Before the brand became complicated, there was the Fulltone OCD.
This pedal has always been exceptional. The Obsessive Compulsive Drive has been one of the most influential overdrives since 2004. The V2 is the best version yet. Its celeb users only go to validate that — Don Felder, Keith Urban, Joe Bonamassa, Eric Johnson, and session legend Paul Jackson Jr are among a few that use it.
The OCD V2 is still one of the finest drive pedals ever made.
What does the Fulltone OCD V2 sound like?
There are a lot of overdrives out there trying to be something else — “Tube Screamer killer”, “Klon Clone” etc etc. The OCD isn’t trying to be any of them. It’s just doing its own thing, and that might be the best thing about it.
It’s a workhorse that doesn’t stamp its character all over everything you play. Instead it just makes your rig sound better. More gain, harmonics, more touch sensitivity without fighting your guitar and amp. Works with humbuckers, works with single coils, works into a clean amp, works pushing something already running warm.
At lower Drive settings it’s an open, transparent boost. Push it and you move into overdrive and distortion that feels natural rather than that processed, over-compressed sound that some pedals tend toward.
The HP/LP switch gives you two distinct personalities. LP is transparent and amp-like. HP is more mid-forward and cutting. Between those two modes and the full Drive sweep you’ve got an enormous amount of useful ground covered in one small box.
See it put through its paces here
How does it work?
The OCD was one of the first overdrives to use MOSFET (field effect) transistors for clipping. More importantly it was the first to wire them as hard clippers connected to a reference voltage rather than ground. This gives it more headroom, more touch sensitivity and more complex harmonics than the run of the mill modified Tube Screamer designs. It truly is a differentiator — we still like Tube Screamers though!
In version 2 we get Enhanced Bypass mode — a Class A FET buffer keeps the signal in phase and also doesn’t change the tone. In Enhanced Bypass the OCD improves your signal chain even when it’s switched off, acting as a useful buffer to guard against tone suck and overall impedance matching issues.
Fulltone OCD V2 Controls
Volume — overall output level. Unity is around 9 o’clock. There’s a lot of volume on tap which makes it effective as a boost too.
Drive — takes the pedal from near-clean to full saturation. Wide and usable throughout — the OCD sounds good across the whole range.
Tone — controls treble content. Works best between noon and fully clockwise in most rigs. Worth readjusting after switching HP/LP modes as it interacts with both.
HP/LP Switch — High Peak or Low Peak. LP is transparent, open, clean-boosting. HP is more mid-forward, aggressive, closer to a British amp character.
True Bypass / Enhanced Bypass — internal switch. Enhanced Bypass is recommended for most setups as you get the buffering benefits described above. True Bypass is a straight through arrangement.
Fulltone OCD V2 Specifications
- Type: Overdrive / Distortion
- Input: ¼” Jack (mono)
- Output: ¼” Jack (mono)
- Bypass: True Bypass or Enhanced Bypass (switchable)
- Voltage: 9V DC
- Current Draw: 8mA
- Power Connection: 2.1mm centre negative
- Battery: 9V (included)
- Dimensions: 11.5cm x 6.5cm x 5.5cm
- Weight: 0.31kg
- Country of Origin: USA
- Manufacturer’s Warranty: 1 Year
Who is the Fulltone OCD V2 for?
It is difficult to pigeonhole this one — the answer is almost any guitarist. It responds well to single coils and humbuckers. Works in front of clean or driven amps. Sits naturally anywhere from first in chain to further back as a boost into a dirty amp.
If you play rock, blues, country or indie and want a drive pedal that enhances rather than replaces your core sound the OCD V2 must be on the list. Keith Urban runs two simultaneously. That tells you something.
About Fulltone
Fulltone was founded in 1991 by Mike Fuller in Los Angeles — one of the earliest pioneers of the boutique pedal industry. US built, genuinely innovative, at a time when the market was dominated by mass produced alternatives. The OCD was introduced in 2004 and became the company’s signature product.
Obsessive Compulsive Drive, which pretty much sums up the level of obsession that went into designing it.
LP (Low Peak) is the transparent setting which is amp-like and like a transparent drive. HP (High Peak) is more mid-forward and aggressive, closer to a British amp pushed hard (sort of OD9 like)
Yes – you should ! Enhanced Bypass activates a Class A FET buffer even when the pedal is switched off making the pedal act like a buffer. This keeps your signal in phase and guards against tone suck from long cable runs and multiple pedals in the chain.
Yes — it genuinely works well with both. Single coils benefit from the extra harmonic complexity. Humbuckers respond well to the headroom (from having vref at a fixed voltage) and dynamic range.
Typically first or early in the chain. It can work well later, as a boost into a slightly driven amp. Keith Urban runs two simultaneously — one for rhythm, one for lead boost.
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