
When is an overdrive more than an overdrive? When it touches on distortion and fuzz as well.
Wide range of dirty tones. Touches on the fuzz spectrum.
Can’t use boost circuit on its own.
$269
Silktone Overdrive+
silktone.org
What’s the difference between overdrive and a distortion? For some, the two terms are interchangeable. But the line that divides them can be tricky to find and personal. I take comfort in my own definition: Overdrive feels like an amp stretching its powers and distortion feels like the sound of exploiting those powers. Silktone’s Overdrive+ lives comfortably with one foot on each side of that fence—with a hint of fuzz thrown in for good measure. According to designer Charles Henry, the Overdrive+ is an original circuit that uses a collection of JFETs, op-amps, and diodes to create a wide variety of dirty tones. Even though the Overdrive+ covers a lot of ground, it doesn’t come off as an everything for everyone pedal that will satisfy no one. At its foundation, it’s an amp-like overdrive box, but with Henry’s unique take, it becomes much more.
Double Duty
The Overdrive+ control setup includes the three very standard controls (volume, tone, and gain) along with individual switches for bass cut and clipping modes. A second footswitch introduces the boost section, which includes another toggle for two different modes: strangle and raw. Without touching the knobs you can get several boost, overdrive, and distortion variations that are all incredibly useful.
I feel like I’ve seen a wave of dual-function boost-and-drive pedals in recent years. That’s a wave I’m willing and happy to ride. And the Overdrive+ is an especially appealing and flexible option because the boost circuit adds more than just gain. Let’s start with the main circuit. I reached for an SG with P-90s and a Bad Cat Cub 15R set to a clean tone. After setting the knobs at noon, engaging the bass cut, selecting asymmetrical clipping (in the fashion of a Boss SD-1), I was surprised to hear how much gain there was compared to most overdrives. Henry’s creative design and the extra gain at what would be conservative levels elsewhere highlights the Silktone’s aggressive side. As I reduced the gain and increased the output, the pedal felt more tube-like, like a great overdrive pedal should. It was thick and tight in the low end and midrange heavy. At 1 o'clock and beyond the gain control generates aggressive distortion, heavy with harmonics, that would fit in with drop-D doom metal riffs.
In symmetrical clipping mode, which is akin to the clipping scheme used in an Ibanez Tube Screamer, among others, the high end smoothed out considerably. I found almost Dumble-like tones at slightly lower gain settings with the tone on the darker side. The bass cut was a welcome addition to rhythm parts—especially with a Gibson Les Paul. According to Henry, the cut, which he dialed in by ear, shelves frequencies around 1000-1200kHz. Mixing and matching the clipping with the cut let me tailor the dynamic response quite a bit. I found the asymmetric setting a bit more responsive to dynamics, while the symmetric clipping offered more compression.
Boost or Bust
Even though Henry’s creative names for the boost modes—strangle and raw—aren’t too descriptive, you can basically think of raw as the more open, full-spectrum option and strangle, which uses inductor-based filtering, as the more focused. In strangle mode, you get a pile of harmonics that (depending on your amp setup) generates rich, controllable, and musical feedback. Although I favored this setting for screaming leads, it was quite fun just to hold a note or chord and see how the feedback varied in different parts of the room. I also appreciate that the strangle option took all the guesswork out of nailing a cool cocked-wah tone, which made me want to revisit those Rudolf Schenker’s classic UFO sides.
The Verdict
If you happen to have a slight bias towards either overdrive or distortion, don’t let the name fool you. The Overdrive+ does far more than your standard 3-knob dirt boxes. Henry’s design covers miles of sonic territory and gives you the power to effectively turn a single-channel amp into a three-channel wonder. Blues and classic rock players will dig how nuanced the lower-gain settings are. Those that like things more aggressive will appreciate its hot and smooth characteristics. The Overdrive+ makes a strong case for itself as the only gain device you’ll need on your pedalboard. That’s an impressive feat.
PRS Guitars announces four SE Exotic Veneer Limited Editions: SE Custom 24-08 Poplar Burl, SE Custom 24 Burled Ash, SE DGT Laurel Burl, and SE McCarty 594 Laurel Burl.
Only 5,000 guitars will be available globally across all four models. In addition, the PRS SE Swamp Ash Special now features a five-way blade control switch instead of the previous three-way toggle version.
“We are fortunate to have an elite group at PT CORT focusing solely on the PRS proprietary factory. This is a team that enjoys pushing boundaries and exploring new ideas and our guitars reflect that passion and enthusiasm. Our visits almost always yield new ideas,” said PRS Chief Operating Officer, Jack Higginbotham. “When I saw their library of veneers on a recent trip, I knew we could build some really special guitars with them. These guitars are going to turn some heads. The natural designs in the wood create ‘aesthetic arrest’ from the first look.”
PRS SE Series Exotic Veneer Limited Editions:
PRS SE Custom 24-08 Poplar Burl Limited Edition
This model will be offered in Charcoal Cherry Midnight Burst and Lake Blue Midnight Burst. Only 2,500 will be made.
PRS SE Custom 24 Burled Ash Limited Edition
Offered in Lake Blue and Natural, only 1,000 of this model will be made.
PRS SE DGT Laurel Burl Limited Edition
Available only in McCarty Tobacco Sunburst, just 1,000 will be made.
PRS SE McCarty 594 Laurel Burl Limited Edition
Available only in Vintage Sunburst, just 500 will be made.
