17 of the Best Billy Gibbons Style Overdrives and Soundalikes

Controls - Level, Tone : 3-way EQ switch, Fuzz, Tone Knob / Hi-Cut.

Based on the Gretsch Contro Fuzz this super versatile John Lyons fuzz is also a supreme fuzzy-drive pedal - by virtue of the fact that the Fuzz knob is a sort of parallel blend - which gradually brings in the Fuzz Distortion. This means that lower down the dial - you get superb fuzzy-drive textures - including a really great Billy Gibbons-esque tone. This fuzz is something of a secret weapon for many of us because of that ability - which very serendipitously takes us into exactly the right kind of territory for this election. You have a further 3-way sort of EQ switch which interacts very nicely with the Tone knob - which is more of a Treble roll-off style of tone stack. All-round a very versatile pedal as well as a great sounding fuzzy-drive and fuzz!

Controls - Gain, Tone, Level, D1 : Lo / Hi, D2 : Lo / Hi, Instrument : B / G, (Crunch > Overdrive > Distortion > Forbidden Fuzz).

I was very fortunate - during the process and collaboration project for Guillem Vilademunt's Decibelics The Reverend Mini Expandora type - to get my hands on his original EXP-2000 Expandora in LM308 configuration. Where that version is particularly strong for the first to Modes - Crunch and Overdrive, while the strange interaction between the LM308 chip and optocoupler increasingly chokes off the output in Distortion and Forbidden Fuzz Modes. By contrast the later TL072 sporting EXP-2000R is much better balanced and more composed across all 4 Modes. I would argue that the LM308 types aren't really properly usable on the Fuzz Mode unless they have an additional LED stage - like on the Drunk Beaver Bloom. The 2000-R is slightly brighter and more open than the darker, denser. slightly bassier and more compressing LM308 original. Overall I much prefer the 2000-R - while I do conceded that the 2000 sound particularly fantastic on the lower 2 Modes!

Controls - Red Level, Red Drive, Brown Level, EQ : Mid Scoop > Flat, Brown Drive, Internal Switch : Reactive / Buffered Input, Dual Internal EQ Trimmers under mini gooped block on header pins!

A really great sounding Plexi style variant as far as I understand composed of two just very slightly different Channels Red & Brown - and with a single shared EQ - which takes you from Mids-Scooped to Flat, Those 'knobs' are actually recessed Mini Trimmers with clever steel end caps presumable glued in place - and which you are supposed to operate with your fingernails or guitar pick. Billy Gibbons has a few of theses and is supposedly a regular user of this pedal among numerous other guitar luminaries. I find some aspects of it a little odd and incongruous, and readers will know that I'm not a fan of the horizontal compact format enclosures - a la Zvex - where I waited there for Zachary to release his vertical orientation range! With all that said - the Blackstone Mosfet truly is a great sounding overdrive - really touch-sensitive and dynamic - so you can bring your guitar controls into bear too. On balance I'm really pleased this is in the collection too - or at least en route!

Controls - Gain, Level, Tone, Mode : I / II / III / F (Crunch / Overdrive / Distortion / Forbidden Fuzz).

I was very fortunate to have participated in Decibelics' Guillem Vilademunt's 4 year project to bring out an authentic Mini Expandora Clone - that sounded great across all the modes. I already mentioned how the LM308's interaction with the optocoupler component led to increasing choking of the output for Distortion, and Forbidden Fuzz Modes in particular. The LM308 variant still sounds particularly superb on the lower Crunch and Overdrive Modes - where it really uses that extra compression and bass to its advantage. Overall though the standard OP07 delivers much more even and consistent tones across all 4 modes - which was the main mission. I overall much prefer my OP07 variant, but I'm really glad I got to keep the original LM308 prototype too. I've stated a couple of times now that the ultimate Expandora would likely just and LM308 chip for the first 2 modes, before switching over to a more modern chip for the Distortion and Fuzz. In terms of all 4 modes sounding balanced and superb - the LM308 doesn't quite cut it, and the more modern varieties of opamp are much preferable - including of course the TL072 of the EXP-2000R, this OP07, and the MC1458 (a sort of double LM741 dual opamp), as is found on the latest Drunk Beaver Bloom. The Decibelics The Reverend is a most beautifully authentically sounding Expandora which significantly improves on the original - while capturing that self same essential tonality beautifully across all 4 Modes!

Controls - Gain switch : Medium / Low / High, Variac switch : Off / On, Presence switch : High / Low, Structure switch : Open & Looser / Intermediate / Tight & Darker, Boost, Volume, Tone, Channel Blend : Treble > Bass, Gain, Boost Footswitch, On Footswitch.

