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

Keefy

I agree 100% with the comments about treating the RD like an amp. I use my RD Compact to add a dirty ‘Marshall’ channel to my single-channel amps.

hotpickups

Keefy said:

I agree 100% with the comments about treating the RD like an amp. I use my RD Compact to add a dirty ‘Marshall’ channel to my single-channel amps.

I've been using my RD in a very different way over the past few days since reading some of the comments above. Still love it

ragingben

Just done something naughty... ordered a second hand RD Custom with the extra footswitch, with eBay 10% off vouchers totalled £378 which I couldn't resist. Looks like it has some small scratches on the side but I can overlook that for the saving. It's the most I've ever dropped on a pedal, looks daunting... where's best to start with it?

hotpickups

ragingben said:

Just done something naughty... ordered a second hand RD Custom with the extra footswitch, with eBay 10% off vouchers totalled £378 which I couldn't resist. Looks like it has some small scratches on the side but I can overlook that for the saving. It's the most I've ever dropped on a pedal, looks daunting... where's best to start with it?

Bargain well done. It’s not as daunting as it may first appear @ragingben it can’t be if I can use / understand if lol 

lukedlb

ragingben said:

Just done something naughty... ordered a second hand RD Custom with the extra footswitch, with eBay 10% off vouchers totalled £378 which I couldn't resist. Looks like it has some small scratches on the side but I can overlook that for the saving. It's the most I've ever dropped on a pedal, looks daunting... where's best to start with it?

I faced that dread and confusion in this thread: https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/148284/revival-drive-custom-how-to-tune-your-eq2#latest
This was the point where everything got a little clearer:

Begin by matching the dry gain volume to the bypass and set the blend to full CW. That way I can compare the drive channel (set to as clean as possible) with the bypass / blend override switch. The goal is to match the bypassed/dry blend signal to the clean drive channel. I chose the silicon channel as the voicing is closer to my Superlead. More/Pres set to 12 o'clock. Lows barely on. Ghost to zero. Volume and output to match the bypass level and clean.

Hi-shelf is set to 12 o'clock as a starting point.
Bright Cap set fully CCW (zero)
Preamp is 0 for a neutral GB sound.
I wonder if using the GB preamp would have radically altered the EQ tuning. EQ1 is for fender type amps, whereas EQ2 is for everything I reckon (anyone to confirm?). Anyway, mine was set to 0.


Now that the pedal has been prepared, I can begin to 'tune' the eq to match the drive to the amp:

Mode II was selected for darker amps.
I turned the ADJ to fully CW to match the darker bass response of my amp and gradually moved it CCW to better tune it. Once I was happy, I selected among the FREQ to get a closer response. Switching back and forth with the dry signal, I could detect the subtle differences of extra mid: the difference between ooooh and ahhhhh. It required slightly adjusting the ADJ as well as the FREQ until I found an almost identical wet/dry whether bypassed or blend override.

However, I felt some of the top end was missing and turned my attention to the Hi-shelf. I added just a smidgeon of boost and then used the SHELF FREQ to exactly approximate the dry signal.

Switching between dry and wet, I was finally satisfied with identical sounds.

At this point, phase 2: getting a superlead drive response, my main guitar amp and drive tone. I set the preamp to GB. I prefer not to use the bright cap and set the VOLUME to 12 o'clock and adjusted the OUTPUT accordingly. I added a little LOWS and a little PRES and set blend to half way and GHOST to 2 o'clock.

And there it was: a light plexi drive. With a fuzz face guided by the guitar volume I acheived Hendrix glory. Importantly, the LOWS are set low as the fuzz will choke the pedal.

Feeling more confident, I turned my attention to the valve rectifier aiming for a tweed drive: Preamp to US, Brightcap to 0, More at 9 o'clock. Lows at 12 o'clock, Ghost fully CW with Gain at 10 o'clock and output matched accordingly. Importantly, I didn't have to mess with anything else. 

I quickly tried out the MID ENGAGE and it hinted at a SRV voicing for soloing. I'll have a proper look at that later.

In the future, as I get used to the drives and increase them, I will probably have to adjust the Bright cap cut and the CUT FREQ accordingly. Furthermore, using the 50/50 Blend, I can retain the amp's interaction with my fuzz as well as the driven. I will probably increase the drive and use the blend to provide my core sound. Then switch on the OVERRIDE to go full out overdrive.

A big help in understanding the RD was how the SHELF FREQ provides 3 options for the HI-SHELF setting so you can better tune it. Similarly, the FREQ provides 3 options for the ADJ, and likewise for the CUT FREQ's 3 options for the BRIGHT CAP and BRIGHT CUT.

Wazmeister

@lukedlb - great post mate, and I know youve got ‘good ears’

ragingben

@lukedlb wow, thanks for the post. That's going to take a bit to digest I think, it sounds complicated to be honest but I'm sure when it's all set up in front of me it will be OK. Can't wait!

hotpickups

Wow I’ve never been that methodical with it but I might now  

breezytele

Ideally, one would need something like 12  weeks at home, to explore the settings... as if...

hotpickups

breezytele said:

Ideally, one would need something like 12  weeks at home, to explore the settings... as if...

Just go with your ears is my advise. You’ll know if you don’t like something when turning knobs

breezytele

hotpickups said:

breezytele said:

Ideally, one would need something like 12  weeks at home, to explore the settings... as if...

Just go with your ears is my advise. You’ll know if you don’t like something when turning knobs

Yes, I agree. Took me a while initially

One thing I tried, which I like , at least for now, is adjusting mid controls for a  sort of cocked wah effect

mid assign > select foot switch 
mid level > fully CW
mid freq > fully CCW

at least it’s clearly noticeable when you step on the f/switch

Wazmeister

Just stumbled on this. Not a bad review...

blacknblack

 Been looking at threads on this but can’t find anything more recent / as good.  

I was wondering how people feel about the Revival Drive compact now 4 years on from the original post?  Do people still have it?  Is it still good?  Or has it been superseded by any of the many things out since?  

Keefy

blacknblack said:

 Been looking at threads on this but can’t find anything more recent / as good.  

I was wondering how people feel about the Revival Drive compact now 4 years on from the original post?  Do people still have it?  Is it still good?  Or has it been superseded by any of the many things out since?  

Yep, still using mine regularly. A second full-size RD (other one is in my home studio setup) booted my Compact off my main board and onto two other boards:
- As a solo boost on my rock'n'roll board (usually into a '57 Deluxe clone); or
- As an amp sim running into an IR loader (for speaker sim) on my direct-to-PA board.

stickyfiddle

Still love it. I actually sold mine, but only because I got the full size RD. I'd very happily have another Compact if I needed one 

TheBigDipper

I used to have a full sized RD, but downgraded it to the RDC because it suited my needs better as my needs changed. It's worth remembering that the RD was developed to let people get the sound of a non-master volume amp at full chat into a clean pedal platform amp. And it is absolutely marvellous at doing that. 

I'm using the RDC as a "go direct" amp into a Neunaber Iconoclast (cab simulator) for both live use and recording. I've got it set up to sound Voxy and give a Voxy clean when I play quietly and break up musically when I dig in or hit it with a TC Spark. It responds to the guitar volume control. I don't feed it overdrive or distortion. In my use case, that's the job of the "amp". 

I don't think there's anything better for my needs. I'd like to have an analogue signal path with MIDI control over the knobs and some MIDI-loadable presets, but the sounds I can get now are excellent.