Sooooo.... I may have just bought a Model R

[Joeleo]

Thoughts on the R vs DRD?

So far, going back and forth between the two on the Chimey Limey, these were my immediate thoughts:

-The DRD by comparison sounds tighter, more compressed, WAY more gain, and all the upper mids made it sound fizzier
-The R seems WAY more amp-like, with less gain and a much more even EQ spectrum slightly favoring the lower mids. Also, incredibly touch sensitive and open sounding.
-I don't get why these two pedals always seem to be mentioned together as being similar. They don't really sound very similar to me at all.

What was the most telling for me was when i went from the Nolatone back to my Silverface Twin. Prior to getting the Nolatone a couple months back, the Twin was my main squeeze and the DRD>Twin was my favorite rock sound ever. Well, A/B'ing the two pedals into the Twin, The R was again the clear winner for me, which i found surprising.

To my ear, the R sounds like a cranked amp, and comparing it to the DRD makes the DRD sound like a pedal. Again, I don't it's a very fair comparison though because they don't sound that similarly voiced to me.

Hearing the R was the first time I've ever thought that i could just have that one drive sound and be content. That's pretty insane coming from me because i've always had between 3-7 dirt pedals on my board at any given time. I'm not saying that I'm about to unload every other pedal i have, or even the DRD for that matter, but the R is just a really satisfying, unique sound that seems to work equally well for crunchy rhythms or lead work.

[cajone5]

That's interesting because my brief experience with the Model R had me thinking it had so much gain that it was too over the top for me. It was pretty much all compression/gain/sustain for me across the board. I actually had the exact opposite experience A/Bing the two in feeling like the over the top gain of the MR made it feel/sound like a pedal where the DRD was much more dynamic and sounded like a cranked amp. And the odd thing is that at the time of the comparison I was playing a strat with lollar tweeds which are very low output... hm... I'm kinda wondering now if I had one that was either flawed or maybe I was running it with a buffer out front and it was getting hit with too much signal or... I don't know but I'm getting the feeling that there was something off about my experience with the MR... hopefully I can try one again some day.

Anyway, thank you for sharing your experience glad you're loving the new pedal!

[Joeleo]

That's interesting because my brief experience with the Model R had me thinking it had so much gain that it was too over the top for me. It was pretty much all compression/gain/sustain for me across the board. I actually had the exact opposite experience A/Bing the two in feeling like the over the top gain of the MR made it feel/sound like a pedal where the DRD was much more dynamic and sounded like a cranked amp. And the odd thing is that at the time of the comparison I was playing a strat with lollar tweeds which are very low output... hm... I'm kinda wondering now if I had one that was either flawed or maybe I was running it with a buffer out front and it was getting hit with too much signal or... I don't know but I'm getting the feeling that there was something off about my experience with the MR... hopefully I can try one again some day.

Anyway, thank you for sharing your experience glad you're loving the new pedal!

Huh, that is interesting. It's always amazing to me how different rigs, playing styles, etc. can make for extremely different experiences of certain pieces of gear. I remember having the gain on the R set at around 2 O'Clock and then switching back to DRD with the gain set at 10 O'Clock and being surprised by how much more gain the DRD had at that setting. It'd be interesting to hear from others with Model R experience to hear their thoughts on comparing the two pedals.

[Bobby D]

hmmmm.....i have an R here right now, and just got the Bearfoot DRD......gonna do a comparison demo between the two pedals, so people can hear the difference.

i love RED pedals

[thesjkexperience]

Slim, if you can could you do part of the demo with single coils?

[Joeleo]

That's interesting because my brief experience with the Model R had me thinking it had so much gain that it was too over the top for me. It was pretty much all compression/gain/sustain for me across the board.

As I get to know the model R more, I'm beginning to understand how our experiences with it could have been so different. First of all, I've always been shocked by that demo of it you posted in the other Model R thread. It sounds NOTHING like it does for me in any of my three amps. Second, as the gain goes up it does become more compressed and "saggy" sounding like you described it. I've never played through an EGDM, but I think the drive knob on the Model R might be similar to how people describe the knob on the EGDM. Where i keep the gain control (usually between 9 O'Clock and Noon) the tone stays nice and tight. The saggy thing is nice for certain sounds though.

