Visual Sound Route 66

3 knobs on each channel. That's it. It took me about 5 minutes to get a killer sound

I'm using a PRS McCarty thru a mesa boogie Nomad. I also run a TS-9 into the Route 66 to a crybaby wah into a boss delay. First off, the overdrive was pretty nice. I prefer the TS-9 sound (a little darker) but I use it as a bit of a boost. The compressor is what blew me away. The compressed clean tone is perfect. I love that squashed sound it adds. Overdriven is just as good. I don't use tons of gain for the most part, but every note sings w/ this thing on. Lead tones are perfect, especially with the neck pickup. I am a big fan of Phish, and right when I plugged this pedal in, I got that smooth, squishy Trey Anastasio tone. I recommend this pedal to anyone who wants a fat huge blues sound.

I haven't had a problem yet, and it seems very solid

I have been playing for about 8 years now, and I play classic rock, jam stuff (Phish, Dead) and originals. This pedal is a true step up for me in tone. Good overdrive and fabulous compression(beats the hell out of the Dynacomp). Turn this thing on and immediately notice a kick ass difference in tone.

No manual needed. If you can make a cup of coffee, you can operate this...

My main guitar is a Gretsch Electromatic. The Rt.66 is the only stomp-box in my signal-path. I push the signal into a Torque R50 (a solid-state Brit-make amp). Man, does it sound like a valve amp! Especially with the compressor added to the mix. When I switch from treble to rhythm (on the guitar), my leads really cuts through the symbals. Great dynamics.

The gain and volume on the pedal is more than enough (lots of headroom). There's no hum on the OD. The comp (like any other, I suppose) has a bit of a hum.

I pretty much go for a seventies-rock sound. I find that the Rt.66 has a mix of clean sound with the OD, which I love.

If you don't want a sterile stereotyped sound, buy this baby...

I've been using it for almost 1 year now, and no problems (yet)...

No support needed. It looks good from the other reviews.

I've been playing for 4 1/2 years. Our band is grungy, with a 70's rock influence.

Other gear includes: Marshall TSL100 amp, BOSS Wah (total piece of shit, I've tried the Morley. Much better!), Zoom 505 (restricted piece of crap), Marshall Vibratrem (good piece of equipment).

I would defintely replace it if it gets stolen, or such.

I had a Marshall Guv'nor in mind, but the salesperson convinced me to get the Rt.66. I prefer the Rt.66... (anyhow, it's 2 in 1). And it's ALL I need.

Both the compressor and the orverdrive are very easy to use, manual tells you what you need to know!

I use both humbuckers and single coil guitars, Fender Princeton Chorus combo (for practice), and strait to the "board" at Church (where I play)I'm not sure you can get a BAD sound out of this unit, both sides have worked well together for me so far! The compressor can be a little noisy but not bad at all. Sounds great, I've heard lots of coments ,,,,, and all have been good!!!!!!!!

This thing is built very , very solid,,,,,, Yes I'll go without a back up!

I emailed them, and Bob Weil himself got back to me the very next day,,,,, he was extremely helpful and a very nice guy to boot.

I play Cristian contemporary , Praise&Worship, with heavey rock/blues flavor. I've been playing over 20 years.If it was lost/stolen I'd try to find another used one and IF I had the money would buy a new one the next day.I have had/have these overdrives,,, Arion, Boss SD-1,and Multi FX units with OD and I have these other compressor pedals, Pearl , Boss CS-3. This is a very musical unit, YES it helps me make music!

2 sections - 3 knobs each - 1 footswitch for each section. Ok it's not an MXR single knob phaser but it still ain't rocket science.

I use this device with a Tele Plus thru either a Peavey delta Blues (great amp) or Fender Blues Junior (so I've got an EL-84 fixation). Very low noise even on high gain settings with a battery but if using an adapter (wall wart) you MUST use one of the suggested models otherwise there is a loud hum from the compressor side. This is NOT the fault of the unit al all; it's just letting you know it wants REGULATED juice. The compressor, at low settings adds a lot of sparkle and presence to the Telecaster. I don't use high comp settings much but they are very musical and make the not sing a long time. The overdrive section is unreal. Move over TS-808! The bass boost switch puts SERIOUS bottom on the sound but it NEVER sounds muddy. I have been all over the lot on the dials on both sides - there is not a bad sound there. VS has done their homework (unlike a lot of my students!).

Check out the metal case - can you say indestructible? I knew you could. OK I wouldn't let my pet elephant stand on it but it sould withstand serious abuse (but then I don't abuse any of my gear either so it should last forever). Backups? We don't need no stinking backups!

I e-mailed VS about the aforementioned hum with my adapter and they got back to me with info within 2 days - I got an e-mail from the boss while he was in Asia and was informed the day I e-mailed him that there might be a delay due to his trip - fantastic support as far as I'm concerned. VS is a great comapny to do business with.

I originally got this after reading a guitar player review and being ticked at the long wait for a Voodoo Sparkle Drive. Am I glad I switched my order - this thing is a two for one pedal that blows any TS-808 or clone away. As far as I'm concerned the Route 66 should be THE choice for a blues/rock OD.

This pedal is very easy to use, as long as you view it as 2 seperate pedals. Features have already been covered.

I am using this with an american Tele and an SRV strat. Also have used it with a Washburn 335 style guitar. For amps I'm using a Twin and a Laney VC-30 (vox rip off). The sound is good, but not very inspiring. It is your basic overdrive, but that is what it is meant to be. I use the pedal with the tone about halfway up, the volume set to half, and the drive completely off. My amp is turn up to the brink of distortion. I am trying to get a sound that remniscent of a cranked amp(isn't everyone?)and while I can get a passable sound, the clarity that I am searching for is not there. The compression is nothing spectacular. While I can use it to add sustain, I find it different to get a very squishy sound.

This pedal is extremely dependable. I've been gigging with it for almost 2 years and have had no problems. The paint, however, is not so reliable. It has been severly scuffed. The Route 66 logo is almost gone. But this, for me, is really not an issue.

never dealt with them

I play music that is best described as Zep meats Phish with plenty of funk thrown in. Also, I aspire to play jazz. This pedal, dispite it's lack of overall clarity, is well suited for these styles of music(except the jazz). I've been playing for about 4 years. I own a bunch of other pedals, but this is my only overdrive. It gets the job done. I like the idea of putting two effects together, but, while I do like it, I don't love the actual sound of these effects either seperate or used together. If it had a better a compression and a more natural overdrive sound I would never get rid of it. It can help me make music I suppose, but then again the music I make is not that good. If your looking for a good sounding workhorse OD pedal this would be a good choice.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Can't leave home without it!!

Groovy so far...

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

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

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

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

Easy to use and hard to get a bad sound.

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

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

Never had to deal with them.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Steel case...seems sturdy enough.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Never had a reason to contact.

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

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

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

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

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

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