Fortin Hex Drive OD

[apophis]

The deliverance 120 is a head made by Fryette, formerly VHT. It is high gain also. I use the hex with gain about 10 o clock tone about 1 o clock and volume about full. I had the vfe dragon and did not like it since it had a "hi-fi" ish high end. I still have a vfe standout, but all those sound different to the hex. I have about 10 other overdrives to compare and the hex holds its own and feels somewhat different than the others

 

[Wizard of Ozz]

The deliverance 120 is a head made by Fryette, formerly VHT. It is high gain also. I use the hex with gain about 10 o clock tone about 1 o clock and volume about full. I had the vfe dragon and did not like it since it had a "hi-fi" ish high end. I still have a vfe standout, but all those sound different to the hex. I have about 10 other overdrives to compare and the hex holds its own and feels somewhat different than the others

That’s good to know. I had the VFE Drafon and I thought the same about it. Too sterile, hi-fi, and choked off a lot of the undertones.

 

[braintheory]

The deliverance 120 is a head made by Fryette, formerly VHT. It is high gain also. I use the hex with gain about 10 o clock tone about 1 o clock and volume about full. I had the vfe dragon and did not like it since it had a "hi-fi" ish high end. I still have a vfe standout, but all those sound different to the hex. I have about 10 other overdrives to compare and the hex holds its own and feels somewhat different than the others

That’s good to know. I had the VFE Drafon and I thought the same about it. Too sterile, hi-fi, and choked off a lot of the undertones.

Honestly, I find the vast majority of pedals made today to have those issues to some degree, but I agree, especially with the pedals I’ve had by VFE (Dragon, Standout, Focus) and Fortin (33, Grind, Fuzz). That being said, I’m still curious to try the hex drive or at least see some decent quality demos to see if it has some worthwhile tonal qualities to it and not too much of that filtered/inorganic sound of most modern pedals or gear in general

 

[napalmdeath]

It’s interesting looking. I believe he said it was a tube screamer variant with fixed frequencies? That said it would seem like the VFE Dragon would be better just because the user has the ability to adjust the high and low pass filters giving the user total control.

I'd like to get a Dragon. Hard to find, and quick to go when they pop up. That, or people want a fortune.

 

[napalmdeath]

The deliverance 120 is a head made by Fryette, formerly VHT. It is high gain also. I use the hex with gain about 10 o clock tone about 1 o clock and volume about full. I had the vfe dragon and did not like it since it had a "hi-fi" ish high end. I still have a vfe standout, but all those sound different to the hex. I have about 10 other overdrives to compare and the hex holds its own and feels somewhat different than the others

That’s good to know. I had the VFE Drafon and I thought the same about it. Too sterile, hi-fi, and choked off a lot of the undertones.

Honestly, I find the vast majority of pedals made today to have those issues to some degree, but I agree, especially with the pedals I’ve had by VFE (Dragon, Standout, Focus) and Fortin (33, Grind, Fuzz). That being said, I’m still curious to try the hex drive or at least see some decent quality demos to see if it has some worthwhile tonal qualities to it and not too much of that filtered/inorganic sound of most modern pedals or gear in general

To be honest, the MXR GT-OD I paid $40 is one I'll never part with. I think some would be shocked how well this "cheap" pedal sounds as a boost. It actually booted the Buxom Boost with my Splawn. I should have never parted with the Savage Drives I've had, (picked up another), and we'll see what the Hex Drive sounds like...

 

[braintheory]

The deliverance 120 is a head made by Fryette, formerly VHT. It is high gain also. I use the hex with gain about 10 o clock tone about 1 o clock and volume about full. I had the vfe dragon and did not like it since it had a "hi-fi" ish high end. I still have a vfe standout, but all those sound different to the hex. I have about 10 other overdrives to compare and the hex holds its own and feels somewhat different than the others

That’s good to know. I had the VFE Drafon and I thought the same about it. Too sterile, hi-fi, and choked off a lot of the undertones.

Honestly, I find the vast majority of pedals made today to have those issues to some degree, but I agree, especially with the pedals I’ve had by VFE (Dragon, Standout, Focus) and Fortin (33, Grind, Fuzz). That being said, I’m still curious to try the hex drive or at least see some decent quality demos to see if it has some worthwhile tonal qualities to it and not too much of that filtered/inorganic sound of most modern pedals or gear in general

To be honest, the MXR GT-OD I paid $40 is one I'll never part with. I think some would be shocked how well this "cheap" pedal sounds as a boost. It actually booted the Buxom Boost with my Splawn. I should have never parted with the Savage Drives I've had, (picked up another), and we'll see what the Hex Drive sounds like...

