On my search for the right med gain overdrive/ distortion....I found.....the Barber Direct Drive!!!! This thing is sweet, with the Fat Harmonics pull knob, it sounds awesome!!! I haven't had a chance to play it live yet but I'm already thinking this pedal has a much better chance of staying in the mix than my Crunchbox did. Wherever I had the settings on that pedal I just didn't like it and it never could stay with a two guitar rocking mix in MY RIG.....

that said......anybody want to buy a Crunchbox?

P.S. Out of all the pedal recommendations you guys gave me, this wasn't one of em....you old geezers and young whipper snappers are losing your touch ...quit playing yer guitar, get out there, and start playing some pedals!!!!

I got tired of recommending it because no one ever took the advice LOL. Everyone seems to want the flavor of the month drive pedal, but this one should get a lot more press than it does. It really is a fantastic drive pedal. I've been through a bunch of them, and the DD sounds more like an amp to me than the other drives I've played. It's incredibly dynamic also. I've learned to play softly with fingers for almost clean tones and slam it with a pick when I want the distortion.

It sits beautifully in the mix, which is the reason I got interested in it in the first place. My buddy had one, and no matter how busy the mix was he always cut right through without sounding the least bit harsh.

I'm about to pick up the low gain version before long because I have been keeping the gain below 11:00 for the longest time.

D

My DD goes on and off the board, but i would agree that it doesn't get near the respect it deserves. Funny enough, i just spent an hour or two this morning with nothing but guitar-LTD-DD-amp, instead of my normal chain of neverending effects. Sounded great, as i knew it would, since these two were my only dirt pedals for a bulk of the gigs i played last year. Today i was tweaking my DD towards the higher gain reaches, and it was thumping like a hi-gain Marshall. I was pretty surprised, since i never really go for that tone, that i could get into that 80's VH ballpark with a tele and a Maz 18.

Anyways, tho the DD is not an end all pedal for me, I try to recommend it for people who want an OCD alternative. I think it's every bit as touch sensitive, more tweakable, no mid scoop, and ballsier in the low gain settings. YMMV.

The LTD is my fave of the Barber's so far (it's my 4th), but the DD is an outright winner.

cheers