Electro-Harmonix Crayon

The Electro-Harmonix Crayon is a compact analog overdrive pedal released by Electro-Harmonix in 2015. Its defining idea is right in the maker's tagline: "Full-range overdrive with a lush, rich, warm tone."¹ Where most classic overdrives push the midrange and cut the lows, the Crayon keeps the whole frequency range open and gives you independent Bass and Treble controls to shape it, which makes it a different animal from a Tube Screamer-style pedal.¹

Electro-Harmonix says it "delivers a range of sounds going from a suggestion of dirt to full-on distortion and is equally impressive all by itself or when driving another overdrive pedal."¹ In other words, it works as a light touch of grit, a heavier drive on its own, or a boost stacked in front of another overdrive. It shipped in a compact, pedalboard-ready enclosure and was available with two different graphics.²

A full-range overdrive

Most overdrive pedals in the Tube Screamer tradition voice their gain around the midrange, which helps a guitar cut through a mix but thins out the low end. The Crayon takes the opposite approach. Guitar World described it as offering "an open frequency range that provides players with a musical alternative to customary mid-focused overdrive pedals."⁵ Delicious Audio likewise noted that its EQ section "focuses on the high and low frequency ranges, instead of the mid-range."⁴

For a player, that means the Crayon keeps your bass notes and your treble detail intact rather than carving around them. Delicious Audio called it a transparent design, and its reviewer found it particularly suited to single-coil pickups⁴⁵:

The same reviewer's takeaway frames the pedal's range: from a suggestion of dirt to full-on distortion, either alone or pushing another overdrive.⁴ That stacking role is worth noting for anyone building a pedalboard: a full-range, low-end-friendly drive in front of a mid-focused pedal can add body that a Tube Screamer-type boost cannot.

The controls: Volume, Gain, Bass, Treble

The Crayon keeps its control set simple: four knobs and a footswitch.¹

The single footswitch selects whether the Crayon is engaged or in bypass mode, and an LED lights when the effect is on.¹ Because Bass and Treble are independent, you can, for example, add gain while keeping the low end tight, or fatten a bright guitar without adding more drive.

Bypass, power and connections

The pedal has one ¼" input jack and one ¼" output (AMP) jack, and runs on a 9V battery, which is included.¹ An optional 9.6VDC-200mA adapter such as the EHX 9.6DC-200 power supply can be used instead; it is not included.¹² Current draw is a modest 10mA.¹

How is the Crayon different from a Tube Screamer?

The short answer: voicing. A Tube Screamer-style overdrive (see the Boss SD-1 vs Ibanez TS9 comparison) is built around a midrange hump and a bass cut, which gives it its familiar honk and keeps the low end from getting muddy at high gain. The Crayon instead keeps the frequency range open, with Bass and Treble controls rather than a single Tone knob, so you decide how much low end stays in the signal.¹⁵

That makes it a natural complement rather than a substitute: players who already own a mid-focused drive often use a full-range pedal like the Crayon for chords, bassier guitars, or stacking, where the mid-hump voicing of a Tube Screamer would thin things out. Within the Electro-Harmonix lineup, the company's other overdrives cover different ground, from the East River Drive to the Soul Food and the later Spruce Goose⁵¹⁴.

Where it came from

Electro-Harmonix released the Crayon in 2015.¹ Premier Guitar carried the announcement on November 17, 2015, reporting it "available now at a U.S. List Price of $83.63."³ MusicRadar noted at launch that the pedal was available with two graphics.⁶ The current list price on the maker's product page is $77.10.¹

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