Visual Sound Route 66

It's a versatile pedal as it's two discrete effects, so it takes some time blending the two to find out what you can do. Each effect on its own is pretty straight forward. I would say it's not a quick-out-of-the-box-you-can-use-it effect, as it seems to work best with a moderate compression setting blending with the overdrive, and it takes some attentive listening to finesse it.

Both the overdrive and the compressor sound good. There is a lot of gain from both sides, and stacking the two using gain can get generate a lot of noise, but to a large degree that's the nature of the beast with overdrive and compression. Personally, I prefer to have the noise than to gate it, and I think this pedal works best at lower gain settings, so it's not really an issue for me. I can see that using this with a noisy rig or in a noisy setting could exaggerate one's noise-to-signal level, and in some situations one may want to incorporate a noise gate. I play Strats and Teles through Rivera amps, so there is noise, but I use moderate gain from the pedal and get most of my overdrive from my amp, so I can live with this pedal.

I think the overdrive sounds pretty good, but it doesn't have the tonal richness and textural dynamics and depth (sorry for using such abstract and subjective language, but that the best I can describe it as) as my last over drive pedal, the Menatone Red Snapper. However, the Rt. 66 overdrive sounds good, and I think it sounds like a Tube Screamer. The bass boost switch is nice and it adds some more depth to the tone. Before I got this pedal I had a Visual Sound Jekyll & Hyde overdrive, but I exchanged it as I just didn't need all of the gain that the J&H provides, and I didn't have a compressor. I'm glad I traded the J&H for the Rt. 66, as the clean boost and added oomph from the compressor is nice. The Tube Screamer side of the Rt. 66 is voiced differently (it seems to me) than the Tube Screamer side of the J&H. On the Rt. 66 it has more drive and it distorts more, but there is less initial clean boost before the distortion kicks in (in fact, on the Rt. 66 there is no room for a clean boost with the Tube Screamer side, whereas on the J&H there is less gain and some initial clean boost with the Tube Screamer side). This is a good thing, for both pedals, as with the J&H one can get a clean boost on the TS side, and use the Hyde side for a heavier compressed distortion, and with the Rt. 66 any clean boost one might want will come from the compressor, and this works better as a clean boost than one would get with an overdrive. The TS side of the Rt. 66 has more gain than the TS side of the J&H, and it seems to be a bit in between the two sides of the J&H. I think that the way the two pedals work shows a well thought out design, as you can get good clean and a wide range of OD and distortion from either pedal.

The compressor sounds nice: it adds some sparkle and fatness at moderate settings, and the tone control works well--no muddying or shrilling of the guitar's tone. It will squish and pump the signal, but it's not as radical as some may like. My old Boss CS-1 was more extreme...it was like squeezing the sound out of a toothpaste tube: very radical and industrial havocy. This compressor is more tame and traditional, good for clean Nashville picking, but I best like it as a clean boost with some treble dialed in and a little compression...it adds some nice balls and presence to the tone. There is a lot of gain available from the compressor, it gets very loud, but with the volume comes the elevated noise floor, so this may be useful, but may be unusable for some.

I think the best tones from the pedal come from running the compressor with a slight boost and compression in to the overdrive with light (10 o'clock) drive: this really helps the tone and character of the overdrive, it seems to wake it up nicely and makes a good useful boost. Neither the overdrive or the compressor are tonally transparent: the overdrive has some mid-coloration (like a TS), and the compressor adds some lows and upper-mids.

