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kitchen recording equipment news<br />
Fulltone<br />
Full-Drive 2 MOSFeT<br />
www.fulltone.com<br />
Review by Howard Stock<br />
at the heart of vintage overdrive pedals, and vintage generally equals<br />
good for guitarists. <strong>The</strong>y aren’t stuck with it, though: <strong>The</strong> Fulldrive 2<br />
throws in a switch that toggles between MOSFET and standard modes.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Full-Drive 2’s controls are relatively simple: volume, tone, overdrive<br />
and boost knobs, plus two switches, CompCut/FM/Vintage and<br />
afore-mentioned MOSFET/standard selector. Despite its placement, the<br />
MOSFET/standard switch works whether the boost footswitch is engaged<br />
or not. <strong>The</strong> standard mode is voiced very nicely, but the MOSFET mode<br />
adds a little richness, a crackle around the edges, that guitarists going<br />
easy on the gain may well prefer.<br />
On the other side of the pedal, a three-way switch navigates between<br />
CompCut, FM and Vintage. CompCut is effectively a clean boost; it<br />
doesn’t add much grit but it punches a tube amp into overdrive. Just take<br />
into account the boost in volume.<br />
FM adds some dirt, but not too much. For players who look for an articulate<br />
overdrive that spices things up without overpowering them, this is<br />
probably the best mode. Vintage goes the whole hog, with plenty of mids<br />
and a classic rock growl that cuts through the mix very nicely and should<br />
satisfy old-school classic rock purists.<br />
Fulltone’s Full-Drive 2 is a classic overdrive pedal reinvented 10 years<br />
after the original was released, with technology from decades early.<br />
<strong>The</strong> MOSFET, for metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor, was<br />
<strong>The</strong> boost switch is handy for solos, piling on the pounds to make those<br />
lead lines really sing, and can really thicken up rhythm guitar lines if a song<br />
calls for both articulation and a solid battleaxe thunk. <strong>The</strong> pedal would<br />
sound awesome without it, but the boost function adds a layer of utility<br />
that makes the Full-Drive a key piece of kit, worthy of its two-pedal footprint<br />
on a pedal board. In a market over-saturated by boutique overdrive<br />
pedals, the Fulldrive stands shoulder to shoulder with the best of ’em.<br />
the deli_43 fall 2010
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