There have been seven distinct versions of the OCD, identifiable by the PCBs and layout on the inside, alongside visual cues like the size of the logo on the front panel.

The Timmy's claim to fame is its transparency. Similar to the JHS Morning Glory, the Timmy is going to retain the frequencies and tonal character of your amp, with a boost in the dirt department. The Gain and Volume knobs are no surprise, but the separate knobs for Bass and Treble let you customize your tone more than most other pedals' single Tone knob. The toggle switch in the middle gives you access to three different voicings, symmetrical clipping (down) and asymmetrical clipping (up). So how does the Timmy sound? In our tests, it truly is about as clean as an overdrive can be (as strange as that sounds). We find it to be even more transparent than the JHS Morning Glory. As the gain increases, the signal is not compressed and definition is not lost in the low-end (unlike a Tube Screamer). You won't get far in your research before realizing the Fulltone OCD Obsessive Compulsive Drive is one of the most recommended overdrive pedals in existence. The reason for that is that it's versatile and sounds great. An overdrive pedal is a pedal that boosts your guitar signal and amplifies it until it is completely saturated. While a distortion pedal not only amplifies your sound, it does so aggressively and alters it totally.EarthQuaker Devices built this pedal specifically with low wattage amps in mind. We played it on four tube amps and it sounded great, although different, with all of them. Joyo corrected by flipping the diod (as it should be in the first place) -> slightly asymmetrical clipping due to the diod -> best sounding. Almost identical to OCD. WoW. When the clipping circuit is arranged like this, it makes no discernable difference to the sound whether the gates are tied to the sources or drains.

Other thoughtful options include being able to switch between true or buffered bypass, and choosing what function you want the BOOST footswitch to perform - extra drive, or more volume for solos. You can choose to turn the knob LEDs on or off, true vs. buffered bypass, and the function of the BOOST footswitch. The first difference with respect to the 2009 version is the buffer formed by Q1, C1, C2, R1, R2 and D1. It is one of the most simple and common MOS-FET buffer. The input impedance is well above 1.5M in all the audible range. The Zener Diode (I was not able to read the exact model, so I put a plausible device) should be a 9.1V model intended to protect the FET from electrostatics. It is quite interesting to note that many comments on the internet refer to it as a wrong implementation of the millennium bypass but I respectfully disagree. They simply decided to add a (quite transparent and simple) buffer. It’s difficult to wander around in the world of guitar pedals without coming across the Tube Screamer. This iconic overdrive pedal has seen various incarnations since the late 70s, and continues to evolve. The Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer is a reissue of the 1980s original, and is the most popular of the Tube Screamers. It even took the #1 spot in Guitar World’s The Top 50 Stomp Boxes, Devices and Processors of All Time. But enough with the trivia. Let’s talk about why the Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer deserves a spot on your pedalboard. Of all the pedals listed, the Plimsoul is sort of the odd one out - I had always intended to get that pedal as a sometime occasional swap-out for the OCD, but it is more of a medium to heavy gain than the light to medium of the OCD - I find the OCD slightly crunchier than the relatively smoother Plimsoul although in my area of interest they do have some degree of overlap.The JHS Morning Glory is based on the coveted 90s Marshall Bluesbreaker pedal, and bills itself as one of the most transparent overdrives out there. What that essentially means is that the Morning Glory retains the characteristics of your tone without too many pronounced EQ changes. If you’re a guitarist or know great guitar legends, you’ll know one thing they don’t play with is their pedals. Pedals give your guitar signal unique effects that make your audience want more and more. The JOYO JF-02 Ultimate drive is one of such pedals. Right up up there with the notoriety of the Klon Centaur and the Tube Screamer is the Paul Cochrane Timmy Transparent Overdrive. Paul Cochrane builds these by hand, and despite the reasonable price tag the waiting list to get one can be quite long. If you're not one for waiting there are plenty on the used market. Peter Frampton praises his Fulltone OCD in his Rig Rundown video: "But also, I love the Fulltone OCD, which is always in here, too."

The pedal uses mosfet transistors as diodes for clipping, one in series with a normal diode, usually germanium, to clip asymmetrically. My casual guess is that the clipping section is around D2." One thing to note is there are a few legendary drive pedals like the Klon Centaur (which is discontinued and quite expensive) and the Ibanez Tube Screamer, and you'll hear those referenced a good bit since many overdrive pedals on the market today are recreations of those classic circuits.This is a knob tweaker's delight. If you demand versatility out of your dirt pedals, you'll enjoy the Santa Ana. It has a 3-band EQ (BASS MIDDLE & TREBLE) and a PRES(ENCE) knob to sculpt your sound. Going a step further it has two voicings - to quote the manual A "works well with a classic Fender clean amp" and B with a bassier amp. With the Drive knob all the way down, the Ibanez TS9 will give you a good clean boost. There’s just a little bit of grit, with the mid bump that this unit is very well-known for. As you turn the Drive up, the TS9 really starts to shine. One thing we love is how touch-sensitive the knobs are. It’s a simple pedal, but it has a lot of range. The TS9 retains a bit of your original signal, which explains why it responds so well to your playing dynamics. One of the best practical applications for it is to use it as an extra channel. You can use your amp’s clean channel by itself, clean channel with Tube Screamer, distortion channel by itself, and distortion channel with Tube Screamer. The TS9 plays very well with an already distorted amp, and alongside other distortion pedals, letting you get that little extra something and really cut through the mix. Note that the TS9 is buffered bypass, though you can get it modded if you need it to be true bypass.

You'll also hear the term "transparent overdrive" which refers to a pedal that focuses on retaining the "color" of your guitar and amp's tone by not compressing the sound as much. In practice this is a subtle detail, and if you're just starting out you probably shouldn't worry about it as much. I have long intended getting a Fulltone Plimsoul for temporary swap-out purposes, otherwise I have no plans to add anything in the OCD area - I had not really intended to so with the Odyssey - it obviously was not on anyone’s radar, but it just turned out to be a really good match, and a great versatile and therefore permanent fixture. I also put a switch to bypass the diode to produce completely symmetrical clipping but i don't like it that much. its too smooth without any colouring.

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Although, having said that, the single MOSFET Q2 would be drawing very small current at a Vgs of 1.2V. This would be imperceptible. Hope you enjoyed our Joyo JF-02 review. For more, be sure to follow Performer Magazine on Facebook. FEATURES In short, we listened to these overdrive pedals in as many signal chains as possible before formulating our opinions of them. Some of the guitars and amplifiers we used to test these overdrive pedals. This very attractive boutique pedal offers three familiar knobs, VOLUME, DRIVE, and TONE. There's also a Gain toggle switch, which changes the LED light from blue to red and gives you more low end grit and punch. Think of it as two levels of boost - the effect is subtle, but still noticeable (you can actually plug in an external foot switch to toggle this setting with your foot).