I agree. I’ve owned well over 100 boosts over the years and I liked the GT-OD better than a lot of other pedals I had, regardless of its price and I remember it getting along well with many different amps. I think I paid about $50 or so for it. Possibly the best boost pedal I’ve tried under $70 or maybe $80 used

Ultimately, the 4 current boosts I have (which I feel made everything else I’ve tried obsolete) are on the pricier side, but I’ve had many good sounding boost type pedals that were under $50, some of which like the GT-OD, were better than much more expensive pedals

 

[napalmdeath]

The deliverance 120 is a head made by Fryette, formerly VHT. It is high gain also. I use the hex with gain about 10 o clock tone about 1 o clock and volume about full. I had the vfe dragon and did not like it since it had a "hi-fi" ish high end. I still have a vfe standout, but all those sound different to the hex. I have about 10 other overdrives to compare and the hex holds its own and feels somewhat different than the others

That’s good to know. I had the VFE Drafon and I thought the same about it. Too sterile, hi-fi, and choked off a lot of the undertones.

Honestly, I find the vast majority of pedals made today to have those issues to some degree, but I agree, especially with the pedals I’ve had by VFE (Dragon, Standout, Focus) and Fortin (33, Grind, Fuzz). That being said, I’m still curious to try the hex drive or at least see some decent quality demos to see if it has some worthwhile tonal qualities to it and not too much of that filtered/inorganic sound of most modern pedals or gear in general

To be honest, the MXR GT-OD I paid $40 is one I'll never part with. I think some would be shocked how well this "cheap" pedal sounds as a boost. It actually booted the Buxom Boost with my Splawn. I should have never parted with the Savage Drives I've had, (picked up another), and we'll see what the Hex Drive sounds like...

I agree. I’ve owned well over 100 boosts over the years and I liked the GT-OD better than a lot of pedals I had, regardless of its price and I remember it getting along well with many different amps

Ultimately, the 4 current boosts I have, which I feel made everything else I’ve tried obsolete, are on the pricier side, but I’ve had many good sounding boost type pedals that were under $50, some of which like the GT-OD, were better than much more expensive pedals

The GT-OD is a damn crazy good pedal.

 

[braintheory]

The deliverance 120 is a head made by Fryette, formerly VHT. It is high gain also. I use the hex with gain about 10 o clock tone about 1 o clock and volume about full. I had the vfe dragon and did not like it since it had a "hi-fi" ish high end. I still have a vfe standout, but all those sound different to the hex. I have about 10 other overdrives to compare and the hex holds its own and feels somewhat different than the others

That’s good to know. I had the VFE Drafon and I thought the same about it. Too sterile, hi-fi, and choked off a lot of the undertones.

Honestly, I find the vast majority of pedals made today to have those issues to some degree, but I agree, especially with the pedals I’ve had by VFE (Dragon, Standout, Focus) and Fortin (33, Grind, Fuzz). That being said, I’m still curious to try the hex drive or at least see some decent quality demos to see if it has some worthwhile tonal qualities to it and not too much of that filtered/inorganic sound of most modern pedals or gear in general

To be honest, the MXR GT-OD I paid $40 is one I'll never part with. I think some would be shocked how well this "cheap" pedal sounds as a boost. It actually booted the Buxom Boost with my Splawn. I should have never parted with the Savage Drives I've had, (picked up another), and we'll see what the Hex Drive sounds like...

I agree. I’ve owned well over 100 boosts over the years and I liked the GT-OD better than a lot of pedals I had, regardless of its price and I remember it getting along well with many different amps

Ultimately, the 4 current boosts I have, which I feel made everything else I’ve tried obsolete, are on the pricier side, but I’ve had many good sounding boost type pedals that were under $50, some of which like the GT-OD, were better than much more expensive pedals

The GT-OD is a damn crazy good pedal.

I’m actually surprised more guys on here don’t talk about it

 

[apophis]

I would like to add that if you want a something less expensive but just as good or better, give the new Airis savage drive v.4 a try. Quieter also , since the hex drive is kind of noisy at least with a 1spot, i will try a 12v adapter when i go to rehearsal.

 

[LCW]

I would like to add that if you want a something less expensive but just as good or better, give the new Airis savage drive v.4 a try. Quieter also , since the hex drive is kind of noisy at least with a 1spot, i will try a 12v adapter when i go to rehearsal.

The Hex Drive is noisier than the Savage Drive? I had both a V3 & V4 Savage Drive... Preferred the V3... the V4 was just too much gain and noisier than the V3. Didn’t like its tone as much either.

