(silly and unsophisticated) overdrive questions

[tuffteef]

onklays

[modernage]

I'm not even sure I know what the Timmy is......

Yeah, when I saw the word "transparent" in your OP the Timmy immediately came to mind. This pedal deserves all the attention it has received over at the other forums. I think the only bad thing you can say about this pedal is that the second hand prices are a little out of control, but that has nothing to do with Paul. If you buy new it is one of the best deals in the gear world. I think the used prices have dropped a little over this past year. It used to be that you couldn't find one used for under $200, but now you can get them for around $180ish. It's a shame it doesn't get more props over here, but then again we're a different breed.

I had a Timmy clone for the longest time, and didn't hesitate when the opportunity to trade for an actual Timmy. You do not loose any of the character of your amp with this pedal, which sounds perfect for what you're after. The EQ is extremely powerful, and the 3-way switch (or internal dip switches, depending on the version) can change the configuration of the clipping diodes to give you anything from clean and clear to a nice saturation. But I'm repeating a lot of what has already been said here. I am just a huge fan of this pedal. It's just one of those pedals that no matter what guitar, or amp combo you are using, you can always find a use for it.

yeah, "tim(my)" is definitely every other word over at TGP... but i dont hear of it much here. is it really all that? ive been real curious about the timmy.

Yeah, it's definitely great at what it does. You can add just the tiniest bit of hair to your sound which I loved, and the eq controls are great. I ended up traded mine to modernage here on the forums for his Cleanness, but I'll probably get on the list again in the future.

You'll always get mad love from me for that trade!

[retinal orbita]

So in the end I went with a MXR Distortion+ I saw on craigslist, it was an original version and the guy had added a 9v and LED and only wanted 60 bucks for it..... man fuck this thing sounds great with the volume and distortion at 12:00 PM - everything I saw from these boutique overdrives was really similar to a TS808 so I really couldn't decide in the end....... it's such a simple circuit I couldn't really justify the price, I might consider a white light next time, but for now I'm totally happy, I think this pedal sounds GREAT. Shit, I might even make that my first build.......

[mauerkraut]

I was going to recommend another op amp distortion, MXR Distortion Plus, or a vintage Rat, both would probably give you want you're looking for.

[retinal orbita]

Yeah I'd love an older rat pedal as well...... that's something I'm always eyeballing on craigslist....... but this is definitely great and excatly what I'm looking for......... although that Timmy pedal sounds nice I don't have the budget or the patience for that sort of thing........