Ooo... I love talking about overdrives since I'm currently on the search for "The Perfect Overdrive!"
Haven't found it yet though.
I own a Pork Loin, but my most current are the Catalinbread SFT and Subdecay Liquid Sunshine.
A couple mini reviews for you:
Pork Loin: For GC's current price, the Pork Loin is a STEAL. I paid regular price for mine and it's still a gem at $169. I didn't know I wanted one until my contact at GC suggested one when I was bored one day and stopped in for "something new."
lol It's pretty transparent and doesn't color your sound. It's classified as a low- to mid-gain pedal, but it's got a good amount of crunch available... more than I'll ever use anyway. The controls are great, the Curve knob on the outside does a nice job of smoothing or edging up your sound and there are three trim pots inside to sculpt your sound even more.
Way Huge Pork Loin - Various Drive settings Catalinbread SFT: It lived up to the hype I read around Talkbass. It's a great low- to mid-gain overdrive that can still get much-more-than-you-think-it's-got crunch. Normally I dial off some treble (10:00) and boost the bass (2:00) for a just barely overdriven sound, but I used it just last weekend to almost get the fuzz sound on Dance To The Music (Sly & the Family Stone, at about 1:16 if you care to check it out). The SFT is quite touch sensitive... play light to play clean and dig in to jump right into overdrive. Or you could use your volume knob on your bass to control the drive, but I'm one of those guys whose volume knob is always at 100%.
The videos on the
Catalinbread SFT site pretty much tell you what it's all about.
Liquid Sunshine: I just got it yesterday and haven't had much time with it, but can already tell it's a keeper. The internal bass boost switch is what makes this overdrive
(pardon the pun) shine. It's a tasty overdrive without it, but turning it on thickens/warms up the sound nicely. Another trick with the Sunshine are the dual drive controls... top knob for full range, add the bottom knob to dial in the mids and highs to get a great grindy crunch. This is another low- to mid-gain overdrive that does a great barely there overdrive, but still has a good amount of drive.
Sorry, no clips of the Sunshine yet.
I'd be hard pressed to pick a clear winner... The SFT has better controls and the Sunshine is more simple, but the Sunshine is also a little smoother, not quite as harsh. While both are more expensive than the Pork Loin, they're both warmer too. If you can/are willing to spend a few more bucks, it's totally worth it IMO.
Now for my surprise recommendation...........
Hartke Bass Attack. No, seriously. I probably wouldn't have even looked twice at this one, but I won it from Larry Hartke himself on Facebook and was TOTALLY surprised. At $89 (new), you get an overdrive, EQ, Hartke's Shape Circuit
and DI all in one box. SUPER handy. And you know what? The overdrive sounds great and can get HUGE. Like, it'll eat your speakers for breakfast huge. Check out this clip... on the fourth time through, I had to dial the Level knob back to TWO. The Bass Attack can get a little complicated, but with that comes a lot of control.
Hartke Bass Attack - Various settings
Hope some of that helps at least a little!
5sg.
