The Texas Flood Overdrive is an overdrive pedal from Cast Engineering, aimed squarely at the Texas blues sound associated with Stevie Ray Vaughan. Pedal of the Day's reviewer, Mike B, called it "the aptly named Texas Flood Overdrive from Cast Engineering" when he featured it in January 20161.
What it does
Cast Engineering's take on the SRV formula starts from the Tube Screamer circuit family and pushes it further. As Mike B put it in his Pedal of the Day review, the pedal "takes that original tone and builds on it, adding in some more low end and still maintaining the sound that SRV came to" be known for1. For a player, that means a mid-forward overdrive in the Tube Screamer tradition, with extra bottom end so single-note lines do not thin out.
The pedal keeps a simple three-knob layout:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Level | Output volume1 |
| Drive | Amount of overdrive |
| Tone | Treble voicing |
Level, Drive and Tone make up the control section, with the Level knob covering output volume1. Mike B found there was "a nice amount of volume output on tap, for making sure everyone hears your ripping solo", which matters for a boost-into-overdrive use where the pedal pushes an amp or lifts solos above the band1.
Other pedals named Texas Flood
The name has been used by more than one maker, and they are separate products123:
- JCA Texas Flood: a hand-made boost/overdrive pedal built in Germany, listed by Delicious Audio in 2022. Its Sustain and Volume knobs control the gain and output sections, with Sustain delivering amp-like character up to a gentle overdrive when pushed past the 9 o'clock position2.
- ToadWorks Texas Flood: a hand-built overdrive based on the classic Ibanez TS8, covered by MusicRadar in 2007, with an increased gain range over its inspiration3.
None of these are related products from Cast Engineering; they share only the name and the same general territory of Texas-flavored overdrive.
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Questions
Is the Texas Flood a Tube Screamer clone?
Pedal of the Day's reviewer describes it as taking the classic Screamer tone and building on it, adding more low end while keeping the sound Stevie Ray Vaughan was famous for. It is voiced in that territory rather than being a straight copy, with its own Level, Drive and Tone control layout.
Are there other pedals called Texas Flood?
Yes. Delicious Audio lists a JCA Texas Flood, a hand-made boost/overdrive from Germany, and MusicRadar covered a ToadWorks Texas Flood in 2007, a hand-built overdrive based on the Ibanez TS8 with an increased gain range. They are separate pedals from different makers.
Sources (3)
- Cast Engineering Texas Flood Overdrive, Pedal of the Day, 2016-01-23
- JCA Texas Flood Boost/Overdrive, Delicious Audio, 2022-05-11
- New Stevie Ray Vaughan-inspired overdrive, MusicRadar, 2007-12-21