Origin Effects Revival Drive Compact - Review & Initial Thoughts...

keir

I saw if you have the 1st dip switch up on the big box version the eq still affects the clean signal even when the pedal is switched off. 

Also this demo of the revival trem sounds great

https://youtu.be/kJzEaVjh2LM

hotpickups

keir said:

I saw if you have the 1st dip switch up on the big box version the eq still affects the clean signal even when the pedal is switched off. 

Also this demo of the revival trem sounds great

https://youtu.be/kJzEaVjh2LM

Insanely great that trem. You never know it might make me want to tip my Flint off the board. Not yet though I think I’m becoming an OE fan boy. They can’t do a thing wrong in my eyes/ears 

keir

Had a rehearsal tonight with my AC30 with blues and struggled to get a good sound all night. Decided to take my 330 as well which might not have been the best choice as it was squealing when I started to turn up the gain. 

hotpickups

I have just upgraded to the big box Revival Drive but I've also bought the switcher Interface that OE do so I can switch in options i.e. Mid Boost, Blend, Channel switch and bypass from my Boss ES5 switcher. Sounds amazing and so versatile It's all I need dirt wise. Still keeping my RD Compact though for the time being but dare say that it'll be in the classifieds one day probably 

keir

hotpickups said:

I have just upgraded to the big box Revival Drive but I've also bought the switcher Interface that OE do so I can switch in options i.e. Mid Boost, Blend, Channel switch and bypass from my Boss ES5 switcher. Sounds amazing and so versatile It's all I need dirt wise. Still keeping my RD Compact though for the time being but dare say that it'll be in the classifieds one day probably 

What amp are you using yours with?

hotpickups

@keir ;Well it will be my RDA Dualist but that’s having some work done on it at the moment so for the time being I’m plugging into my back up amp a DV mini head which isn’t as good sounding as the RDA but it sounds pretty good too now. Very happy  

smudge_lad

I tried mine at the weekend, at home, into my Badcat and had it turned up to Id say high-ish bedroom volumes and was stunned by it. Tonight I took it along to band rehearsal, where I got the amp cranked quite a bit. A clean channel of a Marshall valve amp, running the RDC on the Marshall setting, gain between 12-3 o’clock and EQ to suit. MY GOD! Absolutely unreal! I can’t actually believe how good it was. I couldn’t stop playing it, and wish I’d had another two hours there on my own to fuck around with it.

Will definitely be gigging it next week!

hotpickups

smudge_lad said:

I tried mine at the weekend, at home, into my Badcat and had it turned up to Id say high-ish bedroom volumes and was stunned by it. Tonight I took it along to band rehearsal, where I got the amp cranked quite a bit. A clean channel of a Marshall valve amp, running the RDC on the Marshall setting, gain between 12-3 o’clock and EQ to suit. MY GOD! Absolutely unreal! I can’t actually believe how good it was. I couldn’t stop playing it, and wish I’d had another two hours there on my own to fuck around with it.

Will definitely be gigging it next week!

Yep it’s addictive It raises some eyebrows in my band when I kick it on Trouble is I don’t like turning it off lol

ragingben

I'm really tempted with the compact. I was originally looking to buy the full version, am I missing much by going for the compact? I've looked at the specs and it seems like you miss a lot, although other than the dual channels and the ghost notes it does seem to be the controls that I'd imagine are set and forget that seem to be missing. One of the reasons I'm thinking of not getting the full version is I'd want to use a switcher to switch between the channels and the interface box to do that is the best part of another £130 on top!

hotpickups

ragingben said:

I'm really tempted with the compact. I was originally looking to buy the full version, am I missing much by going for the compact? I've looked at the specs and it seems like you miss a lot, although other than the dual channels and the ghost notes it does seem to be the controls that I'd imagine are set and forget that seem to be missing. One of the reasons I'm thinking of not getting the full version is I'd want to use a switcher to switch between the channels and the interface box to do that is the best part of another £130 on top!

I’ve got the switcher interface for my RD @ragingben . It works a treat and really opens up the RD further. It’s the reason why I upgraded from the RDC to the RD so I could access the mid boost a d blend control remotely. It’s that that you miss out on with the compact. Depends on what you want to do and how you want to use it. Currently kept hold of my RDC for the time being 

I bought my RD used though so I could afford the switcher interface on top

ragingben

Thanks @hotpickups! I've just reread the thread and there's a lot of info in there. Hmm a lot to think about! How about the ghost notes thing, would you miss that on the compact?

hotpickups

ragingben said:

Thanks @hotpickups! I've just reread the thread and there's a lot of info in there. Hmm a lot to think about! How about the ghost notes thing, would you miss that on the compact?

