I just got this ultra cheap TO100 "Tube Overdrive" pedal (my first ever pedal) to mess around with at home. I'm playing a Telecaster through a Roland Microcube, so I already have lots of different amp models and different sounds I can get out of my amp. I got the pedal so I could play a song through the clean/acoustic channel, and then add overdrive/distortion (I know there is meant to be a difference between these two terms, but I don't quite understand it) for choruses/solos etc.
The trouble is, the sounds the pedal produces are mostly horrible. It has three knobs, Drive Level and Tone. The Drive seems to have a pretty small sweet spot between not being able to hear the effect at all, and total distortion. The Tone of the pedal seems to be naturally more trebly than my usual setup, but turning the knob down below 12 o'clock makes it sound too muddy. The Level, I just adjust to match the bypassed level and leave it alone after that. So I don't have many options for adjusting the pedal, and the only sounds it will produce are a feeble trebly overdrive or a distorted mess. And it seems like I can always hear remnants of the clean sound in the pedal's output.
I've tried it through the amp's various channels, from acoustic to clean to classic rock with a little gain, and I can't find a sound I like. I know this is a cheap pedal but I was expecting a little more oomph - so I'm convinced I must be doing something wrong. Would this pedal deliver a better effect through a tube amp (not that I have that option)? What kind of settings should I be looking at to achieve an effect that adds some nice crunchy/bluesy/rocky/metally/any kind of distortion/overdrive to a clean acousticcy sound?
Not every pedal works with every amp. Some amps just don't play well with pedals, and Roland amps have this reputation. Many overdrive/distortion pedals are designed to work in combination with tubes.
That being said, some things you could try include putting the amp on a low gain Marshall, Fender, or Vox model. If by "acoustic channel" you mean an acoustic modeler, this probably includes some kind of octave effect that adds a load of high end harmonics onto the high end harmonics generated by the pedal itself, this would give an unplesant trebley sound.
Then, roll back the treble on the Tele. I get a good crunch with a Bad Monkey (tubescreamer copy) using a Tele bridge pickup with the treble rolled back to 5 or 6. I often use it on top of a tube amp set a bit below breakup, giving me a combination of pedal and amp distortion when the pedal kicks in. The bridge pickup tends to be trebley though, so try the middle position, too, to tame this. Don't be affraid to roll back the tone knob on the pedal (though on some overdrives this can control the midrange, not dark to bright) or the treble on the amp. An equalizer can be used to shape the sound post-distortion.
Most pedals are designed to give their signature sound with the knobs set somewhere around 12:00, so start here. If you don't hear an effect, that might be because this pedal is designed to mimic a subtle tube overdrive, not a harsh distortion. Do you hear a slight midrange hump or warming of the sound? That may be the intended effect of the pedal. Try going up to 3 or 4 o'clock to accentuate this. Pedals often don't sound great at their extremes, unless your going for an exagerated sound.
It could be you just don't like the sound of this pedal. Some people are looking for a distortion that is characterized by a harsh, grainy, distorted high end. It's a sound that is used in some blues styles (check out Junior Kimbrough for an example).
I have the same pedal and I find it highly usefull. However, just as with (for example) the Boss SD1, using the pedal to get your overdrive from is going to result in crap. As a booster however (set tone to match the amps EQ, high level, very little drive) it's awesome. It really kicks the lower gain models on my Vox into serious overdrive and can give just that extra kick needed sometimes. But if you're looking to get all your distortion from a pedal, look elsewhere. It ain't designed for it and won't work at all that way.
Thanks, those replies helped (starting with some gain, and rolling back the treble). Now I know what the pedal does best. I'm still probably going to sell it on though!
