Post by skinvoyager on Oct 22, 2013 7:15:45 GMT -7
A couple weeks ago I noticed a couple new pedals online-- the Electro Harmonix OD Glove and the East River Drive. From the descriptions, it sounded like the Glove was their take on an OCD-type pedal, and the East River Drive was their Tube Screamer. With a metal case, true bypass, mid switch and internal 18-volt converter all for $58 delivered, I figured what the hell...I bought the Glove and got it a couple days ago. (And no, I'm not affiliated with EHX.)
This thing sounds really, really good with the M12. As I suspected, it's very reminiscent of my OCD at less than half the price (and I don't need to eat up two spaces on my Pedal Power for 18v operation). While the OCD has the HP/LP switch, the OD Glove has a mid switch. In the down position it's flat mids; in the up position the upper mids are boosted, ala Tube Screamer. I think this is a really good feature, because that's one of the things I've been falling in love with again about my old Tube Screamer-- that little mid boost. I used to hate it, but now I rely on it for cutting through the mix and making my guitar feel more responsive. The one thing I don't love about my TS is the compression and the way it colors the sound. It's perfect for some sounds, but not so great for that edge-of-clean sound. I think the Glove will work perfect for that--basically an OCD with an available mid boost. My current pedal board has an OCD, Tube Screamer, and MXR Super Baddass Distortion. At gigs, I keep defaulting to the Tube Screamer because of the way it cuts, but I prefer the tone of the OCD, so this pedal will hopefully be the best of both worlds.
The high gain tones are pretty cool, but I like the MXR better for that. I will use this more like a clean boost with just a touch more hair.
I've only tried it through my M12 at garage levels, so I couldn't hear much difference between 9v and 18v operation, but I'll leave it at the 18V position. I plan to use it at a gig this Saturday. If it works out I may get their East River Drive. I've never been a huge fan of EHX pedals, except for a couple of their delays. It seems like they always go out of their way to sound different. Don't get me wrong--we need companies like that to stir things up, and honestly we probably don't need another overdrive pedal in this world. But this one is just enough of a variation on a theme to make it cool and different, but not so different that it's weird. Unlike some of their oddball pedals, the Glove could appeal to practically everyone.
I think the best part is that it was $58 delivered. I don't want to deny some of the pedal makers out there of their rightful profits, but charging $200-$350 for some of their creations is a bit mystifying to me. And yes, I know bigger companies like EHX, MXR and Boss can produce things cheaper, so they have a bit of an unfair advantage. But $350? C'mon.
I went through a boutique pedal phase, and while some of them were exceptional, others were just so-so or downright bad in my opinion. That's what I love about the M12. It's very honest with pedals. I used to really like my Boiling Point, but it sounded very sterile through the M12, and I don't think it's the fault of the amp. I used to adjust my amp to work with my favorite pedal, and now, I realize it should be the other way around. I love the base sound of the M12, so I'm finding pedals that work with it, and not all do. The ones that don't get sold or shelved. The advantage of this approach is that I will eventually have three or four pedals on my board that all work with my amp equally well, where before it was a compromise at best. So I'll take all the $58 pedals I can get!
This thing sounds really, really good with the M12. As I suspected, it's very reminiscent of my OCD at less than half the price (and I don't need to eat up two spaces on my Pedal Power for 18v operation). While the OCD has the HP/LP switch, the OD Glove has a mid switch. In the down position it's flat mids; in the up position the upper mids are boosted, ala Tube Screamer. I think this is a really good feature, because that's one of the things I've been falling in love with again about my old Tube Screamer-- that little mid boost. I used to hate it, but now I rely on it for cutting through the mix and making my guitar feel more responsive. The one thing I don't love about my TS is the compression and the way it colors the sound. It's perfect for some sounds, but not so great for that edge-of-clean sound. I think the Glove will work perfect for that--basically an OCD with an available mid boost. My current pedal board has an OCD, Tube Screamer, and MXR Super Baddass Distortion. At gigs, I keep defaulting to the Tube Screamer because of the way it cuts, but I prefer the tone of the OCD, so this pedal will hopefully be the best of both worlds.
The high gain tones are pretty cool, but I like the MXR better for that. I will use this more like a clean boost with just a touch more hair.
I've only tried it through my M12 at garage levels, so I couldn't hear much difference between 9v and 18v operation, but I'll leave it at the 18V position. I plan to use it at a gig this Saturday. If it works out I may get their East River Drive. I've never been a huge fan of EHX pedals, except for a couple of their delays. It seems like they always go out of their way to sound different. Don't get me wrong--we need companies like that to stir things up, and honestly we probably don't need another overdrive pedal in this world. But this one is just enough of a variation on a theme to make it cool and different, but not so different that it's weird. Unlike some of their oddball pedals, the Glove could appeal to practically everyone.
I think the best part is that it was $58 delivered. I don't want to deny some of the pedal makers out there of their rightful profits, but charging $200-$350 for some of their creations is a bit mystifying to me. And yes, I know bigger companies like EHX, MXR and Boss can produce things cheaper, so they have a bit of an unfair advantage. But $350? C'mon.
I went through a boutique pedal phase, and while some of them were exceptional, others were just so-so or downright bad in my opinion. That's what I love about the M12. It's very honest with pedals. I used to really like my Boiling Point, but it sounded very sterile through the M12, and I don't think it's the fault of the amp. I used to adjust my amp to work with my favorite pedal, and now, I realize it should be the other way around. I love the base sound of the M12, so I'm finding pedals that work with it, and not all do. The ones that don't get sold or shelved. The advantage of this approach is that I will eventually have three or four pedals on my board that all work with my amp equally well, where before it was a compromise at best. So I'll take all the $58 pedals I can get!