Origin Effects M-EQ DRIVER

The Origin Effects M-EQ DRIVER is a mid booster and overdrive pedal based on a vintage Pultec studio EQ. It is an analog, transformer-equipped circuit that recreates the sonic footprint of the original studio hardware, packaged as a compact guitar pedal¹². Where most overdrives shape your tone with a simple tone knob, the M-EQ DRIVER borrows the mid boost and high frequency attenuation bands of the Pultec design, so you can push a specific midrange frequency into focus, warm up the top end, or drive the valve-like output stage into what Origin Effects describes as fierce "cocked wah" distortion³.

With the EQ controls not engaged, the pedal can provide a transparent clean boost and a range of valve-like drive from just breaking up to mild crunch, according to Guitar World's review⁴. It is designed and built in England³.

The controls

The pedal carries Level and Drive knobs alongside the EQ section, plus two switches and a bypass footswitch⁴.

The three mid frequencies are the heart of the pedal. Origin Effects kept the old "Kilocycle" terminology from the original studio hardware, so the switch reads 0.8, 1.0 and 1.3 KCS (kilocycles per second, the old name for kilohertz)³. Guitar World's reviewer Trevor Curwen found each frequency pushes the tone in a different way:

• 0.8 kc/s: a more aggressive roar, close to the resonant sound of a cocked wah if you really push it⁴
• 1.0 kc/s: adds a nice throatiness⁴
• 1.3 kc/s: less throaty, more of a sparkly enhancement that increases presence and clarity⁴

The Cut knob can work separately or in tandem with the mid boost, and Curwen found it great for smoothly warming up the sound or taking out unwanted sizzle or ice-picky harshness⁴.

The Adapt switch

With Adapt engaged, the high-end roll-off of the Cut control is reduced as the pedal cleans up, allowing a smooth transition from warm overdrive to bright clean tones in response to playing dynamics or your guitar's volume knob³². Delicious Audio describes the behavior the other way round too: when the switch is off, the Cut knob's effect is static; when engaged, the circuit responds dynamically to your performance and slightly opens the filter⁷. Guitar World summed it up as going from smooth drive to bright clean with volume knob transition⁴.

Power and connections

The M-EQ DRIVER runs on 9V DC from a 2.1 mm center-negative supply and draws 80 mA³. There is no battery option: the pedal is powered by a mains adaptor only, which is not included³. Connections are a standard 1/4" input, a standard 1/4" output, and the power socket⁴⁵.

The bypass is buffered rather than true bypass, and GuitarPlayer's reviewer Dave Hunter noted the input impedance is ultra-high to interact well with a wide range of guitar pickups⁸. The pedal is housed in a brushed stainless-steel enclosure, with the center-negative adaptor jack sitting between the input and output on the front of the box⁸.

History and design

Origin Effects launched the M-EQ DRIVER in November 2022. Announcing it, the company described a harmonically rich, transformer-equipped circuit recreating the sonic footprint of the original Pultec EQ, reimagined as a guitar-oriented, compact pedal². Guitar World's launch coverage framed it as a version of the most useful parts of the Pultec for guitar players, packaged in a compact pedal⁹. The launch price was $319 in the US and £259 in the UK⁶.

The pedal continues the Origin Effects tradition of vintage, studio-inspired tones in modern guitar pedals⁷. Compared with the company's Halcyon Green Overdrive, Origin Effects says the M-EQ Driver has a very different clipping style, much more like vintage amp overdrive and not at all like a typical drive pedal, and that with the Mids control all the way down its response is a lot flatter, letting subtle settings do the studio trick of just making everything sound better and more interesting¹⁰.

Dave Catching has used Origin Effects pedals since the company first started producing them, and the M-EQ DRIVER is on the pedalboard he uses live and in the studio¹¹.

What reviewers said

GuitarPlayer's Dave Hunter awarded the pedal an Editors' Pick, describing it as a sweetly articulate, rich and dynamic low-gain overdrive that enhances tone in marvelous ways⁸. He found it sounded equally good doing a near-unity-gain "clean-ish" boost, mild drive or going all-out, and described it as a very dynamic pedal that works with pick attack and the guitar's volume control to deliver touch sensitivity⁸. His criticisms were mild: the pedal initially depletes gain until you get the knobs up toward noon, something he says you can easily learn to work with, and the drive level usually felt enough for rock leads and power-chord work rather than heavily saturated styles⁸.

Guitar World's review listed the price at $319 / £239⁴. Origin Effects' own product page currently shows the pedal as Coming Soon, priced at £215.83 ex VAT³.

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