Both Nobels units sound like classic style tube preamps to my ears, even if there are sonic differences between them. The ODR box sounds just like the tube screamer to my ears as well. That might not be what was intended, but I think it’s a pleasant outcome.
The funny thing is that RJ was running through an Earthquaker Plumes the whole time and never changed the settings. The Nobels’ and the Belle weren’t even in the chain. Good one man!
I just got the Nordland ODR-CS and it's now my favorite overdrive. It's a recreation of the ODR-S variant that gets overlooked IMO. Y'all be sure to check that one out. It's like a hi-fi version of the original Nobels circuit. Great video!
Got my Nordland ODR-CS as well and testing/comparing it to my ODR-CC+. I would be very curious about what your take on this is. It is basically a ODR-C with added clarity and the added feature of a mixing in a germanium hard clipping. I would humbly guess this to be right up your alley as well.
I had an original 90s one... I had a reissue. I made a clone... all your hearing is component variation. The designer of the circuit himself (Kai) says there's been no changes over the years.
This! It`s all hype, bias and auto suggestion. If you are a player and not a collector nothing justifies spending extra hundreds of dollars for an old Nobels.
Every studio situation ive ever been in when i use OD pedals the producer without fail when i hit the Nobels goes ‘what was that? Use that one!’ So i think even if you don’t get it or like it you recognize that thats the sound that sits in a mix the best. Lots of Od’s are a lot more fun for playing guitar by yourself and smoother live but don’t track as well. Cheers!
I find it funny to me. "The Captain" Anderton was mentioning years ago how he loved the Nobels specifically because he was playing by himself and not in a band, and didn't have to worry about his frequency bandwidth as a guitar player. People love the Klon and the Tubescreamer specifically because it cuts a lot of the bass, and makes the mids nice and present. Yet the Nobels is being lauded so much for being great in the mix - and I think I GET it now. You want a good baseline distorted sound for rhythm - but when it's time to play leads and solo, you can use a bit of the mid-push (putting an EQ afterwards like Uncle Larry does, or maybe put a Klon or Bluesbreaker after) to take up the sonic space the vocalist is leaving behind.
Love my Nobels mini...as I recall, Bukovac, in his test video, picked that as much as any other on that board. Josh, I think, often makes the point, that even pedals out of the same production line, may vary. To me all three pedals here sound great, even if they're ever so slightly different. The Wampler is wonderfully "slender"...or, dare I say, "transparent" 😬
I've never jelled with the ODR either. I use the Mad Professor Little Green Wonder for that sound. They both definitely work best with single coils though, too dark for humbuckers.
The Nordland Electronics ODR-C is probably the favorite version in the land where the Nobels ODR-1 was born, because it's the company of the man who designed the original ODR-1, Kai Tachibana
I have one...the top end is harsh sounding. I also have nobles Reissue and Venuram shanks too. I will be selling the Nordland and probably the nobles reissue
Key word is the ORIGINAL. BECAUSE THE NEW ONES ABSOLUTELY SUCK.BASS HEAVY TURDS.UNLESS UR LIKE THESE SUPER COOL DUDES WHO GET THEIRS FREE.THE OLD NOBELS OVER A GRAND.THIS NOBEL UNDER150.TURDSVILLE.
Overdrive pedals will all sound different depending on pickups, pickup output and amp. I found Nobels too dark for humbuckers and JTM45 but great with a Tele through a Fender amp.
I found it real interesting that Uncle Larry didn't dig the Nobels ODR-1 mini when you were hanging with him and Guthrie, but when he did that blind shootout, he actually called the mini the best of the bunch once or twice. I have the Browne Atom on my main board, considering the ODR-1 mini for my small board, especially now that it's indirectly gotten the seal of approval from Tom haha. Would be curious to see you do this again with the ODR-1mini to see how it stacks up against the new full sized unit and the original from the 90s. Great video man, cheers!
He did say that, but don't forget that when they first started the shootout he picked the original ODR out from all the others. Only after playing for like 30 minutes did he start to like the other one. I'm not a pedal snob I just thought that was interesting but I'd be happy with the ODR Mini myself.
