As far as my own set up goes, I have an obscene number of amps, guitars and pedals so I really have had a chance to put this pedal through it's paces. I mostly use Fender, Marshall, Hiwatt, and Orange amps (vintage and vintage reissue) and American Fender, Hamer USA and Gretsch guitars. For pedasls I usually prefer Fulltone, Electro Harmonix, and Danelectro. I play a wide variety of guitar oriented styles from Oldies instrumental, Noies pop and some heavy stuff. The Route 66 pedal is on par with the Full Drive 2. That's not to say they sound the same, but the quality of the sound and workmanship are on about the same level. If you can afford it, get them both. You won't be dissapointed. One other awesome thing about the Route 66 pedal is it's built in buffering. When I put the Route 66 pedal before my tone eating Electro Harmonix pedals (they don't have true bypass) instead of the muddy tone I normally get when they're bypassed, I get the same sound I get when I'm plugged into my amp. As if the Route 66 wasn't cool enough without the buffering! Not only does it sound awesome, but it makes my other pedals sound better. I couldn't be more pleased. (P.S. If you are a fan of the Small Stone, Small Clone or Electric Mistress, the Route 66's overdrive works amazingly well with these effects [I think it's because of the hint of clean signal in the Route 66's overdrive] and the comrpessor works great with the Big Muff for fat sustaining tones.)

I have not had any problems in the short amount of time that I have owned mine and the other times I have played my friend's I have not experienced any problems, but his didn't work when he first got it so that has me a little worried. However, I dont expect to have too many (if any) problems with mine. It seems very well made.

I have not had to deal with them but I hear they are the definition of customer support

This pedal is an unbeatable value. You would not be able to find an overdrive and a compressor that sounds this awesome for $99 PERIOD. Not even for the $129 price that these normally go for (not even for the $169 list price). Add in the built in buffering and this pedal becomes a must have. Hell, even your mom can appreciate that. If it were lost or stolen, I'd buy two. Seriously! I'm thinking of buying a second one for my bass rig.

Pretty simple. If you know how to use a pedal...

I loved the sound of this pedal. The overdrive and comp. were both great effects seperately and together. I could get some cool psychedelic era sounds out of it and even some Trey Anastasio tone. The volume would kind of get out of control when the effects were used together, but all it took was some fine tuning of some volume knobs and all was well.

This is where I'm dissapointed. I have had two of these pedals, and both of them had the same problem. The overdrive and compression stopped functioning together but worked seperately. The first one i had worked for about two weeks, but then this happened and i sent it back to musicians friend and they sent me a new one. The new one worked great for about two days. I am never rough with my pedals and i am dissapointed that this happened. I am going to return it this time and buy like five of those litte dano pedals for the same price.

I got a new one when my first one broke, but that is musicians friend and not visual sound so i dont really know

i dont like this thing. it sound slike crap through my amp. if your looking for a nice blues lead pedal i wouldnt buy this one. and if you are in fact interested in one anyway you can buy mine ;)

I dont like it at all for the overdrive. The compressor side is pretty nice though. im running it through a fender american strat with EMG SA pickups --the dave gilmour setup. the overdrive sounds like crap.

hasnt failed me yet...then again i never use the piece of crap.

DONT BUY THIS. this is a waste of money. i want to get rid of mine after having it for a few weeks.

EASY, but not obvious how to adjust compressor vs overdrive:
a ot of experimentation needed wth a set up you
actually use.

Compressor gets 10 - probably the ost musical out there !

The overdrive gets only 8 as I must confess that SansAmp Clasic,
TubeScreamer TS-5 and also the Award JD-20 produce smoother
overdrive that integrates BETER than the one in tis box:
strange but true.

While the compressor is a winner and I eep it on all te time
the overdrive I switch only to add an extra sustain to
already singing guitar (say to sustain a note like Gary Moore does).

OK in my gigs so far.

Nice replies from the manufacturer.

I play Strats or Les Pauls through CryBaby Vah then into Route 66
compressor then into Award JD-20 overdrive (or SansAmp Classic
or sometimes TS-5 for extra tube-push) into the Fender Champ
all Tube 12 combo: and it sings - FABULOUS.

