Overdrive/Distortion pedal for my Gibson Tal Farlow

**jzjazz** · 07-04-2018, 06:58 PM

Hi!

I'm working with a new band (where we play our own music, which is super exciting) where one or two compositions would require me to play a overdriven guitar.

My setup is simple - Gibson Tal Farlow into Fender Deluxe Reverb. Some freeze / delay / reverb in between. No overdrive for the last 15 years or so

Now today I've borrowed a TS9 TubeScreamer from a friend and it pretty much does what I want it to do. But I have to have the drive knob turned fully up, otherwise it doesn't get distorted enough. Moreover the distortion is very dependent on A. how I attack the strings. With soft attack a get a clean signal even with the drive fully up. B. The level the pedal gets from the guitar. It has to be hot, otherwise - clean signal again.

So on one hand I like what it sounds (as much as I may like a overdriven signal, not a big fan of it). But on the other hand I would prefer to buy a pedal, where I get what I expect at a 12 o'clock position so I have the more or less option. With the tube screamer I can't get anymore distorted and that's a bit sad

Anything which sounds familiar but allows to distort more?
Which pedals do you use? Which pedals go good with hollowbodies?
I don't even know what the difference is between distortion and overdrive

What should I look for?

Thanks!
Jakub

**marcwhy** · 07-04-2018, 07:17 PM

Sounds fun!

I've been using the Sarno "Earth Drive" recently, and I like it.

How "dirty" do you need to be -- Scofield or Metallica?!

Check this out:

Let us know what you get!

**blille** · 07-04-2018, 07:21 PM

The characteristic of the Tubescreamer is the mid hump. If you like that but want more gain I suggest a Rat.

Hollow bodies don’t go great with OD due to feedback. Apart from that it’s all a matter of taste.

Check this as a starting point:

**entresz** · 07-04-2018, 10:50 PM

The Boss OD-3 is a good pedal too

I have one of these and it's great - I'm not sure how the amount of gain compares with a TS but in my opinion it has a lot of gain.

OD-3 has a flat EQ, ie. doesn't have the bass cut/mid hump of the TS. Personally I like this as it gives you what is essentially your clean sound, but with gain.

**Jabberwocky** · 07-04-2018, 11:02 PM

Analogman King of Tone or Prince of Tone are very good and chewy. You can choose to have low gain and high gain channels on the King of Tone.

**cosmic gumbo** · 07-05-2018, 12:00 AM

ProCo Rat

**Frank67** · 07-05-2018, 12:27 AM

Yes, with a fender amp an OD with pronounced mids is a good idea.
A rat is a great pedal. The tiny little Mooer version (black secret) is cheap and sounds great
the TC electronics dark matter is also cheap and good sounding.
You can also stack pedals and boost your TS9 into more overdrive. Stevie Ray Vaughn used two tube screamers in series.

But I am surprised that you are not having feedback issues with the Tal at high OD settings.

**D.G.** · 07-05-2018, 12:38 AM

If you play with your volume control turned down, a TS might not have enough gain. Of course, the solution is to turn the guitar all the way up when you're using the pedal

I like the (discontinued) Hardwire CM-2 for TS type tones and it has much more gain on tap than your average TS clone, and it's flatter, i.e. less mid hump, which may or may not be what you like. A Rat or clone thereof is pretty good option as well, gotta say.

**Flat** · 07-05-2018, 12:55 AM

Another ProCo RAT vote. I still use the one I bought in 1983!

**Ray175** · 07-05-2018, 02:35 AM

If you don't want to turn your volume up to push the TS9 where you want it to go, maybe consider a simple boost pedal before the TS9 - something like the TC Electronic Spark is inexpensive and can give up to 20db boost. Otherwise I'd consider the Rat

**jzjazz** · 07-05-2018, 02:56 AM

Thanks to all of you!

A couple things I want to add:
- the Tal doesn't feedback too much, but I didn't try this at gig volumes

although I have a very loud drummer and I'm playing pretty loud already on rehearsals
- I don't want two pedals, so far I have two and I'm not planning to double the size of my pedalboard

- even the rat seems too big and heavy to me
- the mooer black secret might me my favorite here, because of its weight
- but maybe the turbo tube screamer is what I'm looking for? Not as small but seems to have a wide range of sounds...

Today I'm giving the ts9 another chance anyway

**Zephyr690** · 07-05-2018, 03:30 AM

Lazy j cruiser

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

**Gitfiddler** · 07-05-2018, 03:51 AM

The most transparent OD pedals I've ever used are White-faced Rat and Hermida Zendrive. I've heard that the OCD pedal is very transparent and is true bypass as well.

**cosmic gumbo** · 07-05-2018, 04:08 AM

I've owned my plastic Danelectro Fab Distortion for a dozen years, gigged with it into my Deluxe Reverb, it still works. Cost $15 then, costs $15 now. It's just a cheap tool that does a job.