To be honest I wouldn’t miss it. It gives something but not essential just a nice feel/touch thing   

ragingben

@hotpickups thanks again, I'll give it some thought.

Winny_Pooh

I had mine for an afternoon before it was flipped. Overall, it's an awesome pedal and is extremely flexible 

There were three tones I was trying to see if it would improve on:
1-Td-x/tube driver lead tone
2-Treble Boost into blackstone - medium breakup
3- silicon fuzz into a smoothing drive(the RD)

I used it into the front of a clean valve amp, I dont need it as  a preamp.
(I tweaked alot for each scenario! Before anyone comments)

Result
1- could just about cover this job but thinner on the upper mids.
2- good
3- awful, it was way too compressed

Overall as a drive pedal it did feel a bit too compressed into the front of an amp but did sound very good. I'm spoiled by my present setup so off it went.

hotpickups

With reference to number 3 above I did the same with my GE fuzz and I initially found the same. However, I realised I had to set it up differently - mainly the blend. I did have the RD set up as a raging maxed out Marshall type OD but with the Fuzz going into that it did sound compressed as there wasn’t much headroom left, as it would with a real amp I guess ? Reduced the maxed out settings and it was fine, lovely in fact. It’s all personal though innit  

lukedlb

Regarding the fuzz into RD issue, it’s an easy fix: reduce the bass on the rd. Include some blend if you require extra headroom 
I play Hendrix so a lot of the drive is from an alive amp with the fuzz supplying all the bass and mids. Listen to Hendrix live and when he plays just thru the amp, the bass is absent. The univibe and fuzz provide the eq. 

As such, the manic depression settings are false since fuzz is clearly used (the volume clean up after the solo is obvious). 

Winny_Pooh

I've A/B'd many post fuzz (SI) drives and none do what the Blackstone Mosfet does for my taste. Just has more weight/authority and balance to the frequencies, whereas to get the same tones the RD looses something when the blend is less than 75% IMO.

Not a slight on the RD, its a swiss amy knife that has alot going for it. It's so amp like that all that extra circuitry adds alot of compression and fatness. 

lukedlb

Winny_Pooh said:

I've A/B'd many post fuzz (SI) drives and none do what the Blackstone Mosfet does for my taste. Just has more weight/authority and balance to the frequencies, whereas to get the same tones the RD looses something when the blend is less than 75% IMO.

Not a slight on the RD, its a swiss amy knife that has alot going for it. It's so amp like that all that extra circuitry adds alot of compression and fatness. 

Yes, I think the RD has to be treated as an amp rather than a pedal. Drive pedals push frequencies in your amp opening up the vocalist of the amp. The compression you refer to actually panicked me; with bass knob reduced and fuzz vol output adjusted to the pedal (not the amp), a compromise was reached, further improved with the blend. 
This is where the 2 channel pedal wins as you can set one side for optimum fuzz use, the other for regular plexi. 

stickyfiddle

lukedlb said:

Winny_Pooh said:

I've A/B'd many post fuzz (SI) drives and none do what the Blackstone Mosfet does for my taste. Just has more weight/authority and balance to the frequencies, whereas to get the same tones the RD looses something when the blend is less than 75% IMO.

Not a slight on the RD, its a swiss amy knife that has alot going for it. It's so amp like that all that extra circuitry adds alot of compression and fatness. 

Yes, I think the RD has to be treated as an amp rather than a pedal. Drive pedals push frequencies in your amp opening up the vocalist of the amp. The compression you refer to actually panicked me; with bass knob reduced and fuzz vol output adjusted to the pedal (not the amp), a compromise was reached, further improved with the blend. 
This is where the 2 channel pedal wins as you can set one side for optimum fuzz use, the other for regular plexi. 

Yup this. I'm not a fuzz guy so won't comment on that element, but it all makes most sense if you think of it as a preamp rather than an OD pedal. 

Wazmeister

lukedlb said:

Yes, I think the RD has to be treated as an amp rather than a pedal. Drive pedals push frequencies in your amp opening up the vocalist of the amp. The compression you refer to actually panicked me; with bass knob reduced and fuzz vol output adjusted to the pedal (not the amp), a compromise was reached, further improved with the blend. 

Wisdom here Luke, and spot on.