The pedal has a buffered bypass. I don't think there's anything wrong with buffered bypass, and it's good to have a buffer in your signal chain if you're driving a lot of wire and pedals. I've had tru-bypass pedal that have noisy and poppy switches, so tru-bypass is no

I haven't had the pedal long enough to subject it to rough use, but it seems all right. The enclosure is a nice heavy gage steel, but it's a bent sheet metal design (similar to the Electro-Harmonix enclosures) so there are slight gaps where the folds meet , and I suppose it's not going to be as impervious to the elements as a Hammond enclosure, but I don't know how this would be a practical concern unless one where playing in a very dusty environment. The build quality and design seem good, but this a factory made pedal from Taiwan, not a hand-built small production pedal with the build aesthetics of a true boutique pedal (point-to-point wiring on perf board, etc.). The components are not visible as the PCB is the full size of the enclosure (you can only see the solder side). The jacks and pots are attached to the enclosure, but the footswitches are soldered directly to the PCB. I guess this makes for an easy way to anchor the PCB, but I suppose if a footswitch was ever to come loose it could strain the PCB (I'll check my switches periodically). The battery sits in a slot in a middle of the PCB. The battery cover is a flexible piece of plastic that one bends up and slides out of the way to get to the battery. This seems like an afterthought in design, and makes for more bulky relief on the bottom of the pedal which is a hassle if you're going to put Velcro on the bottom for a pedal board. All-in-all, it seems solid enough to me, it feels solid. I see the factory build method and design as a cross between Electro-Harmonix pedals and Boss pedals....solid enough, and I'm sure it makes the pedal more affordable than being point-to-point handwired (see Menatone for this style).

I've never needed it, but I've heard good thing about the service. People have good things to say about Bob Weil, and he presents himself as a guitar-playing-regular-guy. He's from Tennessee, and there's a bit of a southern Christian thing going on his website, but it's his website and that don't bother me (I know it turns some people off), but hopefully he's an honest Christian and he'll follow the commandment of: "thou shall not burn thy customer; thy shall stand behind thy product." :) I did send them a few e-mail with questions about the J&H, and never got a reply, but he's gotten enough praise here for his service that I'm not worried about it.

It's a good sounding versatile and useful pedal. It will fatten your sound and do good overdrive distortion, clean boost, and compression, or combinations of these effects. It's not a high-end boutique hand built p-t-p wired pedal, but it sounds very good, it is well designed and thought out, it's very useful, and it's very affordable, especially when you consider that it's a pair of well match discrete effects. The pedal looks real cool, too.
Personally, I'd like the tonal character and the by-pass to be more transparent, but I'm not bothered the tone of the pedal. I've been playing over twenty years, and I think I've got good ears for tone, and I like this pedal. I use Rivera amps and Fender guitars, got a Teese wah (the best wahs, IMO), and misc. digital gear from DeltaLab and Yamaha for effects, also a great old Gibson amp that sounds weirder than a Zvex pedal. I play in a funk/reggae band, but I play a lot of roots and blues rock and roll, also some pedal steel guitar with roots and honky-tonk. The thing I like best about the pedal is the boost--with or without overdrive, and the fatness it adds. I would replace it if I lost it, especially at this price. I think it's up there with the boutique pedals, and while it doesn't have the build aesthetics that some people like to pay big bucks for, the sound is ver good. At this point I wouldn't worry about a back-up for this pedal.

Dialin in a good sound is easy. The only thing I noticed is that the tone control really changes quickly when you go fully clockwise so the final amount of the turn contains the most tone changes. Not a smooth taper pot.

Use a variety of guitars and amps. Fender Deluxe, Studiomaster ValveLeadmaster with LP's, strat, 335, Heritage 535, tele, etc... The compressor is okay but not as good as my smooth, original MXR Dynacomp. I love that pedal. The overdrive is smooth and let's the guitar tone come thru. Not for metal but good for R&R.

Seem solid.

Never needed support but have sent a couple of emails and found them to be very responsive.

Play various styles of music. Been playing over 40 years. Own lots of gear. Used to own lots of other gear. Had all the good stuff everybody wants now. BF Super Reverb, BF Twin, tube echoplex, Marshall SuperLead 100, 65 strat, gold top Les Paul, etc.....This pedal is easy to use, sounds good and is not unreasonably priced. It just does the job.