@@raymondjamesrivera Yeah that's a good point. He sniped out the original one almost immediately haha. Just makes me wonder if it was one of those "seeing tone with your eyes" kind of things the first time he tried out the mini
I got the newer version and I feel like one of its magical sweet spots is really when you turn the drive knob all the way down and the level knob up. Are you sure you didn't engage the bass cut accidentally? :D
The differences are so subtle, that to me, it doesn't matter. I'll stick to what I got... which feels great, and is very touch sensitive... I'm good, love Vertex pedals.
RJ, that gain knob has everything to do with the tone of this pedal, so I would have loved to have heard them at equal gain settings. The sound would have been more tonally similar with the gains and spectrum in the same spot (even if the new one ends up sounding a little gainier). It smooths out as you increase the gain, so it wasn't *quite* a fair shootout in that one respect. I personally have the mini Nobels. I most often use it with the gain all the way down, just as an amp enhancer. Lots of different ways to use it.
Aw man, looks like we're well on our way to the next wave of pedal hype. I own and like the ODR-1 mini from Nobels, which has the advantage of having a metal housing and, well, being tiny. I would have loved to see that one included in the comparison. Maybe someone can enlighten me how wrong I am when I say that's all the Nobels I'm ever likely to need.
Exactly, and even with the guitar solo like in this video they are still quite similar and a little tweek of the eq on the amp would probably get you what you are after using any one of the three. I think it is funny people think these pedals "sound like an amp". The only way an overdrive pedal sounds like an amp to me is if you keep the gain even lower than RJ does here and just use the pedal's output volume knob to push the amp. When you use the gain knob to get distortion from the pedal itself it just sounds like a overdrive pedal.
There's a Special Edition (metallic paint with the bass cut) I have that is closer to the original ODR-1 than the new one imho from videos, I did close listening before buying. I haven't played an original.
Would be curious to hear the original, belle and the mini that Uncle Larry really liked as well! Shootouts in general are just fun and informative when done well like this R.J. 👌🏻🤘🏻
The original sounds great, but not worth the price. If you have an original, good for you. If you own and you're trying to sell it at premium prices, you're really saying it all, i.e., it's not worth keeping at $2,000. The new Nobels is close enough for most work. The Belle sounds great and designed to last. Support Brian Wampler... the man's committed to making great pedals and teaching people about pedal circuits.
Hey RJ, can you compare with the ODS-1 Shanks? Probably differente, but can be a cool comparasion. (EDIT) Sorry wrote before the end...can wait to see the next video.
@giorgiomusso8558 I have the Nordland and it is harsh sounding in the top end. I have the shanks and nobles Reissue absolutely sound sweeter than the Nordland ...very dissatisfied with it
Been excited for this episode since you mentioned it on the live stream! I also really enjoyed Buk's blind shootout--I couldn't believe the ODR-Mini held its own.
You know, I only use the ODR-1 when a Tube Screamer isn't doing it for me. It's the other green drive imo. Works with some types of pickups and guitars where the TS just doesn't.
I’ve got several ODR circuits: the Mini and Belle, and Chicken Soup. The mini has too much bass for most of my guitars but stacks nicely with the Chicken Soup as a boost after. Belle is good but has a mid range that sounds a bit so so when stacking. J Rockett Chicken has less bass, more upper mid. Seems to have more gain than the mini. I had a Visual Sound VS/XO - left sound is a tweaked Open Road. Interesting presence that I could never dial out. Bass control. Never gelled with it
So about 6 years ago i walked into a shop and saw a nobels odr1 i didnt really know what it was but i thought it looked cool so i asked the guy how much he said $50 so i bought it, i thought it was ok, but never really got along with it, was doing some more research and it was an original from the 90s and it was mint, fast forward about 2 years it was going for about $200 to $300 so i sold it in a trade😞now they're going for about$2000 wow, but now have a silver nobels dt1 distortion and love it it sounds like the vintage odr1 but has a little more gain on tap!!!
