Fortin Hex Drive OD

Yeah settings definitely depend on how much gain your amp already has and you’ll have to dial back gain and level as appropriate. It can get a little woofy quickly. I’m at level full with gain around 11 o’clock. Higher gain amps would probably do 10 o’clock or less on the gain. Tone I’m still at around 2-2:30 o’clock mostly

On the JCM800, I’m finding I have to dial the amps bass and treble a little different than I’m used to with the SD-1. The Hex is thicker and a little darker on the top end so my bass is pulled back to around 6-7 and treble at 5 whereas I usually have the treble at 4.

Definitely got its own thing going on, still tweaking. I had it running side by side with the SD-1 and Grind and they are all pretty different and amp has to be redialed

IIRC it's a derivative of the tube screamer. I got multiple fortin pedals, had 3 variants of the grind and I liked the original the most so far, 2019 grind seems to be somewhat closer to the 33 than the older ones in that it has more of a bass cut/more of a top end boost? Hexdrive demos seem nice but I've yet to touch one.

nigelpkay":28bshxzb said:

On the JCM800, I’m finding I have to dial the amps bass and treble a little different than I’m used to with the SD-1. The Hex is thicker and a little darker on the top end so my bass is pulled back to around 6-7 and treble at 5 whereas I usually have the treble at 4.

Definitely got its own thing going on, still tweaking. I had it running side by side with the SD-1 and Grind and they are all pretty different and amp has to be redialed

Click to expand...

So with the JCM... worth getting if already have an SD-1 and TS9?

LCW":30asdvh4 said:

nigelpkay":30asdvh4 said:

On the JCM800, I’m finding I have to dial the amps bass and treble a little different than I’m used to with the SD-1. The Hex is thicker and a little darker on the top end so my bass is pulled back to around 6-7 and treble at 5 whereas I usually have the treble at 4.

Definitely got its own thing going on, still tweaking. I had it running side by side with the SD-1 and Grind and they are all pretty different and amp has to be redialed

Click to expand...

So with the JCM... worth getting if already have an SD-1 and TS9?

Click to expand...

I'd say yes. Absolutely. But, there are other options for less money that would be an upgrade to those as well.

Friedman Buxom Boost, and Airis Savage Drive come to mind.

napalmdeath":2l4inwqw said:

LCW":2l4inwqw said:

nigelpkay":2l4inwqw said:

On the JCM800, I’m finding I have to dial the amps bass and treble a little different than I’m used to with the SD-1. The Hex is thicker and a little darker on the top end so my bass is pulled back to around 6-7 and treble at 5 whereas I usually have the treble at 4.

Definitely got its own thing going on, still tweaking. I had it running side by side with the SD-1 and Grind and they are all pretty different and amp has to be redialed

Click to expand...

So with the JCM... worth getting if already have an SD-1 and TS9?

Click to expand...

I'd say yes. Absolutely. But, there are other options for less money that would be an upgrade to those as well.

Friedman Buxom Boost, and Airis Savage Drive come to mind.

Click to expand...

OK - makes sense. I had a Savage Drive (actually 2, the V3 and briefly the V4). Also had a Savage Boost a couple years ago. Got rid of my Airis stuff.

LCW":2pcajisc said:

nigelpkay":2pcajisc said:

Definitely got its own thing going on, still tweaking. I had it running side by side with the SD-1 and Grind and they are all pretty different and amp has to be redialed

Click to expand...

So with the JCM... worth getting if already have an SD-1 and TS9?

Click to expand...

Hard to say yet, they are different, the extra bit of boost/gain is worth it if you feel those pedals don’t quite get you beyond classic metal territory. It feels different than a TS to me, cuts and boosts in different places when you turn the tone knob. I’d love to know more what is going on there in terms of what’s happening to the Eq curve.

nigelpkay":vw7swvru said:

LCW":vw7swvru said:

nigelpkay":vw7swvru said:

Definitely got its own thing going on, still tweaking. I had it running side by side with the SD-1 and Grind and they are all pretty different and amp has to be redialed

Click to expand...

So with the JCM... worth getting if already have an SD-1 and TS9?

Click to expand...

Hard to say yet, they are different, the extra bit of boost/gain is worth it if you feel those pedals don’t quite get you beyond classic metal territory. It feels different than a TS to me, cuts and boosts in different places when you turn the tone knob. I’d love to know more what is going on there in terms of what’s happening to the Eq curve.

Click to expand...

Interesting... thnx for the details... I run an MXR clean boost (MC401) in front of my SD-1 (drive 9 oclock, level backed off a bit from max) to give it that extra bit of punch I want without coloring the sound (Increasing drive on SD-1 doesn't do the same thing). So my gut is telling me I already have a good setup, not really needing to spend $225+ for a Fortin pedal. I will say though, aside from the extra gain the Hexdrive can provide (which not sure I really need), the tone knob cut/boost aspect does sound intriguing. But again, can probably achieve similar with a cheap EQ. So ???

I've had the Grind and 33... both awesome, although almost too "clangy" depending on the amp. Almost too dry if that makes sense. Got rid of both (a different times). Had the Airis Savage drive - two of them - (Preferred V3 over V4) and got rid of them for reasons I won't get into here. I have a Fortin Zuul that I think was well worth the price. But these other Fortin pedals are a tougher pill to swallow.

