The Revv Tilt Shawn Tubbs Overdrive is a dual-sided pedal from Revv Amplification, pairing a footswitchable overdrive with a footswitchable boost in one box1. It was designed with Nashville session guitarist Shawn Tubbs, whose name it carries as Revv's first signature pedal, and it was also the Canadian company's first dual-sided effect2. The drive side is a medium gain, amp-voiced circuit that aims to mimic a vintage amplifier, while the boost side carries the pedal's namesake Tilt EQ, a single knob that shifts your whole frequency balance brighter or darker2.
Revv announced the pedal around NAMM 2022, and it was available in late May 2022, priced at £259 in the UK2. Development took about a year, and Tubbs describes the drive side as based on "the sound that was in my head," combining the best single channel valve amps he has played2.
Who is Shawn Tubbs?
Shawn Tubbs is a Nashville session guitarist with a strong following as a gear reviewer on YouTube. MusicRadar called him a "Nashville session ace and YouTube tone-lord," adding that "when Nashville session ace and YouTube tone-lord Shawn Tubbs puts his name to something, you know it's worth hearing"4. Guitar World's Paul Riario described him as a session guitarist extraordinaire and influencer who "stumbled into something good when he partnered with Revv Amp"1.
Tubbs's own description of what he wanted from the pedal comes from years of work5:
"I've been on so many different gigs that I know exactly what I need to perform. Cutting through the mix with the right mids, great feel that cleans up with your hands & the volume knob, a killer boost to kick in & just make everything sound better"5
That session-player brief, midrange that cuts, cleanup from the guitar's volume knob, and a boost for solos, is the through-line of the pedal's design52.
Controls and the two sides
The pedal is laid out as two sections. The drive side carries Gain, Volume, Bass and Treble controls, a straightforward 2-band EQ25. The boost side, which feeds into the drive, has a boost level control and the TILTEQ knob that does the tonal shaping23.
| Side | Control | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Overdrive | Gain | Sets the amount of drive, medium gain at the top |
| Overdrive | Volume | Sets the output level of the drive side |
| Overdrive | Bass | Low-end cut or boost on the drive side |
| Overdrive | Treble | High-end cut or boost on the drive side |
| Boost | Boost level | Sets how hard the boost pushes into the drive side |
| Boost | TILTEQ | Tilt EQ: fully left is bright, clockwise adds lows and cuts high end |
| Boost | Tight switch | Three-way selector: Half, Normal, Full |
The Tilt EQ
The Tilt EQ is the boost side's tone control, and it works on a see-saw principle rather than as separate bass and treble knobs. Set all the way to the left, it is quite bright; as it is turned clockwise it adds lows while cutting high end3. Revv describes the Tilt Boost as letting players "shift the frequency behaviour in one direction," toward a cleaner sound or toward more bass and less high end5.
The Tight switch and half tilt mode
The three-way Tight selector offers Half, Normal and Full settings2. Full is the most amount of low end, with Normal and Half cutting it back from there. On That Pedal Show, Mick Taylor described the Half setting in use: "we're also on the half tilt mode but it's not it's tilted back a little bit cutting a bit of bass"6. MusicRadar notes the Tight switch exists to remove boomier low frequencies as required, depending on how the Tilt EQ is set2, and Guitar.com calls it ideal for players fond of heavily distorted guitar sounds5.
Because the boost feeds into the drive side, the Tilt EQ and Tight switch shape the signal before it hits the overdrive, not after. Where you set them changes how the drive itself responds, not just the final tone.
How it compares in Revv's range
The Tilt stands apart from Revv's better-known high gain pedals like the Revv G2 as a medium gain, vintage-amp-voiced design rather than a modern metal circuit25. Performer Mag's Chris Devine summed up its character simply: "It's a medium gain drive pedal with a boost"3. It was Revv's first signature pedal and first dual-sided pedal5, followed later by other signature collaborations such as the Revv Dirt Dog with Joey Landreth and the AI-assisted Revv ChatBreaker.
What reviewers said
Performer Mag's review was positive across the board, listing as pros: "Clear, refined, articulate, reactive to playing, great drive tones, plenty of tweakability," with no cons listed3.
That Pedal Show covered the Tilt in a 2023 episode comparing do-it-all overdrives7. In that demo, Mick Taylor found one thing to watch: the pedal's presence is strong enough that it can be hard to dial back just a little, something he noted as unique to its gain structure.
"there's a presence to the Tilt then I find it really hard to um it's either all the way up and it's too much"6
Mick Taylor and Dan Steinhardt also noted something unique in the pedal's gain structure, with Taylor describing the presence and gain structure as distinctive features of the design6.
In their demo, That Pedal Show ran the Tilt in half tilt mode and explored how the Tilt EQ and Tight switch interact with the drive side, showing the range from bright and cutting to thicker and darker voicings6.
Videos
Pete Thorn
Shawn Tubbs
Rabea Massaad
Questions
What does half tilt mode do on the Revv Tilt?
Half tilt is one of three settings on the Tight selector, alongside Normal and Full. It tilts the voicing back a little and cuts a bit of bass, so the pedal sounds leaner in the low end. Full gives the most low end, with Normal and Half cutting it back from there.
Who designed the Revv Tilt overdrive?
The Tilt Overdrive is a collaboration between Shawn Tubbs and Revv Amplification. Tubbs is a Nashville session guitarist, and the drive side was built around the sound he had in his head, combining the best single channel valve amps he has played. Development took about a year.
Where are the jacks on the Revv Tilt?
The input and output jacks are mounted on the top of the pedal rather than the sides. Top-mounted jacks let you place pedals closer together on a board, since patch cables run vertically instead of sticking out sideways.
Is the Revv Tilt a Tubbs signature pedal?
Yes. The Shawn Tubbs Tilt Overdrive is Revv's first signature pedal, and the company's first dual-sided effect pedal, pairing a footswitchable overdrive with a footswitchable boost. It was announced around NAMM 2022 and shipped in late May 2022.
Who is Shawn Tubbs?
Shawn Tubbs is a Nashville session guitarist and YouTube gear personality. MusicRadar described him as a Nashville session ace and YouTube tone-lord, and Guitar World called him a session guitarist extraordinaire and influencer. He partnered with Revv Amplification on the Tilt Overdrive.
What does the Tilt EQ do on the Revv Tilt Overdrive?
The Tilt EQ shapes the boost side of the pedal with a single knob. Fully counterclockwise it is quite bright; turning it clockwise adds lows while cutting high end. It shifts the frequency balance in one direction, toward a cleaner, brighter sound or toward more bass and less treble.
Sources (7)
- Revv Amplification Tilt Boost review, Guitar World, 2024-02-28
- Players' player Shawn Tubbs now has a signature REVV Tilt overdrive pedal, MusicRadar, 2022-05-19
- REVIEW: Revv Shawn Tubbs Tilt Overdrive Pedal, Performer Mag (performermag.com), 2023-02-14
- The essential new stompboxes of 2022, MusicRadar, 2022-06-07
- NAMM 2022: Revv Amps Introduces its first signature series pedal, the vintage-sounding Shawn Tubbs Tilt Overdrive, Guitar.com, 2022-05-20
- The Ultimate Do-It-All Overdrive? Poly Flat V, Kernom Ridge, CB Automatone Preamp MkII, That Pedal Show (YouTube), 2023-03-10
- The Ultimate Do-It-All Overdrive? Poly Flat V, Kernom Ridge, CB Automatone Preamp MkII, That Pedal Show, 2023-03-10
Shawn Tubbs