This is an update of my previous review. There is one really cool thing this pedal does that no other pedal will do. Will explain below.

You can use this pedal to get a 3 channel amp effect from a single channel amp. Here's how this works, using my Bassman reissue as an example: 1- Dial amp to find "sweet spot", where gain is regulated by pick attack. 2- Set compressor to clean up the tone and get a little more sustain. 3- Set OD for a boost with a little edge. 4- When you need a distorted sound, use the OD. When you need a clean sound, use the compressor. When you need a solo boost, stomp both switches at once. This is the coolest thing since toasted bagels with cream cheese. For this feature alone, this pedal goes to 11 on the 1-10 scale.

My earlier review mentions the killer reliability of this pedal. It is everything you could expect from a bank safe, but is cheaper and more fun.

Bob Weil has the mojo, but is not a mofo.

Ideally, I play straight up rock'n'roll with no frills, but I have to play blues, r'n'b, and anything else I can fake to make ends meet. This pedal is always in use. I bought a backup, just in case, but haven't needed it yet.

Start with the knobs at 12 o'clock and tweak them 'til you like your tone -- how difficult could that be...

Wat tha hell man. I kant evun gett a gud corn ton frum dis peddle... Just kidding. I have borrowed one of these a few times and may just go out and buy one soon. It's a good sounding unit and well worth the price. Some complain of the noise -- here's the deal: Put ANY compressor in front of ANY overdrive, turn the knobs all the way up, and... you'll get a ton of noise. The trick is that the pedal has... you guessed it... KNOBS on it!!! And one can turn these KNOBS to get a long sustaining, lush tone with nice attack and minimal noise -- only takes a little bit of brain-power...

I have only borrowed one of these to check it out. Seems that everyone else is having no problems.

Overall, a good product. I have so much equipment that I am not sure I need one of these, but if I come across one and the price is right, I'd probably pick one up. Good value as well. If VS goes under or discontinues this model, I am certain the price for one of these will sky-rocket.

Would be better if it had bigger knobs you could adjust with your feet. Otherwise, it's great.

Don't use the compressor with single coils, especially if you play on a stage where the lights are on the same circuit as the stage power. This is absolute hell. If you do this, get a noise gate, otherwise the 60 cycle hum will be amplified to the point where you will be forced to assault nearby innocents. The sounds themselves are wonderful.

This pedal had a full pint of beer dumped directly in it during last Mardi Gras, and it worked fine the next day. Probably 5 or 6 drunken fat chicks have fallen smack on top of this pedal without incident. It's pretty cool.

Bob Weil seems like a pretty straight up guy, and the company seems to care alot about the individual client. This is great.

Other than the noise, I think this thing is the cat's ass.

I've been playing for 6 years, I play classic rock, and jam music. (Hendrix, SRV, Dire Straits, Zep, Phish, Dead, etc) This overdrive is what i was looking for, nice thick and smooth, just the right ammount. And the compression is amazing. I can't reiterate enough how versatile this pedal can be.
I've played several other pedals both compression and OD, and other combinations. (Danelctro Daddy-o, 70's MXR Vintage Dynacomp, Tech 21 comptortion) This pedal blows them all away. The Daddy-o was nice, but not nearly as smooth as this, a little bit rougher around the edges (which is sometimes desierable.) The Comptortion was the only other pedal that i know of that is trying to combine distortion and compression, it didn't have independent switches, and it got noisier the more compression you added.
If it were stolen I'd get another, without a doubt.
The one thing I liked more about other OD pedals was separate EQ knobs (i.e. treble, bass, mid) but the one tone knob can dial in exactly what you're looking for on this pedal.
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.

i didn't like the settings in the manual, but adjustment is not too hard if you've used an overdrive before, and you know what you are looking for tone-wise. compressor is slightly tougher, but i've never had one previously and i don't use it much, so difficulties there probably lie with the user, me!