As I said the overdrive is not easily used with compressor
yet it does a nice job on its own as a blues overdrive.

Not evident how to optimally combine te two !
Needs some experimenation.

Recommendation: if you are a serious guitarist - BUY ONE!

The compressor will greatly improve your tube sound!

YES, the COMPRESSOR alone is worth the price and the
OD is handy, but you may use another OD in series as I do.

This pedal is self-explanatory. After owning five different multi-effects processors, I went back to stomp boxes. This thing is as easy as turning a couple of knobs and dialing in what you want to hear. Knobs are easy, with plenty of room to get your fingers on them.

I gave this a 9 because I'm not sure I could ever find a perfect 10. The Route 66 comes very close, at least for my needs. I use it with a Nashville Deluxe Tele, and sometimes a Strat, into either a Peavey Classic 50/410 or a Music Man HD212. It took a little time to play around with it and find the sounds I was looking for. It was just a matter of playing with it a lot and finding out what it will do. I love the compressor side, as it beats up anything else I have used. On top of that, it is very usable, either as a clean boost or with a bit of "squash" to balance everything out. It took me a little while to experiment with the overdrive side, but I finally found the correct adjustments for me, and it gets better every time I use it. I don't use the bass boost much, because it doesn't suit my style or my set-up. I've never been a huge fan of heavy bottom in the lead guitar anyway. But, if you like that, the bass boost works great.

So far it is a workhorse. We play twice a week on average, and I haven't had a bit of trouble. I would use it without a backup. I do have to qualify that because I have about 20 different pedals stored in my equipment trailer. However, I never pull one out "just in case". I have great confidence in this pedal

The only contact I had was when I emailed them to find out about AC adapter compatability. They responded immediately, and thanked me for buying their pedal. He also said that if I had any questions or problems to contact him. I would have to say that they probably stand by their products 100%. Hopefully, this one will last and I'll never have to use them.

I hate to keep giving 10's, but this pedal deserves them. We play primarily hot rod country and older rock, and this pedal does everything I ask it to do. The sound is great. I've stripped my rig down to the Route 66, a Chorus, and a tap delay. If I was going to be picky, I would like some way to balance the effects outputs so the volume is consistent when using the effects together. I set the volume on the compressor side, and I set the volume on the overdrive side. When you play them together, the volume becomes too loud, and you have to back one of them off. I don't even know if it is possible to do this from an engineering standpoint.
If this pedal was stolen, I would order another one immediately.

The pedal is well laid out, with three knobs dedicated to the OD side of the pedal, and three for the compression side. The knobs have a slightly soft and rubbery feel, making them easy to turn without slipping.

A printed sheet came with the unit listing a bunch of sample settings for each side of the pedal, plus both effects combined. They were sort of useful as a starting point, although I found the suggested gain to be too high on just about all of the samples. I ended up coming up with my own settings after experimenting.

Knowing it wouldn't be very convenient to bend down and change the settings while playing, I spent about an hour finding good settings for each side before taking it out for its first gig.

I'm primarily using a Fender Am. Deluxe Strat with Vintage Noiseless p/u's through Fender RocPro 1000 amp. In case you're not familiar with the amp, let me just quickly point out -- because this is relevant to why I needed this pedal and how I'm using it -- that it's a 100-watt amp with a solid-state power amp and tube pre-amp. It has a clean channel and a gain channel with a choice of two OD settings, thus giving you, in effect, three channels. This amp sounds great cranked, but I've found that at lower volume settings the sound is a little thin and lacking oomph, even when using the OD settings. I've been playing with a band that does roots rock, blues and reggae at a couple of small clubs, and the other guys in the band use smaller amps, and I was just finding that the RocPro was wimping out at that level. I sort of figured I'd have to go out and get another amp, something like a Peavey Classic 30 or a Fender Blues Jr. to get that cranked sound, but after reading a few reviews I thought I'd try the Route 66 first, figuring if it didn't work out I could sell it and try another amp.

I guess it's obvious I'm not much into pedals. I've just about always relied on cooking the amp to get the sound I wanted, dating back to the days when I played through a 100-watt Marshall double stack or the old Fender Super that I wish I'd never sold.

