Voodoo Lab Overdrive

You have to unscrew the bottom to replace the battery. A stupid design in this day and age.

I traded a Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive for this because I found that the Sparkle Drive had a bright EQ setting when on, even with the tone knob right off. This pedal was the opposite. Dark and bassy sounding....and no tone pot to try to adjust it. I want an overdrive that sounds similar to what the amp would sound like cranked up, or what it would sound like with an extra gain stage, but without having to actually turn it up. I use a Telecaster thru a Blues Junior and being a one channel amp I need an overdrive for solos and raunchier songs, but without a huge volume leap. This pedal was useless since the EQ characteristics were nowhere near the sound of the amp when the pedal was turned off. Pointless in a live situation. If I set the amp so the pedal was usable then the amp was set wrong for playing clean.

Dunno...sent it back.

Our band does weddings and pubs and we do a variety of music. I've gone thru aload of gear in the past few years and my main requirements are quality, simplicity and reliability. I now prefer teles thru a Fender tube amp with few effects so I can be ready for whatever song we get called on to play. I have a Boss SD-1 superoverdrive, which works well, and I tried an old Ibanez ST-9 supertubscreamer which was amazing, but I tried these Voodoo Lab overdrives because of the true bypass they have. Blues Juniors don't have effects loops and pedals degrade the tone of the amp slightly, I've found. But, if the tone of the pedal when on is noticably different than when off then it's useless to me.
Having to unscrew the bottom of the unit to change batteries is ridiculous and to me is a sign of an incompetent design team.
I sent the pedal back.
Voodoo Lab has been put into my list of 'never again' companies.

You don't have to be a rocket scientist

Kramer Nightswan -> Voodoo labs overdrive -> All valve amp (12AX7 for each channel followed by 2 12AU7s then a pair of 6L6s) -> 2X12 cabinet. My amp is really a bass amp with a tonestack modification and a slight gain mod. It needed some extra distortion so I built this pedal from a schematic on the internet. I play blues, classic rock and metal and this pedal doesn't dissapoint anywhere. I set the distortion on about 3/4 (or I set close to full and use the volume on my guitar to control how much) or a bit more for metal and the volume on about unity gain. The amp does the rest. For the perfect sound the amp has gotta be pretty loud about 1/2 volume. I can get anywhere from Metallica or Randy Rhoads to Clapton or Led Zeppelin. For practising leads that sound alright at low volume I chuck a compressor before the VL OD. Don't know about noise since I made mine.

Don't know since mines a home brew

A beaut pedal if there aren't other weaklinks in your setup (e.g. a transistor amp or crap guitar). Perhaps a 3 band tone control predistortion would allow yet more varieties of sound. I don't think this is a big shortcoming though.

This pedal, as everyone else has illustrated, is easy as pie to use. Two knobs, volume and gain. Some have complained about the battery - you have to remove 4 screws to replace it. Well, I play with a Voodoo Lab pedal power unit at home and practice, so batteries are really only a concern for me at gigs. I test my batteries now and then and it hasn't been an issue. I'd take this assembly over the cheap plastic battery cover found on DOD pedals any day. The Boss pedals provide an OK battery setup, I suppose. I bought this pedal used and didn't get a manual with it, though I don't think I'd ever need one.

this little guy usually sits in front of my Mesa DC5 head with Marshall closed back 212 cab or my Rivera R55112 combo. My primary guitar is a Les Paul, though I also play it with a Tele, Strat, Ibanez USA Custom, and Vintage LPJr. The sound with the gain cranked is great... a gritty, raw overdrive sound which is just what I was looking for. Think Replacements or Clash. Very un-tube screamer, which is fine with me. Running a nice mid-gain crunch through the Mesa head, this pedal drives it up to a raw growl that can't be beat... very different from the lead channel on the Mesa, which is somewhat more balanced and smooth, the pedal makes for a ruder and more aggressive sound, which is what I was after.

I've only had it for a few months but it's been great and reliable. if my other Voodoo Lab pedals (tremolo, analog chorus, pedal power) are any indicator, it should last a long time and be very durable. I've gigged with it several times - no problems. I don't bring a backup.

Never had to deal with VL - perhaps an indication of the quality of their products. I've heard they have very good customer support though.

Overall, this is a great pedal. Built to the highest quality specs - Simple to use, barebones. Not for real knob tweakers, but for people who want a basic gritty, great sounding OD pedal, it can't be beat. If it were stolen, I'd probably get another one.. I compared it head to head with a good number of pedals in this shop (mostly used). Many Boss and DOD, Guyatone and other misc. This was by far the best at nailing the sound I was looking for.



I experimented with it as a boost pedal today, just trying to use it to boost the volume and gain of the lead channel on my Mesa, but it didn't do the trick (not that it's supposed to). It gave a bit of gain boost, but no noticeable volume. That's just as an aside though, I'd use an MXR Micro Amp or something for a boost if I really wanted it.



Regarding the light, I guess it would be nice to have it on there, though it's just another thing to use battery power and to introduce unnecessary interference noise into the circuit. I can tell when it's on most always.

