Santana and SRV probably had more to do with it. Couple that with the internet legend, lore and the rise of "boutique" amp builders. I picked up a Fuchs ODS long before I'd heard of the amazing John Mayer (and I live in Atlanta). Regardless, both amp legends deserve high marks.
So, I've been following vertex for a while. I've never personally tried this pedal but ive seen this pedal on the website. In my opinion there are 2 main reasons I've never been curious about this pedal. First being how it looks. While all other vertex pedals have a distinct look that makes it easy to recognize the brand. This in my opinion just missed the mark on looks. Second being that i havent seen it being marketed on various platforms by influencers. Even though i haven't played the pedal myself, i do think the concept behind it is pretty awesome and while the amp its design is based on is not all that popular, I'm sure it can catch its fame through the vertex brand. My suggestion would be is to work on a new version of this pedal where the power cycle and the low end flub can be addressed. Redesign the look of the pedal to be inline with other vertex pedals and i think you'll have a winner.
Exactly what I was about to write. Even though it looks kinda cool it reminds me too much of one of those Pignose Amps and whenever I looked at the pedal anywhere I kinda subconsciously associated it with the nasely transistor radio sound of the portable little amp and never gave it a try. Now listening to it in the demo through the tweed amp I can hear the woofyness of the bass when it's played with the Les Paul and it's a bit too much for my taste. I do dig the gain tho! It sounds killer! So, version mark II with a bass knob and new looks maybe?
A 3way toggle to switch between "Liverpool", "Climax", and "Rocket" would be a cool feature. That being said, I'm not a circuit designer, so I'm not sure what that would involve.
I won that pedal due to the "game of tones" contest and I love it. I actually use T-Drive to boost my Marshall amp, it is rough and aggressive but extremely dynamic. I still use it because only thanks to the volume knob you may switch from a hi-gain sound to a sound at the edge of the breakup. Definitely in love with its sound.
I remember playing this some time ago, and liking it through a custom built AC15 style amp. From hearing it again in your demo I think the addition of a low end cut and maybe even a gain step switch (like the Hudson Broadcast) would really make this pedal rad and probably more amp/user friendly. I like the gain sounds you can get with it and I think you should keep it around-maybe even offer it as a custom order only?
I bet it was because its really ugly to look at... IMHO. Guitar players hear with their eyes... look at your SSS Pedals kind of look like Dumble-ESQ... same knobs etc... Put that circuit in a "nice looking" wooded box/housing/enclosure (Not just a brown enclosure) and give it that Boutique unique thing. My 2 Cents your welcome! Send me one once you build it, and I will review it! haha! Cheers from Canada!
Ok.. T Drive is the best pedal I had ever own. My amp is a Marshall origins, and I play a fender 60' strat. The hack it's simple play with the volume of your guitar..
Do NOT discontinue this pedal. Not everybody is obsessed with Dumble amps - I think this is the best sounding pedal you make. I would probably have one already if I wasn't retired on a fixed income. Maybe instead of pushing the Trainwreck thing you should push how great this pedal sounds.
Shrink it down or not, give it a facelift and additional tweakable tone controls with a reasonable range add a variable switch to go from the different styles of Trainwreck amps and wala The TDrive Mark II. Might be a game changer.
My T-Drive has been delivered today. I cannot believe it's not your best-selling pedal. I love it. Sounds exactly like described, works well with pedals in front or behind it. It's also very dynamic and follows every setting I do on my guitar like a real amp. Love it!
Theres is an easy fix for it , mod it. Add a switch to provide a bass cut. This would allow it to work with either a 4x12 or combo amp. You can also send me one for Christmas if it would make you feel better, LOL!!
I have one as permanent resident of my pedalboard since more than a year now and it’s definitely a favorite. I’m running it over 18V with a Zuma and I have no noise issues. Funnily enough, it’s the only « dirt » pedal that works great to my ears with my Dr. Z Z-Wreck. Bought it because I liked my UltraPhonix a lot and was very interested with these TrainWreck stories. Has proven quite brilliant in band rehearsal situation to shine in the mix. He’s true about the volume/tone on the guitar thing, It’s a big part of my playing so that may explain why my personal experience with this pedal has been great so far.
Wow. I had a TDrive, thought it was based on an overdriven AC30 sorta thing. Haven't heard of the Trainwrecks. I sold mine off because of the high frequencies. The drive felt pretty solid, but I couldn't jive with the presence. It was too much for me. Had the pedal given more eq control, I think it'd be a great pedal, and had I known about the homage, I might have approached it differently.
Whether you've tried this pedal or are hearing it for the first time, we'd love to hear your thoughts on the T Drive! Should it be discontinued? Or should it get a second life??
Of all the the demos i saw from your pedals (Shawn Tubbs , RJ Ronquillo, Sweetwater ) the Tdrive is the one that sounds better to my ears and the one that i think would fit my style best , i wish i could try one but never saw for sell here in Taiwan . Awesome videos , learned a lot from your channel.
@@VertexEffectsInc I bet it was because its really ugly to look at... IMHO. Guitar players hear with their eyes... look at your SSS Pedals kind of look like Dumble-ESQ... same knobs etc... Put that circuit in a "nice looking" wooded box/housing/enclosure (Not just a brown enclosure) and give it that Boutique unique thing. My 2 Cents your welcome! Send me one once you build it, and I will review it! haha! Cheers from Canada!
Hi-pass filter toggle (up = 75Hz, middle = 95Hz, down = 120Hz). Nothing else is needed. This the centerpiece of my pedalboard. In front are 4 pedals: EP Booster (natural low cut), Decimator, and T-Rex Moller 2, with a Klone after the TDrive, then to my Blackstar w/ WGS Blackhawk Alnico 12”. Saggy, jangly, punchy, bluesy heaven.
V2, KNOBS MORE KNOBS bass cut and 3 band eq or a RAT inspired contour control???? I love my ethos TWE1 and its a winner with a VOX, like a high gain 2nd channel. Don't worry man not every flavor is a winner , always has to be a Pistachio !
Just got this pedal and not sending back anywhere! My main amp, American made 2001 Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue is at the amp doctor. Plugged in my 1966 Fender Twin, died. Marshall Vintage Modern Combo. Died. Only combo left was Supro Blues 12. Could never get a great tone with that amp. Not today!!! Can’t wait until both Fenders are fixed, the Tdrive is going to sound smoking through 85 watts of vintage Fender. Mason, you are being way hard on yourself. Not enough knobs, your thinking of going along with minimalism to match the Trainwrecks was by itself genius. The amount of work that went into matching the amp to pedal had to be insane. This box you’ve created is the next Klon. I’m buying two more as an investment.. To remarket this little box of genius go the elite route.”This pedal is not for everyone”. A short history in marketing materials is totally necessary. The Trainwrecks are a killer story, blend it in with your own.. The only other Vertex unit I have is the Dynamic Distortion and again, genius. I hated fuzz faces for years as they were too harsh for me. Pushing it with a TS 808, genius.... I read here and there about Mason and the Wah Wah debacle. I understand that’s awhile ago. I don’t know Mason but he seems like a really nice young man who produces killer gear. At his age he’s only going to get better. I’m sure he learned the hard way one’s reputation is everything. Mason’s conducted himself business wise pretty well ever since, he’s still in business.. He without sin cast the first stone. Don’t 86 this box Mason, it’s too good of a pedal. Lots of luck and loyal customer..
I picked up on your tdrives, and it is a heavy hitter. Rather fat. But when used as a boost in from of a ts9 it cleans up the muddiness really well. If you want to sell these things just say that? See what Rhett Shull has to say about an overdrive then. Which I think he's right with it left alone, OD's can muddy up the waters. Cheers
I found this video because I saw Nathanial of Chicago Music Exchange (he's awesome) play it in his demo of the Gretsch Master Built Caddy Bo guitar. This pedal, with that guitar, just positively nails the ZZTop sound. I said "Wow" out loud when the video started and he digs into the "Just Got Paid" riff. Check it out. There's your sound. Seems like a pedal for guitarists who don't want to lean over and twist dials on their floor rig. Adjusting tone from the guitar makes sense to me.
I think this pedal is amazing. I've had it for a while, and no complaints. I can really nail some of those old british classic rock tones I like...people need to understand that it is a must to learn how any specific pedal can match your needs as a guitar player, based on your style of playing, the guitar and amp you have, among other factors...I don't think there are UNIVERSAL GENERAL GOOD PEDALS kinda ONE-SIZE FITS ALL...these are tools that we gotta learn how to get the most of in order to achieve what we want to.
What about a V2? With tone control? Perhaps a small enclosure? I’ve always liked the sound of this pedal, but it’s never made me want to kick off my Wampler Pinnacle tbh
I built a TrainWreck Express amp and it takes a lot of volume before it breaks up. A tech friend who took a reading of the amp said, "It was the prettiest amp I'd ever scoped". Coincidentally, his name is Ken.
should have had george lynch to review it he is a huge t wreck amps guy he has like two or three there is another guy glen kuykendall is huge collecter and he knew ken personally, this guy has some good videos of him useing the amps and he knows them like the back of his hand, i bought the twreck about 2 months ago i love the pedal and i bought it because of train wreck amps cause i could never afford an amp or even a clone of an amp, i do wish it had a tone knob but not because it has to much bass i just wanted to tweak it more i use mine with a line 6 catalyst on the clean setting and a quilter cub on the bassman setting and i like the line 6 sounds better to me i dont think you should discontinue them just remarket them as the undumble maybe just maybe add a tone knob send one to george blynch and see what he thinks before you do anything get some feed back from some one who knows the amps maybe if it works out you coulf offer a limited edition wooden box like the train wrecks , i think your being too hard on yourself this is a great pedal if people dont get it then make them get it dont give up on this pedal man oh it just dawned on me Brad paisley used a train wreck amp for about the first 3 years of his career till dr z made him a z wreck amp there is people out there that want this pedal they just dont know it yet, you da man "if you build it they will come" lol.
