Underrated Overdrives

In this article, I'm going to show you some of the most underrated overdrives in the pedal industry. They're fantastic and you need to know about them.

Before we jump in, let me get one thing straight: these are all overdrives you can currently buy brand new, so nothing listed in the article is discontinued or vintage. I know that some of you want that, and we'll do that later. But today we’re focused exclusively on underrated overdrives that you can go right now and buy. Instant gratification is the name of the game.

Let's do it.

TC Electronic Cinders Overdrive

First up is an overdrive pedal that I paid $15.65 for on Reverb, but you can buy it new for $40: the TC Electronic Cinders Overdrive. It's fantastic. It's based around the Blues Driver circuit that's in a metal casing. It's magical. When I tested this, I played a strap through it with some analog echo setting on the Boss Delay. It rocked.

Fender MTG:LA Overdrive

Number two is the Fender MTG:LA. This is designed with the help of the famous amp designer, Bruce Egnater of Egnater Amplifier. It has a 6205 NOS tube in it. It's fantastic. It has a boost on it, I'm not going to focus on that because I just want to focus on how good the overdrive is.

These pedals need more love. Go buy the Fender stuff. I don't get paid to say this. If you want to split hairs, we’re in competition, but at the end of the day I just like their pedals. I'm serious.

Source Audio L.A. Lady

Next up is the Source Audio L.A. Lady Overdrive. I go to L.A. from time to time and I'm not sure what the name is trying to imply. What differentiates a lady from L.A. and a lady from Kansas City, Dallas, or Chicago? I honestly can’t say.

But, long story short, I like the pedal. This pedal is awesome and it's full DSP, which means it's a digital overdrive pedal. Let me say that again: this is a digital overdrive pedal. I can feel you getting uncomfortable. You're squirming. You probably got up to get something to eat. You got back to your screen, desperately hoping I had changed the subject. Nope.

You're thinking, This can't be good.

You’re right. It’s not just good. It's fantastic. It's one of the best overdrive pedals in a room chock full of pedals. If you’ve ever heard it played, then you know that it's super dynamic. The craziest thing about this pedal is that you can load any of their fuzz algorithms from a library of tons of drives, choosing from dozens if not hundreds of sounds. You can make this into exactly what you want. There are even users who have gone on and created some of our Big Muff modifications.

Analog Alien Bucket Seat

Now, let’s look at the Analog Alien Bucket Seat. This is a favorite pedal of Billy Gibbons, and I’d describe it as a cross between a ’69 Marshall Plexi cranked and an Orange Rocker 30. I like to play this pedal with my built bridge humbucker and dime it out.

Needless to say, it's very, very British. Nothin’ wrong with that.

Strymon Riverside Overdrive

Next up is the Strymon Riverside Overdrive. Now, this is exciting for two reasons. One of those reasons is I keep seeing comments that say things like, and I quote, "Josh never shows Strymon. I don't think he likes Strymon. He must have a problem with those guys." Come on, I've shown some Strymon.

I have tons of Strymon. We're all friends. I love their company, so let's not do that thing where you assume that if I don't show a brand all the time, I hate them. That's a special little segment of the show, and I reserve the right to use the same pedal brand five episodes in a row simply because I feel like it, not because they’re the greatest brand on earth.

All right. Moving on.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that you would not expect Strymon to be in an overdrive shootout. You just wouldn't expect to see that, because they're great delays and verbs and modulations. But I honestly love this multi-stage Riverside drive. It's cool because it's in the source audio vein, but it has a true class, a FET stage that goes into DSP gain stages and it's really, really fantastic.

Cusack Screamer Overdrive

Now, let’s look at the Cusack Screamer overdrive. Let me cut to the chase: yes, it's based on a Tube Screamer. Yes, there are tons of variations on the Tube Screamer.

But I want to tell you something. I've known about this pedal for almost 10 years. I've known the designer John Cusack for a while and I think this is one of the coolest Tube Screamer takes out there. If you don’t believe me, let me quote the man himself: “Yes, there's a secret as to why it has better note clarity and lower non-harmonic distortion than any other Tube Screamer copy.”

