Guitar Pedal Reviews - Fulltone Fulldrive 2 Overdrive

Fulltone Fulldrive II Overdrive Pedal

If you know about guitar pedals, you'll know about the Fulltone Fulldrive. This is a classic overdrive pedal hand built and was chosen by Guitar Player Magazine as one of the all-time top 50 effects ever! This takes a regular 9v power supply.

I don't have the Mofset version which is even better and doesn't suffer from the pop that has to be 'extradited' from the Fulldrive by clicking it on and off a couple times before turning on the amp...

But absolutely amazing pedal. This produces a rich and creamy overdrive. If you go to the Old Tone Zone Pedal Comparinator - you can listen to the Fulltone and compare it to other pedals. Some people say the Fulldrive is merely a hacked Tubescreamer board, but I think this is slightly unfair. If you compare the Fulltone to the Tubescreamer, you'll hear a difference with a smoother sound coming out of the Fulltone.

There are 4 controls for volume, tone, overdrive - the 4th control for the 'boost' which is built into the front right of the pedal. You also have 3 options via a toggle switch in the middle - Comp, FM and Vintage. Comp is a compression setting that gives a nice compressed sound (volume increases), FM has a flat mid-frequency bump and Vintage gives you more of a classic overdrive sound.

From the fulltone website:

"Vintage" for old-style Fd2 mid-heavy tones that cut through the mix

"FM" stands for "flat-mids" offering a more natural sound enhanced for even more transparency, it sounds great on a strat's Neck Pickup, truly spectacular!

"CompCut" feature removes the bounding from the feedback loop allowing for Monster Clean Boost tones and some rougher OD sounds with the OD and Boost knobs turned up.

The boost is for those screaming solo moments or just for extra volume. Fulltone were apparently the first to offer a switchable "Boost" Channel. This is another area where it does differ from the Tubescreamer and other pedals. This boost is a real blessing as you can adjust the amount of boost, so you can just add extra kick for a chorus or solo, or rip it up with lots of extra boost.

Conclusion

Great pedal, very flexible, true bypass and one of the best overdrive pedals on the market.