Has the world moved on from the “transparent” drive trend?

[laxu]

I think when they talk transparent, they mean it doesn't alter the EQ of the amp....ie push the mids, treble booster etc. It is supposed to give you the sound of your amp's natural overdrive, without the volume. Whether they are successful in doing that is up for debate.

Most people don't want that in reality. When the gain goes up, you want to reduce the bass.

Even pedals people try to pass off as transparent are anything but, they just don't shape the sound dramatically.

 

[nicolasrivera]

Timmy? I feel like people were calling blues breakers, and even Klons at times “transparent”

They are not.

 

[holoholo]

What about the lightspeed? Everyone is nuts about that pedal. So I’d say it’s still a trend.

I like the Gain Changer, I think it’s the best overdrive pedal I’ve tried and I see some say it’s good as a standalone dirt box, but it’s definitely not transparent.

Granted I still think they are around. But I remember a time when they were more the “it” thing on a board or to recommend.

 

[holoholo]

They are not.

Agreed. Hence the

 

[newpedals]

Yeah, when you want to cut through a mix for a solo or bridge section, a transparent or flat boost may not be the most appropriate. Context matters of course. But there's a reason pedals like tube screamers and klons are so popular -- they tend to cut through better.
Having multiple delays as you noticed will tend to cloud the sound up for obvious reasons.

I know everyone has different choices and I respect them. But I think in his case, he would only have needed:

1. An overdrive pedal with flat EQ for playing rhythm parts (supposing amp is clean)
2. Another pedal to add significant mids
3. A clean boost pedal just in case

I don't think he needed to use a delay, unless he was performing a cover or an original which had prominent delay as part of the song. I can't afford or use delay pedals anyway. This girl has tried and failed at it.

 

[FuzzyAce]

I know everyone has different choices and I respect them. But I think in his case, he would only have needed:

1. An overdrive pedal with flat EQ for playing rhythm parts (supposing amp is clean)
2. Another pedal to add significant mids
3. A clean boost pedal just in case

I don't think he needed to use a delay, unless he was performing a cover or an original which had prominent delay as part of the song. I can't afford or use delay pedals anyway.

Yep, no reason to not have multiple drive and boost pedals. Options are good.
I think delay has its place but it can quickly get out of hand. I think it works best when mixed very low into the signal, unless of course you're going for a big wash of sound.

 

[V|J]

I think the biggest “problem” that people started to do is that they wanted transparent drives to work into clean amps, the trend went hand in hand with those who wanted transparent drives into dirty amps. And suddenly every one was talking about the same thing for different purposes…. Pedal builders followed up on this playing both crowds for the selling trend.

Timmy sounds beat into a cooking amp, just as any overdrive does. Imo.

I think the biggest “problem” that people started to do is that they wanted transparent drives to work into clean amps, the trend went hand in hand with those who wanted transparent drives into dirty amps. And suddenly every one was talking about the same thing for different purposes…. Pedal builders followed up on this playing both crowds for the selling trend.

Timmy sounds beat into a cooking amp, just as any overdrive does. Imo.

If the amp is saturating, then a boost would also do the job I guess.

These transparent drives are for fighting against headroom imo.

 

[Richard_G]

My Timmy v1 has been with me since 2009 and I still love it!

 

[FuzzyAce]

Apparently, ZVEX made a transparent fuzz.

 

[EOengineer]

IMO we’re getting lost in semantics. I have no issue calling a pedal transparent if it allows me to tailor the lows and highs like a Timmy, without an egregious mid hump, and with a fair amount of the clean guitar signal blended into the clipping to preserve dynamic content. I find that last piece to be critical if you’re hitting a dirty amp, you need those dynamics or you lose all the punch.

Is it totally transparent? Obviously no. Does it blend more naturally with your amp tone than a TS9 - usually. Come on, folks.

 

[LeftyLoungeLizard]

I'd much rather have transparent strings. Gotta see the fretboard, ya know.