I have an original Nobels ODR-S which gives separate Bass, Mid and Treble controls. It is a great pedal, and the best modern version is the Wampler Underdog Overdrive. I have one of those too and can make it sound exactly like the original.
Sometimes it is the zeitgeist. Back in the day they recorded some great albums with the pedal, played some epic gig and the distance in time from today to that era covered the memories with some scintillating patina that made everything more memorable. And today you cannot recapture that magic. My personal opinion. It happened to me with an obscure Vox Overdrive. I played a couple of great gigs with it, recorded an EP and now, even though I don't use it, I cannot bring myself to selling it.
Reminded me of Marshall BB2. Big bottom, not very sexy sound by itself but may be vrey helpfull when you want to record steady rhytm overdrive parts. Lets hype up prices for BB2!)
The Wampler Belle connect it at 18 volts is just phenomenal! Fantastic versatile overdrive tool! Plus the bass, color and switch button on the side it's a bonus clipping voice choice!
ive got the nordland odrc1 made by the original designer,handmade with all the best blah,blah,blah. so far ive only tried it with my swart tweed thingy,(tweed princeton) and i love it. but i also love fuzz faces,tonebenders,overdrivers,and my all time fave,keeley java. its all mood for me,like crayons for different colars i need to try the nordland with my more marshal and vox style amps,i want to see how they work together
It's funny that this is the pedal from the early 1990s. Back then Nobels was the brand one bought if on didn't have money for a Boss. I had a bunch of these and they were quite solid and functional. The Nobels tremolo had useful features and the phaser was funny as. The ODR was just an ok drive, but little did I understand the dynamic feel of vintage amps back then. A pedal that never gets mentioned that has similar feel, but that also works with baritones, is the Black Arts Toneworks Black Forest. It has that same feel and dynamic responsivity.
if you adjust the spectrum at all can you get them sounding closer? Not all pots are made alike, often the same position will give you different sounds on different pots, even in the same circuit.
I learned a lot! I first heard about the ODR-1 from the great Jerry Donahue in the 90s at a guitar store in Hollywood, CA. I could kick myself for not seeking one out. I finally got 2 versions in 2018 and I prefer them with single coils. When I play with my 335 I use a special one my friend built me with a very beautiful sounding bass knob. With my vintage Tele into a clean Brown Panel or Black Panel 40 watt amp with 10" speakers both versions of the circuit I have sound like the amp and not a pedal. I don't like them set too dirty, I prefer to stack drives if I want to get them dirty. A Timmy or a Lightspeed pushing the ODR sounds incredible. Thanks RJR. Super helpful!
I dunno, seems like put this in a track and you are never going to be able to tell them apart. Even if you could, there no appreciable difference that would have an effect on the outcome of a song...ya know what I am saying? I could never latch onto this pedal's OD character...just seems unremarkable and ...."boring". Like..."safe corporate overdrive". Those really talented guys who enjoy that pedal do tend to play alot of "safe corporate" music for their careers. So as a tool for that, I totally get it. 👍
I think the differences are so slight its like comparing simple beige to sand dune beige. I like hearing comparisons in the context of a track personally . The Wampler hung in there like a champ but no surprise here.
Lame as hell. They had less mid boost & didn’t kill off all the bottom end like a TS-9, Blues Driver or Boss OD. They were second choice to the Maxon Maxstortion pedal, that was a great clean boost, OD, Dist & Rat. The nobles is limited & pales in comparison. Anyone with a clue knows a Daddy-O or a Roebuck…
If someone with a big channel would do a video on the Daddy O' sales would skyrocket and everyone would be using it. It's by far a better/more versatile pedal vs the nobles.
Has anyone compared the Nordland to the original? The man who invented the Nobels handwires the Nordland, and adds mid and compression knobs. I love the Nordland CC+, far more than the new Nobels.
I have both the ODR-C and the 30th Anniversary. Both are super close to my vintage ODR-1. My wife is a musician - cellist, not a guitarist, but she has a good ear. She couldn't tell the difference when not looking. To me the Nordland pedals were slightly more hi-fi.
