Hamstead Soundworks Subspace Drive

The Hamstead Soundworks Subspace is an all-analog EQ and drive pedal, a low-frequency re-voicing of the company's Odyssey Overdrive, designed and built in Great Britain by Peter Hamstead¹. Where the Odyssey covers the full drive range from transparent overdrive through to saturated fuzz², the Subspace keeps that do-it-all drive role but re-tools the low-end response so bass-heavier frequencies stay in the mix, and adds a parallel blend control for mixing overdriven and clean signals³.

Hamstead describes the pedal's range as running from mid-boosted drive through warm vintage valve style overdrive, defined high gain distortion and glitchy oversaturated fuzz¹. Press coverage frames it as a variation of the Odyssey optimized for low frequencies: still at home in the guitar realm, shining on baritone guitar, but also working well with bass⁴.

A low-frequency take on the Odyssey Overdrive

The Odyssey was Hamstead Soundworks' debut gain pedal⁶, an overdrive pedal that the maker's earlier coverage described as covering "transparent overdrive through to saturated fuzz"². Pedal of the Day called the Odyssey Intergalactic Driver "a boost, tone shaper, overdrive, distortion and fuzz and more all rolled into one"⁷, and the Subspace was built as a variation of that Odyssey Overdrive optimized for low frequencies⁷⁴.

The Subspace arrived as a later evolution of that circuit. Guitar Pedal X describes it as "essentially a later 2019 evolution of the Odyssey - with added Parallel Dry Function / Control - and wi[th] specially enhanced Low End Response," making it "a more bass-forward overdrive with a profile and control particularly well-suited to bass players, but al[so]" to guitarists who like the bassier side of the instrument⁸. MusicRadar's review puts it plainly:

Delicious Audio's profile sums up the journey the pedal takes: "You'll be taken on a journey from clean boost with tone shaping, to warm vintage valve style overdrive, through to defin[ed high gain distortion and glitchy oversaturated fuzz]"⁴.

The Subspace GE limited edition

The Subspace Drive's re-voiced circuit takes the player on a journey of sounds, from clean boost with tone shaping, to warm vintage valve style overdrive, through to defined distortion and glitchy oversaturated fuzz, with a parallel dry control for blending clean and driven signals⁴. Three EQ knobs, Tone, Bass and Treble, allow for plenty of sculpting possibilities⁴.

The controls

The pedal sports six knobs and three three-way toggle switches⁴:

The three toggles divide the work:

• Left toggle (Clipping, C1/C2/C3): selects between three clipping circuits⁴. Guitar World's NAMM 2020 coverage describes these as symmetrical, asymmetrical and multiple clipping circuits, "giving the user everything from heavily processed to fully transparent drive sounds"⁹. MusicRadar notes the C1 position offers symmetrical clipping for classic drives³.
• Center toggle (EQ, PR/EQ/PO): routes the EQ pre or post the drive section, or bypasses it entirely⁴.
• Right toggle (Gain Multiplier, x1/x2/x5): an input gain multiplier, with three switchable options for increasing amounts of input gain, up to five-fold⁴¹⁰.

There is no dedicated mids control, but MusicRadar points out that "if you set your EQ to arrive before the drive circuit the bass and treble controls can b[e used to enhance the midrange]"³. On the rear of the enclosure there is also a pad switch that cuts input gain by -10dB, useful with a high-level instrument such as an active bass³.

The OptoKick footswitch

The Subspace is engaged and bypassed with its footswitch, and its control complement centers on shaping the driven and blended signal. Three EQ knobs, Tone, Bass and Treble, allow for plenty of sculpting possibilities, alongside the parallel dry control for dialing in a mix of overdriven and clean signals⁴.

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