The Killer Otter Electric Aerostat Overdrive is an overdrive pedal built around an unusual circuit for its type. Most overdrives, including the familiar Tube Screamer-style designs covered in our Overdrive Pedals guide, use an op-amp with clipping diodes. Pedal of the Day describes the Aerostat as "designed without using the op-amp design, it is a transistor-based, diode-free, organic-sounding drive"1.
Controls and the three toggle voices
The front panel carries the standard overdrive layout: Volume, Tone and Gain. What sets the Aerostat apart is a toggle switch that selects between three sonic characters, and which also shapes the low end of the circuit across the gain range1.
| Toggle position | Character |
|---|---|
| TIGHT | Jangly top-boost |
| MID | Classic rock crunch |
| FULL | Thick, fuzzy drive |
Pedal of the Day notes that "The toggle lets you control the low-end as well, shaping that portion of the circuit for finding specific drive tones"1.
How it differs from other overdrives
The reviewer's view is that the interest lies in the circuit rather than the knob layout: "It's not so much the outer controls that make the Aerostat Overdrive from Killer Otter Electric stand out amongst a sea" of screamers and klones, but what is on the inside1. Players comparing it against op-amp and diode-clipping designs, such as those in our Boss SD-1 vs Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer comparison, will find the Aerostat takes a different route to drive.
On how it behaves in use, Pedal of the Day calls it "perfect for pushing an amp into warm and creamy, natural break-up, without over-compressing the signal, or adding in too much mid-hump tone"1. The same review highlights its responsiveness: "it boasts a remarkable amount of touch-sensitivity, making it a keeper for all kinds of style of music"1. The reviewer sums it up as "A unique blue beast in a sea of similiar-sounding circuits"1.
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Questions
What do the TIGHT, MID and FULL settings do on the Aerostat Overdrive?
The three-position toggle switch selects between three sonic characters. TIGHT gives a jangly top-boost, MID gives a classic rock crunch, and FULL gives a thick, fuzzy drive. Pedal of the Day notes that the toggle also shapes the low end, letting you dial in specific drive tones across the gain spectrum.
Does the Killer Otter Aerostat use diodes or an op-amp?
No. According to Pedal of the Day, the Aerostat is designed without the op-amp design and is a transistor-based, diode-free overdrive. That inner circuit design is what the reviewer says makes it stand out among a sea of similar-sounding circuits.
Is the Aerostat Overdrive a Tube Screamer or Klon clone?
Pedal of the Day describes it as standing out amongst a sea of screamers and klones because of what is on the inside, meaning its circuit design rather than its outer controls. It is presented as an alternative to those familiar circuits, not a copy of them.
Does the Aerostat Overdrive compress the signal?
Pedal of the Day describes the Aerostat as perfect for pushing an amp into warm and creamy, natural break-up without over-compressing the signal or adding in too much mid-hump tone, so compression is not a prominent part of its character according to that review.
Sources (1)
- Killer Otter Electric Aerostat Overdrive, Pedal of the Day, 2016-11-29