I had one that I got in a trade in 2013 for almost no money. Sounded fine but wasn't my thing, sold it last year to a guy in Nashville for way too many money in my opinion🤣
Guitar players are some of the biggest suckers for "magic dust" pedals,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,I guarantee that changing your speaker will make so much more of a difference to your sound than all the "magic" pedals!.
What would be your comment to Tom Bukovac who said that playing current reissue Nobels ODR-1 feels like playing overdrive pedal, and playing the original 90s one feels like playing a tube amp.
The original 90's Nobels sounds and feels like my Bassman with the volume at 7, so I totally get what he means. The reissue sounds and feels like it's trying to "model" that.
Tiny differences here and there (probably something a turn on the pots would fix) but... too little to say the original one is worth lots of money. I have the newer ODR-1 and it is ok. But I really think overdrives are just gain pushers, so they don´t matter that much.
another thing about the nobels is that ppl use it with blues drivers, sd1s and tube screamers, typically as a base lower gain stage to then get goosed by the more midhumped ods. i like reversing it and kind of using the nobels to create a fat silky lead tone into a driver
Good video. Like you, the Nobel does not wow me. I have the new one and I have the Belle. The Belle sounds better with a higher gain setting and I like it. I haven’t made the Nobel sound great, just ok. I did splurge though for the Shanks and it does have magic and I use it for my strat tones with a Suhr Koko boost and it sounds great. I use higher gain and tone all the way treble for the strat and lower gain for LP and PRS. Rather than the price of the 1990’s Nobel the Shanks is a better choice, still ridiculous expensive but not $1000.
I watched Tom's pedal shoot out and didn't he pick the Nobel Mini at one point ? Very interesting . I jumped on buying the new ODR-1 .But after watching the shoot out video with Tom I thought that I should have bought the Mini . I can't afford the real one so I'm trying get the next best pedal to it . Thanks R J .
If you like tube screamers but don’t LOVE them. I recently discovered that a belle into a good klon clone is basically unbelievable to my ears….. it’s how I imagine a TS should sound but doesn’t….
Your "original sound" already has breakup in it. That means for the whole video we're not really hearing just the pedals; we're hearing pedals + Div by 13 breakup.
Thanks for doing this comparison! I would have preferred your basic amp settings were set cleaner, it’s a litter harder to hear how the pedals clip when the amp is compressing when you dig in. (Even though in the real world, most people would set the amp to edge of breakup)
Dangit. I've been on the hunt for a used Wampler Belle for like a month. Now the prices are going to go up, or there's just going to be even less available for sale...
Videos like are cool, and there might be slight differences in a vacuum, but the second you put the guitar in a mix it will make absolutely no difference which pedal you're using. If you're a lawyer or a dentist, maybe you really care which one you get, but if you're recording or gigging, these will all get the job done.
Thank you for putting up this comparison, great video. I can hear slight differences and would definitely prefer the original pedal (but not for 2 k ;-)) To be honest, I never got the hype about the pedal. Whatever version I try they always lose out to the Greer Lightspeed, my absolute favourite on the board.
For the sounds in the 7:25 area of the video, it looks like you have the input drive of the new pedal set to about 2.5 while the drive on the "vintage" pedal is set to around 3.5. Maybe that is skewing the results.
It funny because in almost all videos I have seen nobody really seems to get what the spectrum control is. I run my ODR with the spectrum pretty high and until I tuned that know up I did not get this kind of pedal at all. It is not a tone control , it effects the top end and the low mids at the same time.
Great pedal sir totally agree also the Cusack Screamer awesome pedal with different clipping modes one I will never get tired of in a sea of overdrives flooding the market constantly
This demo was very well done, the "Original" was my favorite of the three. I own the "New" Nobels and I'm happy with the way it sounds BUT, the Wampler is something that I'm going to have to buy.
I bought the Wampler, hoping it would sound like the original ODR-1…It didn’t quite jell with what I do, so I found a video that tells how to turn into a clean boost. It’s wonderful for that!
What's missing here is the nordland ODR-C. It's spectacular (from the designer of the original ODR-1. You can buy directly from him which is very nice)
