The best overdrives.....

4on6

Surely it’s about the whole signal chain and how the parts react to each other?? I had a ton of fun last year with a lovepedal amp11 into a slightly driving brownface deluxe type (Lil Dawg ChocoDawg. Fantastic amp... but I do worry about the name) )but when I wanted a little more gain it just wouldn’t play nice with the tumnus whatever I did... too much mid everywhere and it was just collapsing. I had to rethink the board... again!!! 

Few years ago I had a reezafrtzitz that I’d loved with other amps... got an original vibrolux and again, the two just would not play nice together. I have an old 70s distortion+ that is often surprisingly good. My teens playing along with Zep and Lizzy recordings was mostly distortion+ or sd1. These had replaced the big muff cos it was ‘rubbish cos you can’t play a minor 7th chord through it’, if only I’d kept that... I do like a nice muff now and again! 

Main overdrive for years was a fulldrive when they were ‘the thing’... had some great tones but again, took me years before I realised it was basically a tubescreamer with added features... I always thought I didn’t like tubescreamers!! 

Sd1s are great... but maybe a little 1 dimensional compared to modern gain pedals. 

...... and then it all depends in weather it’s single coils are humbuckers that you’re trying to get singing.... and if you’re playing live is it a 10 peice band with horns and keys that you’re trying to cut through or a power trio that you need to fill out.... yadda yadda.... it’s all fun. (After you’ve torn your remaining hair out chasing the rainbow). 

pumkin

I’ve got to say that the Kingtone Blues Power is one of the best I’ve used in a long time ..... 

gjonesy

Former forum fav - Subdecay liquid sunshine 

LightB4sound

Tried so so many over the years and spent a fortune to always come back to my Boss SD1. 

Followed closely by Boss OD3, Marshall Guvnor and Boss BD2.

In hindsight I could have saved thousands!

Sassafras

Surely the best overdrives are the ones you've used longest.
In my case the Boss OD2 I've been using for over 30 years.
I realise owning a pedal for longer than a fortnight is an alien concept for many of you on here.

Barquentine

I've used an OD3 for years and really like it. I had a Rat 2 many years ago and didn't get on with it - swapped it for a yo-yo. I've just received a TC Electronic Spark (not the mini) which is really good - a clean boost but it can add a ton of gain if you want it to. The first pedal I owned was a Colorsound Tonebender - pretty horrible but I wish I still had it because they fetch silly money.

ICBM

Sassafras said:

Surely the best overdrives are the ones you've used longest.
In my case the Boss OD2 I've been using for over 30 years.
I realise owning a pedal for longer than a fortnight is an alien concept for many of you on here.

By that token mine is the Boss DF-2. I've been using it as my main 'solo' drive sound for over 20 years - partly because of its sound, and partly because of the unique feature of the feedbacker, which allows you to add all sorts of sustain and harmonics when you get the hang of triggering it briefly just at the right point.

Springywheel

Finding it hard to fault my sidecar/broadcast combo....I think the former just edges it for me

Greatape

Been through a bunch. Keep coming back to OD3 and Timmy. Although Lovepedal Valve Reamer is proving useful for home playing.

fretmeister

SD-1w
TS
OD-1X
MXR Super Badass Distortion

enjo

I've been through a few, currently down to:

• Ramble Marvel Drive 3
• TS Mini  
• Mythos Golden Fleece (fuzz)

DavidRees

obviously the MJW hardwired drive pedal as seen in my avatar and just posted in the classifieds ...

Devil#20

Not strictly an overdrive pedal but sort of at high levels. The MXR echoplex preamp. Not to be confused by the echoplex delay pedal. The above works well for blues type overdrive and I also have a Ibazez TS808 which also works nice for me. I've had others but they've all come and gone. From what I understand there are different types of distortion/overdrive circuits and the more expensive units have mode switching to accommodate this so 'overdrive' or 'fuzz' is a very generic term. 

I'm sure there's much better pedals out there than the 2 I've got but to find better becomes a bit of a crusade, like most of the stuff we buy. I'm also into hi fi. Most hobbies are reasonably cheap once you've got over the initial outlay for your gear to get you going. Unfortunately guitars and hi-fi aren't, or at least tend not to be. Should have taken up birdspotting. Binoculars, bird book, butties and flask, 

builttospill

SD-2

jdgm

RAT and KOT for me.

Axe_meister

It all boils down to a few simple concepts

Tubescreamer type (with either hard or soft clipping)
RAT Style
Bluebreaker Style
Klon Style

Even then they can be boiled down to Soft Clipping (in the feed back loop) or hard clipping (to ground), with or without a mid hump and with or without lots of head room.

mudslide73

I really like the Barber LTD still.