The Bondi Effects Sick As High Shredroom is a limited-edition overdrive pedal: a modified version of the company's Sick As Overdrive, designed in collaboration with Earthling Designs and first announced in September 2018 as a run of 30 units12. Where the standard Sick As is a transparent overdrive in the Klon tradition, the High Shredroom pushes the gain much further. Bondi describes it simply as "all day distortion"1.
The core change is in the voicing. Bondi says the mid-range focus has been narrowed to open up the top and bottom end, making the pedal more articulate and aggressive1. Delicious Audio, covering the 2018 launch, called it "a more articulate and aggressive pedal with a more open top end, more gain to tap, and a cutting upper mid range"2.
What the High Shredroom does to the Sick As sound
The standard Sick As is described by Bondi as dynamic and natural, responsive to pick attack or the volume knob, and able to run as a clean boost, an overdrive, or a blend of the two4. Pedal of the Day's 2014 review of the original said it "works great as a clean boost/light OD without coloring your signal"56. On That Pedal Show, the reviewers called it "righteous tasty noise" and "the sound for a band," noting how it cuts through so every note is heard7.
The High Shredroom takes that circuit in a heavier direction. Bondi says that with help from Earthling Designs it pushed the gain of this edition almost past its limit1. The trade-off is at the low end of the gain knob: the sweep has been narrowed for usability, so the pedal no longer goes completely clean1. Players who want the clean-boost end of the Sick As range are better served by the standard pedal; the High Shredroom is aimed at players who want higher-gain sounds on tap all the time.
The controls: gain, toggle and active tonestack
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Gain | Narrowed sweep; does not go completely clean1 |
| Active tonestack (bass and treble) | Capable of 15dB of boost or cut1 |
| Toggle switch | Controls the amount of headroom and the character of the drive1 |
The active tonestack is a two-band EQ. On the standard Sick As, Bondi says both EQ knobs allow 15dB of boost or cut, and the tone circuit can boost or cut bass and treble frequencies up to 15dB89. That is a lot of shaping range for an overdrive pedal, and it is one of the features that separates the Sick As family from simpler three-knob overdrives.
The toggle switch carries over from the standard Sick As, where Bondi describes the two positions as "a more compressed, mid-range focused tone or an open, transparent, rhythm tone"8. Delicious Audio's coverage of the Sick As noted that the bass knob changes the gain structure rather than working as a simple EQ cut, something That Pedal Show's reviewers also observed79.
Power: 18V internal, about 65mA
The High Shredroom runs on an internally boosted 18-volt supply, which Bondi says delivers maximum headroom and clarity1. Current consumption is about 65mA1. The standard Sick As shares the same internal 18V boost, with a current draw listed at under 70mA, input impedance of 500kOhms at 1kHz and output impedance of 560Ohms at 1kHz84.
The about 65mA current draw is higher than many analog overdrives, so check your power supply's capacity per output before pairing it with several other pedals on one isolated supply.
History and versions
The Sick As line began as a hand-built overdrive from an Australian company, reviewed by Pedal of the Day in 2014 as a transparent overdrive supposedly based around the famous Klon5. Guitar Pedal X later grouped the Sick As MKII among Klon-style pedals, noting that its Tone dial was split into Bass and Treble with a two-way gain switch for slightly more or slightly less gain on tap10. Delicious Audio described the Sick As as Bondi's Klon "evolution," with the toggle switch and an extra bass knob for added versatility9.
The High Shredroom arrived on 11 September 2018, announced by Delicious Audio as a variation on the Sick As circuit, designed in collaboration with Earthling Designs, in a limited run of 30 units2. The maker has since offered the pedal in multiple colorways, including a Neon Pink edition, a Blackout edition described as "a custom colour Sick As High Shredroom with standard circuitry," and a Graphite edition1113. Purchases are limited to one per customer, with flippers permanently banned from the store13.
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Questions
Is the Bondi Sick As High Shredroom true bypass?
Yes. Bondi Effects specifies soft touch true-bypass switching on every High Shredroom colorway, the same switching used across the Sick As line. The mk3 version of the standard Sick As was described by the maker as its quietest true-bypass switching to date.
How many High Shredroom pedals were made?
The original High Shredroom run in 2018 was a limited run of 30 units, announced as a small batch built by Bondi Effects in conjunction with Earthling Designs. Later colorways such as the Blackout and Graphite editions have appeared on the maker's store as custom-color versions with standard circuitry.
Does the High Shredroom gain knob go fully clean?
No. Bondi Effects narrowed the sweep of the gain control for usability, so the pedal does not go completely clean anymore. On the standard Sick As the gain control works as a gain-to-clean blend, increasing the ratio of gained to clean tone as you turn it up.
What is the difference between the Sick As and the High Shredroom?
The High Shredroom is a modified Sick As circuit with more gain on tap. The mid-range focus is narrowed to open up the top and bottom end, making it more articulate and aggressive, and the gain sweep is narrowed so it never goes fully clean. The standard Sick As can run as a clean boost, an overdrive, or a blend of the two.
Who designed the Sick As High Shredroom?
Bondi Effects designed it in collaboration with Earthling Designs. The maker says that with Earthling Designs' help it pushed the gain of the High Shredroom Edition of the Sick As Overdrive almost past its limit. The original 2018 announcement also credited the two companies jointly.
Sources (11)
- Sick As High Shredroom (Neon Pink), Bondi Effects
- Bondi Effects Sick As High Shredroom Overdrive, Delicious Audio, 2018-09-11
- Sick As High Shredroom (Graphite), Bondi Effects
- Sick As Overdrive B-stock, Bondi Effects
- Bondi Effects Sick As Overdrive (v2), Pedal of the Day, 2014-05-04
- Bondi Effects Del Mar Overdrive, Pedal of the Day, 2014-10-17
- That Pedal Show, That Pedal Show, 2017-12-15
- Sick As Overdrive, Bondi Effects
- Bondi Effects Breakers Overdrive, Delicious Audio, 2020-04-03
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2019-07-23
- Sick As High Shredroom (Blackout), Bondi Effects
