Harby Pedals Wasabi Overdrive

The Harby Pedals Wasabi Overdrive is an overdrive pedal built as a recreation of the 1986 Ibanez TS10 Tube Screamer. Pedal of the Day's reviewer described it as "a faithful recreation of the legendary 1986 Ibanez TS10 [Tube Screamer]" with an audio signal path true to the original, and said it delivers "the iconic, smooth overdrive that has defined countless guitar sounds"¹. It is made in the United States and aims to keep the TS10's sound available in a modern pedal.

The TS10 it is based on sits in Ibanez's Power Series 10 line. TONEHOME's page on the TS10 Tube Screamer Classic describes that pedal's purpose plainly: "It provides the sound of an overdriven tube amp"². For a player, that means the Wasabi is a midrange-focused, touch-responsive overdrive in the Tube Screamer tradition rather than a high-gain distortion or fuzz.

A Tube Screamer built on the TS10 circuit

The TS10 is not the most famous Tube Screamer, but it has a following among players who want that family's sound in its Power Series form. Pedal of the Day made the same point about another TS10-based pedal, the Berserker Electronics Autopilot TS10 Overdrive: "Though this particular tube screamer model might not be the most recognized, after checking out this pedal, it might just become your favorite"³. The Wasabi targets the same circuit from a different maker.

Under the hood, the TS10 is a close relative of the better-known TS808. The technical analysis at Guitar FX Layouts, written by mirosol, puts it simply: "Based on GGG's mods, all we have to do is build a TS808 but replace three parts to make it a TS10"⁴. So a TS10 recreation like the Wasabi carries the core Tube Screamer design, with the small part differences that set the TS10 apart from the TS808.

Harby's component choices are part of the pitch. The Wasabi uses a genuine Japan Radio Company JRC4558 op-amp, the chip associated with vintage Tube Screamer circuits, and its board is finished with electroless nickel immersion gold (ENIG), a plating process Harby uses for corrosion resistance and reliable connections¹. The enclosure is anodized and the knobs are milled from a solid block of aluminum¹.

Pedal of the Day summed up the pedal's character in the maker's terms¹⁵:

Power and connections

The Wasabi runs on a standard pedal power setup: 9V DC through a center negative 2.1mm input¹. That matches the common daisy-chain and isolated power supplies most pedalboards already use. The input and output jacks are genuine Neutrik 1/4" (6.35mm) types, mounted on the top of the enclosure rather than the sides, which saves horizontal space on a board¹. Switching is true bypass with a soft-touch foot switch, so the bypassed signal does not pass through the pedal's circuitry¹.

Not the Danelectro Wasabi

The name invites confusion with the Danelectro Wasabi Overdrive, an entirely different pedal from an entirely different maker. MusicRadar reviewed the Danelectro as "a budget distortion pedal from Danelectro" and "a decent overdrive pedal that packs a kick for soloing," with build quality the reviewer called "decent"⁶. The Danelectro Wasabi line also included a distortion, a delay, and the Wasabi Rock-a-Bye, which Josh Scott of JHS Pedals described as "a combination of tape delay and two-knob overdrive"⁷. JHS's write-up of the line notes the Wasabi Forward-Reverse Delay "basically combines the circuits from the Danelectro Dan Echo and Back Talk Reverse Delay"⁸.

On JHS's YouTube demo of the lost Danelectro line, Scott also remarked on the series' physical character: "And they're really heavy. They're a little obnoxious"⁷. The Danelectro AO1 Overdrive in that line carried level, tone and EQ select controls plus a drive control, and ran on 9 volts⁷.

None of that describes the Harby pedal. The Harby Wasabi Overdrive is a US-built TS10 recreation with a JRC4558 op-amp¹; the Danelectro Wasabi pedals are a discontinued budget line from Danelectro⁶⁷. The shared name is coincidence.

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The Harby Wasabi Overdrive is its own product, unrelated to Danelectro's Wasabi line beyond the shared name. It is built around a genuine Japan Radio Company JRC4558 op-amp, with top mounted Neutrik 1/4" input and output jacks, an anodized enclosure, and knobs milled from a solid block of aluminum¹.

What reviewers said

Published coverage of the Harby Wasabi Overdrive is positive. Pedal of the Day called it "a wonderful pedal that makes a big nod to the classic and unique TS10 sound, keeping it alive and affordable"¹. The same outlet returned to the Wasabi in later coverage, writing that "ever since we got to check out the Harby Wasabi Overdrive a few weeks back, I couldn't wait to dig into another pedal" from the maker⁵.

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