Anyway this pedal has done exactly what I'd hoped it would. Running the comp side adds a surprising amount of sparkle to my tone at the volume levels we're playing at, not to mention the general 'thickening' I expected. That side produces a fair amount of hum, but it's not at all noticeable when playing with the band.

When I experimented with the settings at home, I liked the OD side and the comp side separately, but not so much together. It just got a little wild. However in the course of the first set I played live with this thing, I quickly got to liking the two together, typically playing rhythym and soft fills with the comp side only -- in other words pretty much leaving it on all the time -- and then punching the OD side when I increased attack to take a solo. I was pretty careful to set the gain on both sides, incidentally, so that there wasn't a real noticeable volume boost when playing them together. What the OD side added to the mix was a slight softening of the sonic edges, taking away the icepick quality that would have resulted if I'd whacked away at full pick attack using the comp side and my Strat volume knob only. It sounded very cool to my ears and I could see that it struck the other guitarist and the musos in the audience who were paying attention. It also produced the perfect amount of sustain -- not artificially long but that clear Strat kind of sustain that comes through in, say, Jimi's Voodoo Chile (not the Slight Return version that everyone plays nowadays but the loose jamming one that never gets on the 'greatest hits' collections).

A couple comments on the settings. I'm deliriously glad that both sides of the pedal have tone controls, as I find I need to really crank the EQ toward the high side to produce a tone that matches the straight guitar-to-amp tones I usually play. Without the tone up to around 3 o'clock, it's too dark for my tastes.

The other thing is that I have to keep the gain/volume down on both sides, again to match the gain of the guitar straight, as I'm not looking for volume -- the RocPro already has too much for this gig -- but rather tone.

With these two parameters figured out, I can set the EQ and gain/volume knobs on both sides and leave them. That means I only have to mess with the level controls (Sustain on the compside, Drive on the OD side)to adjust for tone.

It also means I don't even hook up the channel footswitch for the amp, since I play this pedal through the clean channel. I tried it out in combination with the RocPro's drive channels and it just didn't allow the pedal to perform at its optimum, in my opinion.

To sum

I've only used it a few times so far but it seems really well built. I'd love to have a backup, and when I get back to the States I might get one.

One comment I can make about its toughness is that I had Visual Sounds ship it to San Diego, and from San Diego a friend shipped it to me in Chiang Mai, Thailand, so it probably got knocked around quite a bit, yet worked fine as soon as I slipped a 9 volt into its underside.

I traded a couple emails with Visual Sounds, mostly trying to figure out which pedal was right for me, their Jekyll & Hide or the Route 66. They tried to put me on the right track, but really without hearing me play there's no way ... Hey did I think they'd be clairvoyant or something?

But I came away with the general feeling that if I should have trouble with this pedal, they'd probably stand behind their work.

I compared features with several others -- Fulltone, ZVex, Barber, etc -- and this seemed to have exactly what I was looking for. I'm sure those other pedals are good, but the combo of OD and compression was just what I was looking for. I'm really happy because this pedal saved me the cost of buying a smaller amp. Funny how you can get big tone out of small amp but you can't get big tone out of big amp at low settings. I think all 100watt amps should be switchable to 25watts for small club gigs, studio, and practice.

The hardest thing about using the pedal is deciding how you want it dialed in. You've got one side "Based" upon the fabled TS-808 (with added "Bass Boost" switch), and the other is a compressor. The manual states how to use it, which is obcious, plus it gives some recomended settings that are decent enough, plus a good reference if you'r not sure how to use the two funcitons togethr or have little exoeriance with a compressor.

I use this baby with a Blues Pearl Texas Tornado (Copy of a Fender Deluxe) and either a '69 Thinline RI or a '68 Strat RI. Sometimes I use this pedal alone or with a Fultone '69, Cry baby, Big Muff pi, Danelectro Tuna Melt, Arion Delay or Chorus. But mostly by itself.

