The Celestial Effects Virgo Rock Overdrive is an overdrive pedal aimed at classic rock tones, built on a dual opamp circuit with hard clipping. Pedal of the Day described it as producing a heavy, tight, in your face, saturated tone, and found it can do anything from a clean boost to tasty, sustaining overdriven distortion1. It sits in the maker's "Rock" line alongside the Celestial Effects Capricorn Rock Distortion, and Celestial Effects also makes the multi-function Aries Beast Distortion1.
The controls: Volume, Tone, Gain and Edge
The Virgo carries four knobs, each with a distinct job:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Volume | Sets the output level |
| Gain | A cleaner, fuller original tone when set low; cranked up, powerfully crunchy and harmonically rich drive |
| Edge | Takes the crunch to a new level; rolled back a bit, produces a smoother tone |
| Tone | A nice EQ sweep, without taking over your original tone |
The Gain and Edge controls work together: Gain sets how much drive the pedal produces, while Edge shapes how aggressive the crunch is at a given setting1.
Circuit and touch response
The gain is produced using two paralleled TL082 opamp amplifiers, in a dual opamp circuit with hard clipping1. Pedal of the Day's reviewer tied the pedal's character to that design and to its low filtering:
"The Virgo is very touch sensitive, and features very little noise filtering so your instrument's entire signal comes through easily and cleanly."
For a player, that means picking dynamics carry through the pedal, from the clean boost end of its range up to saturated overdriven distortion1. If you are comparing it with other drive circuits, see Overdrive Pedals and Distortion Pedals.
What reviewers said
Pedal of the Day's 2017 review summed the pedal up as a build-first design rather than an all-rounder1:
"the Virgo Rock Overdrive is not a versatile-sounding pedal, but one that can withstand the rigors of the road"
The review also noted the aluminum powder coated enclosure among the build points behind that roadworthiness1.
Videos
CelestialEffects
CelestialEffects
gearmanndude
Questions
What does the Edge knob do on the Virgo Rock Overdrive?
The Edge control adjusts the pedal's clipping character. Pushed up, it takes the crunch to a new level, while rolling it back a bit produces a smoother tone, according to Pedal of the Day's review. It works alongside the Gain control, which sets how much drive the pedal produces, and the Tone control, which shapes the EQ.
What opamps does the Celestial Effects Virgo Rock Overdrive use?
The pedal's gain is produced using two paralleled TL082 opamp amplifiers, in a dual opamp circuit with hard clipping. That topology is what the review credits with the pedal's heavy, tight, saturated character, and it sits alongside four controls: Volume, Tone, Gain and Edge.
Can the Virgo Rock Overdrive be used as a clean boost?
Yes. Pedal of the Day described it as a pedal that can do anything from a clean boost to tasty, sustaining overdriven distortion. With the Gain set low, it produces a cleaner, fuller version of the original tone, which is where the clean boost character comes from.
Is the Virgo Rock Overdrive touch sensitive?
Pedal of the Day found it very touch sensitive, and noted that it features very little noise filtering, so the instrument's entire signal comes through easily and cleanly. That low filtering is part of why picking dynamics carry through the pedal's range of drive.
Sources (1)
- Celestial Effects Virgo Rock Overdrive, Pedal of the Day, 2017-02-02