What I've been doing that has been working great for me is keeping the gain knob within that 9-Noon range, and then when i want more drive I kick on the RRB in front of it. This makes it more overdriven but seems to keep the tighter tonal characteristics.

[Bobby D]

Slim, if you can could you do part of the demo with single coils?

will do! i have three guitars here to demo with, so i will try to mix it up a bit....

the R is a weird pedal -- some people LOVE it, some people HATE it......not a lot of middle ground with the R.

when i had my Soldano, the R was RAGING thru that amp....

it will be interesting to compare it with the DRD

[thesjkexperience]

That's interesting because my brief experience with the Model R had me thinking it had so much gain that it was too over the top for me. It was pretty much all compression/gain/sustain for me across the board.

As I get to know the model R more, I'm beginning to understand how our experiences with it could have been so different. First of all, I've always been shocked by that demo of it you posted in the other Model R thread. It sounds NOTHING like it does for me in any of my three amps.

I know what you mean. I listened to BSIC's demos of several BJFE pedals and I couldn't guess what they were and even the one where he shows you the pedal during the demo I still couldn't believe it. I have all single coil guitars with my T-Bone, Strats and Jazzmaster. I have Fugot's (Michael) PRS Santana here and I cant believe how radically different I need to set some pedals to get a good sound out of them. The HBOD I can leave at the same settings, but blindfolded I would never guess it was a HBOD!

I am considering offering my CHll for a Model R, but who knows if it will play nice with my set up?

[mikepick]

I am currently using a MR on loan, Thanks Donner! Lucky I just received my DRD.

The MR is a big sounding pedal. Seems to have more low mids kind of like a 1st version MH, but more open sounding and more distortion on tap. It stacks extremely well with all my BJFE drives that I have tried so far. I use it at the end of my chain to add fullness and more drive. Very rich harmonic content with smooth even distortion. I know this pedal has not worked out for some, maybe due to the setup they were playing through. I play mainly through a Silver Face Fender Deluxe using mostly single coil guitars. Even when using my humbucker guitar the pedal sounds great.

The DRD just arrived yesterday so I do not have that much time on it. First off it sounds better than I expected it too. It has a more immediate attack than the MR. The DRD has more distortion, crunch and compression than the MR as well. The EQ seems to have more emphasis on the higher mids so it does not sound as big as the MR and also because its more compressed. This pedal definitely has the 80's sound in it. It stacks well will all my BJFE drives that I have tried so far and adds endless sustain.

At this point I am favoring the MR due to the big sound it produces when engaged and also because it makes all my other drives sound bigger.

I am definelty looking to add the MR to my collection.

[Joeleo]

Sounds like we had very similar experiences. Your description of both pedals is dead-on with how i've found them to be. I can see how the model r would not work at all for some since there is no way to tweak out that low-mid content, and with some amps/pickups it could get overbearing i'm sure. But i think the fact that I use a brighter amp with mostly low-output pickups really lends itself nicely to the R. Glad you're digging it too!

I am currently using a MR on loan, Thanks Donner! Lucky I just received my DRD.

The MR is a big sounding pedal. Seems to have more low mids kind of like a 1st version MH, but more open sounding and more distortion on tap. It stacks extremely well with all my BJFE drives that I have tried so far. I use it at the end of my chain to add fullness and more drive. Very rich harmonic content with smooth even distortion. I know this pedal has not worked out for some, maybe due to the setup they were playing through. I play mainly through a Silver Face Fender Deluxe using mostly single coil guitars. Even when using my humbucker guitar the pedal sounds great.

The DRD just arrived yesterday so I do not have that much time on it. First off it sounds better than I expected it too. It has a more immediate attack than the MR. The DRD has more distortion, crunch and compression than the MR as well. The EQ seems to have more emphasis on the higher mids so it does not sound as big as the MR and also because its more compressed. This pedal definitely has the 80's sound in it. It stacks well will all my BJFE drives that I have tried so far and adds endless sustain.

At this point I am favoring the MR due to the big sound it produces when engaged and also because it makes all my other drives sound bigger.

I am definelty looking to add the MR to my collection.