Presumably named after ZZ Top's killer 1973 lead single from the Tres Hombres album - which indeed utilised a Marshall 1968 Super Lead Plexi Amp. This classic MIAB is still many players favourite Plexi style pedal - while I feel it's starting to show its age a little. And there are better sounding Plexi pedals out ther currently - like indeed the new Sinvertek N5 MGAT-1, and Pettyjohn Gold II (Custom edition) which I prefer - also of course the Tsakalis Audioworks Room #40 and recent Aura Amps White Sugar. The Bogner La Grange still has a superb Marshall style voicing - but it's not quite as crisp and articular as the newer ones. It sound best for me on the Intermediate Structure setting - while the Presence switch does weird things for me, and the Variac mostly just clips and mutes the output. It's a really smart pedal still - probably quite a bit oversized nowadays for what it delivers - but both Channels - Drive and Boost and fully independent so it has that added versatility. I really like it, and it does a great La Grange style voicing too - white I feel it's definitely showing its age a little, and I was able to grab one from Thomann at a significant discount!

V2 Controls - Volume, Tone, Gain, Mode : Overdrive / Crunch / Distortion / Fuzz, Voice : Ge / LED / Si, Fat : Fat / Tight / Classic

This evolved and extended range Expandora style pedal - is probably my favourite variant to date - particularly the newer MC1458N edition - which sounds amazing. On the original LM308 edition, Drunk Beaver's Vitalii Bobrov solved the LM308 vs Optocoupler choke-out on Distortion and Fuzz Modes - but calling an additional clipping stage which largely resolves those issues - in particularly on LED setting. The two Higher modes still aren't quite perfect on the LM308 variant - which is where the new and improved dual opamp MC1458M V2 Edition comes in. That more modern opamp on LED setting just sounds superb - and the additional Fat 3-way switch can help take you into LM308 territory for the Lower 2 Modes, while it sounds best overall for me on Classic setting. I've always felt that the original Expandora was a little underpowered on the volume side - and the extra LED stage really boosts the output - while properly retaining all that lovely harmonic texture too. Much like with The Reverend - I much prefer the newer variant over the LM308 original style variety! Note that the demo is for the V1 edition!

Controls - Level, Tone, Gain, Switch 1, Switch 2, (Crunch > Overdrive > Distortion > Forbidden Fuzz).

So I convinced myself to go for the 'Creamier' original LM308 vintage voiced special edition of the rebooted Bixonic Expandora - now just marketed under the Expandora Pedals brand and produced in the USA like the 2000-R iteration, while the original EXP-2000 was of course made in Japan. In any case this is a very faithful replica of the original circuit - but in a more conventional compact pedal enclosure. It sounds pretty much exactly as you would expect the EXP-2000 variant to sound - great on the Lower 2 Modes, but of course chokes out a touch on Distortion, and to extremes on the Forbidden Fuzz mode. So I'm of a mind that the original LM308 variants are actually somewhat flawed as you cannot get considetce output on the Higher 2 Modes - and the Fuzz voicing is so strangled as to be almost useless at times - it kind of blooms and chokes out in waves. If I did this exercise over again and with the benefit of hindsight I would have rather gone for the more modern OP07 variety - which is the same chip as is used by the Decibelics The Reverend. The TL072, LM741, OP07, and MC1458N are definitiely more suitable chips for consistently great output!

Controls - Volume, Bite, Gain.

Weirdly this pedal seems to be discontinued already - which seems rather a shame as it's a pretty decent take on that core Billy Gibbons tone - with a fairly unusual Bite Tone controls - which kind of sharpens up the tonality as you dial. Compared to its immediate Missing Link Audio Eliminator competitor - this renders slightly darker, denser, and somewhat more lower gain that that pedal. It's still capable of some great tones - while I would have liked it just a touch more open-pored and sizzling - which the Eliminator does a little better - or at least more closer to my preferences. I still really like the El Hombre, and I'm sure many will prefer its tonality - probably it's better for brighter output single-coil guitars, while humbuckers need just a touch more openness and brightness. A beautiful little pedal regardless, and I'm sorry to see that it has been discontinued.

Controls - Volume, Low End : Cut / Flat, G1 Switch, G2 Switch, Gain, Tone, (Crunch > Overdrive > Distortion > Forbidden Fuzz).