The Overdrive sounds nice and rich, not too gainy and not fizzy at all. The Compressor is lush, squashed, or crystalin, depending on how you dial it in. Can be used as a "Clean Boost" too. The two together can be a smooth sustainy treat (yeah!!!). Great for controlled feedback without the noise. Also, I like to put my Fuzz pedals in front of this to drive it to more violin-like sustain.

Built like a tank. My one complaint would be the battery hatch, but that's a minmal complaint and has not been a problem. The knobs appear to be solid enough, the box itself is sturdy, and the switches are quite confidant.
I'd gig without a backup and not even worry.

Never had a problem, can't tell yet. I'll trust that their customer service can be reflected by the fact that this thing doesnt have any issues...

I play Blues/Classic Rock/Psychadellic/Avante Garde/Alternawhatever. I try to use more late '60s early 70's influenced tones, this thing helps me to nail them.
If it were stolen or died in a fire, I'd replace it. I've heard this thing called "The Poor Mans Fulldrive", I don't know how accurate that is, I've plugged into one of those only once, but I'd quote that from what I can tell about the simalarities in the two boxes.

I use this baby every time I play.

Really easy to use, particularly if you're familiar with compression-the manual also has some sample settings which are good starting points-Actually, it's pretty hard to get a bad sound of this pedal

I use the Route 66 with a Tele, a Rickenabacker 360 and a PRS all into a Vox AC-30 or a modded Fender Hot Rod Deluxe-It's part of my pedalboard setup of Vox wah>Boss CS-3>Vox Valvetone>Route 66>Ernie Ball Volume Pedal>Boss Tremolo>Boss Delay- The Route 66 is fantastic. I bought it for the overdrive side, but the compressor has become my favorite. The OD is based on the TS-808 and does sound great...the bass switch adds that nice low end oomph, especially with the Tele, and it has a wonderful transparent quality...but the compressor is amazing. It fattens up my sound so much without losing the dynamics of the attack-I mainly use it as a clean boost, to push the AC-30 over the edge and kick a song into that other level, but it sounds so good that I wish I had another Route 66 just for the compressor to add that fat warmth all the time. I realise this is a bit effusive, but it is a fantastic tone. There is nothing quite like stepping on that compressor button and kicking back in with the band-it's like a house falls on the place, just epic. The best thing I can say about it is that I feel that the Route 66 has made me a better player because of the confidence I have with it on my pedal board. I'll stop there as it's starting to sound like I work for Visual Sound or something....

Well. My band plays live very regularly and travels quite extensively internationally. So far I've dragged this pedal to South Africa, Finland and all over England in the 4-5 months I've had it. I've only recently gotten a decent roadcase for my pedals after driving myself crazy traveling around with a piece of wood with velcro on it, so I wasn't totally surprised when the switch on the OD side gave me some trouble last week while we were on tour in Finland. I sprayed some contact cleaner on it and stepped on the switch about twenty times and it worked for the rest of the tour so I was stoked that it worked, but a little bummed that it gave me a hassle.

Okay, this is the reason I'm even writing this review-When the pedal gave me some trouble last week, I called Visual Sound and left a message on the Friday night before we flew out of London to Finland explaining the switch problem and asking for help. The next day (Saturday!) we were in the Arctic Circle to start the tour and Bob, the owner of Visual Sound, called me on my cellphone to try and help me figure out the problem. He didn't have a distributor in Finland but he told me some stuff to try and said he'd send a new switch to London immediately so it would be there when I got home. Sure enough, we got home two days ago and there was my new switch. Needless to say, I was totally impressed by that level of customer service. Bob, you rock. Too bad there's no eleven for this category.

This is my first review here although I do check in and read stuff often. I'm a bit of a tone hound, but at the end of the day I really appreciate gear that helps me get the sound I want easily night after night on the road. When I read stuff here, I usually think that I should write a few reviews after all the rubbish I've tried in pursuit of a good honest raw tone. But frankly, I've never cared enough about a piece of gear to take the time to write a review until I got the Route 66 and had some contact with Bob at Visual Sound. Hence the review, which I realise is a bit glowing, but hey, I really like the pedal and the company and I've got the hours of use to back it up. I highly recommend it...even more than the Jekyll and Hyde-now if Bob would only make a pedal with just the compressor....

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.