Pettyjohn Electronics PettyDrive

The Pettyjohn Electronics PettyDrive is a studio-grade, dual-channel analog overdrive pedal, made in the USA by Pettyjohn Electronics¹. Its two fully independent channels, named Iron and Chime, are uniquely voiced to complement each other, and each can be used on its own or stacked together for more gain²³. Guitar World's reviewer described it as a pedal "engineered to deliver the powerful tone and dynamic feel of boutique tube amps pushed to the edge of breakup"³.

The PettyDrive was also designed to work as part of a drive system, integrating with the always-on Pettyjohn PreDrive in front of it. According to the maker, it can handle large amounts of pre-boost while retaining feel and articulation⁴.

Two independent overdrive channels

The two channels are voiced for different jobs. Channel One, called Chime, was designed more as a boost or lower-gain drive, and it has a Tilt EQ knob that acts as a tone control¹. Channel Two, called Iron, carries more power and crunch for that boutique drive sound; its tone control is a High Cut that tames the treble frequencies coming from your guitar's pickups¹. Premier Guitar's reviewer later described the Iron channel as "a medium-gain type drive that derives much of its extra heat from the selectable LED and MOSFET clipping sections"⁵.

Each channel has its own footswitch near the bottom of the pedal, so you can switch them independently or run both at once¹. The maker describes the two circuits as fully independent and stackable².

The Clean Mix on Channel Two lets you combine your clean and dirty signals, from 50% of each all the way up to 100% full-on overdrive¹. The Deluxe version's spec sheet describes this as a Clean Mix knob for enhanced feel and dynamics².

The parallel effects loop

The Iron channel features a parallel effects loop. Pedal of the Day's reviewer explained that it "lets you bypass the overdrive and run other effects clean, plus you have to control to blend the other effects in with the drive"¹. Guitar World's reviewer called it an innovative feature that provides unlimited new combinations with other pedals³. The top knob on the pedal is the mix control for this loop, and it only works with the Iron channel⁵.

In practice, this means you can put another pedal, such as a delay or a fuzz, into the loop and blend its processed signal with the Iron channel's overdrive rather than stacking it in series, where each effect feeds the next³¹².

Standard and Deluxe versions

The PettyDrive shipped in two versions. The Standard version relies on the famed JRC 4558 chips, the opamp family associated with classic overdrive circuits⁴. The Deluxe adds a professional studio-grade discrete opamp input buffer chip, and its bypass is described as internal true-bypass switching with an always-on studio-grade input buffer for zero-loss bypassed tone². Both versions run on the same power spec: 9V to 15V DC, center negative, at 100 mA¹².

Guitar World listed the prices in its 2015 review as $317 for the Standard and $399 for the Deluxe³.

Why the knobs are not labeled

One thing that surprises every new owner: none of the PettyDrive's controls are labeled. Pedal of the Day's reviewer noted that "the PettyDrive's controls are a mystery at first glance, as none of them are labeled"¹. Each channel has gain, level and tone controls, plus the clipping and low cut toggles, and the top knob is the effects loop mix control⁵. Once you learn the layout, the controls are straightforward, but it is a pedal that rewards reading a review or the manual before your first session with it.

What reviewers said

Reviews were largely positive, with one recurring criticism. Pedal of the Day's Mike B wrote that Pettyjohn was "continuing in the tradition of innovative and exquisitely built pedals" and that the PettyDrive is "destined to become a classic," praising its tank-like housing built to last for years¹. Premier Guitar's reviewer found "thoughtful design and execution. Top-flight quality. Rock solid. Well-matched drive channels. Endless tone permutations," while also noting the price and the absence of labels on a complex control array⁵.

That criticism of the control layout carried through to later generations of the pedal, as the quote above from a 2025 review of the third-generation PettyDrive shows⁶.

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