The MusicBoxPedals Lyla Drive is a hand-wired overdrive pedal that covers everything from a clean boost or preamp to low and medium gain overdrive. Delicious Audio, describing the pedal on its product page in May 2021, called it "a classic styled overdrive pedal that covers everything from a clean boost/preamp to low/medium gain overdrive"1. Pedal of the Day, reviewing it the same month, described it as "a very tweakable 'transparent' overdrive"2. For a player, that puts it in the same territory as a boost pedal at one end of its range and a low-gain overdrive at the other.
A Timmy-inspired circuit by Rob Farrell
Delicious Audio states that "the circuit is loosely inspired by the universally-loved Timmy"1. The Lyla Drive is not presented as a copy: it adds its own two-band EQ and clipping options on top of that starting point. Rob Farrell of MusicBoxPedals builds each one himself, and the product page quotes him directly: "Every pedal is hand-wired, hand screen-printed and personally tested by me (Rob Farrell)"1.
Controls
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Highs | Cut control: rolls off desired high frequencies2 |
| Lows | Cut control: rolls off desired low frequencies2 |
| Clipping Toggle | Three options of clipping, described as working with any rig1 |
Both EQ knobs are cut controls rather than boost controls. As Pedal of the Day put it, "The EQ controls are 'cut' controls enabling you to roll off any desired frequencies"2. In practice that means you shape the tone by removing what you do not want, which is the usual approach in a pedal described as transparent.
Power
The Lyla Drive has no battery option: "To power the Lyla Drive you will need a power supply, and can run it at any voltage from 9volts-18volts!" according to Delicious Audio1. The 9 to 18 volt range is wider than the single 9V supply most pedals expect, so it is worth knowing what your pedalboard supply delivers before plugging in.
What reviewers said
Pedal of the Day's verdict was positive on pedalboard use: "The Lyla Drive works fantastic as a Foundational Overdrive and sits well in any spot on your pedalboard, stacking excellently with other pedals"2. That positions it as a always-on style drive that other pedals can be stacked into, rather than a standalone high-gain effect.
Videos
Pedal of the Day
gearfever
Guitar Emerge
Questions
What voltage does the MusicBoxPedals Lyla Drive run on?
According to Delicious Audio, the Lyla Drive needs a power supply rather than a battery and can run at any voltage from 9 volts to 18 volts. That range gives players some room to experiment with how the pedal responds, though the source does not list a current draw or connector polarity, so check the maker's specifications before plugging in an unfamiliar supply.
Is the Lyla Drive a Timmy clone?
Delicious Audio describes the circuit as loosely inspired by the Timmy, not a direct copy. The Lyla Drive adds its own two-band cut EQ and a three-way clipping toggle, so it takes the Timmy as a starting point and builds a more tweakable pedal around that idea.
What do the cut EQ controls on the Lyla Drive do?
Both the Highs and Lows knobs are cut controls, meaning they roll off desired frequencies rather than boosting them. That arrangement lets you remove the top end or bottom end you do not want while leaving everything else alone, which suits a pedal aimed at staying transparent.
Can the Lyla Drive work as a clean boost?
Yes. Delicious Audio describes it as covering everything from a clean boost or preamp to low and medium gain overdrive, and Pedal of the Day found it works well as a foundational overdrive that stacks with other pedals, which is much the same job a boost pedal does.
Who builds the MusicBoxPedals Lyla Drive?
Rob Farrell of MusicBoxPedals builds it. In the Delicious Audio product page he states that every pedal is hand-wired, hand screen-printed and personally tested by him.
Sources (2)
- MusicBoxPedals Lyla Drive, Delicious Audio, 2021-05-27
- MusicBoxPedals Lyla Drive, Pedal of the Day, 2021-05-27