Interesting low gain ods

[SimplyTH]

Looking to get a interesting base tone for a noisy math rock group I am playing in that is really dense and uses a lot of crazy voicings. Can't really use much gain so fuzz and distortion is kind out of the question. I was wondering if there were any wild or interesting low gain ods that were not just klons or bluesbreakers. I get this might be an oxymoron but I would be interested if anyone has any ideas. The Electronic Audio Experiments stuff seems like an obvious choice but a lot of that stuff is really expensive.

[crochambeau]

My brain did a cartwheel trying to pair "wild" with "low gain ods". I think it landed flat on its ass..

EAE stuff does appear to absolutely rip (I've yet to go firsthand on any of it), I'd also consider something like the 23 Toki (also based on demos and stuff, not first hand), or even a Tetanus Booster (level ranged low, shameless plug) - though you mention price as a deciding factor - so it might help us percolate realism with a hard cap on budget...

I recall the start of my love affair with fuzz & distortion involved a cassette recorder in record/pause just blowing out the signal. I realize that's not fuzz, but it was a found object that had control over the input level - by which I mean to imply, I'm sure there's something that'll fit the bill.

[oldangelmidnight]

Something wavefolding, perhaps? But that's never going to be cheap.
EAE Surveyor is my go-to low gain sound. It's unique though maybe not especially wild.
Maybe a very resonant filter would make things interesting?

[alexsga]

mid fi has some really nice stuff like what youre describing!

[Chankgeez]

Tetanus Booster

I think that'd be a good choice.

I recall the start of my love affair with fuzz & distortion involved a cassette recorder in record/pause just blowing out the signal. I realize that's not fuzz, but it was a found object that had control over the input level - by which I mean to imply, I'm sure there's something that'll fit the bill.

Mid-Fi Demo Tape Fuzz would be a something along those lines. Also, not super cheap though.

Maybe a very resonant filter would make things interesting?

This may work for that application: https://www.koamps.com/q-resonant-drive.html

[PanicProne]

Don't know what you consider "wild", does it have to have an extra feature beside the low gain od, of some kind?

Either way, my first thought when I read the thread title was Fuzzrocious Dark Driving. If you want a wilder side, perhaps their Playing Mantis could work too? They've some B-stock available for reduced prices right now, if I'm not mistaken.

I have a v1 DD which I really dig (wish it was the current v3 though) and a Mantis, which is just SO fun to play with.
So if you've any questions (besides asking Ryan himself or in the fuzzrocious FB-group) fire away and I'll try to answer best I can.

[le lambin]

This may be a little too out there but I remember the line 6 m5 having a bk butler tube driver emulation and it being perfect for what you are describing. I know it’s a digital pedal, I know it’s big and heavy, but I mean, could be cool. Plus you can attach an expression pedal and control whatever with it.

I also use a Fairfield ~900 set to low gain for a low gain drive- I really like it for that. I also like putting something to boost in front- I use an empress compressor- and it brightens it up nicely.

If you have single coil pickups you could always use a fuzz face and roll back the volume a bit. It does sound pretty cool.

[Ghost Hip]

Seconding checking out Mid-fi though I have no personal experience with their ODs but none the less find myself ogling over them when I check out Doug's lil box of wonders.

I use the EAE Surveyor side of my Dude Incredible pedal a lot. I just started using it as an overdrive effect rather than an always on preamp and it rules. That circuit has a lot of range with the EQ and gets aggressive with emphasizing certain frequencies. In the Dude Incredible you get the percolator side which can be set as a simple gain boost if you'd like to keep it in the OD family. I think out of all the ODs I have this is the most interesting.

The EAE Halberd gets lesser use from me, it's just as great a sound, does low gain really well, though I personally find it sounds best at higher gain/saturation settings. You can still gain chord clarity through all that. I think ultimately the Halberd feels... well like a Halberd. Big swinging OD. Not necessarily out of the box tone wise yet exceptionally well done. Cranking the Low or high knobs to clip those frequencies further is satisfying.

I also use an Devi Ever LP ("Let's Play") which has a vinyl skipping/signal drop out effect in addition to the Electric Brown overdrive circuit. This sounds really tight after other pedals as their output volume will push the vinyl skip effect into a full on stutter. I've always love the voicing of this pedal, but uh knowing how inconsistent Devis historically are, other experience may vary lol.

I also have a Montreal Assembly Too Positive but I find it most useful in adding drive to synths/drums via mixer FX loop. Haven't geeked around with it much on string instruments.

[John]

It sounds like what you need is more boring than what you want. Embrace the basic. Boring transparent overdrives will set you free. May I suggest the Wilson Effects Lotus Drive? I use it for both guitar and bass, and it tastes great on a cracker.

[dub]

The Halberd does a sick noise rock tone. It’s really versatile.
Check out some Dead Air pedals, they’re in small batches so they sell out quick, but get on the mailing list, don’t pay s/h prices, they’re very reasonably priced. The Chaos Drive is nice and spikey, colder and stiffer, then the halberd, but really articulate.

Keep an eye out for a used Boxidiser or Rusty Box. They can often turn up cheap. There’s a few smaller builders doing versions of the t50b preamps. You could even grab the AionFX pcb and make one yourself.

Just had a look at the MidFi site, could be a few pedals there that would work, along with the classic demo tape. Good prices too.

I also reckon a blues driver straight into your fx loop would probably tear faces.

[Blackened Soul]

Maybe try a realtube variant? I have a bluetube and tc electronic tube pilot.. they fall more in the distinctive sound area.. basically when you aren’t using them as intended which is a dirty boost they can get into various stages of harming a small amp sound.. they get their sound from power staving the tube… more of a fizzy to hard / harsh sound.. Chank them and you get into early hardcore punk and zztop like sounds… keep in mind they are also kinda noisy…

https://youtu.be/Dcm3VqUnvOw?si=5ncJecjUk8Cr9MML

https://youtu.be/VAELkuB6mEw?si=kgWjwxfRn49-LH9a

[Gone Fission]

Lauren Audio B100 and Mustang are derived from console preamps and will each do light drive to fuzz textures. Dropping Acid #rip is a MAE creation with boost, overdrive, and fuzzstortion modes that are awesomely not ordinary.

[cantremember]

I haven't really paid to much attention lately and it appears he isn't around anymore but the Smallsound bigsound fuck or mini would probably fit well into this category. The fuck od is one of my favorite all time pedals and it has that switch that makes yr shit sound broken so that is wild, right?

[Pepe]

I received a KORG nu:tekt OD-S Over Drive with a Nutube (a real vacuum tube in tiny format and ultra-low power consumption!) inside for Christmas. It is a really nice low gain OD as you'd expect it from a tube amp. Surprisingly awesome with bass*, too! It can do a saturated overdrive on demand, but I think it really shines in the low gain territory. Maybe that could be an alternative. Doesn't come with a Tube Screamer mid-range sound, also not with a mumbling Bluesbreaker tone, guaranteed!

*For years I've been on the search for a decent sounding bass OD and to my huge surprise this KORG OD-S said: "Hello, here I am!"

[coupleonapkins]

A lot of these suggestions also feature peddles w/ BIAS knobs, so anything in that arena will get you closer to the thing you are looking fer (in the blast vs. shhh! ratio of OD'ing).

Cheap tube thing = TC Tube Pilot, not entirely awesome, but might be a smidge OK with bass (also cheap!)

Cheapest fuzz-type thing that also isn't a fuzz sometimes is the Zvex Mastotron, which mite be a good middle area btwn OD n' fuzz (buzz buzz)