The $50 Dollar Challenge

I've returned from vacation in much the same way I typically do - with more cash in my pocket than I typically carry around.  First world problems, right?

It got me thinking: What could I buy with the actual cash I had on me?

With $52 dollars burning a hole in my pocket, I turned to Kijiji to see what I could acquire, with the only rules being that I couldn't spend a cent more than I had, and that the location had to be convenient - near home or work, or on the way between.

Below is the what I found with a quick search of everything within 40K of my the mid-point of my commute.

TC Electronic Mojo Drive - $45

Do I really need another overdrive?  Probably not, especially given that I have a Joyo Ultimate Drive in the mail, but this is still interesting.  Is it a Tubescreamer clone?  Based on the PGS video, this seems to be somewhere in between a TS9 and and OCD. 

Pass.

Boss Metal Core - $40

I bought a Metal Zone for $30 for a laugh, and despite the fact that it isn't a very good pedal in a number of ways, it is great at making you want to play "ridiculous riffage".  Don't believe me?  Watch Dan and Mick of "That Pedal Show" do their video on it.  They don't love it, but there are moments where you can tell that they are having fun with it, and don't want to admit it.

the one thing I will note is that NOT having the Metal Zone in my chain means than there is no buffer present in the chain, and that seems to do weird things to my delay sound.  It's clear I'm going to need something with a buffer in the chain somew

Having the Metal Zone pretty much means I have no interest in this. After watching a total of one videos comparing  the two, I'd say the Metal Core sounds more natural, but we're still taking degrees of silly.

EHX Nano Clone - $40

You know what I don't currently have on my board?  Modulation, specifically chorus.

Say what you will, but I love chorus, and for $40 this would probably do the trick... Until it didn't. Call me fussy, but only one control seems to scream "love me or hate me".

Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive - $40

This one is interesting if only because the Boss SD-1 is a near classic, and I've never owned one, nor can even recall being in the same room as someone who did. Maybe this is the tone I've been looking for?

Doubt it though.  A very good friend bought a Wylde Overdrive from MXR years back, which was pretty much MXR's take on this pedal, and while I really liked it, I preferred my MXR GT-OD at the time.  I kind of wish I still had the GT OD...

I keep leaning towards Boss because of the buffer contained in all Boss pedals.  If I have one on my board I'm ok (until I decided to take the plunge on the Fulltone OCD V2....).

Boss DS-1 Distortion

A classic pedal for it's ubiquity, if not it's sound, the Boss DS-1 is something I've never owned, though unlike the SD-1 I've been in the presence of.  I recall being mostly unimpressed, save for the near pseudo-fuzz tones it could deliver at extreme settings.

If I could get a black anniversary edition at this price I probably would jump at it, but not for this... These are a dime a dozen at $40.

The Verdict?

Definitely leaning towards the SD-1, but the Nano Clone at that price is hard to ignore.  The degree to which I enjoy the incoming Ultimate Drive will influence my next two buys - Love it and I pull the trigger on the new OCD and likely the Nano Clone.  Hate it and the Mojo Mojo or the SD-1 will be the choice.










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