Spare Money Trouble :D

pariah

Ah luxury problems... I got a rent refund of e90 so I began strolling around used stuff websites, and now I have three possibilities of which I of course cant choose:

- A Banzai Fireball: many raving reviews and only e90, but the advertisement is quite vague and the seller is in Belgium, which complicates stuff. No try before I buy.
- A Barber LTD Low Gain OD for e100, much more reliable seller but no try before buy either. Seems good but not as special as the Banzai.
- A 1984 Ibanez SD9 which has a big cool factor, costs e100, is near me but I have a Rat which I like so my OD needs are bigger than distortion needs.

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance

pariah

By the way, other great overdrive suggestions for under e150 are always welcome

exhausted

have a look at the HAO soul pressure. it's my current favourite but it's success really depends on the amp it's used with.

it emphasized mid to low frequencies which is a sound i love but others may not. in front of a blackface fender it's wonderful but it might work well with a hiwatt too.

Pacomc79

Banzai is really cool especially the fireball I like the name too, I love David Barber's stuff I'm about to sell my Keeley Rat for a DD SS at number 2. I'm also looking at love pedal.

It really depends on you and what you're looking for. I'd skip the 84 SD. Like you said you have a rat.

The HAO sole pressure has a good rep obviously, so does the rumble mod.

So you're looking for what another overdrive or a boost mainly?

fortunately or unfortunately there are a billion choices.

you know the names and you'll do your research. It's a new toy. It'll be fun. It's really impossible to say what's the best or what not because there are so many but you'll find something cool that will work, good luck.

JofZ

Pacomc79 wrote:

Banzai is really cool especially the fireball I like the name too, I love David Barber's stuff I'm about to sell my Keeley Rat for a DD SS at number 2. I'm also looking at love pedal.

It really depends on you and what you're looking for. I'd skip the 84 SD. Like you said you have a rat.

The HAO sole pressure has a good rep obviously, so does the rumble mod.

So you're looking for what another overdrive or a boost mainly?

fortunately or unfortunately there are a billion choices.

you know the names and you'll do your research. It's a new toy. It'll be fun. It's really impossible to say what's the best or what not because there are so many but you'll find something cool that will work, good luck.

Zendrive is reasonable in price, check it out. Barber you can't go wrong and check out Menatone!
For cheap get a Bad Monkey

pariah

So I did some research today (reading, because if it's not Boss or Ibanez it's not available here) and I've pretty much narrowed it down to Barber products.. Menatone is out of my price range, the HAO is too bass-heavy for my amp (low end will turn to shit with additional bass) and it will be impossible to safely buy the Banzai, sad enough. Barber seems to have the best price-quality comparison, I only have to choose between the Direct Drive and the Low Gain. Another plus is I can buy Barber new because it's the same price as the second hand Low Gain here. Both have raving reviews, so any thoughts?

Oh and thanks for the tips so far

Pacomc79

well, it depends on the tone you are looking for. I own a very early version of the Direct Drive before the super sport was available, in fact my graphics were drawn on with a silver pen. There may be some refinements since then. Essentially it is an overdrive with the JRC 4558D op amp as it's base (quality Tube Screamer chip same as TS-808 for instance)

I love the tone control idea with the LTD. it's essentially cut boost and zeroed at the top. I'd suggest listening to the clips off of http://www.barberelectronics.com mainly it's designed for players who want a slight breakup, pushed tweed/blackface tube amp sound. Kind of like the sole pressure. it also has the internal bass tweaks etc to taylor the pedal response to that of the amps.

The DD SS is worth the extra money if you want a custom sound with a little more edge because barber has added the "EQ" trim to allow you to match the guitar and amp a bit better, (instead of a mod, there are 3 pots for bass response harmonics and presence) so you could dial down the harmonics and the treble a bit to make it sound right in your hiwa...er Reeves.

The Direct Drive that I own is very much a cleaner tube screamer with a little more gain and range available and a ton more volume which allows for more shading. Mine sounds superb with both my strats and my LP into my Orange, (you've got no problem with that reeves, it'll be great no matter what your choice)

Keep in mind it is not the best thing since sliced bread, many of the reviews pump up the ratings because they are so close to other effects costing twice and 3 times as much in some cases, why? because they use the same parts. David Barber is a quality individual. He decided to start building some effects that would help improve the tone of the common guy as well as you and me while being somewhat revolutionary. They aren't the flashiest around but they sound great. He uses quality stuff inside his pedals and he know's his stuff, the guy builds 2 thousand dollar amps as well.

I just don't want you to think with the high reviews that these things eminate some kind of greatness. In the realm of botique stuff they sound great, and the price is damn near unbeatable but I'd hate to call anything the best, and even David would agree there is room for improvement. At $99 US for the LTD and DD and $140 for the DDSS they are cheaper than most modded tube screamers and being built with full size pots in a hammond box with a double sided epoxy PCB and quality caps/plugs etc, make it more reliable with less overhead, because when you buy a mod you have to purchase the pedal and the mod, and this is custom build making it cheaper. David could probably easliy sell these for $175 like everyone else and get it, but he's kept the price at $99 and I respect him for it. My biggest complaint is the location of the damn adaptor plug (I want it at the top) but there is no room due to the (harmonics pull switch) alas, I just use an extention it's no big deal.


I personally do not believe it sounds anything like a dumble (lets be honest no pedal does) but it does sound lovely, especially kicking in solos at unity gain. The clarity is excellent.


My advice would be to e-mail David first. Tell him your happy dilemma and ask his thoughts based on your setup. Then tell him a very happy customer sent you.

PS: whichever you get, find an 18V adaptor and try it out.

pariah

Wow thanks a lot for that great post, it's almost like you got to sell these things yourself Well the only problem is I don't want a "Gain Gap" between the OD and the RAT, because I'm not too fond on the lowest-gain settings on the latter. I'll e-mail David Barber about it and have my deceision shipped directly through the site... viva la low dollar

Thanks again everyone.

EDIT: it will probably not be of any help b/c of other factors (pups, amp) but my most important OD tone reference at this point is Soundgarden's Fell On Black Days...