Quick Guide to Different Drive Categories

As arguably the most famous effects pedal type, tone chasers can find various overdrive models out there. With numerous pedal brands releasing their version of overdrives, from budget-friendly to premium, the massive selection might be daunting for players. Many overdrive stompboxes derive from only a few of classic designs and circuits. The difference is that these have been experimented with and customized by brands throughout the years, leveraging such circuits as the foundation for their unique-sounding pedals. Overdrive pedals primarily inject grit to the signal, yielding a sound identical to a cranked amp at the edge of breakup. Most units create a driven clean tone that can extend to a crunch, depending on how hard the user picks their guitar strings and the way it has been dialed in. That could be a significant factor when players are seeking their ideal overdrive, with many favoring one that cleans up when rolling the guitar’s volume control down and responds to playing dynamics. Some overdrives can be tweaked to dish out a full-on saturated distortion sound, while others are capable of boosting the signal and increasing the overall volume and output from an amp. That is the reason overdrive pedals are usually engaged for playing leads, to let solos slice through in a mix when performing live. This guide will list and describe the different drive categories available in the market to help players pick the type that best suits their needs.

Transparent Drives

Transparent overdrive stompboxes stand somewhere between clean boost and distortion pedals on the sound amplifier spectrum. Similar to clean boost stompboxes, they lift the guitar sound in the mix, but they do so with extra drive. They provide the sound with more gain, but that gain is not as high as with distortion stompboxes.

Best known for its excellent quality pickups, Seymour Duncan also manufactures well-performing overdrive stompboxes. The 805 Overdrive pedal is a classic overdrive that provides a fat crunch, searing tone, or subtle boost to solos. A three-band active EQ lets users dial in their ideal tone with added sparkle, tighter low end, and more detail in note articulation. Created using the iconic green overdrive chip, the 805 Overdrive dishes out the original’s raved-about smooth overdrive tones and much more. The 805 Overdrive is perfect for driving an already overdriven amp into sonic bliss. Its gain range has been expanded, making it suitable for anything from clean boost to bluesy overdrive to screaming solo tones. It also features independent treble, bass, and mid controls so users can shape their tone to best fit their style. Boasting unbelievable tone and touch sensitivity, the JHS Morning Glory overdrive stompbox adds dirt to a guitar tone without altering the fundamental character. Its straightforward layout makes dialing in the sound a breeze. Crank the Drive knob until the desired overdrive level is reached, tweak the Tone dial to hit the sweet spot, and then use the Volume control to set the master output level. The Morning Glory also carries a Gain toggle that activates a boost mode yielding more low end, more power, and more high-gain sizzle.

K-Type

Arguably the most iconic and priciest guitar pedal of all time, the Klon Centaur was among the earliest boutique stompboxes, demonstrating that an overdrive could be way more than mere distortion. Invented by Bostonian Bill Finnegan in 1994, the stompbox and its ingenious circuit revolutionized the way overdrives interact with a player’s rig, as well as how they are perceived in general. Today, an original unit goes for serious coin, so a lot of manufacturers have been attempting to emulate that sound at a pocket-friendlier price.

The Archer by J. Rockett Audio Designs is a high-headroom, transparent overdrive pedal boasting the sought-after K-style harmonic saturation and a ton of clean output. This stunning reproduction of the legendary boost/OD offers plenty of tone-sculpting potential. Its infinite amp-driving boost and touch-preserving headroom are the results of an internal charge pump, which increases its 9V operating voltage (PSU or battery) up to 18 volts. Reining in the Archer’s Treble and Gain controls produces velvety-smooth Gilmour lead tones and a hard-won mid-gain crunch. The pedal stays extremely versatile, responsive, and organic regardless of the gear. Whether the user plays humbuckers and stacks or singles and combos, the Archer will play beautifully with all their amps and guitars. Wampler’s Tumnus pedal is a versatile addition to any style and setup. Stacking it with another stompbox helps drive or sculpt the overall amount of gain. Users can also utilize the Tumnus as a stand-alone overdrive or a quite dirty boost to push the amp’s front end over the edge. The pedal sports a streamlined three-knob interface consists of controls for Treble, Gain, and Volume, allowing users to dial in their tones regardless of what the gig calls for. “There is one overdrive circuit to this day has been the most talked about, the most sought after, and the most mythical of them all. It’s big, it’s expensive, and it has certainly earned its place at the table. Wampler has painstakingly and faithfully reproduced that magical tone in all its glory in an unbelievably small package and its name is Tumnus,” Wampler detailed.

TS-Style Drives

The legendary Tube Screamer is perhaps the most omnipresent, popular, and widely imitated pedal ever—several pedal manufacturers have their version of a Tube Screamer. The Green Rhino Overdrive MkIV by Way Huge exudes the amp-esque grit that is essential for any player. Sporting an incredibly tweakable package, the Green Rhino Overdrive MkIV features iconic Green Rhino tones accessible via the Classic switch. It is more portable and smaller compared to its ancestors. Besides the Drive, Volume, and Tone knobs of the original, this edition incorporates the MkII’s 100Hz control plus an all-new 500Hz control so users can boost or cut their mids and lows by 12dB each way.