Outside of the limited-edition models, another SE guitar is getting an update. The 22-fret, bolt-on neck PRS SE Swamp Ash Special now features a five-way pickup switch. Other key features of the SE Swamp Ash Special remain, including its 85/15 “S” and PRS-Designed AS-01 Single Coil pickups, push-pull tone control, and maple neck and fretboard.
PRS Guitars continues its schedule of launching new products each month in 2025. Stay tuned to see new gear and 40th Anniversary limited-edition guitars throughout the year.
For more information, please visit prsguitars.com.
Featuring a newly-voiced circuit with more compression and versatility, these pedals are hand-crafted in Los Angeles for durability.
Messiah Guitars custom shop has launched a pair of new pedals: The Eddie Boostdrive Session Edition and Lil’ Ed Session Drive.
The two pedals are full-size and mini-sized versions of a newly-voiced circuit based on Messiah’s successful Eddie Boostdrive. The two new “Session” pedals feature more compression and versatility in the overall tone, and showcase Messiah’s ongoing collaboration with Nashville session guitarist Eddie Haddad.
The new Session Boostdrive schematic includes a fine-tuned EQ section (eliminating the need for the Tight switch on the earlier Boostdrive) and two independently operated circuits: a single-knob booster, and a dual-mode drive featuring a 3-band EQ. The booster consists of a single-stage MOSFET transistor providing boost ranging from -3dB to 28dB. At low settings, the boost adds sparkle to the tone, while a fully cranked setting will send your amp to a fuzzy territory. Thebooster engagement is indicated by a purple illuminated foot switch.
The overdrive contains a soft-clipped op-amp stage, inspired by a screamer-style circuit. The pedal includes a classic Silicon clipping mode (when activated, the pedal’s indicator light is blue)and an LED mode for a more open, amp-like break up (indicator light is red).
The active 3-band EQ is highly interactive and capable of emulating many popular drive sounds. Although both effects can be used separately, engaging them simultaneously produces juicy tones that will easily cut through the mix. Both new pedals accept a standard 9V pedal power supply with negative center pin.
“I love my original Boostdrive,” says Haddad, “but I wanted to explore the circuit and see if we could give it more focused features. This would make it more straightforward for guitarists who prefer simplicity in their drive pedals. The boost is super clean and loud in all the right ways…it can instantly sweeten up an amp and add more heft and sparkle to the drive section.”
Like their custom guitars and amplifiers, Messiah’s pedals are hand-crafted in Los Angeles for durability and guaranteed quality.
The Lil’ Ed Session Drive pedal includes:
- 5-knob controls, a 2-way mode side switch
- Durable, space-saving cast aluminum alloy 1590A enclosure with fun artwork
- True bypass foot switch
- Standard 9V/100mA pedal power input
The Eddie Session Edition pedal features:
- 6-knob controls, a 2-way mode switch; space-saving top-side jacks
- Durable, cast aluminum alloy 125B enclosure with fun artwork
- Easy to see, illuminated optical true bypass foot switches
- Standard 9V/100mA pedal power input
The Eddie Boostdrive Session Edition retails for $249.00, and the Lil’ Ed Session Drive for$179.
For more information, please visit messiahguitars.com.
Eddie BoostDrive and Lil' Ed pedal review with Eddie & Jax - YouTube
Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.Joe Glaser has been a pillar of Nashville's guitar community for decades. He's a man that dreams in mechanical terms often coming up ideas while deep in a REM cycle. Through his various companies he's designed, developed, and released a handful of "blue water" solutions to age-old instrument problems making the tolerable terrific. In this comprehensive visit to Glaser's home base, we get up close and personal with several of the products that enhance intonation and playability without disrupting the guitar's integrity.
In addition, Music City Bridge CEO Joshua Rawlings introduces us to a couple software ventures. Shop Flow helps increase productivity and efficiency for guitar builders and repair shops, while Gear Check aims to help guitarist's keep track of their collection and its history. Join John Bohlinger as he goes inside this inconspicuous six-string sanctuary.
With separate Doom and Shimmer controls, low-pass and high-pass filter settings, and built-in Grit dynamic distortion, this pedal is a must-have for creating atmospheric sounds.
“Batverb was inspired by our Eurorack module, Desmodus Versio, but when we tried to bring thatexperience to guitar, we realized quickly that we would need to rethink the approach. The module andBatverb share zero code: the entire thing was redesigned from the ground up, with the dynamics and tonality of guitar at the forefront,” said Stephen McCaul, Chief Noisemaker at Noise Engineering.
Batverb was designed and built in sunny Southern California. It is currently available for preorder at $499 and will start shipping March 13, 2025.
Key Features
- Predelay/delay Time and Regen controls
- Separate Doom and Shimmer controls add in suboctaves and haunting overtones
- Low-pass and high-pass filter settings for the reverb tank allow you to add filtering and harmonics to reverb tails
- Built-in Grit dynamic distortion can apply to only the wet signal or the whole output
- Includes onboard dry/wet Blend control and input- and output-gain parameters
- Duck switch controls the reverb’s behavior using your playing to shape the output
- Three bypass modes allow control of tails when pedal is disengaged
- Create instant atmospheres with reverb-freezing Hold footswitch
- Route the expression input can to any parameter on the pedal
- Store and recall 16 presets in response to MIDI program-change messages
For more information, please visit noiseengineering.us.