The same Bass on the dynamic distorsion it’s buging me..... the pedal sound fantastic but no control on the bass I stop using it because of that Just put dip switch for low cut and Présence boost to match any amp 🤙
Sounds cool, probably my favourite looking pedal you make also! Stick some more tonal options in it and make a version 2 please! The red one is gorgeous
I think you hit it on the head - This pedal has always interested me but honestly I was hesitant because it doesn’t have a tone control. I also wondered if it was too much gain for my style. All that being said, I’d love to see a new version with tone (or even bass/treble) and less gain (maybe it’s an input gain adjustment?). Love the chime-y gain tones but a few more options might help it be a better fit for more players! Cool to see your take on it
I chose the Ethos TWE-1 over the TDrive because of the massive tonal options the TWE-1 has to offer. But it took me a while on how to dial it properly.
I think we should stop chasing tones and start creating our own for future generations to chase. We have barely begun to scratch the tonal surfaces my friends.
@Vertex Effects Mason, As an update, I finally got a chance to play the Ethos TWE-1 and compare it directly to my Vertex TDrive. I'll personally take the TDrive hands down. The Ethos TWE-1 is really, really, really compressed, and has an upper mids frequency that I just can't tune out on any of my rigs or guitars. By comparison the TDrive has the gain, but remains open and dynamic, where the Ethos TWE-1 sounds crushed and overly, unnaturally compressed to my ears. Not ragging on Ethos, but it's just not for me. There are plenty of people who absolutely love the TWE-1, and maybe that's their sound. I personally prefer the TDrive as it retains headroom and dynamics even at extremely high gain. Any updates on a potential TDrive RT?
@@VertexEffectsInc I agree, it does seem counter to the reviews of the Trainwreck amps and UA-cam videos of the amps, although I've never played on myself. But yah, kind of anti-Trainwreck. The TWE-1 is really compressed with the gain knob anywhere above about noon. Then is has this super tight initial compression and kind of blooms, but the initial compression is so quiet and compressed compared to the bloom, it almost has the same deafening/concussive/precussive effects as a bad tremolo, IMHO. It does sustain like crazy with the gain knob way up, but that sustain dies off pretty quickly with the gain knob low. Again, not raging on Ethos, and I know that some people absolutely love the TWE-1; variety is the spice of life. To my ear, the TWE-1 has the same very squished compression as some of the bad Dumble Overdrive Special pedals out there. I've tried the TWE-1 with several guitars with different pickups, and with a variety of amps, combos, heads, cabs. Maybe it was designed specifically for the 65 Fender Deluxe Reverb Reissue, as it sounds the best through that amp, but not great through others. I find that same thing with some JHS pedals...stunning through a 65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue, but a bit dull and lifeless through other amps. It's a design choice that Ethos and JHS are free to make, and they may sound really good through that one amp, and it is a pretty darn popular amp, so why not. The TWE-1, to my ear, sounds somewhat simar to the Burn channel on the Fender Supersonic 22 amp with the Master volume low, but the Drive2 knob at 10. It sounds weird in the room, but that amp (with a Vintage 30) actually records really well. The TWE-1 has even more of a compressed tonal quality, and there is just a mid-high end that is piercing or funky to my ear. [/end random whining] The cleanup in the TWE-1 is pretty good, but again, not as good as the cleanup with the TDrive, IMHO.
I just picked up a T Drive and use it with my Dr Z Maz 38. The sound is nothing short of magic!!!!! I've tried lots of pedals including the Wampler Paisley and Keeley Johnny Hiland but this just took the cake. It's just so awesome!!!
Compared to your other pedals, this is the only one I really never gave attention. I think it comes down to the logo design and colors...even though its a homage to the original amp logo the pedal is based on, this kinda cartoonishy/super hero logo style never caught my attention. Maybe doing a version 2 with a tone knob and different logo/colors would help, I don't know haha.
I feel like some kind of low cut knob would lead to perfection. The touch sensitivity is incredible, as is the overall tonality and breakup, I wouldn't add much else
To date, this is still my favorite Vertex pedal. But than again, I’m a high gain British flavor guy. It is amazingly responsive to touch and guitars. And the two knob layout is just the best! It’s just raw and uninhibited.
I almost bought one of these like 5 times without trying one but could never pull the trigger. Mainly for the reasons you mentioned. I’d love to see something with a bass contour control to cut the flub if needed. The gain sounds fantastic and spot on to what you were describing.
The pedal sounds amazing. Dynamically, it’s up there with the SD-9/Landgraff OD. I think it’s a matter of not a lot of people really knowing about Trainwreck amplifiers and what they’re capable of. Playing through Trainwreck-style amps/pedals like the T-Drive made me jump off the Dumble-train (pun intended) because they were more dynamic and tonally diverse. You should consider doing a vid on Trainwreck.
@@VertexEffectsInc Ah. Bummer. Watched a couple of videos on the Trainwreck after this video. Very cool story and amp! Hope this pedal and this video gets the convo going again.
3 band eq would make it unique and allow the flexibility for various players to adapt it to their rigs/playing style. At the same time you could include the suggested settings on what/how it was originally designed to sound like. Therefore customers have reference points but also the flexibility to tweak to their liking. Cheers!
Based on the playing examples this thing sounds incredible and I love Trainwreck amps. Maybe slap an active EQ on it and re-market? The TWE1 which is a similar concept has done super well for itself but the tone is very sculpt able , so I think there I a market for it.
Honestly, I'm very happy with the T drive. Everything you need, nothing you don't. Nice and sturdy. Was relieved to find a battery snap inside as I prefer using batteries. Looks like decent workmanship. The aesthetic is cool. I'm using it with the gain maxed out through a '74 Peavey "Vintage" and through an old EV PA 15" driver and it's perfect for me. Proper stoner tone. Was a bit worried it wouldn't cut that heavy a sound but I need not have worried 👍
Mason, you da man. I have a Trainwreck Express clone, and it's a beast, just yummy. But you're right, it requires the player to dig in with volume/tone controls on the guitar, and really pair it with the right cabinet. Sure enough, mine sounds best with an open back 2x12 cab, not a closed 4x4. Maybe the TDrive didn't get the love because, let's face it, most people just step on the pedal and expect it to do all the work. In all honesty, it wouldn't occur to me to try and finesse the pedal with the guitar. Now that I've admitted my stupid, I'll go play with your pedal again:>) Great video again Mason, thank you team Vertex!
I just nabbed one on eBay for $100 lol. The seller was all about saying this is a noisy pedal yada yada yada. I can afford buying a 9 volt battery for it. I have had a few Marshall in a box pedals and not my thing but a Vox in a box well that sounds interesting. I also have a catalinbread sft for that Ampeg sound and the t drive seems like it would add another option for my Uncle Tupelo inspired clanging... Will let you know. All and all grateful to add to my collection.
Vertex Effects, Mate, I'm in New Zealand & I have a shit load of pedals, Ive never heard of your one, but it can tell you,,,,,,that over hear they would sell by the bucket load. Gib
I wouldn’t get rid of it. But repackage it. Call it a different name? Smaller? (If possible) I think it sounds great! OK, fine. Put a damn bass & treble control on it. Since every other dist/od pedal out there has one and people expect that. But hey, I’m a fan of pedals with ONE knob.
Sorry. Mason I cant agree with the title of this video mate. I have had my TW pedal for about 3 years and i am STILL getting some serious vibes from it. It LIVES on my pedalboard and i swap out pedals and boosts to taste. I use it on my Mesa Boogie JP2C so i can get ALL the tone flavours i need between the channels on the JP2C. If i need to tweak, I do it on the Guitar or amp. I guess its just one of those things you gotta just play the thing and see if it fits with your philosophy. If it gets too boomy i stick and mini EQ pedal under my board and pull out some of the low end.
Love your stuff! And I think the Tdrive is an outstanding pedal! Maybe throw a Tone knob on it, and it'll make it a bit more friendly for everyone. Greetings from Argentina!
I bought my T-Drive years ago, really loved it. But it started emitting a high-pitched squeal, so I retired it and went with other pedals. I'll try it on battery and see if that changes anything.
Personally, I think this could become one of your BEST selling pedals with a re-direct in your marketing strategy to focus on the massive numbers of dynamics-hungry players. If no one knows what a Trainwreck is, then focusing on the Trainwreck will ultimately lead to a ... er, uh ... trainwreck. Your pedals are brilliant! Make some changes (EQ?) and move forwards.
In terms of marketing, what I would really try to get across is the power amp distortion that British amps have is Magical!! and it’s just something you’re not going to achieve at lower volumes but what this pedal achieves is adding a bit of that magical power amp distortion to your tone without the need for you to crank anything to 11 lol If I was gonna mod this to something that I think would be successful, I’d want this pedal to stack super well as like a second gain stage to add some character to our sound. I want the bass to be a bit tighter aswell tbf. I wonder if a bass contour switch would be a good idea… kinda like what Friedman do with the deluxe BE-OD I’d hike the internal power supply up to 18v so you can run it at 9 and get extra headroom. I’d add a tone control and let’s dial down the gain a bit in favour of a bit more clarity. This way (like an amp) we can push the pedal with an overdrive (which let’s face it everyone has) so if you want that extra gain you can stack it but really it’s going to add all those Voxy/Marshally harmonics and British flavour to your tone and be a bit of a tone shaper/enhancer aswell as an amp in a box thing. I wonder if it would be a good 2in1 pedal and perhaps you could stick a bluesbreaker style of overdrive in front of it (or after 🤔 for a solo volume boost) and then it’s all you need. If I was being cheeky, I’d call it something like the royal rumble overdrive 😂
Purchased used. Sounds terrible (strat) - high-pitched, audible, constant squeal, 3K+, even with the knobs turned down. Extremely annoying, cannot evaluate tone of the pedal due to squeal. Already tried using a graphic equalizer, didn't help much, removing the squeal just made the guitar sound bad. I'm going to try it again tomorrow with my Les Paul. Any suggestions for a fix?
Part of the cool thing with Trainwreck and Komet style amps is the "Gradual/Fast" switch for breakup. I think if you added that switch and positioned it as a mid-forward, more aggressive alternative to the more scooped/Fender/Dumble sound, that would be cool. Mark Knopfler used Komet amps for a while and Brad Paisley is pretty famous for the Trainwreck tones. Volume-riding and tone-riding aren't in vogue as much anymore, but Lil Tommy Bukovac has talked a few times on Homeskoolin' about that technique. I wouldn't be surprised if it makes a comeback. Perhaps a video with our old Uncle Larry on how to squeeze more tones out of your volume and tone controls would be a great way to see some traction with this pedal!
