Something along the lines of the Keeley BD-2
What's really see through?

Well, of course, the terms "transparency" and "overdrive" are divergent--anything that induces distortion is going to introduce artifacts that take you away from transparency. What I think you're asking for is a pedal that seems to allow the guitar to retain its sonic signature while distorting, that is, a pedal which operates without adding a drastically new eq shape. For this reason, you probably aren't looking for a Tube Screamer variant; that mid-boost helps your leads cut through a mix, but it also tends to smudge your guitar's aural fingerprint a bit. Also, TS-type pedals tend to introduce a fair amount of perceived compression into the signal.

You might check into the Tim. It's renowned for allowing the guitar to retain its personality. I play a Timmy (less options, higher gain than the Tim), and of the four overdrives on my board (LTD, Zendrive, DS-1, Timmy), it's the one that sound most like my guitar, just more distorted. One thing it doesn't do, however, is clean up when you turn your volume down, like the OCD and some other pedals will.

The Barber LTD is a fairly transparent OD. I have mine set with the drive at about 10:00 and it gives me my guitar tone with just a touch of drive with it. I love it for cleanish blues stuff and Hendrixy stuff.

quote:

Originally posted by kstrat62:
The Barber LTD is a fairly transparent OD. I have mine set with the drive at about 10:00 and it gives me my guitar tone with just a touch of drive with it. I love it for cleanish blues stuff and Hendrixy stuff.

how about the interbal trinpots? did ya change
the settings?

Uh oh.

He said the "T" word

Hands down, the Menatone Red Snapper. More clarity than any other overdrive I've played.

H

The Gainster is what you are searching for. The Tim will get you nearly there, and the OCD is close to what you want.

Look at the Gainster... I've only had experience with the old one, I'm not sure about the new one.

By the way, don't let Tone Dog hear you use the the word "transparent." It is a word that hasn't been used much around these parts for over three years.

quote:

Originally posted by LeoFenderBender:
By the way, don't let Tone Dog hear you use the the word "transparent." It is a word that hasn't been used much around these parts for over three years.

I'll stop being such a stickler about "transparency" when people stop recommending pedals with bass loss and/or midrange humps - like the Gainster - to someone who has asked for pedals that WON"T color their tone.

quote:

Originally posted by Tone Dog:
I'll stop being such a stickler about "transparency" when people stop recommending pedals with bass loss and/or midrange humps - like the Gainster - to someone who has asked for pedals that WON"T color their tone.

I see you didn't recommend a pedal. Not surprising since no pedal is the only pedal that fits YOUR rather NARROW criteria for transparency.

Were talking about guitar pedals right? Should be laid back and fun.

Anyway, I like the BJF LGW for clean boost and overdrive. Pretty flat eq, maybe a little high end boost and doesnt color the tone. The klon is nice too.

Mike

The OCD is a highly transparent OD.

However, I'm with Mongoose on this one - any OD is going to alter your sound to some degree or another. If maximum transparency is your priority, I think a nice fat-boost to push a tube amp can't be beat. I'm really enjoying the Catalinbread Sagrado Poblano Picoso for that.

V

The Hotcake and TIM are 2 that I own that keep the sound of your amp intact.

Same here ...... Hotcake and Timmy. Timmy a bit more tranparent, but I marginally prefer the Hotcake.

t

quote:

Same here ...... Hotcake and Timmy. Timmy a bit more tranparent, but I marginally prefer the Hotcake.

I also slightly prefer the HC in my rig. It just seems a little warmer where the TIM sounds little more "HIFI" to my ears. When using the TIM I do like to kick on the Boost on leads for a little more oomph.

quote:

Originally posted by LeoFenderBender:

quote:

Originally posted by Tone Dog:
I'll stop being such a stickler about "transparency" when people stop recommending pedals with bass loss and/or midrange humps - like the Gainster - to someone who has asked for pedals that WON"T color their tone.

I see you didn't recommend a pedal. Not surprising since no pedal is the only pedal that fits YOUR rather NARROW criteria for transparency.

No, I didn't recommend a pedal because the few that fit my admittedly narrow range have already been mentioned and I was really only reading this out of curiosity.

The fact is, I didn't intend to post anything on this thread at all - until I read your backhanded comment about me.

quote:

Originally posted by Tone Dog:

quote:

Originally posted by LeoFenderBender:

quote:

Originally posted by Tone Dog:
I'll stop being such a stickler about "transparency" when people stop recommending pedals with bass loss and/or midrange humps - like the Gainster - to someone who has asked for pedals that WON"T color their tone.

I see you didn't recommend a pedal. Not surprising since no pedal is the only pedal that fits YOUR rather NARROW criteria for transparency.

No, I didn't recommend a pedal because the few that fit my admittedly narrow range have already been mentioned and I was really only reading this out of curiosity.

The fact is, I didn't intend to post anything on this thread at all - until I read your backhanded comment about me.

I made my first comment innocently with no idea you would consider it a backhanded comment - I had no idea you would take it personally or I wouldn't have done it at all.

As for my second comment, I apologize I responded in kind to your tersely worded retort.

quote:

Originally posted by LeoFenderBender:

quote:

Originally posted by Tone Dog:

quote:

Originally posted by LeoFenderBender:

quote:

Originally posted by Tone Dog:
I'll stop being such a stickler about "transparency" when people stop recommending pedals with bass loss and/or midrange humps - like the Gainster - to someone who has asked for pedals that WON"T color their tone.

I see you didn't recommend a pedal. Not surprising since no pedal is the only pedal that fits YOUR rather NARROW criteria for transparency.

No, I didn't recommend a pedal because the few that fit my admittedly narrow range have already been mentioned and I was really only reading this out of curiosity.

The fact is, I didn't intend to post anything on this thread at all - until I read your backhanded comment about me.

I made my first comment innocently with no idea you would consider it a backhanded comment - I had no idea you would take it personally or I wouldn't have done it at all.

As for my second comment, I apologize I responded in kind to your tersely worded retort.

I couldn't tell what you intended, Leo. Without a smiley or something else to let me (and others) know you meant it as more of a joke, it sounded like a dig to me. My apologies for my snappy retort as well. Peace.

Backatcha Dog - love & kisses as usual...

and............MORE COWBELL

From now on, everyone append </JOKE> to all posts containing jokes. Thank you.



</JOKE>