From the beginnings of overdrive pedals, the goal has been to produce a pedal that replicates the natural breakup and harmonics of a cranked tube amp. In today's boutique market, there are many pedals that claim to be "transparent" and "amp-like," but there aren't many that have found their way onto as many pedalboards as the Fulltone OCD. While other pedals stop short of that genuine amp-like tone, the OCD retains the right feel in addition to nailing the sound of your amp's "sweet spot." It's a dynamic, touch-sensitive overdrive, just like a cranked 100-watt stack.
OCD stands for "Obsessive Compulsive Drive," and Fulltone claims it was the first pedal to used Mosfets for clipping instead of just diodes or other types of transistors. Its circuit also has a number of tweaks aimed at delivering high-quality audio, and that's part of how the sound doesn't lose your guitar's unique characteristics. Just like when you're plugged through an amp, your touch and the settings on your guitar have tremendous effects on the harmonic nature of the overdrive. Plus, the simple, straightforward controls are flexible and allow you to dial-in a wide range of sounds. Sure, the OCD does crunch, but it also makes your guitar sing at low-gain settings, too.
This 2010 Fulltone OCD is the 1.4 version of the circuit. This is one of the more common versions of the circuit, and it has a few tweaks that many players prefer. For starters, it has a germanium diode in the clipping section, and the volume pot is a logarithmic pot instead of linear or audio taper. It also has decreased values of the opamp and tone capacitors to tighten the bass response. The result is less boomy overtones, more harmonics, and more control over the volume.
This 2010 OCD is in excellent condition and functions 100% as it should. Velcro has been added to the bottom, but it's in nice shape overall and it includes the original box.