Hi thanks for the video. After watching I turned the gain down to 9 o’clock and all the noise went away. I always run the amp on 10 using a Universal Audio OX Box and my guitar volume at 5 or 6. The tone are endless. I use your Steel String, Dynamic Distortion, TDrive, and Boost great pedals. I think you did good with the TDrive.
My T-Drive is absolutly my favorite pedal! I searched for the overdrive sound that I knew I wanted, but I couldn't find it until I picked the pedal up in a store. I use it as my low gain, super dynamic touch sensitive and if I want more gain from it I push ot with a boost pedal I have in front of it. Sending love to the T-Drive ❤
It's an impressive pedal and you must managed it. The headroom is enormous, the saturation loaded with harmonics, a lot of dynamic. Turn down the volume of your guitar to go from clean to saturated. ...no other distortion pedal gives me this subtlety. Add a clean/treble booster up front, and you've got the midrange you've been missing. A pedal that would have to be discontinued for it to become a legend :=)
Not all players play with the guitar knobs. That pedal is to be worked by seasoned players who know tone, and how to get the tone. Just like fuzz pedals. Have a great player putting it to its paces with a great video. You have to teach how to use it. Besides although Ken Fischer was a genius is amps are even rare than Dumbles. So a niche inside a niche
A good mate of mine gave me his one to try out, months and months later i still have it. The drive tone is huge, massive bottom end and cleans up amazingly well. I run it through the clean side of my Ceriatone OTS 20 amp and it is glorious, i really dig it and i don't think my mate is getting it back lol
As an update to my previous comment saying I had purchased a TDrive and was going to check it out. I ran it through a few Marshall's: Origin 20 DSL 20 Studio Classic/Plexi Studio Vintage/JCM800 I ran it through a few Fender's: Hot Rod Deluxe IV Supersonic 22 Princeton Reverb Deluxe Reverb Tried it with Strats, Les Pauls, Teles, Gretsch, several of each guitar type, each guitar type has at least 2 different pickup "load-ins". eg. A couple of Strats with different pickup types, 3 or 4 Les Pauls with different sets of pickups, etc. My favorite setting on the TDrive: Volume: unity or just above Drive: maxed out Then use the guitars volume and tone knobs to get different sounds. And there were certainly a variety of sounds available using different combinations of tone and volume available at the guitar controls. The summary, this is a deep, 3D, harmonically rich, touch sensitive, guitar control sensitive pedal...with humbuckers. With low output single coils, it sounds a bit flat, thinner, and considerably less saturation and the harmonics no longer leap off the fretboard. It's not a flop or a problem, but think of going from that roaring glorious 70s humbucker sound, down to an SRV or Jimi kind of blues sound with single coils. There's definitely something there with single coils, but it's not as there as when the humbuckers are there. So if you're running this pedal with low output single coils and want that absolutely huge full on liquid blues SRV and/or Jimi rock tone, shove a clean volume boost in front of it (eg. TC Spark, Keeley Katana, etc). Or if you want to keep the pedal general tone (a bit bass heavy) and add even more harmonic richness, use a relatively full range overdrive like the BD-2, Klon, EM Drive, Timmy, etc. If you want to tame the bass (the pedal is a bit heavy in the bass especially with humbuckers) use an OD-1, TS, etc. Or for ultimate versatility, just use your favorite eq pedal that's probably gathering dust somewhere, drop some of the bass, raise the output volume, and Bob's your uncle. For dual humbucker guitars (or dual volume guitars, really) roll back the neck volume to 4 or 5, keep your bridge volume at 8 or 9 and ...walla... 2 CHANNEL AMP IN A BOX! Too much bass in the pedal with your Les Paul's volume at 10? Roll back the guitar's tone knob a bit (to like 9 or 9.5) so you're not slamming the string attack. Yes, you heard right... Rolling down the tone knob a bit can remove some bass from the pedal because you're not slamming the pedal with string attack and creating flubbyness. SHOCKING, I KNOW! Fat, articulate, saturated, with great picking dynamics and great volume and tone control options at the guitar. You could probably play a whole blues to screaming rock gig on this pedal, always on, with the pedal volume at unity and the gain at max, and just ride your volume and tone knobs. Heck, you can even fake some U2 / Mr. The Edge clean and sparklies out of the pedal (volume at unity, gain maxed), with just a roll of guitar volume and tone. Seriously, it's not hard to figure out. Too much bass in the pedal for your rig? Lower the bass on your amp. Like your amps settings and don't want to lower the bass on your amp? Roll back the guitar volume and/or tone just a hair, to about 9 or 9.5, and the flubbyness/woffyness goes away (or at the very least becomes a deep throaty growl that'll pleasantly rattle your jewels, instead of muddy woof flub). And I haven't even described the glory that happens when you max out the pedal volume knob, and use the gain knob anywhere between minimum and about 10:30, and then start playing with the guitar's volume and tone knobs. So good. That was my experience, YMMV. -------- SO MASON, ... if you want to remake this pedal, v2 or whatever, I'd say add a bass cut to roll off the "4x12 cabinet" effect (I mean what if someone is already running this pedal through a 4 x 12 cabinet on stage at Wembley? Yes I know chances are this is going into someone's combo amp at home, and the 4x12 effect is good for that umpf, but use a bass cut knob to roll off that effect if the user desires, maybe they're playing a Hot Rod Deluxe and don't know how to work the bass knob), and put in a boost switch (either footswitch or toggle switch, and it might not just be an output boost thing, it might be an impedance thing or a henries thing or whatever other the differences there are between a single coil and humbucker, maybe something like the input filter on the DOD Looking Glass? No idea what I'm taking about here so I hope you get the jist) that you can use optionally if you want to thin out humbuckers or fatten up single coils (that way if SRV or Jimi show up when Nancy is ripping on Barracuda, they can all join in. Or if Nancy shows up and U2 is playing Where the Streets Have No Name or Sunday Bloody Sunday, she can play along).
@@VertexEffectsInc No worries. Glad to share and hopefully be of some help. I'm not the most technical guy when it comes to the electronics of pedals, so I hope I got the jist across with regard to a bass roll off and some kind of switch or toggle to account for humbuckers vs. single coils if the user wants to. So at max the bass roll off would just keep the pedal exactly as it is currently (let's call current version v1). As you roll off the bass knob, it linearly reduces the resonant frequencies (the ones that you've assigned to the pedal to mimic a 4x12). Then, independently of the bass roll off knob (ie. the bass roll off knob could be used in addition to any of these positions), the switch or toggle would have: Position 1. Leave the pedal as is currently in stock format of the V1 TDrive pedal. So with Position 1 and the bass roll off knob letting all the resonant 4x12 frequencies through, it would sound just like the TDrive v1 does right now...because I think it really rocks. Clean to absolutely filthy with just a volume knob, heck you can pretty much go clean to filthy just on picking dynamics! Position 2. Fatten up single coils adding a good dose of sustain and harmonics to make them sing. Position 3. Thin out humbuckers a bit to make them a bit less woolly sounding and a bit more like a single coil or a P90, but without losing the already excellent sustain and harmonics that humbuckers have currently with the stock v1 pedal. Or make the 3 position tone toggle idea a knob that does the same thing, kind of like the input filter knob idea, if that will do it. I don't know if any of this is even possible, but I hope some of that makes sense, and I managed to help in some way, as opposed to just make everything more confusing. Writing about tone is like dancing about architecture. P.S. If you do make a TDrive version 2, and you use some of my suggestions, maybe you could call it the "VERTEX T-Drive RT" because the R could stand for the Resonance knob, and the T could stand for the Tone toggle switch or input filter or whatever it ends up being.
@@VertexEffectsInc Mason, As an update, I finally got a chance to play the Ethos TWE-1 and compare it directly to my Vertex TDrive. I'll personally take the TDrive hands down. The Ethos TWE-1 is really, really, really compressed, and has an upper mids frequency that I just can't tune out on any of my rigs or guitars. By comparison the TDrive has the gain, but remains open and dynamic, where the Ethos TWE-1 sounds crushed and overly, unnaturally compressed to my ears. Not ragging on Ethos, but it's just not for me. There are plenty of people who absolutely love the TWE-1, and maybe that's their sound. I personally prefer the TDrive as it retains headroom and dynamics even at extremely high gain. Any updates on a potential TDrive RT?
I’ve watched countless videos by you and I do feel like it wasn’t advertised well. After this video I think this would be a hit! Do your take on it, either add a low pass filter or something or even make it so you can choose your caps or diodes to choose how fat the tone is! That’d be epic!
Sometimes all a pedal company needs to do in order to make a cult following of a underperforming pedal… is to discontinue it 😂. Not my bag personally but it’s a wonderful sounding pedal. A V2 with a tone knob (or better yet mid EQ) would probably revive it. Cheers mason!
I appreciate your willingness to make these honest and open assessments! Actually, a pretty nice pedal, although I did not find it Plexi. Definitely Tweedy or Voxey. I recommend people should watch the Shawn Tubb's demo (1) VERTEX T Drive Overdrive pedal demo video by Shawn Tubbs - UA-cam). The common thread to your other products is touch sensitivity and like others, I think you should consider re-issuing it with a 'Bass-tight' and high-pass tone controls.
You wanted suggestions: Boost switch on the bottom, three postion Toggle switch for boost & a three postion toggle switch for highs and or gain structure A step further Four tone controls, low, resonance, mid, highs.... I enjoy the pedal I have. I run it into a Mesa Boogie Stiletto. I use Furman power supply plus MXR iso-brick
I know you're not asking me, but I'll tell you exactly why this failed and what you have to do to redeem it. Yes, I have the answer. And, IF you listen to ME, then your pedal will make an amazing comeback. Indeed, my opinion is so valuable... Listen to me, and you will succeed, as my analysis is extremely accurate. I hope this helps.
