Olinthus Cicada

The Olinthus Cicada is an analog overdrive pedal based on the Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer, built into an open-sided, hinged green anodized aluminum chassis measuring 30 by 45 by 22mm and weighing 30g, about 1.1oz¹². It was the first pedal from the new brand Olinthus, designed by Charles Etienne and Ethan Tufts, and launched on 14 November 2024³¹. Olinthus and several outlets describe it as the smallest fully functional effects pedal in production⁴⁵⁶.

RockBoard's PedalPedia says the Cicada "faithfully recreates the sought-after sounds of the original Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer and shoehorns them into the smallest effects pedal on the planet"⁵. Pedal of the Day describes the result as "a thick and tubelike overdrive sound" in a package nearly as small as a 9-volt battery². The US price at launch was $99⁷.

A TS808-style overdrive the size of an insect

The Cicada copies the TS808's circuit approach: a single-stage soft-clipping overdrive with filtering before and after the gain stage, the same topology that made the original Tube Screamer a standard²¹⁰. Pedal of the Day found that "the original dynamics of your signal are preserved, even as gain is increased," and praised the ranges of the Tone and Drive controls².

The size is the story. Guitar World describes it as "roughly the size of its namesake insect, meaning it can fit snugly in the palm of your hand"⁷, and MusicRadar called it "the world's smallest stompbox" at launch³. The open-sided chassis leaves the PCB visible inside⁹, and Guitar Pedal X notes that this construction means it is "not up to the rigours of live playback or touring"⁴.

The designers say the enclosure can withstand pressure of up to 250lbs, but they also advise that it is not specifically a stompbox design and needs to be operated gently¹. Premier Guitar pointed out the practical side of mounting something this small: "you can stick a little adhesive to the back, tape, Velcro, bubblegum, etc., and affix the Cicada to almost anything"⁸.

The controls and the hinged enclosure switch

The control set is the classic Tube Screamer trio, in miniature. Guitar.com's reviewer described "three teeny tiny knobs controlling the classic level, drive and tone"⁹.

There is no conventional footswitch. The whole metal enclosure acts as the switch: it has no sides and is hinged at the top, so pressing the entire pedal down engages or bypasses it⁹. Premier Guitar noted this raises a placement question on a board, since the enclosure itself is the bypass tap⁸. Guitar.com reported the switch has been tested to withstand up to 250 pounds of force⁹.

Power and connections: one TRRS jack

Everything runs through one top-mounted TRRS combination jack: input, output and power all arrive on a single connector, split out by the supplied three-way breakout cable¹⁹.

• Input: High impedance (500 kΩ) 1/4″ mono, via the included TRRS breakout cable¹
• Output: Low impedance (1 kΩ) 1/4″ mono, via the included TRRS breakout cable¹
• Power socket: 2.1mm, on the breakout cable¹
• Supply: 9V DC center negative, minimum 50mA, not included¹¹⁰

What reviewers said

Reviews were mixed but generally positive on the sound, with the size dividing opinion on practicality.

Premier Guitar's reviewer found it "sounds really good and more than legit" and that it "opens up real practical possibilities," while remaining unsure it solves a pressing engineering problem⁸. The same review found a clear use case in travel: "small size and light weight on this order are a big deal. Flying with gear is stupid expensive," and suggested that for players who prefer analog over modeling, "this micro-analog middle path could be a sensible" choice⁸. On sound, the reviewer reported "soulful blues smoke" with a Fender combo and Stratocaster, "dynamite, raunchy, and rich Mick Taylorisms" with the same amp and an SG, and that "it even does the Iommi stomp pretty well at high gain"⁸.

Guitar Pedal X's Stefan Karlsson, writing in a year-end roundup, called it "an OK sounding Screamer," part novelty and part engineering marvel, fun to own but not a workhorse stompbox⁴. In a later piece he noted the Cicada was on his board for a few months "but used very sparingly," and felt it was "a little short on volume"¹¹¹². Another reviewer found it sounded "incredible" and was the smallest effects unit they had ever seen⁶⁸, while a third judged it "more than legit" and a sensible middle path for players who want small size and light weight for flying, though he was unsure it solved a pressing engineering problem⁸.

Premier Guitar also observed the Cicada suits a particular kind of player: "All this assumes you roll with very small and very few additional effects. But if you can survive on overdrive alone," it makes sense⁸.

Where it came from and where to buy it

Olinthus debuted with the Cicada in November 2024, a $99 Tube Screamer-style overdrive available exclusively via Reverb at launch³¹. Guitar Pedal X reported it available both direct from the Olinthus Webstore and through their Reverb.com store¹, and Guitar.com noted it was Olinthus' first product, sold in collaboration with Reverb, still listed at $99 in April 2025⁹. The brand has since followed the Cicada with other tiny pedals in the same format, including the Earwig fuzz and the Pillbug FET compressor¹¹¹².

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