The J. Rockett Audio Designs Guthrie Trapp Overdrive is a signature overdrive pedal built for session guitarist Guthrie Trapp, part of the maker's Signature series of overdrives designed with session players. Guitar.com's reviewer Chris Vinnicombe described it as "a simple yet highly versatile proposition", designed to work with a wide variety of amplifiers1. It sits in the overdrive camp alongside the maker's other drives such as the Archer and the Tim Pierce Overdrive/Boost.
Where the circuit comes from
The Trapp OD is not a from-scratch design. Guitar.com reports that it is based on JRAD's now-discontinued Chicken Soup pedal, which was itself modeled after the Nobels ODR-1, a pedal the review calls "a Nashville favourite"1. For a player, that lineage points to a low-to-mid-gain overdrive with roots in the Nashville session scene, wrapped in a signature model carrying Trapp's name.
Controls
The pedal keeps things to three knobs1:
| Control | What the review lists |
|---|---|
| Level | Output level |
| Accent | Tone-shaping control listed by the reviewer |
| Gain | Amount of overdrive |
How it compares to the Archer
The clearest picture of the Trapp OD's character comes from Guitar.com's side-by-side impression within the JRAD range. Vinnicombe wrote: "Compared to the Archer, the Trapp OD sits much closer to the Tube Screamer camp, with more compression and tonnes of sustain"1. Players weighing it against the Archer or newer Archer Select should read that as two different drive characters from the same maker: the Trapp OD leaning toward the compressed, sustaining Tube Screamer style, a family also covered in Boss SD-1 vs Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer.
Size and price
Guitar.com lists the enclosure at 75mm wide, 120mm deep and 42mm high, a compact footprint for a pedalboard1. The review's listed price was £189 at the time of publication in 20151.
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Questions
What is the J. Rockett Chicken Soup pedal?
The Chicken Soup was a J. Rockett Audio Designs overdrive that is now discontinued. According to Guitar.com's review, the Guthrie Trapp Overdrive is based on the Chicken Soup circuit, which itself was modelled after the Nobels ODR-1, a pedal the review describes as a Nashville favourite. In other words, the Trapp OD carries the Chicken Soup's circuit forward under a signature-model name.
How big is the J. Rockett Guthrie Trapp Overdrive?
Guitar.com lists the pedal's dimensions as 75mm wide, 120mm deep and 42mm high. That is a compact, single-footswitch enclosure in line with a standard overdrive pedal, so it fits a crowded pedalboard without taking up much more room than a typical compact box.
How does the Guthrie Trapp Overdrive compare to the J. Rockett Archer?
Reviewer Chris Vinnicombe of Guitar.com found that, compared to the Archer, the Trapp OD sits much closer to the Tube Screamer camp, with more compression and, in his words, tonnes of sustain. The Archer is a different flavour of drive within the same maker's range, so the two pedals suit players looking for different compression and sustain characters.
What does the Accent knob do?
The Accent is one of the pedal's three controls, alongside Level and Gain. The available review material lists it as a control but does not describe its effect in detail, so its exact function is best confirmed by ear or from the maker's own documentation.
Sources (1)
- J Rockett Audio Designs Pedal Reviews, guitar.com, 2015-07-14
Guthrie Trapp