I can only speak for myself here but for me the problem is that your other pedals are so great the T-Drive is at the bottom of my list. When I was looking to buy one of your pedals for my son I immediately knew he would love the Steel String and I was right. It's his always on pedal even when he has the Jekyll and Hyde pedal engaged :) There is an expense factor also. I'd love to buy him the SSS or Ultra Phonix but he needed a good compressor so the NYLE it is this Christmas ⛄. We plan on building another Pedal Board together eventually and I know he will want the SSS on there. The T-Drive simply doesn't make the list for his style but he loves options :) but I'm sure you'll put out something else great and eventually the T-Drive will just be something that maybe I pick up if I find it cheap. So your strengths are what actually kills the T-DRIVE. It's probably just a novelty that's at the bottom of the wants list. Have no doubt it's great but pedal rigs are expensive and I have to choose wisely :)
I love a good OD with only 2 controls, yes not a "transparent" or whatever type of pedal, especially when boosting or pummeling an already dirty front end, then dropping your guitar volume down a notch or two, very lively. That's where I live anyways. Been thinking about trying 1 of these for quite some time, but I have too many already (all different), prob should thin the herd a bit. I remember all the great articles about Trainwrecks & Ken Fischer in Guitar Player Magazine.
Thanks Mason. I think this pedal sounds really good (although I have to admit your Boost is still my fav) . Don't take my word for it listen to what Shawn Tubbs (ua-cam.com/video/Dbfy7UkxHJg/v-deo.html) and RJ Ronquillo ( ua-cam.com/video/UJEDAmuBjEI/v-deo.html) do with it. So while I get the perspective these pedals were/are not big sellers, but dont forget where the Ross compressor was in the early 80's when most players were more focused on Boss and EHX? Understand business is business; but all you need is one Trey Anastasio ... Failure I think not.
Good video I like your honesty. I don’t think people understand these pedals.After hearing you talk about it I have a better understanding of it. I also think people equate knobs and switches Quality “If it doesn’t have a bunch of switches how can it be good “?
Honestly never heard a Trainwreck amp so I had no idea what it was meant to sound like. The lack of EQ made it something I wasn't interested in trying because EQ is usually the biggest issue with most pedals for me. In the clips here it honestly sounds very unpleasant to my ears. I don't feel you should abandon a higher gain pedal though. The Vertex pedal I wish existed would be an Ultraphonix/Dynamic Distortion. The Ultraphonix had a perfect EQ curve but I wish it had double the gain. Wanted to love the Dynamic Distortion because it's clean up was fantastic but couldn't stand the EQ curve and even with the tone off it was still too bright. If you could somehow double the gain in the Ultraphonix, keep the EQ curve but add a treble roll off and give it the clean up ability of the Dynamic Distortion you'd have one hell of a pedal. My 2 cents for what they are worth...
Sorry to say the I own the pedal before and sold it. Perhaps like some said, the pedal could be improved with switches for the gain stages. The pedal is very reactive I have to agree, feels like a amp. But the crunch tone was lacking something. In lame man term, maybe it doesn’t sound open. It always sounds like as if I am always playing g through a 1x12 (my home setup is with a 4x12) Perhaps if there is adjustments to the gain stages, it might help. The pedal sounded like it lacks presence possibly.
I just made a trade with this pedal I bought used several months ago. It isn't a bad pedal, it's just not my stuff! The best sound was with the two knobs pushed and using the volume of the guitar, but for me, in a context of a band, wasn't the good one. But for playing at home (during the first lockdown), over playback tracks, I had a lot of fun with the T-Drive.
I bought one after have done a very carefully comparation between several overdrive pedals on UA-cam, especially the Shawn Tubbs demo got me hooked. However I did let it go due to the very compressed tone i did not like ( your example playing the LZ influenzed riff) and it did not fit my playing style at that moment (and of course my skills are far beyond Shawns). I liked the two knob approach and the idea to control the tone only by adjusting the vol. on the guitar.
I am particularly fond of two-knob pedals, but I am a wierdo who usually indicates the direction that the Market will not go. BTW kind of looking into the Trainwreck thing atm.
Flubby bass is likely the problem for most people. A bass cut seems to be the consensus #1 thing to add. Yes, it would be great to keep it simple and as true to the original as possible, but like nobody runs 4×12's now. Look at the Wampler Pantheon tone controls. I can adjust it to sound good with any amp(that I've ever used) with the active bass and treble controls plus the presence control. I thought the T drive sounded pretty good in this video, but knowing it gets flubby on the low end with some amps would steer me away.
Some people might see a two knob $200 pedal plus tax and maybe shipping and simply say its too expensive. You have to have pretty serious players who are going to shell $200 to 250 for a pedal. If you have too many mark em down half price and Ill definitely buy one. I generally wait till the tone chasers get bored, sell and then i buy used.
I shied away from buying one due to the lack of any tone controls. I'm of the opinion that as the gain is increased, the top end almost always needs to be reduced. I also do not like a bass heavy pedal, so maybe a bass cut switch would be effective (like on the new Nobels ODR1). Then again, I can't think of any manufacturer that's hit a home run every single time.
How many high gain players are left playing, aka famous? I ask because I don't play high gain. You may want to hand them this pedal, with the cameras running. See what they think. I thought it sounded interesting.
Just a simple tone control...and no serial numbers, but instead, each one gets a unique woman's name. A la KF. It'll sound better, and also become more collectible and "cool" to own because of using the names. As well as furthering the tribute to Ken
I just don’t get it. Personally the amp had a very small market place. 90% of all pedals enhance an amplifier to inspire you to play better. To me it was a boost with gain on tap. Why would I want to spend money on that? I believe that most players don’t mess with their volume and tone pots Plus there’s way too many styles of guitars and amp rig that it was not compatible with. I think it would’ve been a cool idea if it had a bass and treble pot so you could dial it in according to your taste and gear.
I had and really liked the T Drive. I’m not a high gain player, but this NAILED Dumbly tones, especially with lower output guitars. Definitely agree that more people know about the Dumble and that makes D pedals more popular. Also agree that a Baxandall or even a high pass filter would be killer on this. I didn’t find noise to be an issue on my Pedal Power 2+ and I thought it was a touch responsive monster. And I play into vintage fender amps. To remake this, I’d recommend 1) either high pass or baxandall, and 2) a low gain and high gain switch to divide the gain knob and allow more precise dialing in of gain.
I know it looks like the amp that it’s suppose to be copying but I think it looks cheap compared to the other pedals. There’s a million overdrives on the market and buying a 200 dollar over drive that you don’t like the look of is kinda rough
@@VertexEffectsInc it's sounds good to me, there are some brand that have an amp in a box like joyo california which is a simulation of mesa boogie mark IV, if it have knobs it would be a big potentional to sound good.
@@VertexEffectsInc i just give you a reference, Joyo and Harley Benton are the same i think? i am not expert of pedals but it is what it is. They also have Vintage Tube Overdrive a clone of Maxon TS808 or Ibanez TS9? which they nailed it. hoping to see your updated TDrive soon, it's not bad to upgrade. if system glitch in computers can be fix, how much more on pedals? i hope that someday i can be the lucky one in a giveaway haha. and also make a review of Vitoos Iso8, Vitoos DD5-SV2 and the cheap Ammoon Isolated Pedal Power Supply.
To me it sounds like the perfect modern Math/HardCore pedal (DEP, The chariot, Refused, Converge …) . The way it's both super nasty and somewhat clean is quite unique and really fits that very versatile genre (also, holly maccaroni that Led Zepplin riff was filthy…) Lastly I really wanted to hear that thing through a SSS or SS MK2… these take drive super well and really wanted to hear how they got together. But I couldn't find a demo of that. It's really one of my favorite pedal of yours… because I've grown tired of modern metal tones and I don't really like classic hard rock tones either. This one drive really has personality (just like the Ultraphonix does) and I'd find it a bit sad if it was fully discontinued.
If John Mayer played a Trainwreck, it'd be a different story. The "Mayer effect" is real haha!
Santana and SRV probably had more to do with it. Couple that with the internet legend, lore and the rise of "boutique" amp builders. I picked up a Fuchs ODS long before I'd heard of the amazing John Mayer (and I live in Atlanta). Regardless, both amp legends deserve high marks.
So, I've been following vertex for a while. I've never personally tried this pedal but ive seen this pedal on the website.
In my opinion there are 2 main reasons I've never been curious about this pedal.
First being how it looks. While all other vertex pedals have a distinct look that makes it easy to recognize the brand. This in my opinion just missed the mark on looks.
Second being that i havent seen it being marketed on various platforms by influencers.
Even though i haven't played the pedal myself, i do think the concept behind it is pretty awesome and while the amp its design is based on is not all that popular, I'm sure it can catch its fame through the vertex brand.
My suggestion would be is to work on a new version of this pedal where the power cycle and the low end flub can be addressed. Redesign the look of the pedal to be inline with other vertex pedals and i think you'll have a winner.
You are spot on and couldn’t agree more
Exactly what I was about to write. Even though it looks kinda cool it reminds me too much of one of those Pignose Amps and whenever I looked at the pedal anywhere I kinda subconsciously associated it with the nasely transistor radio sound of the portable little amp and never gave it a try. Now listening to it in the demo through the tweed amp I can hear the woofyness of the bass when it's played with the Les Paul and it's a bit too much for my taste. I do dig the gain tho! It sounds killer! So, version mark II with a bass knob and new looks maybe?
I like the way it looks..
pedal looks great, essential graphics, instantly recognizable, can't get any nicer than that
A 3way toggle to switch between "Liverpool", "Climax", and "Rocket" would be a cool feature. That being said, I'm not a circuit designer, so I'm not sure what that would involve.
I won that pedal due to the "game of tones" contest and I love it. I actually use T-Drive to boost my Marshall amp, it is rough and aggressive but extremely dynamic. I still use it because only thanks to the volume knob you may switch from a hi-gain sound to a sound at the edge of the breakup. Definitely in love with its sound.
Thanks for sharing! So glad you dig it!
I remember playing this some time ago, and liking it through a custom built AC15 style amp.
From hearing it again in your demo I think the addition of a low end cut and maybe even a gain step switch (like the Hudson Broadcast) would really make this pedal rad and probably more amp/user friendly. I like the gain sounds you can get with it and I think you should keep it around-maybe even offer it as a custom order only?
Thanks for all the feedback!
I appreciate your honesty.