good od sound. maybe a little too much gain for my taste, but by no means are there any really heavy dist. sounds in there. bass boost works well on "thin" bridge pickups. as for those that say there are no clean/edge of od sounds here, i disagree, they are very low on the gain knob, but i usually can get them, in fact that's mostly what i use this pedal for. comp. is nice, i just don't use it for much other than a lead boost when using od. there's some nice sounds when mixing the two if one pays attention to matching up the separate eq settings. i like a top-heavy od setting with a mid-heavy comp. setting and the bass boost, seems to give the best overall clarity when using the two together. the comp. alone is interesting, mostly just not my cup of tea. however, the few times i have used it i've been suprised at the country lead sounds available with single coils. one qualifier: you MUST use a regulated power supply or the comp. will be noisy. i run this with the following: gib. blueshawk,strat(tex. spec. pu's), hamer (sym. dunc. 59's) and an epi 335. seems to be friendly with other pedals: maxon phaser, eh polychorus. running into del. rev. reissue,peavey delta blues, sovtek mig 50. i really don't notice a big effect on bypassed tone, even though it is not true bypass. maybe a little chimey, if that makes since, but i'm pretty picky about that issue (i've had some bad expereinces with pedals that sound great when on, and like crap when bypassed) and this is the only non true bypass pedal i use regularly so i really can't complain.

so far so good, only had this 9 mos. or so

no experience here. i own this and the 1-spot, both were purchased from retail dist. and i've had no prob. with either, i hope i never do.

this ended my search for an od pedal. i played it directly against the jek. & hyde, i thought this sounded better than jekyl and i didn't like hyde much at all. wanted to try a fulldrive, couldn't find one locally, have a jamming partner with maxon 808 and voodoo labs sparkle drive. i've played with 808 a little, and i like this one better from very limited experience, haven't tinkered with sparkle dr. yet, but it seems to sound pretty similar. i would replace it or get the sprkle drive if lost/stolen. been playing 6-7 yrs. mostly blues/rock/alternative? or whatever seems fun at the moment. used with a variety of tube amp/speaker combinations and multiple pickup types and guitars. good all around od, maybe not the best, but it's higher quality than my playing so it works for me!

I almost bought this after a home and band practice check but there are a few shortcomings not mentioned yet.
Good concept, easy to use, but not all combinations yield good results--of course.

Note:
-VS's pure bypass seems to add a bit of top-end sheen
-the comp section EQ is quite toppy or muddy, no neutral setting
-the distortion is very good BUT it will not do an almost clean on the edge sound-too much gain- maybe also not enough gain with bite for tapper types
-bass boost is almost too much but usable

-does need a regulated PS per VS instructions

The manual they sent gave very "noisy settings". However I've owned numerous overdrives and figured this one out in a couple of days.

I own a Les Paul with Duncan 59s in both positions and I use a reissue Bassman and a reissue JTM 45 with an A/B box. I found the compressor channel to be very noisy when used by itself especially with the gain too high. Mostly I have been playing through the overdrive side which I have fell in love with. With the drive set straight up and the level cranked it pushes both my amps into creamy, smooth overdrive. The real fun comes in when you kick in the compressor to add to the drive. I found that using both pickups with the overdrive and compressor and guitar volume rolled back yielded some great BB King licks. This pedal also sounds great when used with a TS-9 set for a lead boost. Sounds much better than the Maxon 808 which made my tone weak and thin.

Have only had it for 2 weeks.

Very friendly, I sent them an email and they actually took the time to write back.

I play mostly blues or blues-rock and I find this pedal to be much better than many of its higher priced competitors (Maxon 808, Maxon 820, Fulltone, etc.) I've been playing for about 4 years now and I consider myself a bit of a tone snob, this definitely satisfies my tone jones. I would defintely get another if something happened to this one, I love how smooth the overdrive is with my amps. I thought the price should've been more like a Drivetrain though, considering Bob Weil helped make both, but for two pedals in one its a good value.

