I usually keep three dirt pedals on my main board. You might have more. Lots of dirt options are fun! But what we gain in tonal variety from such set ups, we lose in valuable pedalboard space. The RJM Overture, an all-analog, digitally controlled programmable overdrive pedal with six distinct modes, offers a viable solution to this problem that doesn't skimp on the sounds.
Six Slick Drives
As varied as the Overture can be, the main control layout is pretty straight ahead. There are knobs for gain, volume, bass, treble, and pre-boost. Just below those knobs you can select from the Overture's modes—clean boost, classic, boutique, versatile, smooth, and crunch—by using a small button. The two footswitches are on/off and solo. The latter switch, which is called "bank" in the newest production run, lets you select from preset banks 1-4 when disengaged or 5-8 when engaged. The bank switch effectively lets you switch between two presets in the two different banks.
Ernie Ball/Music Man Axis Sport and a Fender Super-Sonic combo for both clips.
Clip #1 - Classic Gain 3 - 00, Treble (Tone) 11 - 00, Volume 12 - 00, Pre - Boost OFF
Clip #2 - Crunch Gain Max, Bass 1 - 00, Treble 11 - 00, Volume Noon. Pre - Boost Off
The Overture's programmability is a big part of its convenience. The unit allows up to eight presets. And if you really want to geek out and stretch the Overture's potential, you can use the pedal's MIDI functionality and, with an external controller, can store up to 100 additional presets and control parameters. The programmable aspect of the Overture isn't immediately intuitive and I had to consult the manual to get up and running. But in general, it's fairly simple once you learn how it works.
I got rounder, slightly softer transients, but a big buttery sound that was more than a little Dumble-like.
To access presets 1 though 4, you have to press the on/off and solo buttons simultaneously to scroll. To access presets 5 through 8, you press the solo button again to select that bank of presets, then scroll with the on/off and solo buttons. To save changes, you hold down the overdrive mode mini-button for three seconds, and it will save to the selected preset location.
To access a specific preset within a bank, you have to scroll through all the presets sequentially in ascending order. So you can't quickly switch from, say, preset 2 to 1. You have to scroll all the way from 2 through 4 before reaching 1 again. To get the most out of the Overture, it's worth looking into integration with one of the excellent MIDI foot controllers in RJM's product line.
Overdriven Overture
While space in this review doesn't permit covering all six Overture modes in depth, there are distinct highlights. Three of the modes—classic, boutique, and versatile—are based on TS and modified TS circuits. In classic and boutique mode, the bass knob is inactive and the treble knob functions like the single tone control on a TS. With the gain around 11 o'clock and the treble knob at noon, classic mode generates very sweet lead voices that are open and refreshingly robust in the low end for Tube Screamer-style stomps, which are famous for their midrange. It also sounded more articulate and spacious than many original Tube Screamers I have heard. The versatile mode is similar to the boutique mode, but its active bass control permits more tone-shaping flexibility. Switching to smooth mode with the same settings (and the bass control active and set at noon), I got rounder, slightly softer transients, but a big buttery sound that was, surprisingly, more than a little Dumble-like.
Engaging the clean boost with pre-boost at noon (the pre-boost control allows up to 12 dB of pre-overdrive boost) and gain set low coaxed stinging bluesy tones from single-coils. At the same settings, bridge humbuckers generated beautiful clean rhythm tones. And even a basic open-position G chord sounded majestic and responded dynamically to extra pick attack, with rich overdrive breakup.
The Verdict
It's hard to find a bad sound in the Overture. Even at lower gain settings, the pedal shines—lending a bright, lively edge to basic guitar tones. If all you need is a single overdrive pedal, this might be overkill. But if a single OD leaves you wanting, the Overture can make a lot of high-quality overdrive sounds without taking up a ton of space.
The new coiled cables are available in four eye-grabbing retro colors – Surf Green, Electric Blue, Orange and Caramel – as well as three standard colors: Black, White and Red. There is also a CME exclusive “Chicago Cream” color on the way.
Guitarists can choose between three different connector configurations: straight/straight plugs, right angle/straight and right angle/right angle options.
The Voltage Vintage Coil offers superior sound quality and durability thanks to ISO-COAT treatment, a patent-pending hermetic seal applied to solder terminations. This first-of-its-kind airtight seal prevents corrosion and oxidization, a known factor in cable failure and degradation. ISO-COAT protected cables are for guitarists who value genuine lifetime durability and consistent tone throughout their career on stage and in the studio.
Voltage cables are hand made by qualified technical engineers using the finest components available and come with a lifetime warranty.