I ended up returning mine for a refund. it is a horrible pedal.
In what way?
Sounds like a muddy mess to me
Sounds like a fender hot rod DeVille drive channel
I bet it was because its really ugly to look at... IMHO. Guitar players hear with their eyes... look at your SSS Pedals kind of look like Dumble-ESQ... same knobs etc... Put that circuit in a "nice looking" wooded box/housing/enclosure (Not just a brown enclosure) and give it that Boutique unique thing. My 2 Cents your welcome! Send me one once you build it, and I will review it! haha! Cheers from Canada!
Education is marketing. We sometimes have to be told what is good.
like bacon...and mayonnaise.... or pork "the new white meat"
So true John. I think a multi-preamp pedal would be an amazing pedal, but , there would be way too many knobs!
Ok.. T Drive is the best pedal I had ever own. My amp is a Marshall origins, and I play a fender 60' strat. The hack it's simple play with the volume of your guitar..
Do NOT discontinue this pedal. Not everybody is obsessed with Dumble amps - I think this is the best sounding pedal you make. I would probably have one already if I wasn't retired on a fixed income. Maybe instead of pushing the Trainwreck thing you should push how great this pedal sounds.
Maybe a smaller casing more friendly to pedal boards, or keep that enclosure and add a treble boost button ( ala Rangemaster) to solve the bass issue.
Thanks for the feedback!
ooooh if you add a rangemaster thing to it make it a dual switch so you can flip the treble boost on and off even if the main drive is off
Can I get the proto type ! 😝
Shrink it down or not, give it a facelift and additional tweakable tone controls with a reasonable range add a variable switch to go from the different styles of Trainwreck amps and wala The TDrive Mark II.
Might be a game changer.
Good feedback, thank you!
Voila
Leave it.. people are using it wrong...
You need pups that are 4.5 ... then turn it up.. it will sound like a ...
I always just assumed it was a tube screamer because of the name and thought "why would anybody want a tube screamer without the tone control?"
My T-Drive has been delivered today. I cannot believe it's not your best-selling pedal. I love it. Sounds exactly like described, works well with pedals in front or behind it. It's also very dynamic and follows every setting I do on my guitar like a real amp. Love it!
Enjoy it
Theres is an easy fix for it , mod it. Add a switch to provide a bass cut. This would allow it to work with either a 4x12 or combo amp. You can also send me one for Christmas if it would make you feel better, LOL!!
hahaha, thanks Stan!
Good one Stan!
Classic Stan 😂
Case in point, I've never heard of Trainwreck amps either. Well, until now. Been playing for over 20 years.
I have one as permanent resident of my pedalboard since more than a year now and it’s definitely a favorite. I’m running it over 18V with a Zuma and I have no noise issues. Funnily enough, it’s the only « dirt » pedal that works great to my ears with my Dr. Z Z-Wreck. Bought it because I liked my UltraPhonix a lot and was very interested with these TrainWreck stories. Has proven quite brilliant in band rehearsal situation to shine in the mix. He’s true about the volume/tone on the guitar thing, It’s a big part of my playing so that may explain why my personal experience with this pedal has been great so far.
Wow. I had a TDrive, thought it was based on an overdriven AC30 sorta thing. Haven't heard of the Trainwrecks. I sold mine off because of the high frequencies. The drive felt pretty solid, but I couldn't jive with the presence. It was too much for me. Had the pedal given more eq control, I think it'd be a great pedal, and had I known about the homage, I might have approached it differently.
Whether you've tried this pedal or are hearing it for the first time, we'd love to hear your thoughts on the T Drive! Should it be discontinued? Or should it get a second life??
Of all the the demos i saw from your pedals (Shawn Tubbs , RJ Ronquillo, Sweetwater ) the Tdrive is the one that sounds better to my ears and the one that i think would fit my style best , i wish i could try one but never saw for sell here in Taiwan . Awesome videos , learned a lot from your channel.
@@fabiomoreira5150 thanks for the feedback...all those guys are amazing players!
@@VertexEffectsInc I bet it was because its really ugly to look at... IMHO. Guitar players hear with their eyes... look at your SSS Pedals kind of look like Dumble-ESQ... same knobs etc... Put that circuit in a "nice looking" wooded box/housing/enclosure (Not just a brown enclosure) and give it that Boutique unique thing. My 2 Cents your welcome! Send me one once you build it, and I will review it! haha! Cheers from Canada!
Sounds, quite honestly, never heard it played before. For me and my personal experience, just wasn’t out there enough to get on my radar
Hi-pass filter toggle (up = 75Hz, middle = 95Hz, down = 120Hz). Nothing else is needed.
This the centerpiece of my pedalboard. In front are 4 pedals: EP Booster (natural low cut), Decimator, and T-Rex Moller 2, with a Klone after the TDrive, then to my Blackstar w/ WGS Blackhawk Alnico 12”. Saggy, jangly, punchy, bluesy heaven.
Thanks for the feedback! Super helpful!
V2, KNOBS MORE KNOBS bass cut and 3 band eq or a RAT inspired contour control???? I love my ethos TWE1 and its a winner with a VOX, like a high gain 2nd channel. Don't worry man not every flavor is a winner , always has to be a Pistachio !
Thanks for the feedback and for watching!
Just got this pedal and not sending back anywhere! My main amp, American made 2001 Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue is at the amp doctor. Plugged in my 1966 Fender Twin, died. Marshall Vintage Modern Combo. Died. Only combo left was Supro Blues 12. Could never get a great tone with that amp. Not today!!! Can’t wait until both Fenders are fixed, the Tdrive is going to sound smoking through 85 watts of vintage Fender. Mason, you are being way hard on yourself. Not enough knobs, your thinking of going along with minimalism to match the Trainwrecks was by itself genius. The amount of work that went into matching the amp to pedal had to be insane. This box you’ve created is the next Klon. I’m buying two more as an investment.. To remarket this little box of genius go the elite route.”This pedal is not for everyone”. A short history in marketing materials is totally necessary. The Trainwrecks are a killer story, blend it in with your own.. The only other Vertex unit I have is the Dynamic Distortion and again, genius. I hated fuzz faces for years as they were too harsh for me. Pushing it with a TS 808, genius.... I read here and there about Mason and the Wah Wah debacle. I understand that’s awhile ago. I don’t know Mason but he seems like a really nice young man who produces killer gear. At his age he’s only going to get better. I’m sure he learned the hard way one’s reputation is everything. Mason’s conducted himself business wise pretty well ever since, he’s still in business.. He without sin cast the first stone. Don’t 86 this box Mason, it’s too good of a pedal. Lots of luck and loyal customer..
So glad you dig it! Thanks for watching and for the support!
I picked up on your tdrives, and it is a heavy hitter. Rather fat. But when used as a boost in from of a ts9 it cleans up the muddiness really well. If you want to sell these things just say that? See what Rhett Shull has to say about an overdrive then. Which I think he's right with it left alone, OD's can muddy up the waters. Cheers
Glad you dig this pedal!
I found this video because I saw Nathanial of Chicago Music Exchange (he's awesome) play it in his demo of the Gretsch Master Built Caddy Bo guitar. This pedal, with that guitar, just positively nails the ZZTop sound. I said "Wow" out loud when the video started and he digs into the "Just Got Paid" riff. Check it out. There's your sound.
Seems like a pedal for guitarists who don't want to lean over and twist dials on their floor rig. Adjusting tone from the guitar makes sense to me.
Oh heck yea! I'm gonna check it out now!
"The Rig Doctor"!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I think this pedal is amazing. I've had it for a while, and no complaints. I can really nail some of those old british classic rock tones I like...people need to understand that it is a must to learn how any specific pedal can match your needs as a guitar player, based on your style of playing, the guitar and amp you have, among other factors...I don't think there are UNIVERSAL GENERAL GOOD PEDALS kinda ONE-SIZE FITS ALL...these are tools that we gotta learn how to get the most of in order to achieve what we want to.
Good feedback! Thanks Xavier!
What about a V2? With tone control? Perhaps a small enclosure? I’ve always liked the sound of this pedal, but it’s never made me want to kick off my Wampler Pinnacle tbh
I built a TrainWreck Express amp and it takes a lot of volume before it breaks up. A tech friend who took a reading of the amp said, "It was the prettiest amp I'd ever scoped". Coincidentally, his name is Ken.
should have had george lynch to review it he is a huge t wreck amps guy he has like two or three there is another guy glen kuykendall is huge collecter and he knew ken personally, this guy has some good videos of him useing the amps and he knows them like the back of his hand, i bought the twreck about 2 months ago i love the pedal and i bought it because of train wreck amps cause i could never afford an amp or even a clone of an amp, i do wish it had a tone knob but not because it has to much bass i just wanted to tweak it more i use mine with a line 6 catalyst on the clean setting and a quilter cub on the bassman setting and i like the line 6 sounds better to me i dont think you should discontinue them just remarket them as the undumble maybe just maybe add a tone knob send one to george blynch and see what he thinks before you do anything get some feed back from some one who knows the amps maybe if it works out you coulf offer a limited edition wooden box like the train wrecks , i think your being too hard on yourself this is a great pedal if people dont get it then make them get it dont give up on this pedal man oh it just dawned on me Brad paisley used a train wreck amp for about the first 3 years of his career till dr z made him a z wreck amp there is people out there that want this pedal they just dont know it yet, you da man "if you build it they will come" lol.
Connect us!
The same Bass on the dynamic distorsion it’s buging me..... the pedal sound fantastic but no control on the bass
I stop using it because of that
Just put dip switch for low cut and
Présence boost to match any amp
🤙
Thanks for the feedback!!!!
Sounds like people shy away if it doesn’t have tone control. I like the explosive sounds myself but it might turn off others.
What a minute. What if you put a treble booster or a tube screamer in front of the T Drive in a high gain setting? Can it reign in blood?
You might have to lower the gain on the pedal to make it work, but yes, it will sound great!
Sounds cool, probably my favourite looking pedal you make also! Stick some more tonal options in it and make a version 2 please! The red one is gorgeous
Thanks Jon!
I’ve not known about this pedal from you… but this sounds amazing.
Hope you check it out!
