Rawkworks Light Overdrive

The Rawkworks Light Overdrive is an overdrive pedal from Rawkworks, reviewed by Pedal of the Day in its V1 version in May 2014. Pedal of the Day described it plainly: "This here is a Klone from Rawkworks," meaning it follows the circuit approach of the Klon, the overdrive design that many builders have based their own pedals on¹. For a player, that places it in the broad family of overdrive pedals built around that circuit lineage.

What it does

As a Klone-style overdrive, the Light Overdrive is built for the kind of clean-to-dirty gain staging that circuit is known for. Pedal of the Day highlighted one control in particular: "The volume knob has the ability to push your amp to natural overdrive with its large amount of headroom." In practice, that means the pedal's output can be used as a clean boost into a cranked amp, letting the amp's own distortion do the work rather than the pedal's clipping¹.

The pedal's distinguishing feature sits inside the enclosure. "Inside there are two internal dip switches that offers different clipping options," according to Pedal of the Day. Opening the pedal up and flipping those switches changes the clipping arrangement, giving the player different flavors of drive from the same box¹.

Versions

What reviewers said

Pedal of the Day's write-up was submitted by Alex, and the reviewer's verdict on the pedal's looks was short and positive: "Graphics are killer. Enough said!"¹

Related pedals

The Klon-derived design space is crowded, and other builders have taken the same starting point in different directions. The EarthQuaker Devices White Light, for example, is based on vintage overdrives that defined the sounds of classic hard rock, according to Guitar FX Layouts², and it was later reissued in the White Light Legacy Reissue series. The Inspiring Devices Light Roast Overdrive is another overdrive covered by Pedal of the Day, described there as that maker's flagship effect³.

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