Guitarists are usually pretty obsessive about their tone, and Fulltone’s new Obsessive Compulsive Drive ($179 retail/street price N/A) is likely to make a lot of players obsess about getting their hands on one. Designed to replicate the dynamics and harmonic structure of an overdriven tube amp, the OCD uses a unique multi-stage distortion circuit, as opposed to the more common diodes-in-feedback-loop/diodes-to-ground configurations.

The U.S.-made OCD is very dynamic and open sounding, and it can deliver lots of output. With the Drive knob at zero, the Level maxed, the Tone knob up about halfway, and the mini toggle in the HP setting (which boosts the highs and the volume), the OCD sounds like a badass Marshall. It stays tight and uncompressed while delivering a ripping tone, and even with the Drive turned way up (which unleashes gobs of distortion), the OCD cleans up so well when you turn your guitar down that you could probably leave the pedal on full-time in this mode. The OCD can handle 9 to 18 volts, and it sounds even punchier and more percussive when fed higher voltage (think of the difference between a 50-watt and a 100-watt Marshall and you’ve got the picture). The OCD rules with humbuckers or single-coils, and its wide appeal in these quarters wins it an Editors’ Pick Award.

KUDOS Sounds like a wicked amp. Very dynamic and touch sensitive.

CONCERNS None.

CONTACT (310) 821-4500;fulltone.com