The Pedal Monsters White Lightning Overdrive is an overdrive pedal, reviewed by Pedal of the Day in June 2015 as the new-and-improved version two of the design. Its circuit is emulated after the old Supro amps, and in this version the maker ran the internal amps up to 18v, which the reviewer said gives a ton of headroom to work with1. It sits in the wider family of overdrive pedals, and its voltage control pushes it toward territory players usually associate with distortion pedals and even fuzz pedals.
Controls
The three main controls are unlabeled, as are all of Pedal Monsters' pedals, so the layout has to be learned by position1.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Gain | Main gain control, described as big and beefy with a big load of gain on tap1 |
| Tone | Sets the amount of low or high end you need in a flash1 |
| Level | Output level, with plenty of volume on tap1 |
| Bright red knob (unlabeled) | Output voltage adjust control, ranging from 1v to 18v1 |
The voltage knob
The bright red knob is the feature the review centers on. Because the pedal is emulated after the old Supro amps, the voltage control lets you get a sweet sag sound, which leads to some very interesting distorted tones, almost fuzzy in some cases1. The reviewer judged the design a strong idea:
"when you come up with a function like the voltage adjustment knob on this White Lightning Overdrive, you're sure to have more tricks up your sleeve for the future"
Videos
Pedal Monsters
Pedal Monsters
Pedal of the Day
Questions
Are the knobs on the White Lightning labeled?
No. The three main controls are unlabeled, and Pedal of the Day's reviewer noted that all of Pedal Monsters' pedals leave their controls unlabeled. Players need to learn the layout by position: gain, tone and level, plus the bright red voltage knob that stands out on its own.
What does the red knob on the White Lightning do?
The bright red knob is an output voltage adjust control, ranging from 1v to 18v. Turning it down produces a sweet sag sound, and the reviewer called it a unique function that gives the maker more tricks for the future.
Which amps is the White Lightning modeled on?
Pedal of the Day's review describes the pedal as emulated after the old Supro amps, and the voltage control is tied to that design, letting players get a sag sound similar to pushing those amps.
Can the White Lightning sound fuzzy?
Yes, at the extremes. The reviewer found that the voltage control's sag sound leads to very interesting distorted tones, almost fuzzy in some cases, on top of the pedal's big load of gain.
Sources (1)
- Pedal Monsters White Lightning Overdrive, Pedal of the Day (pedal-of-the-day.com), 2015-06-10