It has two knobs, one for volume and one for gain. One input, one output and an on/off switch. This is real easy to use, but there are some disadvantages:

- To replace the battery you have to remove four screws at the bottom, it doesn't matter as long as you use it at home, but it's not all that great if you have to replace batteries during a gig.

- The volume and tone knobs are so big that you easily hit them with your foot when turning the pedal on/off.

I have a Fender Standard Stratocaster, a Fender 'custom' Vibrolux Reverb, a Fender Hot Rod DeVille 212, an old Mars tube amp and an Ibanez TS-9. I play mostly blues in all different styles, from Muddy Waters to SRV and Gary Moore for instance.

It has lots of volume and is very usefull as a boost. It has quite some gain too, not enough for Metal-freaks, but enough for blues/rock guitarists. The gain starts to sound really harsh when you turn it all the way up, some find this useful, some don't. For me, I don't like it. The overdrive is very transparant, it doesn't color your tone like a lot of other OD pedals do. I've used it for a couple of days running in front of my amps, and I noticed that it sounds better on the DeVille or the Mars, though I like the Vibrolux much better than the DeVille or the Mars. It just doesn't seem to work the way I want it to work with the Vibrolux. It either sounds too harsh or too dark (the lack of a tone-control doesn't help). It might have to do with the 10" speakers in the Vibrolux, or the design of the amp.

After messing around a bit with my amps and different settings I placed the TS-9 in front of the VooDoo Lab Overdrive, I put the gain from the VooDoo Lab all the way down, and the volume around 10 o clock. This way I use the VooDoo lab as a boost when I want to crank my Vibrolux a bit more and it seems to work this way, I get a nice singing lead tone, although it still darkens my tone!

It has a true bypass so your tone doesn't get coloured at all when the pedal is switched off.

I've read on some places on the web that this pedal is a copy of the DOD 250 preamp/overdrive pedal, which is used by Yngwie Malmsteen.

You could kick this thing around, set it on fire, let your dog have a crap and a pee on it and it would probably still work. I don't recommend that you try this though!!
I would definatly gig without a backup.

I've never dealt with them.

As I said before I play mostly blues, this pedal is a good match for this type of music, though it is just not it for me. And besides that it doesn't seem to work with my Vibrolux no matter what I try. It does work when I use it as a booster after my TS-9, that way I get a nice singing lead tone which can be usefull.

I've tested lots of overdrive pedals in the store, including a TS-9, a Boss OD-3, SD-1, a Vox Valvetone, Marshall Bluesbreaker and Guv'nor, some Dod pedals and some others that I can't even remember.
This pedal belongs to one of the best I played on because of the true bypass, and because it lets your amp's and guitar's tone come through.
The overdrive itself doesn't color your sound, but the pedal does darken the tone (this, of course, depends on your own setup), if you know what I mean.

This is a quite good pedal, though it could have been better. I'll keep it and use it but I won't buy a new one if it would get stolen.
I wish it had a tone control though..that would have been a LOT better and that could have changed this pedal from quite a good pedal into a great one. Another thing I miss is a LED to see if it's on or off. If you use it as a boost and your ears get used to the volume you're playing on you sometimes don't know anymore if it's on or off.

two knobs. as with all pedals, this will depend more on your ears than anything else. i find myself constantly tinkering with my settings, i keep the gain at about 9 o clock usually but sometimes volume at 12 and sometimes at 4 and anywhere in between, but if you can't turn two knobs something's wrong. the only problem is no led light

i run an epiphone sheraton II through a crybaby 545 through the voodoo lab into a boss bf-2 flanger and into a fender princeton 112. it is absolutely silent in bypass, unlike most pedals which seem to leave a hint of sound, and when on is perfect. it doesn't affect the tone at all, it simply boosts it. i usually play in drive channel all the time, and then the pedal will give you a perfect boost to keep yer volume the same when you hit a solo. when the amp is clean and you hit this thing, it blasts the amp off the face of the earth. i can go from a soft acoustic volume to a thumping ear bleeding type sound. absolutely brilliant

very dependable. it seems solidly built, and i would definitely gig without a backup. in addition, i've had it for 3 months and have never needed to change the battery, i got it from veneman's and they have batteries in all their pedals as soon as they arrive, and i've never even looked at what battery it is. so even though they are difficult to change, you won't need to often

this is a very good pedal, it has really really improved my opinion of my sound. as a lead guitar player, you always hate playing on yer own and all of a sudden losing 40 decibals when you quit playing chords and go into a solo. no such problem anymore. it also keeps the sound defined, and doesn't interfere with my tone. very good pedal. i play mostly straight rock, such as oasis, the beatles, led zeppelin, but i think all that is pretty much unimportant as this pedal would work with any style of music. NOT A DISTORTION, IT'S AN OVERDRIVE

super easy 2 knobs, volume and tone. the worst part is that is has no led and for that i take away 3 points. i know this may seam severe but of all the times this thing has messed with me due to no light i will take out my revenge here.

