The Greer Amps Relic Drive is an overdrive guitar effects pedal: a take on the Tube Screamer-style "Screamer" circuit, the design the reviewer calls "the big green monster." Greer's version sets itself apart by moving the mid hump to a warmer, more guitar friendly area, making the overall tone a bit fatter, and by offering more gain than usual on tap. That extra headroom of gain makes it work both as a boost or light drive and as a bigger, louder but harmonic overdrive sound1.
Like all Greer Amps pedals, it is true bypass, and it is built in Athens, GA1.
What it does to your sound
The Relic Drive belongs to the crowded family of Screamer-style overdrives, but Greer's take shifts the voicing. Pedal of the Day's reviewer, Mike B, put it this way1:
"Nick and crew have moved the mid hump to a warmer, more guitar friendly area, making the overall tone a bit fatter."
The classic Screamer mid hump is the reason those pedals can sound thin or honky to some players; here the reviewer found that character relocated somewhere warmer and fatter. His verdict on the changes Greer made1:
"These improvements and additions really bring out the power and pizazz of the Relic Drive, and truly launch it into a new category of screaming overdrive."
Controls
The review details the pedal's controls, starting with its master volume:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Volume | Puts out the overall loudness of the Relic Drive1 |
How it compares
Greer Amps builds several overdrives, and the Relic Drive sits among them as the company's warmer take on the Screamer formula. If you are weighing it against other Greer drives, the Lightspeed Organic Overdrive is the brand's best-known light overdrive and boost, the Southland Harmonic Overdrive carries Lightspeed lineage with a Harmonic control, and the Supa Cobra is a flexible medium-gain design with clipping options. The Mori Drive is Greer's own Screamer formulation with what Guitar Pedal X called a healthy injection of Klon DNA. For the broader family it belongs to, see Overdrive Pedals, or the Boss SD-1 vs Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer comparison for the two classics the Relic Drive's circuit echoes21.
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Questions
Is the Greer Amps Relic Drive true bypass?
Yes. According to Pedal of the Day's review, the Relic Drive is true bypass, which the reviewer notes is the case with all Greer Amps pedals. With true bypass, the pedal's circuit is removed from your signal chain entirely when it is switched off, so it does not load down or color your clean tone when not in use.
Where is the Greer Amps Relic Drive made?
The Relic Drive is built in Athens, Georgia. Pedal of the Day's review describes it as built with lots of high-quality components and love in Athens, GA, where Greer Amps is based.
What circuit is the Greer Amps Relic Drive based on?
The Relic Drive is a take on the Tube Screamer-style Screamer overdrive circuit, which the reviewer calls the big green monster. Greer's version moves the mid hump to a warmer, more guitar friendly area and offers more gain than usual, so it sits in its own corner of the crowded Screamer field.
Can the Relic Drive be used as a boost?
Yes. The reviewer found there is more gain than usual on tap with the Relic Drive, making it suitable both as a boost or light drive and as a bigger, louder but harmonic overdrive sound. Back the Gain control off and it can push an amp or another drive pedal like a boost.
Sources (2)
- Greer Amps Relic Drive, Pedal of the Day (www.pedal-of-the-day.com), 2016-01-14
- Greer Amps Relic Drive, Pedal of the Day, 2015-11-30