My personal experience is that an overdrive pedal doesn't work well as a distortion pedal. Overdrive can sound muddy with humbuckers, and won't give an edgy/crunchy breakup like a distortion pedal does, IMO. I'm sure with the hundreds of pedals on the market, defining what's overdrive and what's distortion is somewhat useless.

**John A.** · 07-05-2018, 07:48 AM

Originally Posted by jzjazz

Hi!

I'm working with a new band (where we play our own music, which is super exciting) where one or two compositions would require me to play a overdriven guitar.

My setup is simple - Gibson Tal Farlow into Fender Deluxe Reverb. Some freeze / delay / reverb in between. No overdrive for the last 15 years or so

Now today I've borrowed a TS9 TubeScreamer from a friend and it pretty much does what I want it to do. But I have to have the drive knob turned fully up, otherwise it doesn't get distorted enough. Moreover the distortion is very dependent on A. how I attack the strings. With soft attack a get a clean signal even with the drive fully up. B. The level the pedal gets from the guitar. It has to be hot, otherwise - clean signal again.

So on one hand I like what it sounds (as much as I may like a overdriven signal, not a big fan of it). But on the other hand I would prefer to buy a pedal, where I get what I expect at a 12 o'clock position so I have the more or less option. With the tube screamer I can't get anymore distorted and that's a bit sad

Anything which sounds familiar but allows to distort more?
Which pedals do you use? Which pedals go good with hollowbodies?
I don't even know what the difference is between distortion and overdrive

What should I look for?

Thanks!
Jakub

There are several pedals that are basically a tubescreamer with a boost circuit that will probably accomplish what you're looking for. These come to mind:

Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive
T-Rex Crunchy Frog (I have one, want to buy it?)
Fulltone Full Drive

I mainly use a Fulltone OCD, which has a lot more gain/overdrive than a TS type pedal, but does not have the characteristic mid boost of a TS.

John

**jzucker** · 07-05-2018, 08:10 AM

zendrive or clone is still the best OD pedal IMO although I love the xotic pedals more for fusion and just a light overdrive. The Timmy pedal also sounds great for jazz

**Litterick** · 07-05-2018, 08:30 AM

I think what you need is the Paul Crowther Hotcake:

It is hand made in New Zealand.

**jorgemg1984** · 07-05-2018, 09:05 AM

It's not easy to find good ODs for archtops. I like the AC Booster a lot, for that specific purpose and it has more gain than a TS.

What I currently use is a modified TS. A 1M gain pot will and a bass switch will make the pedal much more versatile and with a lot more gain. These are very easy mods.

**Cavalier** · 07-05-2018, 10:59 AM

I agree that a distortion pedal is the better route for a hollow body than a overdrive, they seem to have less feedback and more noticeable effect at lower gain.

**Longways to Go** · 07-05-2018, 11:09 AM

I really like my Fulltone Fulldrive 3.
It does Overdrive and distortion, and can mix them together in endless variation.
However, it's a double pedal, so perhaps bigger than you might want.

**339 in june** · 07-05-2018, 04:19 PM

+1 for the ProCo RAT
It works nice with an Heritage Sweet 16 when needed, so I'm pretty convinced it'll work with your Tal
Easy to tweak.
Dirt cheap.

**Jehu** · 07-05-2018, 06:25 PM

... and +1 on the Mooer Black Secret clone, if you're interested in the RAT route. Very small footprint and sounds as good as the original as far as I can hear, plus you've got the Turbo RAT option for more madness!

**jzucker** · 07-05-2018, 07:02 PM

summary: Every distortion/OD pedal ever made

**KirkP** · 07-06-2018, 08:18 PM

Originally Posted by jzjazz

… I don't even know what the difference is between distortion and overdrive

Overdrive/Distortion pedal for my Gibson Tal Farlow

What should I look for?

Electrical engineers define “distortion” as any nonlinearity in the signal chain, but guitarists and pedal manufacturers only use the term to describe effects that involve hard clipping. “Overdrive” refers to the effect of feeding an amplifier a signal high enough that it becomes nonlinear but not necessarily to the point of hard clipping. Here’s how Gibson explains it:
Effects Explained: Overdrive, Distortion, and Fuzz

Sounds like you may need a distortion pedal instead of an overdrive. I rarely use distortion or overdrive pedals, but I keep some cheap Danelectro pedals around for the occasional tune that needs it. I prefer overdrive so it will clean up at normal volumes and get a little crunchy when I turn up.

**SkipBurz** · 07-06-2018, 08:38 PM

I play with a jazz ensemble and do pit orchestra work where I occasionally need distortion, overdrive or both. I play an ES 335 and an ES 175. Two pedals I have fallen in love with that are extremely versatile and sound great with either guitar are the J. Rocket Dude and the Wampler Euphoria. Both are very versatile and will give you as much OD or distortion as you need. I usually play through a Fender BF Deluxe. Since I only want one OD/distortion pedal on my board, I tend to favor the Dude.