ok now that i have vented about the led i can say it is a good sounding pedal. i use it with the volume at 12 and the gain at 9 or is it the gain at 12 and volume at 9. humm i cant remember. oh well either way i use it with a flanger and my 72' reissue strat in the 4th pickup position to get this cool sound. it ads just a little boost and just a little bite. the other sounds this thing makes sound good but are not really for me.

like a tank. i would go into war with this and my big muff. and would slay the enemy with them (maybe im telling too much).

never talked to them but have heard good things from others

great sound for the price. id buy one again if i lost it. but man i wish it had that led.

very easy to use,manual sucks,but don't really need one.just 2 knobs output & gain

i am using a fender lone star strat & ibanez strat copy,with a fender blackface deluxe.not to noisy,great clean boost sound + a wide range of overdrive/distortion sounds.i use it alone with the blues band,or combine it with my H&K tube factor with the rock band

have owned it 3 months,no problems,seems soildly built,no backup needed

i play blues/rock fits well here,very good sounding simple,analog overdrive pedal

Just plug in and go. There are only two knobs (volume and gain), and one on/off footswitch (true bypass). There is no on/off light indicator. Simplicity at it's best.

I run a Yamaha SG2000, Carvin TL60T and US MASTERS (strat) into a Carvin MTS tube combo. I usually play with the gain set at 45-50% on the high gain channel, and needed a pedal to (transparently) push the gain to 100%. The Voodoo Lab O/D works very well for this application. There is minimal coloration to the tone at lower to moderate settings. Putting the gain on the pedal past 4 o'clock starts to add a bit more treble than I care for. Overall, very pleasing to the ear.

Very sturdy. Looks and feels indestructable.

N/A

I've been playing for over 15 years, and play primarily hard, bluesy rock. I compared this pedal to a Boss OD3, Daddy-O, Tech 21 Tri-OD & XXL, and an Ibanez TS5. All of these units colored the tone too much. I ended up going with the Voodoo Lab, which was my main overdrive pedal for a while, although I eventually ended up going with a Stamps Drive-O-Matic for a little more versatility (and a little more $$). If you want a good, natural overdrive sound as an extention to your amps tone, go with the Voodoo Lab. For this use, this is the BEST overdrive available today for under $100. If you want versatility, look elsewhere.

This thing is simple. 2 knobs, volume and gain, do it all. Very intuitive.

I play an American Deluxe Fat Strat through a Hot Rod Deluxe. The overdrive allows me to get a tube driven sound at low volumes. What I particularly like is its ability to allow distortion for both chords and notes. I tend to play gain at 50% and when I want more, kick in the amp's overdrive, which gets warmed up quite a bit by the pedal. I also like the true battery bypass when it's off. Very clean & quiet.

Built like a tank. I think it's gonna be around a long time.

Haven't used them. The manual invites calls if needed, but how can you screw up something with only 2 knobs?

I love the sound of this! And I got an incredibly good price on it, so no matter what, I can't complain. Only 2 issues 1) To change batteries, you have to undo 4 tiny phillips head screws. I can see those getting lost in the dark! 2) Would be nice to have a light on it to let you know when it's on. But then, if you can't hear the difference, I guess you shouldn't be using it!

Like the rest of people say, only two knobs. I can't even remember if mine came with manual, but I didn't think I needed one anyway. No rating for this part since there is no need to say "this is good" or "this is bad". It was good for me, but how about you? By the way, it's pain in the butt to change batteries. You gonna have to unscrew the bottom panel and screw back it on when you are done.

Alright, I had this pedal a couple of years ago and got lost in somewhere. Anyway back then, I was playing my custom build strat through Twin Reverb. This pedal fatten up the sound greatly. When you are setting your gain less than maxed up, it seemed like it got a little muddy, and same thing can be said about using this pedal as a booster. I remember wishing it to have a tone control knob to add little bite, but this pedal has very thick and warm sound. When I was experimenting different sound for blues and Hendrix sort of sound, I used to have Ibanese Tube King before this pedal for boost (no gain and maxed out level) and had just about enough gain and level on this VL Overdrive. Since Tube King had three band EQ on it, I could boost up any frequency, it helped to clean up the sound of this pedal. Or other times, I had Tube King set for overdrive, and had this pedal for boost. When this pedal used as boost, now that's some huge sound you can get! Of course, it was set no gain, max out level. I thought this pedal was capable of clean boost without coloring the original sound (except for making the original signal so fat). I can't remember exactly now. I'd say, it depends on how you use it, this pedal can be very versatile, and of course, great sounding pedal.

Metal casing, tough. Very funky design on it, too. I could rely on this. I had no trouble all the time I had it.

Never dealt with them.

Very versatile, warm and big sounding overdrive pedal. Back then, I was playing a lot of Jimi Hendrix type of music, and this pedal could produce very "overdrive like fuzz" sound with boost of Tube King. Smooth sounding thing this pedal is. I lost it and I couldn't afford any pedals for a while. And I'm playing blues now, and I don't use any pedals, so I wouldn't buy it again, but not because it's a bad pedal, because I have no need for any pedal anymore. The best suggestion would be to go to music store and check it out yourself. I think this is a very good pedal.