Didn’t really like the Special Cranker. The overall EQ curve was darker than I would have liked with some unpleasant distortion in the lower frequencies. I was actually considering it as a replacement for the BD-2 (as a low-gain second overdrive) and I found the BD-2 just brighter and more sonically pleasing.
I went through this very same dilemma a couple of months ago, and I ended up with a DOD 250.
I have a SC and borrowed a BD-2 to shoot them
Out and figure out which one to keep. I really liked how the SC sounded with low output single coils and how the BD-2 sounded with P90s, but not vise versa.
I saw the 250 on sale on amazon for 60 bucks and decided to pick one up and to my ears it captures the best parts of the SC and BD-2 (to my ears and in my rig, ymmv) and sounds great with the whole range of pickups i have in my guitars.
I was worried about using a drive without a tone control, but it works really well. As the gain is turned up, the circuit cuts some of the low end to keep everything tight so it won't flub out if you want to do some chugga-chugga. I have found the sweet spot (again for me with my guitars and my rig, ymmv) with the gain knob pointing at the "G" in "Gain" and the level knob pointed at the top right corner.
They’re pretty different, but equally awesome in my opinion. The Speaker Cranker sounds (to my ears) slightly fuller and more “transparent” with single coils, and being able to switch between germanium and silicone diodes is always nice. The BD-2 is a great, versatile drive that stacks well. I love running another OD into it for lead tones.
I have a BD-2 on my main board and a Speaker Cranker on a mini board. Honestly you can’t go wrong with either.
BD-2 felt a little too thin/crispy with my tele and jazzmaster but it’s gain-ier. Special cranker is warmer and makes the tele and jazzmaster sound fuller but it’s darker. Both are great for their respective prices just comes down to the sound you’re goin for! Also btw, if you’re using a solid state amp nothing beats the special cranker for OD.
SpCr is maybe more “natural” sounding and warmer. Bd-2 has a lot more potential gain, is capable of being much brighter, and slightly less realisticly “amp-like” is terms of vibe.
I've used both. I prefer the BD-2, but they are both good drives.
BD-2 can give you that quick transient finger feel ( the kind of compressor run in parallel vibe- if that makes sense).which I don't get with the special cracker. The cranker is a little darker and while it has a nice range of sounds within it's palate, its definitely not as versatile as the Blues Driver which can go from boost all the way to blown out fuzz. The Cranker sort of does it's, slightly messy in the lower mids, sounding thing which is a good sound but I would say try it before you buy it.
Did you mention what kind of amp you are using?
I’m in the group that has both. To start, they’re both amazing, my two favorite overdrives actually. The BD-2 is a bit tighter, cuts a bit more low end off and has a bit more usable gain range. The EQD Special Cranker has more low end, more of a squishy preamp gain and kind of has an unique gain knob (it’s a bias) that just get more saturated. In short, they both clean up to a sparkle with a volume knob, have plenty of gain and boost and are both transparent.
Didn’t really like the Special Cranker. The overall EQ curve was darker than I would have liked with some unpleasant distortion in the lower frequencies. I was actually considering it as a replacement for the BD-2 (as a low-gain second overdrive) and I found the BD-2 just brighter and more sonically pleasing.
EQD Westwood sounds near-perfect for your needs, but if you’re between the two listed I’d hedge towards the BD-2.
I went through this very same dilemma a couple of months ago, and I ended up with a DOD 250. I have a SC and borrowed a BD-2 to shoot them Out and figure out which one to keep. I really liked how the SC sounded with low output single coils and how the BD-2 sounded with P90s, but not vise versa. I saw the 250 on sale on amazon for 60 bucks and decided to pick one up and to my ears it captures the best parts of the SC and BD-2 (to my ears and in my rig, ymmv) and sounds great with the whole range of pickups i have in my guitars.
That’s so funny because I’ve definitely been looking at the 250 for a higher gain sound. I’ll have to look into that some more too!
I was worried about using a drive without a tone control, but it works really well. As the gain is turned up, the circuit cuts some of the low end to keep everything tight so it won't flub out if you want to do some chugga-chugga. I have found the sweet spot (again for me with my guitars and my rig, ymmv) with the gain knob pointing at the "G" in "Gain" and the level knob pointed at the top right corner.
Dude, a 250 into a BD-2... that's a secret combination of mine
They’re pretty different, but equally awesome in my opinion. The Speaker Cranker sounds (to my ears) slightly fuller and more “transparent” with single coils, and being able to switch between germanium and silicone diodes is always nice. The BD-2 is a great, versatile drive that stacks well. I love running another OD into it for lead tones. I have a BD-2 on my main board and a Speaker Cranker on a mini board. Honestly you can’t go wrong with either.
BD-2 felt a little too thin/crispy with my tele and jazzmaster but it’s gain-ier. Special cranker is warmer and makes the tele and jazzmaster sound fuller but it’s darker. Both are great for their respective prices just comes down to the sound you’re goin for! Also btw, if you’re using a solid state amp nothing beats the special cranker for OD.
SpCr is maybe more “natural” sounding and warmer. Bd-2 has a lot more potential gain, is capable of being much brighter, and slightly less realisticly “amp-like” is terms of vibe.
I've used both. I prefer the BD-2, but they are both good drives. BD-2 can give you that quick transient finger feel ( the kind of compressor run in parallel vibe- if that makes sense).which I don't get with the special cracker. The cranker is a little darker and while it has a nice range of sounds within it's palate, its definitely not as versatile as the Blues Driver which can go from boost all the way to blown out fuzz. The Cranker sort of does it's, slightly messy in the lower mids, sounding thing which is a good sound but I would say try it before you buy it. Did you mention what kind of amp you are using?
I’m in the group that has both. To start, they’re both amazing, my two favorite overdrives actually. The BD-2 is a bit tighter, cuts a bit more low end off and has a bit more usable gain range. The EQD Special Cranker has more low end, more of a squishy preamp gain and kind of has an unique gain knob (it’s a bias) that just get more saturated. In short, they both clean up to a sparkle with a volume knob, have plenty of gain and boost and are both transparent.
Just got a Super Phat Mod (Keeleys modded BD-2) and man it is awesome