“Make your notes shake the ground like a stampede across the savannah or cut through the mix like a rushing rhino’s horn. Want to take this pedal back to its ancestral roots? Just throw the Classic switch to get the simple Volume, Tone, Drive setup and sound of the original Green Rhino Overdrive,” Way Huge wrote. The ultra-versatile Green Rhino Overdrive MkIV is capable of taking a clean amp from immaculate purity to a punchy, dynamic rhythm tone. Placing it in front of a distorted channel yields more sustain and gain than one would expect from an amp. The JHS Bonsai 9-way screamer overdrive pedal provides unhindered access to about four decades’ worth of stompboxes. It lets users select from nine distinct sonic textures, including SRV-style dirty boost, Mayer-esque low-gain grit, classic mid-bump grind, and a whole lot more. Touted by JHS founder Josh Scott as “a study in the Tube Screamer,” the Bonsai packs nine meticulously replicated classic OD circuits in a single unit for several years of searing tone in one compact stompbox. Built to the exact specs of Josh’s vintage models, the Bonsai starts with monoliths, such as the TS9 and TS-808, and goes through years of tonal evolution with surprise options, including a Polish Exar OD1, Keely and JHS fan-favorite alterations. It consists of controls for Drive, Volume, and Tone. With the Bonsai, users can enjoy nine vintage and typically hard-to-find variants of the definitive green overdrive in one unit.

Amp-in-a-box Drives

Marshall amps have been instrumental in supercharging the performance and sculpting the sound of rock and roll. Configured to replicate a certain amp’s characteristics, an amp-in-a-box is an effects pedal that offers a portable and convenient solution for not needing to bring huge cabinet or amp to gigs or rehearsals. Catalinbread promises that “In the absence of your own personal wall of Marshalls and the necessary road crew required to lug them around, the Dirty Little Secret is the perfect secret weapon in your tone arsenal.”

The Dirty Little Secret is two pedals in one, sporting an internal switch that allows the user to re-create the tone circuits of either the Marshall Super Lead (SL) or Super Bass (SB) stack. The SB mode is voiced specifically to improve the fuzz pedal’s output, while the higher-gain SL mode is suitable for utilization with humbuckers, yielding vibrant harmonics and the well-loved Marshall roar, which has long ruled the airwaves. Simply roll back the volume for melodious cleans. This tour-tough, beautifully designed pedal comes with Bass, Middle, Treble, Pre-amp, and Master knobs, and like many Catalinbread stompboxes, the front sports pretty artwork with lots of space around the sturdy footswitch, so users will not have to worry about accidentally altering their settings when they stomp on it. Designed alongside Eddie Van Halen, MXR’s EVH 5150 Overdrive stompbox is a sonic replica of the blue channel of an EVH 5150 III. This effects pedal boasts the amp’s high gain and just as much string-to-string clarity. A three-band EQ enables the user to dial the stompbox in to complement their rig. An onboard boost injects compression and gain for slicing through the mix. The EVH 5150 Overdrive also carries a single-knob Smart Gate function that keeps the pedal quiet at higher-gain settings. “Whether on stage or in the studio, the EVH 5150 Overdrive’s controls dial up the whole spectrum-from Eddie’s groundbreaking early classic tones to the high gain, super-articulate sound he uses today,” MXR detailed. The pedal comes with true bypass switching and in a road-worthy enclosure sporting custom EVH artwork.

Clean Boost

Clean boost pedals provide more volume, add extra punch to high gain amps, preserve the high end, and elevate the performances of vintage pedals. TC Electronic’s Spark Booster is a versatile, feature-packed boost stompbox that is simply ready to rock. While plenty of boost pedals carry a volume control only, the Spark Booster provides advanced tone-shaping controls that enable users to craft their ideal sound. It carries a boost characteristic switch for transforming the stompbox from a clean, transparent boost to a mid-boosted punch to slice through any mix. Boasting 26db of gain, users can push any amp into sonic bliss. Another amazing boost pedal is the EP Booster from Xotic, which is spec’d from the classic EP-3 echo effects processor’s preamp stage. Guitar legends, including Eric Johnson, Jimmy Page, and Eddie Van Halen, employed that preamp to create their studio tones. The EP Booster serves up as much as 20dB of boost, which will give a rich character to the guitar tone. Internal Dip switches enable fine-tuning the EQ settings and boost frequencies. The EP Booster is suitable for those who want to hit their amp harder while also injecting some character to their tone.

Dual Drives

A collaboration between pedal genius Robert Keeley and That Pedal Show’s tone authorities Mick Taylor and Dan Steinhardt, the D&M Drive pedal is billed as “the perfect storm of Drive and Boost.” The D&M Drive’s Drive side gives users everything they desire in a powerful gain stage, while its beautiful-sounding high-voltage Boost side has been configured to add the ideal tone to any amp that has to be pushed.

“No longer will you wonder what the perfect clean boost should be. As you roll things up, the drive morphs your tone into singing gold. A sexy and smoothly saturated midrange voice appears which breathes confidence,” Keeley Electronics wrote. To commemorate the 40th anniversary of Boss compact stomp boxes, the company has teamed up with JHS Pedals to build the JB-2 Angry Driver. “We’re very excited to collaborate with BOSS, one of our heroes, with the JB-2,” JHS Pedals founder Josh Scott stated. “I’ve said for years and years that BOSS pedals are my favorite pedals. For JHS to jump into the story of what BOSS has done for 40 years is a real honor, and really beyond anything, I would have ever imagined.” The all-new overdrive pedal loads the tones of the JHS Angry Charlie and Boss BD-2 Blues Driver into one Boss-esque housing. A trio of dual-concentric knobs offer individual Level, Tone, and Drive control for every voice, while a six-way mode selector dials in each overdrive separately or combines them in parallel or series configurations. The JB-2 Angry Driver sports a multi-color LED indicator that displays JHS mode (red), Boss mode (blue), and both together (purple).