Voltage Vintage Coil features include:
- Lifetime guarantee, 1000+ gig durability
- ISO-COAT treatment - corrosion & oxidization resistant cable internals
- Strengthened structural integrity of solder terminations
Voltage Vintage Coils carry $89.00 USD pricing each and are available online at voltagecableco.com, as well as in select guitar stores in North America, Australia, Thailand, UK, Belgium and China.
About Voltage Cable: Established in 2021, Voltage Cable Co. is a family owned and operated guitar cable company based in Sydney, Australia. All their cables are designed to be played, and built for a lifetime. The company’s ISO-COAT is a patent pending hermetic seal applied to solder terminations.
Built on powerful dual‑engine processing and world‑class UAD modeling, ANTI 1992 High Gain Amp gives guitarists the unmistakable sound of an original "block letter" Peavey 5150 amplifier* – the notorious 120‑watt tube amp monster that fueled more than three decades of modern metal music, from Thrash and Death Metal, to Grunge, Black Metal, and more.
"With UAFX Dream, Ruby, Woodrow, and Lion amp emulators, we recreated four of the most famous guitar amps ever made," says UA Sr. Product Manager Tore Mogensen. "Now with ANTI, we're giving rock and metal players an authentic emulation of this punishing high gain amp – with the exact mic/speaker pairings and boost/noise gate effects that were responsible for some of the most groundbreaking modern metal tones ever captured."
Key Features:
- A complete emulation of the early '90s 120‑watt tone monster that defined new genres of modern metal
- Powerful UAFX dual-engine delivers the most authentic emulation of the amp ever placed in a stompbox
- Complete album‑ready sounds with built‑in noise gate, TS‑style overdrive, and TC‑style preamp boost
- Groundbreaking Dynamic Room Modeling derived from UA's award-winning OX Amp Top Box
- Six classic mic/speaker pairings used on decades of iconic metal and hard rock records
- Professional presets designed by the guitarists of Tetrarch, Jeff Loomis, and The Black Dahlia Murder
- UAFX mobile app lets you access hidden amp tweaks and mods, choose overdrive/boost, tweak noise gate, recall and archive your presets, download artist presets, and more
- Timeless UA design and craftsmanship, built to last decades
For more information, please visit uaudio.com.
- YouTube
MonoNeon, aka Dywane Thomas Jr., came up learning the bass from his father in Memphis, Tennessee, but for some reason, he decided to flip his dad’s 4-string bass around and play it with the string order inverted—E string closest to the ground and the G on top. That’s how MonoNeon still plays today, coming up through a rich, inspiring gauntlet of family and community traditions. “I guess my whole style came from just being around my grandma at an early age,” says Thomas.His path has led him to collaborate with dozens of artists, including Nas, Ne-Yo, Mac Miller, and even Prince, and MonoNeon’s solo output is dizzying—trying to count up his solo releases isn’t an easy feat. Premier Guitar’s Chris Kies caught up with the bassist before his show at Nashville’s Exit/In, where he got the scoop on his signature 5-string, Ampeg rig, and simple stomp layout, as well as some choice stories about influences, his brain-melting playing style, and how Prince changed his rig.
Brought to you by D’Addario.
Orange You Glad to See Me?
This Fender MonoNeon Jazz Bass V was created after a rep messaged Thomas on Instagram to set up the signature model, over which Thomas had complete creative control. Naturally, the bass is finished in neon yellow urethane with a neon orange headstock and pickguard, and the roasted maple neck has a 10"–14" compound radius. It’s loaded with custom-wound Fireball 5-string Bass humbuckers and an active, 18V preamp complete with 3-band EQ controls. Thomas’ own has been spruced up with some custom tape jobs, too. All of MonoNeon's connections are handled by Sorry Cables.
Fade to Black
MonoNeon’s Ampeg SVT stack isn’t a choice of passion. “That’s what they had for me, so I just plugged in,” he says. “That’s what I have on my rider. As long as it has good headroom and the cones don’t break up, I’m cool.”
Box Art
MonoNeon’s bass isn’t the only piece of kit treated to custom color jobs. Almost all of his stomps have been zhuzhed up with his eye-popping palette.
Thomas had used a pitch-shifting DigiTech Whammy for a while, but after working with Paisley Park royalty, the pedal became a bigger part of his playing. “When I started playing with Prince, he put the Whammy on my pedalboard,” Thomas explains. “After he passed, I realized how special that moment was.”
Alongside the Whammy, MonoNeon runs a Fairfield Circuitry Randy’s Revenge (for any time he wants to “feel weird”), a literal Fart Pedal (in case the ring mod isn’t weird enough, we guess), and a JAM Pedals Red Muck covers fuzz and dirt needs. A CIOKS SOL powers the whole affair.
