The Ground Control Audio Blood Oath is a low to mid gain overdrive pedal and the first pedal the company made. Ground Control Audio comes from Montreal, Canada, and Pedal of the Day called the Blood Oath the company's flagship pedal when they reviewed it in June 20161. It sits in the same family as other overdrive pedals, but with a dual EQ section that gives it more tonal control than most drives at this gain level.
What it does to your sound
Pedal of the Day summed it up as "a nice, low to mid gain drive that has a great sound and a nice EQ section"1. The Drive knob covers a wide range: "You can easily do a wonderful clean boost to beef up your tone" at the low end, through to clear but heavy overdriven sounds further up1. Delicious Audio's Living Room Gear demo put it another way: the Blood Oath "can act as a subtle clean boost just as much as a full blown rock machine"2.
The pedal also has an independent pre-gain stage, which Delicious Audio described as "essentially allowing two overdrive modes"2. That makes it usable as a first or second stage overdrive on a board, pushing an amp or feeding a second drive, and it sits naturally alongside boost pedals and distortion pedals in a signal chain.
The controls
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Volume | Controls the volume1 |
| Drive | Sets the gain, from clean boost to low-ish drive to clear but heavy overdriven sounds1 |
| Treble | Treble EQ in the dual EQ section1 |
| Bass | Bass EQ in the dual EQ section1 |
The dual EQ section is the pedal's distinguishing feature. "With both a Treble and Bass control, you really have total control of how the drive is going to tonally sound," Pedal of the Day wrote, adding that the dual EQ was the part they loved1. Delicious Audio described the tone control as flexible enough to offer "enough range for bass players"2, which puts the Blood Oath in reach of players looking at bass pedals as well as guitar.
Where it came from
Ground Control Audio comes to us via Montreal, Canada, and the Blood Oath Overdrive is the company's flagship pedal, reviewed by Pedal of the Day on 20 June 20161.
In the demo
Delicious Audio's Living Room Gear demo, posted 17 May 2017, featured the Blood Oath played through a Gibson CS R4 guitar into a Tone King 20th Anniversary Imperial amp, with Toaster Cables and Mulder Audio patch cables in the demo setup2.
Videos
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Questions
Is the Ground Control Audio Blood Oath a low-gain or high-gain overdrive?
It is a low to mid gain overdrive. Pedal of the Day described it as a nice, low to mid gain drive with a great sound and a nice EQ section. Delicious Audio's Living Room Gear demo also noted it has an independent pre-gain stage, essentially allowing two overdrive modes, so it can sit at the lower end of that range or push into fuller overdriven sounds.
Can the Blood Oath be used as a clean boost?
Yes. Pedal of the Day found that the Drive knob covers a wide range, from a wonderful clean boost to beef up your tone through to clear but heavy overdriven sounds. Delicious Audio likewise described it as able to act as a subtle clean boost just as much as a full blown rock machine.
Does the Blood Oath work for bass players?
Delicious Audio's Living Room Gear demo described the Blood Oath as a low to mid gain overdrive with a flexible tone control offering enough range for bass players. The pedal's dual Treble and Bass EQ section gives players broad control over how the drive sounds tonally.
Was the Blood Oath the first Ground Control Audio pedal?
Yes. Pedal of the Day, reviewing the pedal in June 2016, noted that it was Ground Control Audio's first pedal, and called it the company's flagship pedal. The Montreal-based maker went on to release the Locust discrete distortion later that year.
Sources (2)
- Ground Control Audio Blood Oath Overdrive, Pedal of the Day, 2016-06-20
- Ground Control Audio Blood Oath, Delicious Audio, 2017-05-17