Zakk Wylde OD- What a bass sucking noisy hog!

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Kapo_Polenton

Kapo_Polenton

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Got this in a trade for a digitech digiverb i had sitting collecting dust. So far the only setting i have it on is level at 3, tone at 11, gain at 0. That's right ZERO. Cause this beeatch squeels like a pig when you nudge up the gain. I have heard that it fairs better with a battery and obviously a noise gate but i like to test drive pedals before i start relying on the decimator or noise gate factor. Also, it has this honk sorta thing going on because it cuts bass and lower mids for sure. So far i only like it with my jcm800 because i modded it slightly for more gain and this tightens it up in a good way. Compared to the SD-1, I wonder why Zakk ever bothered switching..

Anyone have any quick mods for this to make it more balanced or part swaps for less noise?
 
Kapo_Polenton":1voakqkp said:
Cause this beeatch squeels like a pig
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It turns every note you play into a Zakk Wylde pinch harmonic ? Sounds like your pedal is in perfect working order.
 
I like the cheap mxr classic overdrive as a boost set to zero on gain tone and volume to taste. It seams to tighten up things rather well does cut a little bass but not as much as a ts9 or 808.The zack wylde is a bit noisy and didnt care for it a bit.
 
It turns every note you play into a Zakk Wylde pinch harmonic ? Sounds like your pedal is in perfect working order.
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Too funny :D .. I honestly am amazed that people rave about this thing. Do the majority of guitar players nowadays boost already high gain amps with noise boxes like this and then set the NS-2 at max to avoid the squeals? I'm trying to like it because it looks cool but I don't think it will be staying long. This guy on the other hand is next on my list: http://www.mpamp.com/pedal/pedals-rrb.htm.
 
Kapo_Polenton":dz9w1x7n said:
Do the majority of guitar players nowadays boost already high gain amps with noise boxes like this and then set the NS-2 at max to avoid the squeals?
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When boosting, are you turning the gain down on the amp ? Otherwise any OD pedal into a high gain amp will turn it into a hissy fit.
 
fluff191":1rnvcyhv said:
One of the worst OD pedals I have ever tried. :thumbsdown:
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Agreed...tried one maybe 7-8 years ago...total noise. :thumbsdown: Probably the worst MXR pedal there is.
 
When boosting, are you turning the gain down on the amp ? Otherwise any OD pedal into a high gain amp will turn it into a hissy fit
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Yep, tried it with JCM800 running hot to Plexi style amp with gain dialed back as I am not a super high gain guy at all. I'm talking gain barely cracked and feedback noise city.
 
I wonder if something is wrong with it?
I've had one for a while and to me it sounds a lot like an SD-1 with a little bass added.
I run volume and gain around 1-2 o'clock and tone around 11 into a JCM800.

It's not my favorite, but I could live with it, I'd probably stick with an SD-1 though.

Jason
 
Maybe.. had a look inside hoping it was one of the newer ones that had the switch to go from GT-OD to ZW-44. Everything looks stock and in good shape. Tiny little surface mount components though hole smokes. Not mod friendly. Anyway, i dialed back the tone and level a bit and have the gain at like 7, just cracked. Still not as good as an SD-1 to my ears. It does kind of do the mid boost 80's thing well though. I'll use it for now..
 
Used to jam with a guy running that into his 2204 and it sounded great. Not anymore noisy than any other pedal. I demoed one probably 6 years ago and thought it was good. Ended up going with a Sparkle Drive but thought the Zack pedal was great for a 6 knob Marshall.
 
I've only played them when they first released them years ago. Haven't since.
But I did recently notice MXR is selling the Wylde OD in a different case with a different paint job and name I think.
I wonder if they are same or not?

K, is your Wylde OD white, or yellow?




 

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maxon od808 my friend it is money set the level at unity or crank it same with the tone just depends on what amp your using. it takes away the flub makes everything tighter. adds some mids as well.
 
I read this thread & I'm like damn, I've been rockin my ZW OD since it came out years ago. :shocked:
Perhaps there's some duds out there? It's not great when feeding a modern hi gain amp, but anything mid gain & a touch above my pedal sounds great!

That being said, my toggle is on the fritz & I was thinking of going with a BB+ or TS
 
I've used the MXR ZW with a reissue JCM800 2203x, a Marshall 6100, a Bugera 1990 and a 70's Dutch plexi clone and found it very nice with all of them. Pushes the front end nicely. The amps' gains basically maxed, the MXR usually gain around 9-11 o'clock, level almost maxed and tone to taste.

May be yours has got something wrong with it :no: ?
 
Maybe something is wrong with it or maybe it just sucks lol... to be honest, it probably is fine, just find it increases noise and feedback. I also probably am not the biggest fan of the way it is voiced is all. With tone knob back, it is way more usable to me and i'll probably mess with it a bit more and see what happens. The grit factor in the pedal is nice.. it could just use a bit more lower mids to my ears.

As for the pedal, yes it is the white version with bullseye. Think it is a 2004 issue pedal and for anyone that still thinks i am pushing a super high gain amp, I am rockin a randall lynchbox (brahma module - which is a plexi type) and a JCM800 vertical input from 82'. These are not gain monsters. (though i added a tad more sizzle to the JCM preamp)
 
Either your pedal sucks or you have better (or different) ears than me
 
Either your pedal sucks or you have better (or different) ears than me
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:thumbsup: haha, nicely placed my fellow randal-lite! I think Zakk's ears probably suck. That guy will play anything with his name on it. Essentially Zakk's guide to effects seems to be everything on 10 and a noise gate. Need some trem in there? 10. Vibe ? why not! 10, phaser?? screw the subtle phase, crank it. OD?? stack two of them...... gain on 10.
 
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