It takes awhile to find the right sound.The manual doesn't give good sound examples,just experiment with it yourself.

I use a fender american tube series- blues junior,I also use my Gibson ES-135(TOTALLY worth the money!) with my R.66. I must say getting the volumes to match on both sides is frustrating.For example:You can have the compressor on and you have to turn the gain up to hear,now it's fine to combine with the overdrive as long as you don't have the sustain all the way up,but if you do, and you switch it on after you have your overdrive on, the volume jumps rediculously!You also have to hold your hand lightly on the strings to keep it from serious feedback.Now to the good: The sustain is incredible, i had a single note held for almost 25 sec. I love the distortion!It has a clean warm vintage sound,perfect for blues or classic rock!
This pedal is definately a keeper.Buy a seperate pedal with it if you
play slow leads, but for fast it's great!

It's very dependable,i can switch back and forth with sounds without delayed response. I use it's effects alone most of the time,(with a digital tuner) and i play in a youth group of about 150.Sometimes i use a delay with it.I use a fuzz effect on my zoom gfx707 when i need crunch.(by the way, the zoom is only good for the tuner in it and the fuzz and delay sorta,don't buy it!you will regret it.)If your battery is low one effect will go out before the other.

i haven't had to contact them yet, but their warranty is good.

I play a variety from classic rock,to bluesrock,southernrock,acoustic stuff too.I've been playing almost 3 years.I also own a zoomGFX707 and a dunlop wah, i regret both.If my Rt.66 was stolen or lost, i would get another one or buy a tubescreamer turbo dlx..I love the distortion,that's my favorite feature. I kinda like the compression.I love the sustain except when you have it up all the way,although it holds great the feedback and the volume jump are ridiculous,that gets on my nerves.I compared to the tubescreamer, pretty similar considering a copy of the TS-808 original is in the Rt.66.I chose it for the added sustain and warmth and clean distortion.I wish it had a feedback reducer and only one volume knob that would even the volume out.It helps me out with my songs i make up, because i can hear all my notes clean and clear and play contemporary christian rock(Third-Day and Audio A like sound),classic, and blues rock.

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.

Easy to use. Manual is very basic but helpful as a starting point. Dials are self explanatory. Compressor side requires a little more tweaking.

I play a custon Fender strat with single coils and humbucker combinations. I play into a Mesa/Boogie subway rocket reverb and use the route 66 for a blues overdrive and the amps overdrive for the nasty stuff. The unit is quiet, even the compressor(for a compressor)and both sound great. You can get an SRV overdrive sound with the right tweaking and the compressor is great for a clean boost as well as adding a sparkle to the clean channel of my Boogie( not quite Fender clean). The compressor can also get a good squashed sound if thats what your into. I used to own a Boss blues driver and compressor/sustainer and the route 66 sounds much better to me. Especially the compressor.

I have owned it for about a year and have had no problems. I jam with friends about twice a month so it doesn't get much road abuse.

I e-mailed visual sound once with some questions and my e-mail was replied to promtly. I don't see any problems here.

Excellent pedal for my style and use. I like mostly blues, some classic rock and am getting into jazz. This pedal will suit those styles for me.

Very user friendly, just turn the knobs to dial in a good tone. As was said before, running both effects at the same time can be tricky. The manual says to watch your levels if you're using both compression and overdrive. I tend to use one or the other.

I bought it mainly for the compression, and am very impressed. It has a snappy yet expansive sound, very old-school. I compared it with a Boss CS-3 and the the Route 66 sounded much better - more high end coming through, yet plenty of sustain. A very warm compression sound, and the clean boost (gain knob) was a nice feature as well. You can use this to drive your amp a little harder, or balance out the volume levels. The overdrive side (tubescreamer 808 clone) is also a great sound - round and smooth, rather transparent. I use it as an "extra" overdrive on top of my amps dirty channel for over-the-top distortion, or as a different sound from my amp's distortion.