I think you hit it on the head - This pedal has always interested me but honestly I was hesitant because it doesn’t have a tone control. I also wondered if it was too much gain for my style. All that being said, I’d love to see a new version with tone (or even bass/treble) and less gain (maybe it’s an input gain adjustment?). Love the chime-y gain tones but a few more options might help it be a better fit for more players! Cool to see your take on it
Change the name to Control Drive
change the colour to copper..
Send it to me
😊
Nice!
I chose the Ethos TWE-1 over the TDrive because of the massive tonal options the TWE-1 has to offer. But it took me a while on how to dial it properly.
Not to many people have played a Train wreck and lived to tell about it. 😁
Hmmm...well there's always Dr. Z
I think we should stop chasing tones and start creating our own for future generations to chase. We have barely begun to scratch the tonal surfaces my friends.
@Vertex Effects
Mason,
As an update, I finally got a chance to play the Ethos TWE-1 and compare it directly to my Vertex TDrive.
I'll personally take the TDrive hands down.
The Ethos TWE-1 is really, really, really compressed, and has an upper mids frequency that I just can't tune out on any of my rigs or guitars.
By comparison the TDrive has the gain, but remains open and dynamic, where the Ethos TWE-1 sounds crushed and overly, unnaturally compressed to my ears.
Not ragging on Ethos, but it's just not for me. There are plenty of people who absolutely love the TWE-1, and maybe that's their sound. I personally prefer the TDrive as it retains headroom and dynamics even at extremely high gain.
Any updates on a potential TDrive RT?
Interesting...sorts sounds anti Trainwreck by your comments... hows' the clean up of it?
@@VertexEffectsInc I agree, it does seem counter to the reviews of the Trainwreck amps and UA-cam videos of the amps, although I've never played on myself. But yah, kind of anti-Trainwreck. The TWE-1 is really compressed with the gain knob anywhere above about noon. Then is has this super tight initial compression and kind of blooms, but the initial compression is so quiet and compressed compared to the bloom, it almost has the same deafening/concussive/precussive effects as a bad tremolo, IMHO. It does sustain like crazy with the gain knob way up, but that sustain dies off pretty quickly with the gain knob low. Again, not raging on Ethos, and I know that some people absolutely love the TWE-1; variety is the spice of life.
To my ear, the TWE-1 has the same very squished compression as some of the bad Dumble Overdrive Special pedals out there. I've tried the TWE-1 with several guitars with different pickups, and with a variety of amps, combos, heads, cabs. Maybe it was designed specifically for the 65 Fender Deluxe Reverb Reissue, as it sounds the best through that amp, but not great through others. I find that same thing with some JHS pedals...stunning through a 65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue, but a bit dull and lifeless through other amps.
It's a design choice that Ethos and JHS are free to make, and they may sound really good through that one amp, and it is a pretty darn popular amp, so why not.
The TWE-1, to my ear, sounds somewhat simar to the Burn channel on the Fender Supersonic 22 amp with the Master volume low, but the Drive2 knob at 10. It sounds weird in the room, but that amp (with a Vintage 30) actually records really well. The TWE-1 has even more of a compressed tonal quality, and there is just a mid-high end that is piercing or funky to my ear. [/end random whining]
The cleanup in the TWE-1 is pretty good, but again, not as good as the cleanup with the TDrive, IMHO.
I just picked up a T Drive and use it with my Dr Z Maz 38. The sound is nothing short of magic!!!!! I've tried lots of pedals including the Wampler Paisley and Keeley Johnny Hiland but this just took the cake. It's just so awesome!!!
Great to hear! So glad you dig it!
@@VertexEffectsInc you have no idea lol!! Even my 11 yr old son said, “that sounds awesome”!!
I'm gonna get me one, can't let this cool factor go by without me
Enjoy!
Compared to your other pedals, this is the only one I really never gave attention. I think it comes down to the logo design and colors...even though its a homage to the original amp logo the pedal is based on, this kinda cartoonishy/super hero logo style never caught my attention. Maybe doing a version 2 with a tone knob and different logo/colors would help, I don't know haha.
I feel like some kind of low cut knob would lead to perfection. The touch sensitivity is incredible, as is the overall tonality and breakup, I wouldn't add much else
To date, this is still my favorite Vertex pedal. But than again, I’m a high gain British flavor guy. It is amazingly responsive to touch and guitars.
And the two knob layout is just the best! It’s just raw and uninhibited.
I almost bought one of these like 5 times without trying one but could never pull the trigger. Mainly for the reasons you mentioned. I’d love to see something with a bass contour control to cut the flub if needed. The gain sounds fantastic and spot on to what you were describing.
The pedal sounds amazing. Dynamically, it’s up there with the SD-9/Landgraff OD. I think it’s a matter of not a lot of people really knowing about Trainwreck amplifiers and what they’re capable of. Playing through Trainwreck-style amps/pedals like the T-Drive made me jump off the Dumble-train (pun intended) because they were more dynamic and tonally diverse. You should consider doing a vid on Trainwreck.
Jesse! Thanks for the feedback!
Yeah never heard of Trainwreck before this video. Maybe should have made a video on Trainwreck to promote this pedal?
We attempted to do that in several videos leading up through the release...didn't see to have the same impact
@@VertexEffectsInc Ah. Bummer. Watched a couple of videos on the Trainwreck after this video. Very cool story and amp! Hope this pedal and this video gets the convo going again.
3 band eq would make it unique and allow the flexibility for various players to adapt it to their rigs/playing style. At the same time you could include the suggested settings on what/how it was originally designed to sound like. Therefore customers have reference points but also the flexibility to tweak to their liking. Cheers!
TBH I also think the color is not very appealing. The gold one looks much nicer. Guitarists hear tone with their eyes, you know.
It matches the color of the Trainwreck amps.
@@VertexEffectsInc I know that, but perhaps the color suits the amp better than a pedal. Just sayin!
Based on the playing examples this thing sounds incredible and I love Trainwreck amps. Maybe slap an active EQ on it and re-market? The TWE1 which is a similar concept has done super well for itself but the tone is very sculpt able , so I think there I a market for it.
Thanks for the suggestion!
I'm picking up a used one later today. I'm interested to see what's on the inside. It mentions on some forums that it's very similar to an SD9
It has some similarities, the Dynamic Distortion is based off the SD-9 with some mods for clean up and more gain at the top end, bordering on Fuzz.
Honestly, I'm very happy with the T drive. Everything you need, nothing you don't. Nice and sturdy. Was relieved to find a battery snap inside as I prefer using batteries. Looks like decent workmanship. The aesthetic is cool. I'm using it with the gain maxed out through a '74 Peavey "Vintage" and through an old EV PA 15" driver and it's perfect for me. Proper stoner tone. Was a bit worried it wouldn't cut that heavy a sound but I need not have worried 👍
Mason, you da man. I have a Trainwreck Express clone, and it's a beast, just yummy. But you're right, it requires the player to dig in with volume/tone controls on the guitar, and really pair it with the right cabinet. Sure enough, mine sounds best with an open back 2x12 cab, not a closed 4x4. Maybe the TDrive didn't get the love because, let's face it, most people just step on the pedal and expect it to do all the work. In all honesty, it wouldn't occur to me to try and finesse the pedal with the guitar. Now that I've admitted my stupid, I'll go play with your pedal again:>) Great video again Mason, thank you team Vertex!
I just nabbed one on eBay for $100 lol. The seller was all about saying this is a noisy pedal yada yada yada. I can afford buying a 9 volt battery for it. I have had a few Marshall in a box pedals and not my thing but a Vox in a box well that sounds interesting. I also have a catalinbread sft for that Ampeg sound and the t drive seems like it would add another option for my Uncle Tupelo inspired clanging... Will let you know. All and all grateful to add to my collection.
Vertex Effects, Mate, I'm in New Zealand & I have a shit load of pedals, Ive never heard of your one, but it can tell you,,,,,,that over hear they would sell by the bucket load. Gib
I wouldn’t get rid of it. But repackage it. Call it a different name? Smaller? (If possible) I think it sounds great! OK, fine. Put a damn bass & treble control on it. Since every other dist/od pedal out there has one and people expect that. But hey, I’m a fan of pedals with ONE knob.
Maybe call it the Beast.
Sorry. Mason I cant agree with the title of this video mate. I have had my TW pedal for about 3 years and i am STILL getting some serious vibes from it. It LIVES on my pedalboard and i swap out pedals and boosts to taste. I use it on my Mesa Boogie JP2C so i can get ALL the tone flavours i need between the channels on the JP2C. If i need to tweak, I do it on the Guitar or amp. I guess its just one of those things you gotta just play the thing and see if it fits with your philosophy. If it gets too boomy i stick and mini EQ pedal under my board and pull out some of the low end.
Love your stuff! And I think the Tdrive is an outstanding pedal! Maybe throw a Tone knob on it, and it'll make it a bit more friendly for everyone. Greetings from Argentina!
I am just not into the Marshall/Vox sound, so this pedal is not for me. I like Fender and Dumble tones, typically,
I've been playing electric guitar for over 20 years and never heard of a Trainwreck until this video. I have heard of the T-Drive though. Lol.
I bought my T-Drive years ago, really loved it. But it started emitting a high-pitched squeal, so I retired it and went with other pedals. I'll try it on battery and see if that changes anything.
Personally, I think this could become one of your BEST selling pedals with a re-direct in your marketing strategy to focus on the massive numbers of dynamics-hungry players. If no one knows what a Trainwreck is, then focusing on the Trainwreck will ultimately lead to a ... er, uh ... trainwreck. Your pedals are brilliant! Make some changes (EQ?) and move forwards.
super appreciate the feedback!
I agree. The Tdrive is a nice way to make a mark in the higher gain territory, it kind of reminds me of the dynamic overdrive in the way it responds!
In terms of marketing, what I would really try to get across is the power amp distortion that British amps have is Magical!! and it’s just something you’re not going to achieve at lower volumes but what this pedal achieves is adding a bit of that magical power amp distortion to your tone without the need for you to crank anything to 11 lol
If I was gonna mod this to something that I think would be successful, I’d want this pedal to stack super well as like a second gain stage to add some character to our sound.