LCW":89kmqtfb said:

nigelpkay":89kmqtfb said:

LCW":89kmqtfb said:

nigelpkay":89kmqtfb said:

Definitely got its own thing going on, still tweaking. I had it running side by side with the SD-1 and Grind and they are all pretty different and amp has to be redialed

Click to expand...

So with the JCM... worth getting if already have an SD-1 and TS9?

Click to expand...

Hard to say yet, they are different, the extra bit of boost/gain is worth it if you feel those pedals don’t quite get you beyond classic metal territory. It feels different than a TS to me, cuts and boosts in different places when you turn the tone knob. I’d love to know more what is going on there in terms of what’s happening to the Eq curve.

Click to expand...

Interesting... thnx for the details... I run an MXR clean boost (MC401) in front of my SD-1 (drive 9 oclock, level backed off a bit from max) to give it that extra bit of punch I want without coloring the sound (Increasing drive on SD-1 doesn't do the same thing). So my gut is telling me I already have a good setup, not really needing to spend $225+ for a Fortin pedal. I will say though, aside from the extra gain the Hexdrive can provide (which not sure I really need), the tone knob cut/boost aspect does sound intriguing. But again, can probably achieve similar with a cheap EQ. So ???

I've had the Grind and 33... both awesome, although almost too "clangy" depending on the amp. Almost too dry if that makes sense. Got rid of both (a different times). Had the Airis Savage drive - two of them - (Preferred V3 over V4) and got rid of them for reasons I won't get into here. I have a Fortin Zuul that I think was well worth the price. But these other Fortin pedals are a tougher pill to swallow.

Click to expand...

I dug running an Xotic EP Booster in front of an OD. Thickened it up without color. Good choice as well.

Yep I sometimes run the Boss GE7 to boost the gain a little or adjust the EQ from the SD-1 and it works fine.
Hex drive gives you some more gain, then you can use the tone knob to adjust the mid curve/bass cut a bit. I had a chance to crank up the amp louder today and it sounded really good, the Hex drive is more modern and aggressive than a TS, definitely a different flavour than the classic TS sound although in the same ball park, probably better off for the lower-tuned stuff.

nigelpkay":1l6px0cl said:

Yep I sometimes run the Boss GE7 to boost the gain a little or adjust the EQ from the SD-1 and it works fine.
Hex drive gives you some more gain, then you can use the tone knob to adjust the mid curve/bass cut a bit. I had a chance to crank up the amp louder today and it sounded really good, the Hex drive is more modern and aggressive than a TS, definitely a different flavour than the classic TS sound although in the same ball park, probably better off for the lower-tuned stuff.

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It does have a nice "thud", when you get the amp volume up there.

It's a killer pedal, for sure. I got the Savage Drive pretty close though. They can sound pretty similar.

apophis":8b5jt65s said:

Impressions...I like it, and for me and what i play (Death Metal), it's a keeper. I have only tried briefly but I like the way the knobs interact and seem to impact the sound, you can get quite a few sounds out of this box . Tested with ENGL Fireball100, Deliverance 120, Soldano Avenger and a Mesa Tremoverb heads. Used my Parker pdf85 w/ bare knuckle painkiller and a Vader 412 cabinet. The pedal matched the first 3 amps immediately and I had no trouble dialing shit up. The one where I had the most trouble was with the tremoverb's red channel, but finally found some good settings. All my testing so far has been at low/moderate volumes, will test in band practice on the weekend, but i will be keeping this pedal (first time i like a fortin product)

Disclaimer: I got the pedal almost for free since a friend ordered it for me and I gave him an Agile guitar i was selling. Guitar had no value for me so he ordered the pedal for me and kept the guitar. Maybe if I had to fork out the $250 out of my pocket i would not be as enthusiastic, but even if you wait for the pedal to hit the used market for $160-ish give it a try.

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nigelpkay":8b5jt65s said:

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.

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napalmdeath":8b5jt65s said:

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.

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Thanks for the feedback guys. I'm pretty sure I'll pass on this pedal then. The boosted metallic mids and clanky sound are what I hate the most about the "Fartin Sound". I think that is one of the things he got wrong when he "borrowed designs" from other amp builders. It just sounds so off-putting and wrong to my ears... and it's always there +/- no matter how you tweak it.

Had more time with the Hex Drive today, played it side by side with my trusty waza SD-1 through a Marshall 2203X, going back and forth with different settings.

I can make them sound pretty close, the difference is that the Hex Drive is more drier for riffing, and the EQ I would say favours the mid-mids and low-mids over the high mids like the SD-1 does. For example, with the mid knob on the amp at 4, the hex sounded similar in the mids as the SD-1 with mids at 6. So the Hex is really pushing them if you like to scoop your amp. I also ran my treble higher (around 6) with the Hex as it doesn't push the high-mids and highs like the SD-1. The SD-1 gives you that traditional tubescreamer "bounce" when you riff, while the Fortin remains more tight and unforgiving. The lowest I usually go is Eb tuning with sometimes the bottom E in drop mode, but I can image the benefits of this pedal are better with lower tunings.

I'm so used to the Marshall/SD-1 sound that I'm pretty biased towards that classic pairing. I think if I did more heavy chugging low-tuned metal I would like the Hex drive more. It does give the Marshall a little more balls in the low-mids which the SD-1 takes away. But again, all depends on your style. Definitely yet another unique flavour overdrive for your arsenal depending on what you want to do with it.

Is this pedal SMD or through hole construction? There are some used one around, and was thinking to give it a try.