Jarick
Rock Star
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- 3,355
Found myself with a few higher gain drive pedals and thought I'd write up a quick little comparison.
Best way I have liked these pedals is into the Fractal Axe FX 3 using a JCM 800 amp model set for just a little breakup and compression. Then the drives really kick the amp into higher gain. But I did also try the pedals into a Line 6 Catalyst 60 combo set kind of similar, although I prefer the sound and feel of the Fractal.
There's some overlap in the Friedman pedals while the MXR is quite different. The BE OD Deluxe starts out at medium gain and goes all the way to over the top high gain. The Smallbox can go from medium low gain up to medium high gain. The Deluxe has a "tight" control that cuts low end going into the drive circuit which changes the feel of the pedal, where the Smallbox seems more like the BE with the tight control off. Otherwise both pedals have the same controls (BMT with presence, volume, and gain).
Of course the BE OD Deluxe is a two channel pedal where the Smallbox is a single channel. I think the Smallbox is a little easier to dial into a sweet spot for a good hard rock tone that can cover 70's, 80's, and 90's rock. Where the BE OD Deluxe can get pretty close for the 80's and 90's stuff but can also get a little more modern with the tight control all the way up. Both pedals clean up pretty well and seem fairly forgiving of what they are running into, either cleaner amp or more dirty, and brighter or darker. I think the presence knob is the key here.
The MXR 5150 is very different and to me kind of disappointing. I think it's more of a preamp style pedal as it is very picky about what it runs into. It's very high gain and doesn't really work with the gain below what I would consider medium-high (at 9:00). It sounds like there's a bright cap in the circuit which makes it sound pretty aggressive in the highs, and then stacking that into an amp with a bright cap results in really thin/bright/harsh distortion. It also makes a doppler pitch bend effect with the gain up. If you run into a dark cleaner amp it sounds a lot better and gives a more modern sound with a little more scooped mids and aggressive attack with higher gain.
The 5150 has a boost knob which doesn't seem to do much to me other than boost the gain a bit. It didn't seem to tighten the lows too much and since the pedal already has too much gain, I kept it off. But it also has a built in gate which works really well to keep the noise away. It can cut the dynamics of course when up too high but that's like any gain pedal.
Both Friedman pedals have a little bit of a lower midrange boost happening. It's not like a TS style pedal and seems more like a signature Friedman kind of sound. Works well for chunky rhythm and playing single notes too. But when you A/B against the 5150 you can't help but hear it. On the flip side the 5150 seems to always have a bit of a dip in the mids and a boost in the treble, even with that knob turned down.
Personally I'll return the MXR 5150 pedal as it's not very versatile. I really like the Smallbox and will likely use that as my higher gain drive alongside the MXR Sugar Drive for lower gain/boost stuff. The BE OD Deluxe is also very cool but I'll probably sell it as it overlaps with the Smallbox. I could actually see using the single pedal version if I did more modern high gain stuff alongside the Smallbox, as the tight control is a great feature.
Best way I have liked these pedals is into the Fractal Axe FX 3 using a JCM 800 amp model set for just a little breakup and compression. Then the drives really kick the amp into higher gain. But I did also try the pedals into a Line 6 Catalyst 60 combo set kind of similar, although I prefer the sound and feel of the Fractal.
There's some overlap in the Friedman pedals while the MXR is quite different. The BE OD Deluxe starts out at medium gain and goes all the way to over the top high gain. The Smallbox can go from medium low gain up to medium high gain. The Deluxe has a "tight" control that cuts low end going into the drive circuit which changes the feel of the pedal, where the Smallbox seems more like the BE with the tight control off. Otherwise both pedals have the same controls (BMT with presence, volume, and gain).
Of course the BE OD Deluxe is a two channel pedal where the Smallbox is a single channel. I think the Smallbox is a little easier to dial into a sweet spot for a good hard rock tone that can cover 70's, 80's, and 90's rock. Where the BE OD Deluxe can get pretty close for the 80's and 90's stuff but can also get a little more modern with the tight control all the way up. Both pedals clean up pretty well and seem fairly forgiving of what they are running into, either cleaner amp or more dirty, and brighter or darker. I think the presence knob is the key here.
The MXR 5150 is very different and to me kind of disappointing. I think it's more of a preamp style pedal as it is very picky about what it runs into. It's very high gain and doesn't really work with the gain below what I would consider medium-high (at 9:00). It sounds like there's a bright cap in the circuit which makes it sound pretty aggressive in the highs, and then stacking that into an amp with a bright cap results in really thin/bright/harsh distortion. It also makes a doppler pitch bend effect with the gain up. If you run into a dark cleaner amp it sounds a lot better and gives a more modern sound with a little more scooped mids and aggressive attack with higher gain.
The 5150 has a boost knob which doesn't seem to do much to me other than boost the gain a bit. It didn't seem to tighten the lows too much and since the pedal already has too much gain, I kept it off. But it also has a built in gate which works really well to keep the noise away. It can cut the dynamics of course when up too high but that's like any gain pedal.
Both Friedman pedals have a little bit of a lower midrange boost happening. It's not like a TS style pedal and seems more like a signature Friedman kind of sound. Works well for chunky rhythm and playing single notes too. But when you A/B against the 5150 you can't help but hear it. On the flip side the 5150 seems to always have a bit of a dip in the mids and a boost in the treble, even with that knob turned down.
Personally I'll return the MXR 5150 pedal as it's not very versatile. I really like the Smallbox and will likely use that as my higher gain drive alongside the MXR Sugar Drive for lower gain/boost stuff. The BE OD Deluxe is also very cool but I'll probably sell it as it overlaps with the Smallbox. I could actually see using the single pedal version if I did more modern high gain stuff alongside the Smallbox, as the tight control is a great feature.