I want the bass to be a bit tighter aswell tbf. I wonder if a bass contour switch would be a good idea… kinda like what Friedman do with the deluxe BE-OD
I’d hike the internal power supply up to 18v so you can run it at 9 and get extra headroom.
I’d add a tone control and let’s dial down the gain a bit in favour of a bit more clarity.
This way (like an amp) we can push the pedal with an overdrive (which let’s face it everyone has) so if you want that extra gain you can stack it but really it’s going to add all those Voxy/Marshally harmonics and British flavour to your tone and be a bit of a tone shaper/enhancer aswell as an amp in a box thing.
I wonder if it would be a good 2in1 pedal and perhaps you could stick a bluesbreaker style of overdrive in front of it (or after 🤔 for a solo volume boost) and then it’s all you need.
If I was being cheeky, I’d call it something like the royal rumble overdrive 😂
Purchased used. Sounds terrible (strat) - high-pitched, audible, constant squeal, 3K+, even with the knobs turned down. Extremely annoying, cannot evaluate tone of the pedal due to squeal. Already tried using a graphic equalizer, didn't help much, removing the squeal just made the guitar sound bad. I'm going to try it again tomorrow with my Les Paul. Any suggestions for a fix?
Part of the cool thing with Trainwreck and Komet style amps is the "Gradual/Fast" switch for breakup. I think if you added that switch and positioned it as a mid-forward, more aggressive alternative to the more scooped/Fender/Dumble sound, that would be cool. Mark Knopfler used Komet amps for a while and Brad Paisley is pretty famous for the Trainwreck tones.
Volume-riding and tone-riding aren't in vogue as much anymore, but Lil Tommy Bukovac has talked a few times on Homeskoolin' about that technique. I wouldn't be surprised if it makes a comeback. Perhaps a video with our old Uncle Larry on how to squeeze more tones out of your volume and tone controls would be a great way to see some traction with this pedal!
Hi thanks for the video. After watching I turned the gain down to 9 o’clock and all the noise went away. I always run the amp on 10 using a Universal Audio OX Box and my guitar volume at 5 or 6. The tone are endless. I use your Steel String, Dynamic Distortion, TDrive, and Boost great pedals. I think you did good with the TDrive.
My T-Drive is absolutly my favorite pedal! I searched for the overdrive sound that I knew I wanted, but I couldn't find it until I picked the pedal up in a store. I use it as my low gain, super dynamic touch sensitive and if I want more gain from it I push ot with a boost pedal I have in front of it. Sending love to the T-Drive ❤
It's an impressive pedal and you must managed it.
The headroom is enormous, the saturation loaded with harmonics, a lot of dynamic.
Turn down the volume of your guitar to go from clean to saturated. ...no other distortion pedal gives me this subtlety.
Add a clean/treble booster up front, and you've got the midrange you've been missing.
A pedal that would have to be discontinued for it to become a legend :=)
Not all players play with the guitar knobs. That pedal is to be worked by seasoned players who know tone, and how to get the tone. Just like fuzz pedals. Have a great player putting it to its paces with a great video. You have to teach how to use it. Besides although Ken Fischer was a genius is amps are even rare than Dumbles. So a niche inside a niche
A good mate of mine gave me his one to try out, months and months later i still have it. The drive tone is huge, massive bottom end and cleans up amazingly well. I run it through the clean side of my Ceriatone OTS 20 amp and it is glorious, i really dig it and i don't think my mate is getting it back lol
As an update to my previous comment saying I had purchased a TDrive and was going to check it out.
I ran it through a few Marshall's:
Origin 20
DSL 20
Studio Classic/Plexi
Studio Vintage/JCM800
I ran it through a few Fender's:
Hot Rod Deluxe IV
Supersonic 22
Princeton Reverb
Deluxe Reverb
Tried it with Strats, Les Pauls, Teles, Gretsch, several of each guitar type, each guitar type has at least 2 different pickup "load-ins". eg. A couple of Strats with different pickup types, 3 or 4 Les Pauls with different sets of pickups, etc.
My favorite setting on the TDrive:
Volume: unity or just above
Drive: maxed out
Then use the guitars volume and tone knobs to get different sounds. And there were certainly a variety of sounds available using different combinations of tone and volume available at the guitar controls.
The summary, this is a deep, 3D, harmonically rich, touch sensitive, guitar control sensitive pedal...with humbuckers.
With low output single coils, it sounds a bit flat, thinner, and considerably less saturation and the harmonics no longer leap off the fretboard. It's not a flop or a problem, but think of going from that roaring glorious 70s humbucker sound, down to an SRV or Jimi kind of blues sound with single coils. There's definitely something there with single coils, but it's not as there as when the humbuckers are there.
So if you're running this pedal with low output single coils and want that absolutely huge full on liquid blues SRV and/or Jimi rock tone, shove a clean volume boost in front of it (eg. TC Spark, Keeley Katana, etc). Or if you want to keep the pedal general tone (a bit bass heavy) and add even more harmonic richness, use a relatively full range overdrive like the BD-2, Klon, EM Drive, Timmy, etc. If you want to tame the bass (the pedal is a bit heavy in the bass especially with humbuckers) use an OD-1, TS, etc.
Or for ultimate versatility, just use your favorite eq pedal that's probably gathering dust somewhere, drop some of the bass, raise the output volume, and Bob's your uncle.
For dual humbucker guitars (or dual volume guitars, really) roll back the neck volume to 4 or 5, keep your bridge volume at 8 or 9 and ...walla... 2 CHANNEL AMP IN A BOX!
Too much bass in the pedal with your Les Paul's volume at 10?
Roll back the guitar's tone knob a bit (to like 9 or 9.5) so you're not slamming the string attack.
Yes, you heard right... Rolling down the tone knob a bit can remove some bass from the pedal because you're not slamming the pedal with string attack and creating flubbyness. SHOCKING, I KNOW!
Fat, articulate, saturated, with great picking dynamics and great volume and tone control options at the guitar.
You could probably play a whole blues to screaming rock gig on this pedal, always on, with the pedal volume at unity and the gain at max, and just ride your volume and tone knobs. Heck, you can even fake some U2 / Mr. The Edge clean and sparklies out of the pedal (volume at unity, gain maxed), with just a roll of guitar volume and tone. Seriously, it's not hard to figure out.
Too much bass in the pedal for your rig?
Lower the bass on your amp.
Like your amps settings and don't want to lower the bass on your amp?
Roll back the guitar volume and/or tone just a hair, to about 9 or 9.5, and the flubbyness/woffyness goes away (or at the very least becomes a deep throaty growl that'll pleasantly rattle your jewels, instead of muddy woof flub).
And I haven't even described the glory that happens when you max out the pedal volume knob, and use the gain knob anywhere between minimum and about 10:30, and then start playing with the guitar's volume and tone knobs. So good.
That was my experience, YMMV.
--------
SO MASON,
... if you want to remake this pedal, v2 or whatever, I'd say add a bass cut to roll off the "4x12 cabinet" effect (I mean what if someone is already running this pedal through a 4 x 12 cabinet on stage at Wembley? Yes I know chances are this is going into someone's combo amp at home, and the 4x12 effect is good for that umpf, but use a bass cut knob to roll off that effect if the user desires, maybe they're playing a Hot Rod Deluxe and don't know how to work the bass knob), and put in a boost switch (either footswitch or toggle switch, and it might not just be an output boost thing, it might be an impedance thing or a henries thing or whatever other the differences there are between a single coil and humbucker, maybe something like the input filter on the DOD Looking Glass? No idea what I'm taking about here so I hope you get the jist) that you can use optionally if you want to thin out humbuckers or fatten up single coils (that way if SRV or Jimi show up when Nancy is ripping on Barracuda, they can all join in. Or if Nancy shows up and U2 is playing Where the Streets Have No Name or Sunday Bloody Sunday, she can play along).
What great feedback! Thank you so much for this detailed response! This is SUPER helpful! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
@@VertexEffectsInc No worries. Glad to share and hopefully be of some help.
I'm not the most technical guy when it comes to the electronics of pedals, so I hope I got the jist across with regard to a bass roll off and some kind of switch or toggle to account for humbuckers vs. single coils if the user wants to.
So at max the bass roll off would just keep the pedal exactly as it is currently (let's call current version v1). As you roll off the bass knob, it linearly reduces the resonant frequencies (the ones that you've assigned to the pedal to mimic a 4x12).
Then, independently of the bass roll off knob (ie. the bass roll off knob could be used in addition to any of these positions), the switch or toggle would have:
Position 1. Leave the pedal as is currently in stock format of the V1 TDrive pedal. So with Position 1 and the bass roll off knob letting all the resonant 4x12 frequencies through, it would sound just like the TDrive v1 does right now...because I think it really rocks. Clean to absolutely filthy with just a volume knob, heck you can pretty much go clean to filthy just on picking dynamics!
Position 2. Fatten up single coils adding a good dose of sustain and harmonics to make them sing.
Position 3. Thin out humbuckers a bit to make them a bit less woolly sounding and a bit more like a single coil or a P90, but without losing the already excellent sustain and harmonics that humbuckers have currently with the stock v1 pedal.
Or make the 3 position tone toggle idea a knob that does the same thing, kind of like the input filter knob idea, if that will do it.
I don't know if any of this is even possible, but I hope some of that makes sense, and I managed to help in some way, as opposed to just make everything more confusing.
Writing about tone is like dancing about architecture.
P.S. If you do make a TDrive version 2, and you use some of my suggestions, maybe you could call it the "VERTEX T-Drive RT" because the R could stand for the Resonance knob, and the T could stand for the Tone toggle switch or input filter or whatever it ends up being.
@@recklesstoboggan thanks again! This is really so helpful!
@@VertexEffectsInc
Mason,
As an update, I finally got a chance to play the Ethos TWE-1 and compare it directly to my Vertex TDrive.
I'll personally take the TDrive hands down.
The Ethos TWE-1 is really, really, really compressed, and has an upper mids frequency that I just can't tune out on any of my rigs or guitars.
By comparison the TDrive has the gain, but remains open and dynamic, where the Ethos TWE-1 sounds crushed and overly, unnaturally compressed to my ears.
Not ragging on Ethos, but it's just not for me. There are plenty of people who absolutely love the TWE-1, and maybe that's their sound. I personally prefer the TDrive as it retains headroom and dynamics even at extremely high gain.
