Oneder Effects Old Blue Overdrive

The Old Blue Overdrive is a low to medium gain overdrive pedal built by hand in Michigan, USA by Oneder Effects. Released in 2022 at $179¹, it was designed by the maker for his own board first: he wanted a low to medium gain overdrive that could get a lot gainier, more saturated, and thicker in a pinch². The pedal quickly became a best-seller for the company and, in the maker's words, "a mainstay on pedalboards all over the world"³.

The original V1 is now sold out and discontinued, and the pedal continues as the V2 with updated circuitry²⁴. There is also a special Anberlin edition built on the V2 circuit.

What it does: low gain boost to saturated overdrive

Oneder Effects describes the pedal's range as "low gain boost, mid-gain overdrive, or saturated high gain sounds, Old Blue does it all, and does it well"³. Delicious Audio likewise characterizes it as a low to medium gain overdrive⁵. In practice that means it works at three jobs: as a clean-ish boost in front of an amp, as a mid-gain drive for rhythm playing, and as a thicker, more saturated drive when the gain control is pushed.

The maker's own use says something about how flexible that range is. He keeps the pedal on his board as an always-on low gain drive, and he has also used it on bass in the studio².

Guitar Pedal X's reviewer, Stefan Karlsson, found the dynamics a strong point, noting "superb dynamics and a wide variety of tones via guitar volume knob cleanup, similar to the Blues Driver"⁶. That means rolling back the guitar's volume knob cleans up the drive, the way many players use a Blues Driver.

The controls

The control set is the same in outline across versions: Level, Drive (gain), a treble control called Range, a pre-gain thickness control called Weight, and a clipping toggle¹⁶.

⁶⁴

The clipping toggle is where the two versions differ most. On V1, the maker describes it as "less/more, smooth/open, or vintage/modern voicing to really help Old Blue play nice with your specific pickups and genres"². Guitar Pedal X breaks it down the same way: the "+" position is more high gain and textured, the "-" position smoother and subtler¹. The reviewer adds that the "-" vintage voicing suits the subtler end of Blues Breaker style tones with the thickness control rolled back⁶.

V2 keeps the familiar PLUS setting (more open, gainy, bright) and MINUS (compressed, smooth), and adds a third position labeled V2 that the maker describes as sitting between the original two sounds and being the most "amp-like" of the three⁴. On both versions, the maker notes that clipping tonal changes are most noticeable at higher gain settings⁴.

The weight knob also grew up in V2. On V1 it was a very subtle, fine-tunable control, most noticeable at higher gain settings, adding girth². On V2 it has a much more noticeable sweep: below noon it now cuts low end, which the maker says lets the pedal get more transparent for stacking pedals, using thicker pickups, or boosting a high gain amp. From noon to max, the thick V1 sounds are still there³⁴.

Not a Bluesbreaker, not a Blues Driver

Because of the name and the blue sparkle finish, players often assume the Old Blue is a clone of the Marshall Bluesbreaker or the Boss BD-2 Blues Driver. It is not. Oneder Effects states it directly: "this pedal isn't based on a Bluesbreaker or a Blues Driver"². Guitar Pedal X's reviewer confirms it: "The Old Blue is very specifically NOT based on either the Blues Driver or that Blues Breaker for that matter"¹.

What the maker did set out to do was cover the territory of both. He wanted a low to medium gain overdrive that could get gainier, more saturated, and thicker in a pinch, and says that to his ears it covers the ground both pedals occupy². Karlsson's take on the comparison: the pedal does not have exactly the same texture as the Blues Driver, and its default texture is "probably a little closer overall to the core Breaker tone, but very much its own thing overall texture"⁶.

Versions and editions

• V1: Discontinued and sold out. True bypass with softer-click switching, top mounted jacks, 9V DC center negative power only, built by hand in Michigan².
• V2: Current version with updated circuitry, the new V2 clipping position, the upgraded weight contour, clickless relay bypass, and updated artwork by Jesse Augustine. Regular price £153.00⁴.
• Anberlin edition: A special edition V2 made with Anberlin to celebrate 20 years of their album "Never Take Friendship Personal." It has artwork familiar to fans, a Stone Sparkle finish, and top mounted high quality Neutrik jacks. The maker calls it "The Emo Pedal" and "Your Nashville session pedal"³.

When the original was current, it shipped in two colourways: a Sparkly Blue Edition with white graphics and a Sparkly Black Edition with blue graphics, both at $179⁶.

Where it came from

The maker built the original overdrive for himself before adding it to the Oneder Effects line². The circuit boards were designed by Tim at Bardic Audio Devices, who also helped Nick with the circuit arrangement⁶. Guitar Pedal X's reviewer owns one himself, alongside the Onedebolt distortion, and counts both among the Oneder pedals he loves⁷.

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