your favorite take on the MXR D+ ?

[ReadandBurn]

borrowing a stock one from a friend and it sounds great as an all-around overdrive distortion.
using 2 Orange solid-state amps (head/combo) with a JM & a Jag.

useful for strumming & a bit of breakup, also great for crunch and stacking with a RAT.
i doubt he's going to sell it to me. he's one of those sentimental "i got that in a yard sale from a former Airline pilot..." guys. i can respect that.

anyway, it looks to be an 80s or 90s era. has a 9v jack & LED, "block logo" and OLD black residue on the back of the pedal. maybe it's just been well-loved.

THE FACTS:
i haven't just gone out and bought a recent used one for $50 b/c i heard they're not so great.
i don't want to get an old one b/c i like having an LED & 9v jack.

i like it's simplicity, but wouldn't mind a bit more control over the EQ. it's not a must.

* ppl say the EQD Gray Channel would be an option, but several comments on YouTube said the demos sound MUCH better than in person.

* i'm interested to know if the MXR Il Torino Overdrive could cop the same tones. ditto for the new DOD 250 (ugly gold, but pretty much the same circuitry as a D+ afaik).

any ideas ? it's too good to ignore.

[waltdogg]

im fairly certain the fulltone ocd is based on the distortion+

[Chankgeez]

I'll throw some props Ben Adrian's way. Here's his little guide to modding:

http://www.electricalaudio.com/phpBB3/v ... =5&t=62873

As far as more control over the EQ, I usually goose it with another pedal. I think that's just the nature of the D+ circuit. Change it too much tonally and you'll change an inherently great aspect of its character.

[ReadandBurn]

^ wondered about this myself. one of the reasons it's so cool is simplicity... but i'm a tinkerer.
i'll check out the OCD- i suppose it's popular for a reason !

[frigid midget]

The D+ is one of the few classic dirt circuits that for some reason always stayed under my radar. Always kept my eyes open for a vintage Ross distortion, there's a couple of yt clips floating around that kinda put the idea in my head that it's the right D+ varaiant for me

Whatever I'll try first (which'll take a while, I'm broke and drowning in dirt peds), it'll have to be somekind of D+ clone with a little extra gain and maybe a tone control

So yeah, can't really help, srry. I agree the demos of the the EQD Grey Channel don't sound too impressive imo

[MechaGodzilla]

My favourite version of the Distortion+ is my modded early block model (1979?). It's got stock/LED diode switch and a bass boost switch which gives a lot of heft to the sound.

It's most useful to me as a dirty boost for guitar, amp-like grit for guitar and a fuzzy distortion for bass.

RE: the Gray Channel, I haven't really played with one for any significant amount of time but lame demos don't really convey the usefulness of the D+ sound as a dirty booster, that's something that only really becomes apparent when you're stacking it with other 'core' pedals.

[jrfox92]

anyway, it looks to be an 80s or 90s era. has a 9v jack & LED, "block logo" and OLD black residue on the back of the pedal. maybe it's just been well-loved.

I've one that's exactly like how you described that I picked up for ~$40 from a shop because it didn't work (they didn't know that, but I fixed it in just a couple of minutes, so I didn't really care).

I think the EAE Longsword is sort of related to the D+/250? But there's definitely a lot more going on in it than any two knobber distortion.

[D.o.S.]

I'll throw some props Ben Adrian's way. Here's his little guide to modding:

http://www.electricalaudio.com/phpBB3/v ... =5&t=62873

As far as more control over the EQ, I usually goose it with another pedal. I think that's just the nature of the D+ circuit. Change it too much tonally and you'll change an inherently great aspect of its character.

Cosigned on the KWB. Love mine.

[Ghost Hip]

I had an MXR Distortion+ with LED clipping mod and I kick myself now and then for getting rid of it. It was a simple, no frills distortion that always delivered.

[Zeus]

I had a Gray Channel for a while and it sounded great - better than the demos, in my opinion.

[tremolo3]

im fairly certain the fulltone ocd is based on the distortion+

250/D+ > Voodoo Labs Overdrive > OCD

Yes.

So yeah, OCD for me too heh.

[Chankgeez]

Looking forward to this one:

Brad Sarno said he took a "vintage MXR Dist+ and improved upon it, warmer mids, controlled subs, gentler top, way more output gain and drive ability, clear articulation, super sweet singing harmonic quality."

[spacelordmother]

Totally thought that said "Handbutt in the USA"

[Chankgeez]

Maybe it should say "Headbutt in the USA"?

Too bad Wesley Willis is dead and won't be available to endorse.

[OddKnowledge]

I love the DOD 250. to me, the reissue 250 sounds much better than the D+ that i had for a while.