The Lorena Overdrive is an overdrive pedal from Ohmless Pedals, a builder based in Germany. Pedal of the Day described it as "a powerful but simple 3-knob drive pedal" when they reviewed it in December 20141.
Controls
The Lorena keeps things to three knobs: Volume, Tone and Drive1.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Volume | Sets the pedal's output level1 |
| Tone | Shapes the high end; rolling off highs leaves what the reviewer called a stunning low-end beef, not muddy or sludgy1 |
| Drive | Sets gain, with what the reviewer described as a big range, from an excellent cleanish boost up to a warm and crunchy mid-gain tone1 |
The internal 9V to 18V conversion is worth knowing about as a player: it gives the circuit more headroom than a straight 9V feed, which is one reason a mid-gain overdrive can stay clean at low Drive settings1.
Power and bypass
The Lorena runs from a standard 9V negative center DC input and draws 15mA at 9V DC, a modest draw that most pedalboard power supplies can handle alongside other pedals1. It has no battery support, so a DC supply is the only option1.
The Lorena has no battery support, so plan on a 9V DC center negative supply. A setup switch inside the pedal selects between true bypass and high quality buffered bypass1.
The selectable bypass is unusual at this price of complexity: on a small board with short cables, true bypass keeps the chain untouched when the pedal is off; on a larger rig, the buffer can help keep the signal intact over long cable runs.
What reviewers said
Pedal of the Day's Mike B reviewed the Lorena in December 2014 and came away positive on both the sound and the looks, describing "a tame but stunning sea green enclosure with wicked-cool graphics"1. On the tone itself:
"Everything seems to be in the right sonic place with the Lorena Drive, all the sounds coming out sound smooth and powerful, as they should."
He summed the character up as "Crunchy and warm, smooth and buttery, loud but not overbearing"1. The Drive knob's low end of its range, a cleanish boost, puts the Lorena in boost territory, while its upper range reaches a warm mid-gain crunch rather than the higher-gain territory of a distortion or fuzz pedal1.
Videos
OhmlessPedals
Curtis Kent
PetrolLimiter
Questions
Does the Ohmless Lorena Overdrive take a battery?
No. The Lorena Overdrive has no battery support, so it runs only from a DC power supply. It uses a standard 9V negative center DC input and draws 15mA at 9V DC, which means it will run happily from most pedalboard power supplies without needing a high-current output.
Is the Ohmless Lorena true bypass or buffered?
Both, depending on how you set it up. The Lorena has a setup switch inside the pedal that lets you choose between true bypass and a high quality buffered bypass. That makes it possible to match the pedal to the rest of your board, for example using the buffer on a large rig with long cable runs.
How much current does the Lorena draw?
The Lorena Overdrive draws 15mA at 9V DC, according to Pedal of the Day's review. That is a modest current draw by modern pedal standards, so it should not strain a typical daisy-chained or isolated power supply.
Who makes the Lorena Overdrive?
The Lorena Overdrive is made by Ohmless Pedals, a builder based in Germany. Pedal of the Day reviewed the pedal in December 2014, describing it as a powerful but simple three-knob drive pedal.
Sources (1)
- Ohmless Pedals Lorena Overdrive, Pedal of the Day, 2014-12-10