Barber Direct Drive = sweet tone!

[mrp5150]

A friend of mine has one of those. I like it quite a bit.

 

[thiswaythatway]

I finally played one yesterday at Amplifiers.

I compared the Barber DD, the $30 MXR Classic Distortion, and a MIJ SD-1 on a Jose Modded Marshall.

First off, the MXR just doesn't sound as good as the other 2 and it doesn't have as much output or gain as the others which i found interesting considering it's called a distortion pedal. Overall, it sounded dull in comparison.

The Barber sounded nice and warm, sweet tone is what i call it. Seemed to add thickness to the tone. Nice pedal with decent amout of push.

However, my favorite was the SD-1. It had the most clear tone and seemed to have more output than the Barber. But i think the Barber and SD-1 make a good combo, the Barber for thicker sweet tone, and the SD-1 for a nice clear push. I may have to get BOTH.

From what i can tell the MIJ SD-1's probably do sound a bit better than the later ones.

 

[yngzaklynch]

I know the Keeley SD-1 is a sweet with Marshalls, but the BDD just sounds warmer, fuller and adds a touch more sustain. The BDD is simply more tube like than the SD-1 I own. Maybe Paiges is a nicer SD-1 than mine. Maybe it's our ears or the amps. Dunno. All I know is I the BDD is getting used and the Keeley SD-1 is prolly going up for sale soon.

 

[thiswaythatway]

I know the Keeley SD-1 is a sweet with Marshalls, but the BDD just sounds warmer, fuller and adds a touch more sustain. The BDD is simply more tube like than the SD-1 I own. Maybe Paiges is a nicer SD-1 than mine. Maybe it's our ears or the amps. Dunno. All I know is I the BDD is getting used and the Keeley SD-1 is prolly going up for sale soon.

With a Strat on the Jose amp the Barber was the better choice to thicken it up a little. With the Gibson Explorer on the Barber i thought maybe there was a slight bit of mush, probably because the Explorer sounds very thick and ballsy on it's own. The SD-1 worked slighlty better for me with the Gibson because it added a little clarity.

Both pedals i thought sounded great. The MXR didn't sound as good.

 

[MrDan666]

From what i can tell the MIJ SD-1's probably do sound a bit better than the later ones.

From what i remember.. The older MIJ versions have different chips in the circuit than what they use now, which is why they sounded better!

I heard the old MIJ DS-1's are meant to sound amazing too.. I'd love to grab a MIJ DS-1 and also an old OD-1 to try out with my modded Marshalls!

 

[jasonP]

I know the Keeley SD-1 is a sweet with Marshalls, but the BDD just sounds warmer, fuller and adds a touch more sustain. The BDD is simply more tube like than the SD-1 I own. Maybe Paiges is a nicer SD-1 than mine. Maybe it's our ears or the amps. Dunno. All I know is I the BDD is getting used and the Keeley SD-1 is prolly going up for sale soon.

With a Strat on the Jose amp the Barber was the better choice to thicken it up a little. With the Gibson Explorer on the Barber i thought maybe there was a slight bit of mush, probably because the Explorer sounds very thick and ballsy on it's own. The SD-1 worked slighlty better for me with the Gibson because it added a little clarity.

Both pedals i thought sounded great. The MXR didn't sound as good.

See this is why I like the Mod board in the barber is that you can not only set bass but pre bass to tighten the pedal up for a guitar that is to thick or bassy.

 

[Hollywood]

So I was gonna go get a direct drive pedal from indoor storm. I read where Psychodave did not like his. Was he talking about the same exact pedal?? He listed a barber directdrive with mod. Is that the same as the new version, or version 2 direct drive pedal??? Curious?

 

[jasonP]

So I was gonna go get a direct drive pedal from indoor storm. I read where Psychodave did not like his. Was he talking about the same exact pedal?? He listed a barber directdrive with mod. Is that the same as the new version, or version 2 direct drive pedal??? Curious?

The dd with the mod board is a custom shop pedal and is only for the newer dd's with bass and presence control.

 

[Hollywood]

So if I go and get the direct drive with the black knobs, the newest version of that is version 2 and it has the presence and bass controls, then this is the pedal Yngzaklynch likes and was telling me to try I guess?? And I did read about the custom shop version and it has white or creme knobs for a visual exterior difference. Also, it is supposed to have less gain and be smoother from what I remember reading.

 

[jasonP]

So if I go and get the direct drive with the black knobs, the newest version of that is version 2 and it has the presence and bass controls, then this is the pedal Yngzaklynch likes and was telling me to try I guess?? And I did read about the custom shop version and it has white or creme knobs for a visual exterior difference. Also, it is supposed to have less gain and be smoother from what I remember reading.

DD Version 2 has presence and bass pots inside case you can adjust. Also has a push/pull knob on outside on the tone control to adjust compression. This is the pedal yngzaklynch has.
DD low gain version with the grey knobs, is a custom shop pedal but lower gain version of the dd.
The one I have and Dave bought was the DD version 2 with the Mod installed by the custom shop.
http://www.barberelectronics.com/MOD_PCB.html
It's the same pedal as the DD version 2 but has more features or tonal options.
Also here is the new SS.
http://www.barberelectronics.com/supersportdd.html

 

[AmpliFIRE]

So if I go and get the direct drive with the black knobs, the newest version of that is version 2 and it has the presence and bass controls, then this is the pedal Yngzaklynch likes and was telling me to try I guess?? And I did read about the custom shop version and it has white or creme knobs for a visual exterior difference. Also, it is supposed to have less gain and be smoother from what I remember reading.

DD Version 2 has presence and bass pots inside case you can adjust. Also has a push/pull knob on outside on the tone control to adjust compression. This is the pedal yngzaklynch has.
DD low gain version with the grey knobs, is a custom shop pedal but lower gain version of the dd.
The one I have and Dave bought was the DD version 2 with the Mod installed by the custom shop.
http://www.barberelectronics.com/MOD_PCB.html
It's the same pedal as the DD version 2 but has more features or tonal options.
Also here is the new SS.
http://www.barberelectronics.com/supersportdd.html

So is the original Super Sport (like mine) different from the new DD Mod?

I'd love to try the Burn Unit

 

[yngzaklynch]

So is the original Super Sport (like mine) different from the new DD Mod?

I'd love to try the Burn Unit

Actually i was using bobtoz's BDD. I have one on the way as I type this.


Paige I was wondering if the Barber Burn unit isn't a PQ3 type of pedal. Can anyone weigh in on this?

 

[jasonP]

So if I go and get the direct drive with the black knobs, the newest version of that is version 2 and it has the presence and bass controls, then this is the pedal Yngzaklynch likes and was telling me to try I guess?? And I did read about the custom shop version and it has white or creme knobs for a visual exterior difference. Also, it is supposed to have less gain and be smoother from what I remember reading.

DD Version 2 has presence and bass pots inside case you can adjust. Also has a push/pull knob on outside on the tone control to adjust compression. This is the pedal yngzaklynch has.
DD low gain version with the grey knobs, is a custom shop pedal but lower gain version of the dd.
The one I have and Dave bought was the DD version 2 with the Mod installed by the custom shop.
http://www.barberelectronics.com/MOD_PCB.html
It's the same pedal as the DD version 2 but has more features or tonal options.
Also here is the new SS.
http://www.barberelectronics.com/supersportdd.html

So is the original Super Sport (like mine) different from the new DD Mod?

I'd love to try the Burn Unit

yes it is different, not as many options.