The Lightspeed Organic Overdrive is a small overdrive pedal from Greer Amps, an Athens, Georgia builder. Greer describes it as a "natural light to mild overdrive" that blends with the tone of your guitar and amplifier, with rich harmonics and complex but smooth clipping1. In other words, it is built to add grit and warmth while leaving the core character of your rig intact, rather than stamping its own voice over it.
The pedal first appeared on the scene over a decade ago and remains a go-to overdrive for players across many genres2. Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio characterizes it as "transparent, touch-sensitive, the kind of overdrive that makes your amp sound like itself but better," built with the specific purpose of being a light to mild overdrive3. It is on tour with Peter Stroud, guitarist for Sheryl Crow and others1.
What it does to your sound
The Lightspeed's gain range sits at the low end of the drive spectrum. Premier Guitar's reviewer found that it "starts crystal clear and maxes out somewhere in the mild drive range," which means it is not the pedal for thick, high-gain distortion4. What it is built for is complex dirty tones in the low-mid gain range, usable as a transparent boost or to push a tube amp into breakup4. The reviewer also found it very responsive to playing dynamics and to guitar-volume adjustments, so backing off your volume knob cleans things up the way an amp would4.
Pedal of the Day's Mike B mapped the drive knob's sweep in his original review: around 9:00 there is a nice, crisp boost to the signal, at 12:00 a slight drive that adds a bit of grit, and after 3:00 it gets warm and rich, pushing an amp into breakup5.
The controls
The Lightspeed keeps it to three knobs: drive, loudness, and freq.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Drive | Sets the gain, from clean boost to mild overdrive4 |
| Loudness | Output level control4 |
| Freq. | EQ or tone-shaper: emphasizes high mids or bass presence depending on which side of noon you set it4 |
The freq. control is the one that adapts the pedal to different guitars. Set at noon it delivers a slight increase in mids, which becomes more pronounced as you turn it clockwise; counterclockwise brings up bass presence4. Premier Guitar found the expansive sweep of that knob makes the pedal friendly to just about any pickup configuration, with excellent tones for both single-coils and humbuckers4. One caveat from the same review: things can get a little muddy when you mix humbuckers with the lowest freq. settings4. Even with the extra presence the knob can add, the reviewer found it genuinely difficult to get the pedal to sound harsh4.
Power: 9 to 18V
The Lightspeed runs on a 9 to 18 volt supply with a negative center pin only, and Greer is emphatic about the polarity1. It accepts a 9-volt battery or a standard center-negative 2.1mm power supply, and draws just 11mA at 9V, so it is easy on a pedalboard power supply1.
The center pin must be negative. A reverse-polarity supply can damage the pedal, so check your power brick's polarity before plugging in.
Where it came from
The Lightspeed has been around long enough that Pedal of the Day revisited it in 2025, noting it first appeared over a decade ago and calling it "one of the clearest, most natural feeling, and best overdrives on the market, designed for players looking for a natural drive tone"2. The pedal is now shipping in Greer's updated enclosures, which feature side-mounted screws1, and it is available in a multitude of different color variations, including custom Gameday Black and Silver Britches editions that carry red LEDs12.
The circuit has a following beyond the finished pedal. Guitar Pedal X's Stefan Karlsson places the Lightspeed in the "in the ballpark of" category of sought-after drives, "definitely not intending to be a like for like replacement of the original version" of the design it evokes6. The Lightspeed also spawned a higher-gain sibling: Greer's Southland Harmonic Overdrive traces its lineage to the Lightspeed3.
What reviewers said
Published reviews have been consistently positive, with one recurring criticism on price.
- Premier Guitar (2021): "But this is a superb overdrive by any measure, it excels at coaxing complex dirty tones in the low-mid gain range." The reviewer also called it "not cheap" compared to like-minded boxes on the market, at a $190 street price at the time4.
- Pedal of the Day, Mike B (2014): "The Lightspeed had found a comfortable home on my pedalboard, and it's not moving anytime soon." He judged it a great boost, tone enhancer and light overdrive5.
- Pedal of the Day (2025): One of the clearest, most natural feeling overdrives on the market2.
- Premier Guitar on the Supa Cobra (2025): Referencing the Lightspeed as "also fantastic" and borrowing its "organic" language for Greer's newer Supa Cobra overdrive7.
"But this is a superb overdrive by any measure, it excels at coaxing complex dirty tones in the low-mid gain range."
Price and buying
Greer's own product page lists the Lightspeed at £189.001. Premier Guitar's 2021 review put the US street price at $1904. Pedals are currently built to order and ship within 1 to 2 weeks of order and payment1.
Videos
Premier Guitar
Greer Amps
Rabea Massaad
Questions
Can the Greer Lightspeed be used as a clean boost?
Yes. Premier Guitar's reviewer found it works as a very transparent near-clean boost with the drive knob at its bare minimum and loudness set around 3 o'clock for unity gain. Greer itself says the pedal can be set to sound like the original signal, which is what many players call transparent.
Does the Greer Lightspeed work with humbuckers?
Yes. Premier Guitar found excellent tones with both single-coils and humbuckers, crediting the wide sweep of the freq. knob for making the pedal friendly to just about any pickup configuration. The same reviewer noted things can get a little muddy when humbuckers are paired with the lowest freq. settings.
Is the Greer Lightspeed true bypass?
Yes. Greer Amps lists the Lightspeed as true bypass, so with the pedal off your signal passes through without active buffering. It runs on a 9-volt battery or a standard center-negative 2.1mm power supply, drawing 11mA at 9V.
What is the Greer Lightspeed warranty?
Greer Amps covers the Lightspeed with a 5-year warranty to the original owner. The company builds pedals to order, and the Lightspeed ships within 1 to 2 weeks of order and payment.
Why is the Lightspeed circuit board covered in epoxy?
The circuit board is dipped in a foggy epoxy to conceal its components. Premier Guitar described it as protecting the identity of the pedal's secret components, a common practice among builders who want to keep their circuit designs from being copied.
Sources (7)
- Lightspeed Organic Overdrive, Greer Amps
- Greer Amps Lightspeed Organic Overdrive, Pedal of the Day (www.pedal-of-the-day.com), 2025-06-22
- Greer Southland Harmonic Overdrive, Delicious Audio, 2026-05-19
- Greer Amps Lightspeed Organic Overdrive Review, Premier Guitar, 2014-08-24
- Greer Amps Lightspeed Organic Overdrive, Pedal of the Day, 2014-10-27
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2019-07-23
- My Love for Greer's Supa Cobra OD Pedal, Premier Guitar (www.premierguitar.com), 2025-01-01
