The Old Blood Noise Excess V2 is a modulated distortion pedal from Old Blood Noise Endeavors, the Oklahoma company whose original Excess put distortion, chorus and delay in one box back in 201712. V2 keeps the same three ingredients, distortion, modulation and delay, in a more compact enclosure, and adds modern touches like independent switching and routing options32.
The maker describes it as a distortion paired with delay, chorus, or harmonized fifths, "inspired by the greatest sounds of the 80s"1. MusicRadar's Jonathan Horsley framed the range of the drive side plainly: "You can run it as a low-gain overdrive pedal or dime it for saturated, hard-clipping distortion."2
A distortion and a modulator in one pedal
The Excess V2 is two pedals in one enclosure: a distortion section and a modulation section, each with its own controls and its own footswitch13. The modulation side offers three modes, Delay, Chorus and Fifth, chosen with a three-way toggle12.
The concept goes back to the original Excess, which gearnews described in 2017 as "a cool-sounding Distortion Chorus/Delay effect" with true-bypass switching and modulation parameters controllable via an optional external expression pedal4. V2 carries the same distortion, modulation and delay into a smaller box2.
The controls: distortion, modulation and routing
Each section has its own row of knobs. The maker's product page lists the full control set1:
| Control | Section | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Gain | Distortion | Sets the drive amount, from light overdrive up |
| Tone | Distortion | Shapes the distortion's character |
| Dist Vol | Distortion | Sets the distortion section's output level |
| Time | Modulation | Adjusts the modulation in each mode |
| Depth | Modulation | Sets modulation depth |
| Mod Vol | Modulation | Sets the modulation section's output level |
Delicious Audio describes the distortion section as covering "light overdrive through fuzzy distortion" with control over Gain, Tone and Volume, and notes it can produce several dBs of extra volume compared to V13. The three modulation modes, Chorus, Delay and Fifth, each get the same Time, Depth and Volume controls35.
Two toggles shape the pedal's behavior:
- A modulation mode toggle selects Delay, Chorus or Fifth1.
- A routing toggle sets the effect order: Distortion into Modulation, Modulation into Distortion, or both effects in parallel1.
Series and parallel routing
The routing toggle is where the Excess V2 gets flexible. Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio explains the two behaviors132:
"In Series mode, the Distortion effect flows into the Modulation effect, stacking their sound and volumes."
"In Parallel mode, the two effects are summed to a single output, resulting in a clear modulation with a distorted layer underneath, cleanly separated."
In practice, series routing behaves like a conventional pedalboard order, drive into time-based effects, while parallel keeps each effect clean and lets you blend them at their own volume controls. The original Excess had the same idea in simpler form: MusicRadar noted in 2017 that its series/parallel switch "allows the distortion to flow directly into the modulation, or sum the two to a single" output6.
Switching, bypass and expression
V2 has separate footswitches for the distortion and modulation channels, so either half can be on or off independently3. The maker specifies soft-touch bypass footswitches for true bypass and minimal switch noise, and Delicious Audio describes true relay bypass for each section13.
There is also an expression jack to externally control Rate, Depth, or both1. MusicRadar highlighted this at launch: "there's an expression pedal input so you can control Rate and Depth parameters on the fly"2. The original Excess likewise allowed its modulation parameters to be controlled with an optional external expression pedal4.
Power
The Excess V2 requires a 9V DC center negative 2.1mm power supply capable of 125mA, and the supply is not included1. Delicious Audio gives the same requirement as "at least 125mA 9VDC center negative"3, so plan on a dedicated spot on a powered pedalboard rather than a shared low-current output.
From the original Excess to V2
The original Excess launched in 2017 as one example of Old Blood Noise Endeavors' approach to combining effects2. It had an on/off footswitch plus a second footswitch to switch between delay and chorus on the modulation side, and volume controls for both the distortion and modulation36.
V2, announced in February 2022, is an updated version of that pedal7. The differences, as the press reported them:
| Excess (V1) | Excess V2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Enclosure | Original size | Roughly half the size, slimmer and more pedalboard-friendly37 |
| Footswitches | On/off plus a delay/chorus switch | Separate footswitches for distortion and modulation3 |
| Modulation modes | Delay and chorus, with a hidden fifth mode | Delay, Chorus and a selectable harmonized Fifth mode3 |
| Routing | Series/parallel switch | Toggle for order reversal or parallel16 |
| Distortion volume | V1 level | Several dBs of extra volume3 |
Guitar World reported the V2 available now at $209 at launch in February 20227; the maker's current list price is $219.001. Delicious Audio summed up the update as taking the '80s-flavored pink modulated distortion pedal and shrinking the case to half the size3.
The Excess V2 sits in a maker's range that also includes drive pedals like the Fault overdrive/distortion and the triple-tracker Beam Splitter, but the Excess remains the company's combined distortion-and-modulation box8.
Videos
Old Blood Noise Endeavors
Old Blood Noise Endeavors
The Pedal Zone
Questions
Is the Old Blood Noise Excess V2 true bypass?
Yes. The maker specifies soft-touch bypass footswitches for true bypass and minimal switch noise, and Delicious Audio describes true relay bypass for each section. Each of the two sections, distortion and modulation, has its own footswitch, so either can be switched independently.
Can I use the distortion and modulation on the Excess V2 separately?
Yes. V2 has separate footswitches for the distortion and modulation channels, so you can run one without the other. A routing toggle sets the order: distortion into modulation, modulation into distortion, or both effects in parallel.
What does the Fifth mode on the Excess V2 do?
Fifth is a harmonized fifth mode in the modulation channel, selected with the same three-way toggle as delay and chorus. According to Delicious Audio, this mode was present but hidden in the original Excess, and V2 makes it selectable on the front panel.
Does the Excess V2 have an expression pedal input?
Yes. The maker lists an expression jack that externally controls Rate, Depth, or both, and MusicRadar notes it lets you change those modulation parameters on the fly while playing.
What is the difference between Excess V1 and V2?
V2 is a smaller-case update of the original 2017 Excess, roughly half the size and more pedalboard-friendly. It adds separate footswitches for each section, a selectable harmonized fifth mode, and a distortion section with several dBs of extra volume compared to V1.
Sources (8)
- Old Blood Noise Endeavors, Old Blood Noise Endeavors
- Old Blood Noise Endeavors upgrades the Excess V2 Distorting Modulator with more controls and a smaller enclosure, MusicRadar, 2022-02-04
- Old Blood Noise Excess V2 Distortion + Modulation, Delicious Audio, 2023-07-19
- Is Old Blood Noise Endeavors' Excess the most flexible guitar pedal out there?, gearnews.com, 2017-11-18
- The new Excess V2 from Old Blood Noise Endeavors does more than distort and modulate, gearnews.com, 2022-02-03
- Old Blood Noise Endeavors unites high-gain distortion, chorus and delay for Excess pedal, MusicRadar, 2017-11-29
- Old Blood Noise Endeavors downsizes and updates its combination distortion/delay/chorus Excess pedal, Guitar World, 2022-02-03
- Updated Pedal: Old Blood Noise Beam Splitter V2 Stereo Distortion, Delicious Audio, 2026-08-11