Can I tell you that secret? Unfortunately, no, because then it would cease to be a secret.

I’ll be honest, I wouldn’t have figured this out if John hadn’t explained it to me. It's fairly obvious that nobody's ever figured it out. But I do know the secret. It's why I like the Cusack Screamer. And in a roundabout way, I’m sharing that secret with you. You now know that this is a ridiculously great Tube Screamer.

Mission accomplished.

Greer Southland Harmonic Overdrive

Now let’s check out the Greer Southland Harmonic Overdrive. This is a high gain version of Greer's, a super popular light speed that has a really interesting position where the mids are located and where they kinda poke through.

This really stands out in a mix. It's fantastic. When I play my built through it, I don’t even need to add any stinkin’ delay for this pedal. This thing stands on its own. I just play some medium gain/ high gain distortion with a humbucker and move on.

Seymour Duncan Forza Overdrive

Next up is not a Tube Screamer. It’s the Seymour Duncan Forza overdrive, which is literally a modified version of their modified Tube Screamer. These are some “Inception” level modifications, guys, and it's honestly fantastic.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say something that is simultaneously believable and unbelievable: this thing gets in the high gain Klon territory very well. I’ll add to that: it's the high gain style of Larry Carlton’s Dumble thing. I’m hesitant to even say the D-word, but I said it because this does it really well. It also does transparent stuff, but when I play this I like to crank the drive. The end result is like a Les Paul Junior with P90s.

MXR Sugar Drive

Next is the MXR Sugar Drive. It's really small. I mean, this is a tiny pedal. Google it if you don’t believe me.

Let me just shoot real straight with you: this is a Klon clone and it's done really well. It's in a small enclosure. It even has the buffer on and off switch like the KTR. I texted George Tripps about it, and he said it's actually based on this super rare blue Klon that nobody's ever seen. No big deal.**

**Translation: yes, it is a big deal.

Barber Gain Changer

Last (and maybe the most fun) is the Barber Gain Changer. This pedal is fantastic and the guy who makes them, David Barber, is an industry legend. He's been around forever. He is boutique personified. He's an awesome designer with a completely crazy history, but that’s another episode for another day.

He is, in my opinion, one of the masters of great overdrive pedals, but this is my favorite thing he's done in the small enclosure with these settings. This pedal evolved from these LTD drive pedals that he did in the past

I'm going to say something else here. My favorite ever overdrive is my Morning Glory because I made it for me. That's why I like it. However, let’s pretend we’re in an alternate universe where there are no JHS Pedals. Some Planet of the Apes style alternate reality. Our president is an orangutan. The ocean has turned to jello. The Gain Change would be that universe’s Morning Glory.

Am I making sense here? No?

Basically, if the Morning Glory didn't exist, the Barber Gain Changer would be in its place. I regard it that highly.

Honorable Mentions

Honorable mentions are my JHS Charlie Brown. It's the most underrated overdrive I've ever made. Really great pedal. When people get it, they love it. Take it or leave it.

Next up is the Walrus 385; this is fun. It's based around this idea of taking the amplifier from an old projector. It's got some unique sounds in it. I'm really fond of that pedal.

Keeley's 1962 is another Blues Breaker style pedal like my Morning Glory.

We also have the Mojo Hand Magpie. This is a nice light gain drive and really fantastic. It's made by the same John Cusack who designed the screamer overdrive we talked about earlier. He now owns this company.

It honestly breaks my heart a little that he’s created this new, small version of the Full-Drive which is amazing, but no one uses it. It had its heyday. I get it. Everybody's owned one or three of these, but give it another shot. The compact format is really nice. You can do 9 - 18 volts.

Conclusion? Basically, these are all great overdrives. You really can’t go wrong picking anything from this list. Rock on and prosper.

Guest UserFebruary 14, 2020