The Speed Demon is a boutique overdrive pedal from Crazy Tube Circuits, designed and built in Athens, Greece, and created in conjunction with former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Gus G12. Announced in 2019, it is a compact drive pedal aimed at tight, heavy rhythm playing and cutting lead tones, with a three-knob control layout of gain, tone and volume and a single footswitch to turn the effect on and off3.
What it does to your sound
Crazy Tube Circuits describes the Speed Demon as a powerful overdrive circuit built around Gus G's needs as a player, "designed in conjunction with Gus G covering his need of creating enormous riffs and supersonic solos"1. The maker says the saturation circuit has been "precision-tuned to add clarity, punch and rich harmonics while compressing specific frequencies so that the guitar sound is tight but without being squashed to ensure that it will cut through the mix"1. MusicRadar's Jonathan Horsley noted that the pedal "will compress frequencies in your guitar's signal"3, which is the mechanism behind that tight, focused character.
The controls: gain, tone and volume
The pedal has three rotary knobs on a metal chassis plus one footswitch3.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Gain | Set as a clean boost to wake up a dull amp, or as an extra gain stage with a lead amp for soaring solos with high headroom, excellent string-to-string clarity and note definition1 |
| Tone | An active high frequency control circuit, described as giving limitless tonal tweaking options, from smooth and warm to aggressive and raw with extra bite1 |
| Volume | Sets the output volume of the Speed Demon1 |
| Footswitch | Turns the effect on and off3 |
The gain control is the pedal's flexible point: MusicRadar's reviewer summed it up as something that "can serve as a clean boost or an extra gain stage to add a little hot sauce to your solos"3. That makes the Speed Demon usable two ways on a board: low on the gain knob in front of a dirty amp as a boost, or higher as a standalone overdrive voice of its own.
A signature pedal designed with Gus G
The Speed Demon is a signature collaboration. Guitar World introduced it as "the Greek Speed Demon," an overdrive pedal created in conjunction with former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Gus G2, and guitar.com reported that Crazy Tube Circuits "has joined forces with Gus G on the Speed Demon, an OD pedal tailored to the heavy metal guitarist's" needs4. Gus G is a heavy metal player, and the pedal's brief, per the maker, was riffs and solos in that style1.
At launch, the pedal was available for pre-order direct from Gus G3, with pre-orders priced at €1494.
The Speed Demon was announced in 2019 as a pre-order product. The launch price was given in euros: 149€, which Premier Guitar's press release converted to about $166.07 at the time1. Crazy Tube Circuits has since released other drives, including the Venus, Heatseeker and Rapture.
Videos
Cameron Cooper
Gus G
Guitar Bonedo
Questions
Is the Speed Demon true bypass?
Yes. According to the press release carried by Premier Guitar, the Speed Demon features true bypass and premium audio-grade components, which the maker says are there for superior sound quality and performance. With true bypass, the pedal's circuit is removed from the signal path entirely when it is switched off, so it does not load down your guitar's signal when not in use.
Can the Speed Demon be used as a clean boost?
Yes. The gain control is described as serving two roles: set low, it works as a clean boost to wake up a dull amp; set higher, it acts as an extra gain stage in front of a lead amp for solos. MusicRadar's Jonathan Horsley put it the same way, saying the gain control can serve as a clean boost or an extra gain stage to add a little hot sauce to your solos.
Where is the Crazy Tube Circuits Speed Demon made?
The Speed Demon is designed and built in Athens, Greece by Crazy Tube Circuits, according to the press release carried by Premier Guitar. Guitar World likewise described it as the Greek Speed Demon when the pedal was introduced in 2019.
How much does the Speed Demon cost?
At launch in 2019 the Speed Demon was priced at 149 euros, which Premier Guitar's press release gave as about $166.07, and guitar.com listed pre-orders at €149. It was available for pre-order direct from Gus G, according to MusicRadar.
Sources (4)
- Crazy Tube Circuits Introduces the Speed Demon, Premier Guitar, 2019-07-29
- Crazy Tubes Circuits and Gus G Collaborate on New Greek Speed Demon Overdrive, Guitar World, 2019-07-30
- Gus G unleashes Speed Demon overdrive pedal, MusicRadar, 2019-08-01
- Crazy Tube Circuits, Gus G team up on Speed Demon pedal, guitar.com, 2019-07-31