Any updates on a potential TDrive RT?
I’ve watched countless videos by you and I do feel like it wasn’t advertised well. After this video I think this would be a hit! Do your take on it, either add a low pass filter or something or even make it so you can choose your caps or diodes to choose how fat the tone is! That’d be epic!
Sometimes all a pedal company needs to do in order to make a cult following of a underperforming pedal… is to discontinue it 😂.
Not my bag personally but it’s a wonderful sounding pedal. A V2 with a tone knob (or better yet mid EQ) would probably revive it. Cheers mason!
I appreciate your willingness to make these honest and open assessments! Actually, a pretty nice pedal, although I did not find it Plexi. Definitely Tweedy or Voxey. I recommend people should watch the Shawn Tubb's demo (1) VERTEX T Drive Overdrive pedal demo video by Shawn Tubbs - UA-cam). The common thread to your other products is touch sensitivity and like others, I think you should consider re-issuing it with a 'Bass-tight' and high-pass tone controls.
You wanted suggestions:
Boost switch on the bottom, three postion Toggle switch for boost & a three postion toggle switch for highs and or gain structure
A step further
Four tone controls, low, resonance, mid, highs....
I enjoy the pedal I have. I run it into a Mesa Boogie Stiletto. I use Furman power supply plus MXR iso-brick
I know you're not asking me, but I'll tell you exactly why this failed and what you have to do to redeem it. Yes, I have the answer. And, IF you listen to ME, then your pedal will make an amazing comeback. Indeed, my opinion is so valuable... Listen to me, and you will succeed, as my analysis is extremely accurate. I hope this helps.
I think it sounds great !
Glad you dig it!
I can only speak for myself here but for me the problem is that your other pedals are so great the T-Drive is at the bottom of my list. When I was looking to buy one of your pedals for my son I immediately knew he would love the Steel String and I was right. It's his always on pedal even when he has the Jekyll and Hyde pedal engaged :) There is an expense factor also. I'd love to buy him the SSS or Ultra Phonix but he needed a good compressor so the NYLE it is this Christmas ⛄. We plan on building another Pedal Board together eventually and I know he will want the SSS on there. The T-Drive simply doesn't make the list for his style but he loves options :) but I'm sure you'll put out something else great and eventually the T-Drive will just be something that maybe I pick up if I find it cheap. So your strengths are what actually kills the T-DRIVE. It's probably just a novelty that's at the bottom of the wants list. Have no doubt it's great but pedal rigs are expensive and I have to choose wisely :)
I have a T-Drive. 🤷♂️ I wouldn't say it's a bad pedal. Maybe more info about ways to use it?
I don't think it's bad...folks just didn't get it, or we did a bad job selling it clearly.
@@VertexEffectsInc To me, it's more of a compressed sound than the other pedals.
I love a good OD with only 2 controls, yes not a "transparent" or whatever type of pedal, especially when boosting or pummeling an already dirty front end, then dropping your guitar volume down a notch or two, very lively. That's where I live anyways. Been thinking about trying 1 of these for quite some time, but I have too many already (all different), prob should thin the herd a bit. I remember all the great articles about Trainwrecks & Ken Fischer in Guitar Player Magazine.
Thanks Mason. I think this pedal sounds really good (although I have to admit your Boost is still my fav) . Don't take my word for it listen to what Shawn Tubbs (ua-cam.com/video/Dbfy7UkxHJg/v-deo.html) and RJ Ronquillo ( ua-cam.com/video/UJEDAmuBjEI/v-deo.html) do with it. So while I get the perspective these pedals were/are not big sellers, but dont forget where the Ross compressor was in the early 80's when most players were more focused on Boss and EHX? Understand business is business; but all you need is one Trey Anastasio ... Failure I think not.
Good video I like your honesty. I don’t think people understand these pedals.After hearing you talk about it I have a better understanding of it. I also think people equate knobs and switches
Quality “If it doesn’t have a bunch of switches how can it be good “?
Honestly never heard a Trainwreck amp so I had no idea what it was meant to sound like. The lack of EQ made it something I wasn't interested in trying because EQ is usually the biggest issue with most pedals for me. In the clips here it honestly sounds very unpleasant to my ears. I don't feel you should abandon a higher gain pedal though. The Vertex pedal I wish existed would be an Ultraphonix/Dynamic Distortion. The Ultraphonix had a perfect EQ curve but I wish it had double the gain. Wanted to love the Dynamic Distortion because it's clean up was fantastic but couldn't stand the EQ curve and even with the tone off it was still too bright. If you could somehow double the gain in the Ultraphonix, keep the EQ curve but add a treble roll off and give it the clean up ability of the Dynamic Distortion you'd have one hell of a pedal. My 2 cents for what they are worth...
Sorry to say the I own the pedal before and sold it. Perhaps like some said, the pedal could be improved with switches for the gain stages.
The pedal is very reactive I have to agree, feels like a amp. But the crunch tone was lacking something. In lame man term, maybe it doesn’t sound open. It always sounds like as if I am always playing g through a 1x12 (my home setup is with a 4x12)
Perhaps if there is adjustments to the gain stages, it might help. The pedal sounded like it lacks presence possibly.
I just made a trade with this pedal I bought used several months ago. It isn't a bad pedal, it's just not my stuff! The best sound was with the two knobs pushed and using the volume of the guitar, but for me, in a context of a band, wasn't the good one. But for playing at home (during the first lockdown), over playback tracks, I had a lot of fun with the T-Drive.
I bought one after have done a very carefully comparation between several overdrive pedals on UA-cam, especially the Shawn Tubbs demo got me hooked.
However I did let it go due to the very compressed tone i did not like ( your example playing the LZ influenzed riff) and it did not fit my playing style at that moment (and of course my skills are far beyond Shawns).
I liked the two knob approach and the idea to control the tone only by adjusting the vol. on the guitar.
I am particularly fond of two-knob pedals, but I am a wierdo who usually indicates the direction that the Market will not go. BTW kind of looking into the Trainwreck thing atm.
Flubby bass is likely the problem for most people. A bass cut seems to be the consensus #1 thing to add. Yes, it would be great to keep it simple and as true to the original as possible, but like nobody runs 4×12's now. Look at the Wampler Pantheon tone controls. I can adjust it to sound good with any amp(that I've ever used) with the active bass and treble controls plus the presence control. I thought the T drive sounded pretty good in this video, but knowing it gets flubby on the low end with some amps would steer me away.
Some people might see a two knob $200 pedal plus tax and maybe shipping and simply say its too expensive. You have to have pretty serious players who are going to shell $200 to 250 for a pedal. If you have too many mark em down half price and Ill definitely buy one. I generally wait till the tone chasers get bored, sell and then i buy used.
I shied away from buying one due to the lack of any tone controls. I'm of the opinion that as the gain is increased, the top end almost always needs to be reduced. I also do not like a bass heavy pedal, so maybe a bass cut switch would be effective (like on the new Nobels ODR1). Then again, I can't think of any manufacturer that's hit a home run every single time.
I ever only have 1 Question with pedals or Amps & Guitars , does it SHRED ??
How many high gain players are left playing, aka famous? I ask because I don't play high gain. You may want to hand them this pedal, with the cameras running. See what they think.
I thought it sounded interesting.
Just a simple tone control...and no serial numbers, but instead, each one gets a unique woman's name. A la KF. It'll sound better, and also become more collectible and "cool" to own because of using the names. As well as furthering the tribute to Ken
I just don’t get it. Personally the amp had a very small market place. 90% of all pedals enhance an amplifier to inspire you to play better. To me it was a boost with gain on tap. Why would I want to spend money on that? I believe that most players don’t mess with their volume and tone pots Plus there’s way too many styles of guitars and amp rig that it was not compatible with. I think it would’ve been a cool idea if it had a bass and treble pot so you could dial it in according to your taste and gear.
I had and really liked the T Drive. I’m not a high gain player, but this NAILED Dumbly tones, especially with lower output guitars. Definitely agree that more people know about the Dumble and that makes D pedals more popular. Also agree that a Baxandall or even a high pass filter would be killer on this.
I didn’t find noise to be an issue on my Pedal Power 2+ and I thought it was a touch responsive monster. And I play into vintage fender amps.
To remake this, I’d recommend 1) either high pass or baxandall, and 2) a low gain and high gain switch to divide the gain knob and allow more precise dialing in of gain.
I know it looks like the amp that it’s suppose to be copying but I think it looks cheap compared to the other pedals. There’s a million overdrives on the market and buying a 200 dollar over drive that you don’t like the look of is kinda rough
it's not a bad pedal, just add bass,treble,mid control knobs, maybe a presence knob, it's a big pedal so it should fit.
All good points...thanks for the feedback!
@@VertexEffectsInc it's sounds good to me, there are some brand that have an amp in a box like joyo california which is a simulation of mesa boogie mark IV, if it have knobs it would be a big potentional to sound good.
@@kevinfiel3245 glad you dig it. I didn't know that about the Joyo
@@VertexEffectsInc i just give you a reference, Joyo and Harley Benton are the same i think? i am not expert of pedals but it is what it is. They also have Vintage Tube Overdrive a clone of Maxon TS808 or Ibanez TS9? which they nailed it.
hoping to see your updated TDrive soon, it's not bad to upgrade.
if system glitch in computers can be fix, how much more on pedals?
i hope that someday i can be the lucky one in a giveaway haha.
and also make a review of Vitoos Iso8, Vitoos DD5-SV2 and the cheap Ammoon Isolated Pedal Power Supply.
To me it sounds like the perfect modern Math/HardCore pedal (DEP, The chariot, Refused, Converge …) . The way it's both super nasty and somewhat clean is quite unique and really fits that very versatile genre (also, holly maccaroni that Led Zepplin riff was filthy…)
Lastly I really wanted to hear that thing through a SSS or SS MK2… these take drive super well and really wanted to hear how they got together. But I couldn't find a demo of that.
It's really one of my favorite pedal of yours… because I've grown tired of modern metal tones and I don't really like classic hard rock tones either. This one drive really has personality (just like the Ultraphonix does) and I'd find it a bit sad if it was fully discontinued.