This year’s Premier Gear Award winners are, as usual, an eclectic set—full of old-school vintage homage, leading-edge digital developments, and imaginative meetings of those worlds. Dig in and dig it as we revisit the gear that fired the enthusiasm and wonder of our editors and contributors in 2017.
Ratings
Pros:
A cleverly designed and confidently constructed overdrive pedal with rich, lush tones and excellent versatility courtesy of a useful balance knob.
Cons:
None.
Tones:
Ease of Use:
Build/Design:
Value:
Street:
$249
Gurus Sexydrive MkII
gurusamps.com
It’s a technique that a few other makers have used effectively for several years. Truetone’s Route 66 v3, Voodoo Lab’s Sparkle Drive, and Way Huge’s Pork Loin come to mind. It’s a design move that can make a standard overdrive exceptional, and it does so here.
The Sexydrive MkII’s form factor is pretty cool, too. The original-design enclosure is quite different from any of the standard “project box” pedals out there. The custom-folded sheet-metal enclosure is topped with a Plexiglas face that lends a three-dimensional look to the legends etched below, and in addition to the on/off light there are LEDs for peak (which lights up at higher drive levels) and fuel (a weak-battery indicator). Access to the 9V battery compartment is through a plate at the bottom edge of the box, or you can use any standard center-negative adaptor to supply 9V—12V (but no more!), which is doubled internally by the Sexydrive MkII’s “twin dynamic” power circuit to provide extra dynamic range. Finally, there’s a clean level trim pot accessed through a small hole in the base plate which lets you adjust the amount of dry signal sent to the balance pot on top.
Drivin’ Home
I tested the Sexydrive MkII using a tweed Fender Deluxe combo, a JTM45-style head with a 2x12 cab, a Stratocaster, and a Les Paul. If you’re looking for an easy tonal reference point, you can definitely hear elements of a modified Tube Screamer, except that it has a much more balanced voicing (there’s no mid-hump, unless you dial it in that way via the middle control). You’ll also hear more clarity, and perhaps even a sweeter and livelier harmonic structure, too. In short, it’s an extremely likeable and eminently usable overdrive, and very easy to get to grips with.
After just a short bit of monkeying around with it in the studio, I found it quickly rivaling a couple of my current favorite ODs and I stuck it on my board for a rehearsal with an original indie-rock band the next night. The MkII absolutely excelled, easily achieving a very tactile and musical medium-gain lead tone that—thanks in part to the balance control—never once got lost amid the loud (and occasionally over-enthusiastic) four-piece mix.
The Verdict
Versatile, sonically pleasing, easy to dial in, and adept at helping your precious guitar parts stand out in the mix, the Sexydrive stands apart. It’s not cheap for an overdrive, but it is smartly conceived, well put together, and well worth investigating if you’re in the market for new dirt-box sounds and a more flexible pedal design.