What are the 8 main dirt pedals?

bencowling81

I was listening to either Brian Wampler or Josh Scott on a podcast. They mentioned that all dirt pedals are essentially a version or combination of one of the 8 main dirt pedals, which meaningfully differ from one another in terms of circuitry and sound. Does anyone know what those 8 ancestors are? I was thinking:

• Tubescreamer
• Klon
• Bluesbreaker
• Bluesdriver
• Rat
• Timmy
• Fuzz Face
• Big Muff

It was said like it was well established what the 8 are, but I hadn't heard this before. Can anyone shed light on this please? Could save me a fortune.

Lewy

What about the Electra circuit? I think that is a foundation for quite a few of the "tweed in a box" style pedals

Sporky

MetalZone should be on the list.

I wouldn't pay Wampler much heed. 

Fiddlesticks_

They included Fuzz Face and Big Muff but not Tone Bender? Hmm

Lewy

I think the list is the OP's, not Wampler's.....

bencowling81

Yes this list is me trying to second guess. They just said there are 8 basic circuits, but didn't say what. Also possible they were not including fuzz at all.

Fiddlesticks_

Lewy said:

I think the list is the OP's, not Wampler's.....

I think you're right - I misread basically the whole thing  

PS. I don't actually know what the 8 are, or if it's even right that there is 8 - so I'm probably not really of much value here in the end haha  

Sporky

Lewy said:

I think the list is the OP's, not Wampler's.....

Yup, but the "eight" claim might have been from Brian. 

merlin

Josh Scott mentions 5 types. 

Lebarque

Ironic for two guys that have made a living copying other people's circuits!

LionAquaLooper

You missed 3 of the most important ones.

Metal Zone
Metal Zone
Metal Zone

CarpeDiem

I’m not sure how relevant the comment is, other than from a historic context, considering the versatility/overlap of some pedals that are on the market now. Some pedals are better suited to particular amps than others.

Despite the Metal Zone often being derided on the internet, the EQ parameters make it more flexible than a lot of people realise.

Sporky

CarpeDiem said:

Despite the Metal Zone often being derided on the internet, the EQ parameters make it more flexible than a lot of people realise.

I meant it!

Superb pedal, hugely flexible. Anyone who can't get a good sound from a MetalZone shouldn't be allowed any pedals at all. 

djspecialist

Idea for a research project: smash two Klons together at near light speed in a particle accelerator - thereby creating a radical new type of overdrive, never previously comprehended within the "8 flavours of dirt" standard model.

I'm off to write to the EPSRC. Given the cost of the raw materials, this is going to need to be a big grant ...

Hootsmon

Treble booster is missin'

CarpeDiem

Sporky said:

CarpeDiem said:

Despite the Metal Zone often being derided on the internet, the EQ parameters make it more flexible than a lot of people realise.

I meant it!

Superb pedal, hugely flexible. Anyone who can't get a good sound from a MetalZone shouldn't be allowed any pedals at all. 

Apologies @Sporky as my comment wasn’t directed at you, or anybody else. I just think it’s a versatile pedal which, like most kit, benefits from being dialled in correctly.

Wis awarded for your comment!

Sporky

I didn't take it as a dig.

You are right that it is unfairly denigrated. And it's certainly possible to get some "less useful" sounds out of it too... 

Revolutions

Boss OD-1 is a unique circuit. And as the first pedal should be on there?

timmy is based on the ts, so not a root pedal

Needs more boss:
Digital Metalizer (MZ-2) must be unique (& silly). We could scratch the big muff & put HM-2. And swap fuzz face for the Hyper Fuzz (FZ-2). With the BD-2, that’s five Boss pedals.

I’ve forgotten what I was doing though?

Sporky

The Zvex Machine is unlike anything else I know of - it is a crossover distortion, so no clipping, just a weird mangling around every zero crossing. 

GoFish

Ther's lots missing, casuse it's a figure pulled out of their fundament.

It's like saying "There's only really seven book plots etc.

If genius is 99% perspiration or whatever, these two at at least half genius. (plot twist, that misunderstands the whole concept  of Genius, but I digress)

Wampler seems harmless enough (ooooh, tummmmnussss!) with one really good trick of giving all his clones a metal zone esque EQ stack.

JHS seems a smart businessman. I'll leave it at that.

To the OP - there are no short cuts, even with the super low hanging fruit of pedal circuits. It's true, most drives are variants of a few basic ones - how many depends on if you are a lumper or a splitter. 

This also tells us nothing about what, if anything, easch iteration added to the circuit. Would a Timmy be any less fabulous as yet another tubescreamer? Would a Jan Ray be marginally more inspired if it wasn't just a Timmy with a spit n' polish?

There are as many ways to assemble basic components as there are people willing to try. It's the hows and whys that matter, imo.

ICBM

Revolutions said:

Tubescreamer & Boss OD-1 are different circuits.

Not very - the TS is based on the OD-1, with an added tone control. They're part of the same 'family tree'.

Revolutions said:

timmy is based on the ts, so not a root pedal.

A TS with Rat filtering, essentially.

Interestingly so is the Zendrive.

I don't know what the "eight" are though, a lot of it depends on how you define combining different elements, exactly like that.