MXR Wylde Overdrive

[Bekanor]

I too have a GT-OD and just took it apart to confirm the mini-switch and "ZW-44" printed on the board.

Fun times! Except I lost the washer from the output jack so now it's flush against the pedal chassis. Not a big deal but I'm a stickler for detail.

 

[cow 7 sig]

When I was trying out od's I tried a few different ones and the ZW was the noisiest.

Maybe it was shop soiled. But I think it is has the most output out of any od that I've tried. like a 6505, it has a fuck wad of gain therefore noisey. The ZW has a fuck wad of output and crunch therefore its noisier.

Maybe you don't notice it anymore, I don't know. Most od's are noisey, I just think the ZW is more noisey.

fair call
mines never been noisey or added any unwanted noise.i dont ever turn its gain over 1 if at all.

 

[cycloptopus]

My understanding is that the Wylde OD has a mid scooped sound, and the Custom Shop has a relatively flat EQ giving it more of a mid boost than the Wylde. Correct me if I'm wrong on that, but it seems as if the post that talks about them sharing the same circut board would concur. I've been looking into both of them and can't decide if I want a mid scoop or not... I think I'm leaning toward the Custom Shop

 

[Leuchty]

fair call
mines never been noisey or added any unwanted noise.i dont ever turn its gain over 1 if at all.

Where abouts in your signal chain do you have it?

I had my GT-OD after my NS-2 and I was getting a little hum. I moved it in front of the NS-2 and complete silence.

My understanding is that the Wylde OD has a mid scooped sound, and the Custom Shop has a relatively flat EQ giving it more of a mid boost than the Wylde. Correct me if I'm wrong on that, but it seems as if the post that talks about them sharing the same circut board would concur. I've been looking into both of them and can't decide if I want a mid scoop or not... I think I'm leaning toward the Custom Shop

Compared to my SD-1 and TS-9 the GT-OD seems very transparent. I can't notice any change in tone when set to a clean boost.

 

[Nick1]

Where abouts in your signal chain do you have it?

I had my GT-OD after my NS-2 and I was getting a little hum. I moved it in front of the NS-2 and complete silence.



Compared to my SD-1 and TS-9 the GT-OD seems very transparent. I can't notice any change in tone when set to a clean boost.

Again getting the MXR CSOD is like getting 2 Pedals in one. The "normal" mode in the CSOD is like a hot TS9 and the other is the ZWOD which is a bit more scooped sounding. I dont think either is noisy. Unless you have the gain really cranked on both your amp and the OD then yeah, its noisy just like any other pedal would be.

 

[Rick]

if you have a good amp you dont need that kind of boost

Thanks for that wonderful opinion. Tons of bands use boosts.

 

[Stephen]

Owning a Wylde overdrive pedal and also owning a Maxon OD808 and a Boss SD-1 i do find its nosier just because it has more output, but you just lower the level.

I don't use mine much because the switch is faulty due to the first batch of them having faulty switches, i know this from being on the Zakk Wylde forum when they were released and a lot of people had the same problem.

It's still a good pedal though. Sounds different to my maxon, sort of sounds more gritty and rough while the Maxon sounds smoother (to my ears anyway). I'll be using both for different things when i get myself an RJM RG-16.

 

[cow 7 sig]

Where abouts in your signal chain do you have it?

I had my GT-OD after my NS-2 and I was getting a little hum. I moved it in front of the NS-2 and complete silence.



Compared to my SD-1 and TS-9 the GT-OD seems very transparent. I can't notice any change in tone when set to a clean boost.

guitar--ZW44--decimator--T2.no noise

Owning a Wylde overdrive pedal and also owning a Maxon OD808 and a Boss SD-1 i do find its nosier just because it has more output, but you just lower the level.

I don't use mine much because the switch is faulty due to the first batch of them having faulty switches, i know this from being on the Zakk Wylde forum when they were released and a lot of people had the same problem.

It's still a good pedal though. Sounds different to my maxon, sort of sounds more gritty and rough while the Maxon sounds smoother (to my ears anyway). I'll be using both for different things when i get myself an RJM RG-16.

what switch? theres no switch in or on the ZW44?maybe im reading this all wrong??

 

[Bekanor]

The switch we're talking about is inside the GT-OD.

 

[cycloptopus]

The switch we're talking about is inside the GT-OD.

Is it a switch or a chip? I mean can I modify the scoop level with a screwdriver or something?

 

[Leuchty]

Is it a switch or a chip? I mean can I modify the scoop level with a screwdriver or something?

