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Post by rodeoclown on Jun 13, 2006 18:45:29 GMT -7
I've had too many overdrive, distortion, fuzz pedals to even recall half of them. I've seen many reviews of the FDII including one that said it didn't have enough bottom and another that claimed it was too bassy. I'm 57 years old and have had several glasses of wine this evening (which always levels out my thinking -I'm Irish) and have decided to share my opinion of this classic boutique OD pedal with those of you unfortunate enough to have not already clicked on your " BACK" icon.
I own the newer model with the three way toggle switch. My first OD was a Maestro Fuzz I bought in '66. My most recent was an HBE Ultimate Fuzz Octave I bought about 3 months ago.. Through the years I have owned an original TS808, TS9, TS10, MXR Dist +, Rat, Crowther Hotcake, Reverend DT, DTII, several Boss ODs, Keeley and Analogman modded Boss ODs, EH Big Muff, Aramat Green Machine, RGW Bad Bob Boost, Hermida Zendrive and Mosferatu, Zvex Super Hard On, and too many more to remember. But I'm an old fart so forgive me for my memory lapses. (This strategy can occasionally be very effective with my sometimes unsympathetic wife!)
I love my FD II!. I run it at 18 V in the FM mode with the drive and the boost both at 10 o'clock.. I love the tone of my guitar straight through my Maz 38 2X12, and in the FM mode this is the most transparent OD I've ever used. It also loves my Keeley comp and works well with all my pedals. All in all I'd say this is one very social overdrive! There's been several great pedals that have come and gone since I've had the Fulltone FDII, but this one stays on my board. At least until my son inherits it and I'm up there polishing the boots of Chet Atkins, Clarence White, and Joe Maphis.
Moe, Larry, cheese!
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Post by billyguitar on Jun 13, 2006 23:06:45 GMT -7
Based on what you're saying I'll have to try one again when I get the chance. I tried one once some years ago and didn't care for it. I'm sure it wasn't a II and I know it wasn't at 18 volts so I hope to try one like this some time.
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Post by real oldster on Jun 13, 2006 23:09:32 GMT -7
until ... I'm up there polishing the boots of Chet Atkins, Clarence White, and Joe Maphis.
Chet, for one, was a generous man. I bet he asks you to sit in.
Yep.
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Post by taswegian on Jun 14, 2006 0:05:00 GMT -7
I have the FFD2 with the 3 toggle switch also. I also love the way it sounds at 18 volts. I particularly like the "Compression Cut" mode with this pedal and there is heaps of headroom at 18volts. Dave Ulbrick's pedals are the Bees Knees down here. Worth checking out if your a gear/tone head. Makes some great amps too. My next boost or overdrive pedal will be one of his. www.ulbricksound.com
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Post by BW on Jun 14, 2006 3:05:26 GMT -7
A man after my own heart. "Don't chop the wood, mother, father's comin' home with a load..."
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Post by proline1 on Jun 14, 2006 3:30:15 GMT -7
I have the FDII and love it as well. I have played older pre II's and they are decent but not close to the FDII. My question is I don't understand the "18V" thing? Would you be kind enough to elaborate on this?Thanks, Jim
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Post by taswegian on Jun 14, 2006 4:48:22 GMT -7
The Fulldrive 2 and the Fatboost can be run with any voltage between 9 and 18 volts. If you can find an 18 volt adaptor you can try out the pedal at 18 volts instead of the normal 9 volts. It makes quite a difference, whether it suits your needs or not is another thing. Eg, I love it in the FF2 but it gives me too much headroom for my needs in the Fatboost. My old Ibanez AD80 analog delay runs on 18 volts which is great because it has lots of headroom, and handles a hotter signal better than most other 9 volt delays.
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Post by proline1 on Jun 14, 2006 5:37:08 GMT -7
Thanks I'll give it a try. Any ideas onwhere to find adadpter?
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Post by hiftbso on Jun 14, 2006 9:41:57 GMT -7
I love my FD 2, I also run it at 18v and use a Dunlap DC Brick (3 18v outputs on tap) to power all my pedals. I find all three setting useful but mine stays in vintage mode most of the time. My fulldrive is the 10th Ann. mosfet edition, but I can not tell much differance with the mosfet on or off, if anyone else has got one of these feel free to chime in on the mosfet thing.
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Post by rodeoclown on Jun 14, 2006 9:43:03 GMT -7
It does have more headroom running at 18V, but I think it also is tonally quite different. Creamier and smoother is the best way I can describe it. Tasweigan I completely agree with you about the Comp Cut setting, and talk about headroom! It also does a pretty darn good tube screamer in the Vintage mode.
Danelectro makes an 18V adaptor. I run mine through a Dunlop DC Brick, which has 3 18V jacks. And if you are using a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power, they sell an 18 V adaptor that simply plugs into 2 spots in the unit and then into the FDII.
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Post by billyguitar on Jun 14, 2006 12:13:52 GMT -7
I didn't see any pedals on Ulbrick's site?
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Post by taswegian on Jun 15, 2006 4:11:37 GMT -7
Yeah, that site has just been put up so I imagine he'll have the pedals on ASAP. I'm quite interested in his 1-12 V-35 cab at the moment. Like the doc, he makes them himself. For us down under, shipping cabs is like paying double. My Zbest ended up costing me more than you guys would pay for a new Z amp. But it was worth it. Sorry, getting off track. I'll have to check out that Dunlop DC brick, as I could run 3 effects at 18v.