 

[napalmdeath]

I would like to add that if you want a something less expensive but just as good or better, give the new Airis savage drive v.4 a try. Quieter also , since the hex drive is kind of noisy at least with a 1spot, i will try a 12v adapter when i go to rehearsal.

The Hex Drive is noisier than the Savage Drive? I had both a V3 & V4 Savage Drive... Preferred the V3... the V4 was just too much gain and noisier than the V3. Didn’t like its tone as much either.

I've always preferred 2 or 3 myself. I didn't see anything special about V4.

One consistency is that they've ALL been quiet.

 

[apophis]

The airis is less noisy than the fortin, and yeah it has a bunch of gain but you could always dial it down. I think i like it more than previous versions because it felt a bit less bright

 

[jasonP]

I would like to add that if you want a something less expensive but just as good or better, give the new Airis savage drive v.4 a try. Quieter also , since the hex drive is kind of noisy at least with a 1spot, i will try a 12v adapter when i go to rehearsal.

The Hex Drive is noisier than the Savage Drive? I had both a V3 & V4 Savage Drive... Preferred the V3... the V4 was just too much gain and noisier than the V3. Didn’t like its tone as much either.

Agreed I like the V3 Savage Drive better then the V4. Hated how it the gain knob boosted low mids and came on very quickly. Made it hard to dial in then the V3.

 

[LCW]

napalmdeath - what's the verdict on the Hex?

 

[napalmdeath]

napalmdeath - what's the verdict on the Hex?

It's running late! Fucking USPS.....

It should be in the Mailbox when I get home!

I also got KT77's going in the Splawn!

 

[nigelpkay]

Got mine today, didn’t get dinged by customs
I had all of 15 minutes to try it with my JCM800 this afternoon.

First impressions:
- aggressive, when I first turned it on it was like instant Slayer mode
- lots of gain available, most I went up to is noon on the gain knob 10-11 o’clock was sweet spot for me where it starts to go from boost to clipping)
- doesn’t cut the lows like a TS, in fact it makes the sound much thicker whereas the SD-1 thins it out.
- you can tighten it up by increasing the tone knob which pushes more mids, tightens lows. Higher the tone, the more noise there.
- I ended up with settings for my 800 just like KillertoneTexas demo, about 10-11 o’clock for gain, full level, about 2-3 oclock on the tone knob.
- compared to a typical TS, the attack is very straight ahead and immediate for riffing, it’s not quite the same “give” or “bounce” as you’ll be used too on a TS type pedal
- At the higher settings it does get noisy, but it’s a lot of gain/boost you’re dealing with compared with most pedals. Similar to the noise on the higher settings on the Grind/33.

 

[LCW]

Thanks for those first impressions!

 

[napalmdeath]

Got mine today, didn’t get dinged by customs
I had all of 15 minutes to try it with my JCM800 this afternoon.

First impressions:
- aggressive, when I first turned it on it was like instant Slayer mode
- lots of gain available, most I went up to is noon on the gain knob 10-11 o’clock was sweet spot for me where it starts to go from boost to clipping)
- doesn’t cut the lows like a TS, in fact it makes the sound much thicker whereas the SD-1 thins it out.
- you can tighten it up by increasing the tone knob which pushes more mids, tightens lows. Higher the tone, the more noise there.
- I ended up with settings for my 800 just like KillertoneTexas demo, about 10-11 o’clock for gain, full level, about 2-3 oclock on the tone knob.
- compared to a typical TS, the attack is very straight ahead and immediate for riffing, it’s not quite the same “give” or “bounce” as you’ll be used too on a TS type pedal
- At the higher settings it does get noisy, but it’s a lot of gain/boost you’re dealing with compared with most pedals. Similar to the noise on the higher settings on the Grind/33.

Mine has arrived as well.. I've found very much the same, with my Splawn. It's definitely got "more", that you really need.
I have found the sweet spot on the drive at 10-11:00 o'clock as well, level at about 4-5:00 o'clock, and the tone knob at about 1-2:00 o'clock. Anything more, (with the drive and level higher, to my ear), and it gets somewhat woofy, less defined, and too much. Many will find moderate/conservative settings are where this pedal shines. It does sound good! But, if my Savage Drive beats it out, I will sell it. My biggest complaint, is the price-tag. Don't get me wrong, it sounds killer, but $225 for it kinda sucks.

 

[LCW]

Appreciate the feedback napalm!

 

[apophis]

So far i think we all find the same sweet spot. And yes other settings make it lose some definition