So Josh Scott makes use of one of this favourite opamps here the NE5534 - which he has used a lot on his Rat style pedals too - in place of the traditional / vintage LM308. This also doesn't have the choking out issue which is so apparent on the LM308 varieties, but it does render a lot darker and denser on this Expandora variant than it does on my JHS Modded Rat 2. Weirdly that sounds brighter and more open, while the Kilt V2 is probably my least favourite of all my Expandora types - as it typically sounds much darker and denser than what I perceive to be the norm. Possibly it's another case of where it's better optimised for single coil outputs, as it doesn't sound as vibrant to me as my other Expandora varieties. A lot of people really like this variant - so who am I do judge really - it's just that for me it doesn't perform particularly well when being compared head-to-head with all my other Expandora type variants. 

Controls - Drive, Nerve, Louder, Potency : 80 Proof / 100 Proof

This is actually a pedal I foolishly left off my recent 'Rarities' article - where I've been trying to hunt down one of these for a couple of years now. They seem very few and far between - and those that pop up on Reverb.com once in a  blue moon are long gone by the time I find my way to them - I rue the days they removed the instant notifications from Reverb.com! In any case this is a very limited Germanium Transistor Run  / Modification to the Keeley Red Dirt Modded TS808 style overdrive - that Keeley made for Sweetwater back in 2016. It totally changes the nature and texture of that pedal's output to be much more Gibbons-esque and actually a really serendipitous close soundalike to those La Grange tones. I still hope to get my hands on one of these eventually - but it's proving to be somewhat elusive so far!

Controls - Volume, Gain, Tone.

Of the recent Billy Gibbons style pedal releases and reissues - this is probably my favourite of that sub-group selection - where I also include the J Rockett El Hombre, Mythos Chupacabra and Way Huge Red Llama MKIII Smalls. Each of those others renders quite a bit more darker and denser - while the MLA Eliminator is generally brighter, more open and sizzling, while also capable of being fatter - without getting muddy. The Missing Link Audio tone stack deployed is really clever as it cranks you up from fat and juicy to bright and searing - and you can very easily find just the right sort of flavour - to your preferences - to very much get your Billy Gibbons on. Of course the Expandora's are slightly more versatile overall - while the Eliminator has the superior tone stack and is incredibly versatile in its own right. This one really hit a home run for me, while the others of similar ilk turned out to be a touch disappointing comparatively.

Controls - Output, Gain.

I've had this variety for a couple of years now - I think it's the V2, but with better knobs! I really didn't like those newer black knobs - the clear ones look much better and are far more in tune with the artwork. Where I much prefer the older mythical deity enclosure style artworks to the newer purely stark typographical ones. This is supposedly an evolution / derivation of the Way Huge Red Llama - with pretty much the same 2 controls. While I slightly prefer the sound of the derivation to the original - it's slightly more open and brighter - while still kind of leaning into the darker and denser side of things. Very touch-responsive so you can use your guitar controls again - but I would really have liked an additional tone control to further open things up. Still sounds pretty decent do me, and I much prefer it to the recent MKIII Smalls Edition of the Way Huge Red Llama.

Controls - Level, Gain, Mids, Tone.

I'm not sure this pedal intentionally has any 'Reverend Billy Gibbons' overtones in its naming, while it undeniably, and much like the above Basic Audio Wildcat - has a wonderful core range - which takes you from a beautifully percolating Gibbons-esque fuzzy-drive texture - right up to a full-on searing fuzz. There's probably many more of these versatile fuzzes that you can tune down to make pretty decent Gibbons soundalike tones. The Wildcat and this Dirt Preacher are certainly two of the best!

Controls - Volume, Drive.

And so to the much hyped recent Way Huge MKIII Smalls - what we in the UK had to wait for - for an inordinate amount of time - it finally materialises on this side of the pond nearly two full months after it went on sale in the USA, Moreover it turned out to be something of an anti-climax for me. I though it would sure by a better variety than the supposed Mythos Chupacabra derivation - while alas no - I massively prefer that one to this newer variety, It's not that there aren't some decent sounds on board - but it's rather that this is really quite dark and dense - and could do with loosening and opening up a touch. It's more style as a Tweed style drive - but it for sure gets into Gibbons-esque territory. I just feel the Chupacabra does it better to my preferences. And however decent this Mythos Chupacabra is - I prefer the  Rockett El Hombre and MLA Eliminator in particular to that. We're sorry of straddling Tweed and Plexi territory here - but the Tweed Drives I really like - like indeed the excellent version from True North. In the grand scale of things - I still probably prefer this to JHS Kilt 2 - but it's a close run thing!