The Barber Compact Direct Drive is an overdrive pedal from Barber Electronics aimed at players who want vintage British amp voices on a pedalboard. Barber describes it as bringing "a colossal catalog of vintage British voice to your pedal-board", and the range it claims runs from the "elastic-bells of GZ34-sag, to the hells-bells of a tight EL34-crush", taking in early UK combos with KT66 tubes, a 4-input head into a wall of 4x12 cabinets, and a modified master-volume amp from the early 1980s1.
The pedal is small: 2.3 inches wide, with a layout of three knobs, a gain toggle and a harmonics toggle. Barber says it combines the most desirable sounds of three earlier pedals, the Direct Drive, the Direct Drive Low Gain (LG) and the Super Sport, into one enclosure1. The current version is v4, updated in 2020 with a new look1.
What it does: a vintage British overdrive
The Direct Drive line is designed, in Barber's words for the v4, "to impart a range of British overdrive and distortion sounds into clean and distorted amplifiers"2. Where many overdrives chase one amp sound, the Compact Direct Drive's toggles let you move between several: the gain toggle was expanded in 2020 to a 3-way switch that adds a third "hyper dynamic" sound Barber describes as a "4 in input" style, alongside the two positions (A and B) on the original circuit, and the midrange is selectable in 3 levels with another 3-way toggle13.
Inside, the circuit is op-amp stages with Vref biasing and a tone network built from .022, .0033 and .0022 capacitors with a 50KB tone pot, using 1N4148 diode clipping3. Strymon lists the Barber Direct Drive among its examples of a two-stage overdrive configuration, alongside the Wampler Ecstasy/Euphoria and the Mad Professor Sweet Honey Overdrive4.
The controls
The v4 manual describes what each control does1:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Gain | Sets the amount of sustain and drive: nearly-clean "gutsy-edge" at low settings, throaty grind in the middle, singing sustain and harmonics fully open |
| Volume | Sets the output level; most players find unity between 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock, depending on pickup output and the guitar's volume setting |
| Tone | A simple high-end roll-off; the manual suggests 2 to 3 o'clock as a starting point for a balanced sound |
| Gain Switch (right toggle) | Three settings: higher gain to the left, Ultra-Dynamic in the middle, low gain to the right |
| Midrange Switch (left toggle) | Left is neutral mids, middle is "full and fat", right is clear with strong fundamentals |
The original Compact Direct Drive circuit carried Drive, Volume and tone controls with a two-position gain switch3; the 2020 update made both toggles 3-way1.
Power: 9 to 18 VDC, 12 mA
The pedal runs on 9 to 18 VDC with a negative tip, drawing 12 mA1. The v4 manual repeats the range: "Make sure you use a 9-18 volt DC adaptor"2.
No power adaptor is included, and the pedal does not accept internal batteries1. Plan on an external supply, and note that the 9 to 18 VDC range means you can run it at higher than 9 volts if your supply offers it.
Schematic and DIY layouts
For players who build, the pedal's construction is documented from the maker's side. Barber Electronics builds the Compact Direct Drive with solder lugs for the jacks, a true-bypass footswitch, toggles and pots, rather than PCB mounted thru-panel parts1. The enclosure measures 2.3" wide1, and the control layout is a simple one of three knobs, a gain toggle and a harmonics toggle1.
What reviewers and builders said
Published reactions to the circuit come mostly from the DIY community around the Guitar FX Layouts layout. A builder named DC reported finding "everything from an almost clean boost for sparkling fingerpicking to roaring plexi", calling it a great overdrive that made a Guv'nor build unnecessary5. Another builder, MAO, called it "a nice alternative to the Wampler Plexi Drive" that "sounds excellent"5, and Doron Barness rated it "definitely one of the great Marshall sounds out there along with the Wampler Plexi-Drive", approving the added mid-control mod5.
Not everything was unanimous. A builder called Brownpedals found it "a nice tweak-able overdrive" but thought the tone control in the TMB stack was "not doing that much", and suggested a log pot for the bass control5. Another commenter, johnk, felt the presence control "doesn't do that much so i'd omit that one"5.
"This is a great overdrive. So far I have found everything from an almost clean boost for sparkling fingerpicking to roaring plexi."
Videos
Prymaxe
Bryan Ewald
musictoyznetwork rasch
Questions
Does the Barber Compact Direct Drive take a battery?
No. Barber's product page states the pedal does not accept internal batteries, and no power adaptor is included with it. It runs from an external 9 to 18 VDC supply with a negative tip, drawing about 12 mA, so you will need to supply your own adaptor.
Is the Barber Compact Direct Drive true bypass?
Yes. Barber lists a true-bypass footswitch among the pedal's build features, alongside toggles and pots with solder-lug jacks rather than PCB-mounted thru-panel parts. When the pedal is off, your signal passes straight through.
What is the difference between the Direct Drive, Direct Drive LG and Super Sport?
They are earlier Barber overdrives with different gain characters. The Compact Direct Drive is a combination: Barber says it packs the most desirable sounds of the Direct Drive, the Direct Drive Low Gain (LG) and the Super Sport into one pedal, with a 3-way gain toggle and a 3-way midrange toggle to move between them.
Is there a schematic or DIY layout for the Barber Direct Drive?
Yes. David Barber drew a service schematic of the Compact Direct Drive dated 3-1-2013, released for use only by permission of Barber Electronics. Guitar FX Layouts also published a stripboard (vero) layout in May 2014, based on that 2013 schematic, plus a modded version with a Mids control.
Sources (5)
- Direct Drive, Barber Electronics, 2020
- Direct-Drive_V4_NOV_2020.pdf, Barber Electronics, 2020-11
- C:\Users\David\Dropbox\Compact, Barber Electronics, 2013-01-03
- What are some examples of the 6 circuits available in Sunset?, Strymon (www.strymon.net), 2021-07-15
- Guitar FX Layouts: Barber Compact Direct Drive, Guitar FX Layouts (tagboardeffects.blogspot.com), 2020-04-28
