Today, we look at a pedal that has absolutely taken the guitar-playing, effects-using world by storm since its inception and release in the mid-2000s. The Obsessive Compulsive Drive (or OCD) is an overdrive that features a ton of dynamics, open-sounding tones and singing tube-like distortion raging through your amplifier. One of the best-selling pedals of all time, we’ll explore what makes this little cream-colored box a go-to drive pedal for thousands and thousands of guitarists worldwide.

Volume starts off the controls by giving you about 25dB of gain to work with, making it a powerful tool right out of the box. Even around 9:00, there’s still a pretty good boost to your signal, so use this at your best discretion to balance the overall volume. The Tone knob is slightly different in that it only affects the high frequencies, and not a mix of the lows and highs like a lot of drive pedals. At noon, the frequencies are very neutral; turn it counter-clockwise for smoother, higher-gain lead tones, clockwise for a more compressed feel.

There’s a rad toggle switch on the OCD that really expands its capabilities, too. Select HP (High-Peak) for a fatter bottom end, more volume and gain and a bit of a boost in the upper mids as well; use LP (Low-Peak) to retain the original tones of your guitar and amp – great for a clean boost type of sound. The Obsessive Compulsive Drive is also true bypass, and uses the “best switch in the world”, the Fulltone-made 3PDT footswitch.

Now, there are countless and endless arguments about which version of this magnificent pedal is the best, and when it comes down to it, they’re all great in their own way. Some are grittier, some have more mid presence, some have more sustain and some have a ton of high end, but it really all depends on what sound YOU are looking for, and what suits your taste. Either way, the OCD from Fulltone has become an effects pedal staple, and has graced and currently graces more pedalboard than we could count, with supposedly over 25,000 units sold up to now. You can get newer versions used for a great value, and if you have a little more to spend and want to investigate the earlier versions, have at it. We won’t judge.

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