Seems solid, not quite as tough looking as a Boss pedal, but definitely quality construction.

Excellent customer support. He answers e-mails promptly and is happy to answer your questions. I've never had problems with VS products, but did have some questions before buying.

A great pedal. I use the compression for clean guitar sounds, especially when playing slide guitar. The overdrive side is really just a bonus for me - I'd buy this for the compression alone. The unit has a warm analog sound, and it's hard to get a bad sound out of it. Definitely blows away the Boss compressors, and having two pedals (plus the clean boost) for the price of one, how can you go wrong?

It is somewhat difficult to figure out how to use the two effects together (volume) other than that it is quite basic

This box far exceeds most others I have tried. The Route 66 and a fender tele make a perfect match (esp. with the use of the bass boost). The Edge just ordered 2 of them and Daniel Lanios picked up one himself. You can't go wrong here.

I have personally never experienced problems but I have heard these little boxes can have some problems...

Never had to deal with them.

This is a great general overdrive. Buy one and then buy another for your best friend.

very easy to set up-manual has a few sample settings to get you started.

good compressor-i wonder what(if anything)it's modelled after? the 808 side is cool with the bass boost...both sides together aren't that noisy if reasonably set.

who knows?

heard they were good to deal with-hope i don't have to.

nice concept-an OD with a compressor that can be used like seperate effects or together...i also have their jekyll&hyde OD which gets used quite a bit-this one has it's own set of uses.

Very easy to use, three knobs per side with a bass boost. The bass boost is too boomy for my taste. I got it from a fire sale at a store, it reaally did survive a fire, and it works well. What impresses me the most is that it by-passes beautifully. So many pedals can't by-pass to save their life (ProCo Rat, ElectroHarmonix, Marshall). This does, switching is silent and the tone is very good (especially the compression).

Overdrive is about a 7. It clips in pretty well, but gets woofy, especially with the bass boost. The compression is very good, about a 9. Keeps the sound very tight in my Mesa-Boogie Studio Caliber (I highly reccomend this amp or any Boogie). I use: G&L S500 stock, Fender Squire MIJ 83 with Rio Grande Tallboys (N & M) with a Lindy Fralin Steel Pole in the Bridge, home built swamp ash tele with Bill Lawrence 280 (N) 290 (B). Works well with all of these axes (overdrive is great with the tele).

Seems pretty solid. I'd preffer a sealed chassis to prevent dust build up. Quiet switching (SwitchCraft) and good point to point soldering. Yeah, you could go without a backup. Just keep plenty of batteries (Radio Shack house brand rocks. Dollar for dollar, better value than anyone). If the chassis were a unit of one (sealed welds at the folds and points, it'll get a ten).

Haven't had to deal with them.

I'm a rock/blues player, some metal. This is basically a really good pedal. I'm still tweaking between everything (Rocktron Rampage Distortion, Morely Pro Wha) and this is a good value of a pedal. Very brown sound for you EVH fans. Created some great classic sounds in the Rhythm Section of my amp (AC/DC, Led Zep) The compression works really well for clean or overdrive/distortion sections. Clean, makes great Metallica (Enter Sandman opening section) sound. Clipped overdrive gets some pretty rootsy Texas blues. Pushed out gets a bit too muddy for me. Like I said, I'm still working with it and don't plan to get rid of it. I like it, and for $70-$100+, you are getting two very functional pedals for the dime. Does the Overdrive work as well as a TS-9? Well, the by-pass works better and the tone is pretty damn good. Easy to match amp level to pedal level. I've been as honest as possible about this and the only thing that I can say is drive the guys at your local music store nuts by trying everything. Get on an amp that is much like yours and an axe. Plug in, play open chords and check the by-pass, levels on and off. Plug in direct to the amp, then back through the pedal. When it's off (the pedal), does it screw with the sound? Bad pedal to have. Seek out Rocktron Pedals as well, they are amazing.