Now THAT would be bullshit cool!

 

[Bekanor]

Is it a switch or a chip? I mean can I modify the scoop level with a screwdriver or something?

It's a switch.

 

[cycloptopus]

Now THAT would be bullshit cool!

I ask because you can do stuff like that on some pedals. For example, I have a Subdecay Blackstar distortion and there is a small screwdriver manipulatable dipswitch inside the pedal to increase the amount of bass affected by the bass gain stage. As it turns out I keep it at the default setting. I suppose if I was using a strat with a single coil pickup this would be more useful to me as I might need more bass out of it. For my guitars, it just becomes ridiculously fuzzy if I turn it up, but it's there and it's cool that I can do that...

I guess you're saying it's just a chip in the GT-OD then, huh? Or can you toggle it on and off, or what?

It's a switch.

Ok, so you can toggle it then, yes?

 

[Bekanor]

I ask because you can do stuff like that on some pedals. For example, I have a Subdecay Blackstar distortion and there is a small screwdriver manipulatable dipswitch inside the pedal to increase the amount of bass affected by the bass gain stage. As it turns out I keep it at the default setting. I suppose if I was using a strat with a single coil pickup this would be more useful to me as I might need more bass out of it. For my guitars, it just becomes ridiculously fuzzy if I turn it up, but it's there and it's cool that I can do that...

I guess you're saying it's just a chip in the GT-OD then, huh? Or can you toggle it on and off, or what?


Ok, so you can toggle it then, yes?

Yup.

But it requires disassembling the whole pedal. They should really build a mini switch into the front so you can go between the 2.

And it's not a chip, it's a small switch on the chip itself.

 

[blackrobedone]

Trebley, thin, and noisy. There are a million better options out there.

 

[TMM]

Trebley, thin, and noisy. There are a million better options out there.

I've never known the ZW-44 to be any of those, except maybe a tad noisy. Sure, if you crank the tone, it's going to be more trebly, but not excessively so, and I was definitely not able to make it sound thin. I'd be checking your guitar / pickups / amp if that's what you're hearing. Either that or you got a bad one.

 

[Nick1]

Trebley, thin, and noisy. There are a million better options out there.

Yeah IM gonna go ahead and have to sorta disagree with ya there.

I think the ZW (provided its not maxed out) sounds really good. Nice and full not thin and its not overly mid heavy like TS9s. Nor is it in death scoop territory. I like it. But now that I have the MXR CSOD I have 2 pedals in one! Ive opened a few other of their pedals and the Carbon Copy has 2 mini pots that control the speed and rate of the MOD button. But they tell you about it. And the Phase 90 also has a mini pot that controls the intensity of the phase. They dont mention that in the manual. The new Classic Distortion has no inner knobs or pots what-so-ever. I might check out the Full Bore pedal soon. Im pretty sure there will be hidden features with that one.

 

[Leuchty]

Yeah IM gonna go ahead and have to sorta disagree with ya there.

I think the ZW (provided its not maxed out) sounds really good. Nice and full not thin and its not overly mid heavy like TS9s. Nor is it in death scoop territory. I like it. But now that I have the MXR CSOD I have 2 pedals in one! Ive opened a few other of their pedals and the Carbon Copy has 2 mini pots that control the speed and rate of the MOD button. But they tell you about it. And the Phase 90 also has a mini pot that controls the intensity of the phase. They dont mention that in the manual. The new Classic Distortion has no inner knobs or pots what-so-ever. I might check out the Full Bore pedal soon. Im pretty sure there will be hidden features with that one.

Does that include the EVH Phase 90?

 

[Sepultorture]

I ask because you can do stuff like that on some pedals. For example, I have a Subdecay Blackstar distortion and there is a small screwdriver manipulatable dipswitch inside the pedal to increase the amount of bass affected by the bass gain stage. As it turns out I keep it at the default setting. I suppose if I was using a strat with a single coil pickup this would be more useful to me as I might need more bass out of it. For my guitars, it just becomes ridiculously fuzzy if I turn it up, but it's there and it's cool that I can do that...

I guess you're saying it's just a chip in the GT-OD then, huh? Or can you toggle it on and off, or what?


Ok, so you can toggle it then, yes?

hows the Blackstar sound with the mesa, could it boost and tighten up my DR for good cannibal corpse like distortion and tone?

 

[Nick1]

Does that include the EVH Phase 90?

Not sure Id assume so. If you have one, open er up and find out. Itd be a small off white trim pot that fits a small phillips screw driver. Small adjustments make a BIG difference!!!!