Old Blood Noise Endeavors Revamps the Fault to V2

May 18, 2020 · 7 sources

Old Blood Noise Endeavors announced version two of its Fault overdrive/distortion pedal, an update of the original Fault that the Oklahoma maker released in 2017¹. The Fault V2 kept the two-gain-stage concept of the original but took it further, with a greater gain range, a voice control and new clipping options².

The original Fault was described at the time as a straightforward overdrive/distortion entry, essentially the maker's active EQ placed in a mid-range drive, according to Brady Smith³. The V2 built on that base with a control set aimed at players who want one pedal to cover everything from a clean boost to heavy distortion.

Controls and how they work

The pedal's controls worked in two layers. Vol, Gain 1 and Voice set the sound of the primary overdrive, with a Boost toggle setting the range and voice of Gain 1, from clean to mean²⁶. A second gain stage, Gain 2, introduced additional gain when its own footswitch was pressed, letting the player go from light overdrive to heavy distortion. Per OBNE, the two gain controls are interactive, so a wide range of drive tones sat under the player's hands⁶.

Power, price and availability

The pedal carried a soft-touch bypass footswitch for true bypass and minimal switch noise². It was made in the USA⁵. At launch it was available for $209⁴, with Gearnews listing an RRP of USD 209 / EUR 229⁶.

MusicRadar summed up the appeal of the update: the Fault V2 offered greater gain ranges, voice control and clipping options for players looking for a versatile gain pedal in one box⁷.

Where it sits in the range

The Fault V2 joined a run of updated V2 editions from Old Blood Noise Endeavors, alongside the Excess V2 with its independent switching and routing options and the Beam Splitter V2 with presets².