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Post by hiftbso on Jun 15, 2006 8:35:37 GMT -7
Hey Tasweigan, for more info on the Brick check out the thread on power supplies in the effects section. It has 3 18v and 7 9v outs and it is smaller than the Voodoo power supply. All for around $100 US
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Post by taswegian on Jun 15, 2006 20:08:47 GMT -7
Hey thanks for that hiftbso, will do.
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Post by jimfla on Jun 16, 2006 8:08:16 GMT -7
I use a Dunlop ECB-04 18 volt power adapter I got from Musicians Friend. I use the fm mode with a Route 66. The 18 volts makes it sound more open and tighter to me. I use it with Strats, Les Paul, PRS. I have it set for medium crunch and use a BB for higher gain.
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Post by guitarman1 on Jun 16, 2006 13:18:15 GMT -7
I had a FD II running at 9 volts, but never bonded with it. Sold it after 2 or 3 months. It was too compressed for me. Maybe I should have tried the 18 volts...just never got around to buying an 18 volt adapter.
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Post by quinto on Jun 16, 2006 17:07:29 GMT -7
Sold mine 'cause I must have been stupid for a while. That thing did a lot of different things. I miss it a lot
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Post by nickthestick on Jun 26, 2006 9:21:59 GMT -7
i think the trick with it, is not to have the gain up too high......get it up so it accentuates your amp tone, and then balance out the pedal with the volume and tone controls.....this way it leaves room for the boost mode, and it wont over compress......remember this pedal really isnt an effect per say, but more of a tone enhancer:)
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Post by quinto on Jun 26, 2006 20:33:24 GMT -7
I just was at a Fulltone dealer and tried the mosfet version. It came home with me. I was looking for a higher gain pedal, but tried it and the rest is history.
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Post by Lefty on Jun 27, 2006 13:06:09 GMT -7
I've been debating on selling my CS Yellow FD2, but I would like to check out the Mosfet version. The FD2 is a cool box but sometimes...it just doesn't do it for me, ok most of the time.
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Post by rodeoclown on Jun 27, 2006 18:13:25 GMT -7
Hey Lefty, I was just curious about what it is that just doesn't do it for you with the FDII I'm one of those guys who have been looking for the "holy grail" of overdrive pedals for way too many years. I'm basically down to the FDII and a Hermida Mosferatu for my overdrive pedals, along with a Bad Bob Booster and/or a Zvex SHO. I've been through a lot of them, and I know that one's pedal choice is a very personal and subjective subject. Thank God, because I think that is why we have so many great pedals to choose from. I'm a fairly new old guy on this site and I've seen a lot of great informative and intelligent posts from you (no he's no relation!). What amp amps, guitars, and overdrives are you using; and what kind of material are you doing?
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Post by Lefty on Jun 27, 2006 20:39:47 GMT -7
Well, my history with the FD2 goes waaaaaay back. I'm on my 4th one ;D I sort of have a a love/hate thing going on with it. When I get a new box I kind of use it to recalibrate my ears from time to time. To me it sounds a bit 1 dimensional, and yes it does sound better at 18V. What I look for is a OD that doesn't "sit" on top of the amp but pushes it and blends in. I feel the FD2 has it's place but too much in the TS realm IMHO. I actually prefer my modded TS-808 to the FD2, but that's mainly a clarity thing. I'm mainly using my Maz 18 NR 2x10, a AM Std. Strat with Fralin Woodstock pups. My OD of choice right now is the Pro Analog Dual Drive (if I can get the amp loud enough). I recently picked up a (I hope the Doc doesn't shoot me) Bad Cat X-Treme pedal. It's a very cool box with 2 12AX7's and TONS of gain if you want it. The jury is still a little out on that one, but more on that later. As for material, that's a tough one...I can't seem to pigeon hole my self into a "signature tone". I like so many different styles of music it's hard to settle. But I generally find myself doing anything from R&B (Motown) to Classic Rock, Blues, etc. I consider myself like a studio cat without the studio OD's are so subjective to your base tone, what volumes you play at, and your ears. I have pretty much had almost every flavor of the month, and I'm still amazed how guys like BW get that tone without a pedal...it's all in the hands.
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Post by rodeoclown on Jun 27, 2006 22:22:24 GMT -7
"When I get a new box I kind of use it to recalibrate my ears from time to time."
Wow, neither I or most of the guys I play with can hear much of anything anymore. Of course this can be very useful when my wife is yelling at me to do something I'm not exactly crazy about doing.
Seriously, I think the FDII is very Tube Screamerish in the vintage mode. But I always use it in the FM mode, which seems pretty transparent to my ears. I find I have to set the tone control at 2 or 3 oc'clock, but once again it could be my loss of hearing in the higher register. But when I look out at the audience I don't see anyone holding their ears, no glasses seem to break on their own, and the local canine population doesn't seem to mind much. I never turn the gain or boost above 10 o'clock. I've heard good things about the Bad Cat pedal and may have to check it out. The quest for the Grail still goes on.
"Bring out your dead"
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Post by billyguitar on Jun 30, 2006 16:47:21 GMT -7
I played one today, red with two switches. The only mode I liked was so clean that you could hardly tell it was on except when you hit two notes. In FM and Vintage it sounded like poo, to me. I like a pedal to have some compression because that's what a non-master volume tube amp does when it's pushed. I could only try it on 9V. As we all say YMMV!
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