The Seafoam Trident Overdrive is an overdrive pedal from Seafoam Pedals that combines a 3-band equalizer with a TS-style drive. Instead of one overdrive feeding an EQ section, it runs three separate overdrive circuits, each filtered to a different frequency band: bass, mids and treble. Premier Guitar described it at its July 2018 unveiling as "a surprising combination of two very familiar pedals, a 3-band equalizer and a TS-style drive"1.
How it works
Each of the three frequency bands gets its own column of controls on the slim-sized pedal. Premier Guitar's announcement lays it out: "Each column (bass, mids, and treble) has a volume knob, drive knob and a frequency switch"1. The frequency switch lets you set which part of the spectrum that column's circuit acts on, and the Drive knob "adds crunch to one circuit set to one of the three frequency ranges," as gearnews.com's reviewer put it3.
| Control (one per band) | What it does |
|---|---|
| Volume | Sets the output level of that band's circuit; up to 15 dB of boost available12 |
| Drive | Sets the amount of crunch for that band's overdrive circuit3 |
| Frequency switch | Voices the circuit to bass, mids or treble1 |
Because the Volume, Drive and frequency voicing are all adjustable per band, the pedal works as both a drive and a tone-shaping tool. Guitar.com explains the idea: "So for each frequency band, you can dial in volume and gain to taste"2. That means you can, for example, run light gain in the bass band for low-end body while pushing the treble band harder for bite, something a single overdrive or a plain EQ pedal cannot do on its own.
The Tube Screamer connection
The circuits are TS-style, in the lineage of the Ibanez Tube Screamer. Guitar.com states plainly that each column "controls an individual TS circuit, which is pegged to either bass, middle or treble frequencies"2. gearnews.com's reviewer agreed: "As far as I am aware the overdrive circuits are based on a TS (Tube Screamer) overdrive, which you normally associate wi"3. But the Trident is not a Tube Screamer clone. Guitar.com notes that the design, "while based on the Tube Screamer, is nothing at all like the classic unit"2, since the classic pedal processes the whole signal while the Trident splits the work across three filtered circuits.
Sound
Premier Guitar's press material describes the character this way: "the Trident's smooth tube-like gain introduces a special depth and texture to each frequency band"1. Guitar.com characterizes the range as classic TS-flavored overdrive sitting between clean and thick distortion1. As with any drive, how that lands in your rig depends on where you set each band's Drive and Volume.
Price and availability
The Trident Overdrive carries a street price of $2501, a figure Guitar.com matches: "The Trident Overdrive retails for $250"2. At launch it could be "purchased directly from the Seafoam Pedals online store at www.seafoampedals.com"1. The pedal was announced as a new release in July 20182.
The Trident was announced in July 2018, and the published reports date from that release. Availability and current pricing may have changed since then.
Videos
Pete Thorn
Premier Guitar
Seafoam Pedals
Questions
Is the Seafoam Trident Overdrive true bypass?
Yes. Premier Guitar's press release describes the Trident as having a soft-touch true bypass switch, so the pedal is out of the signal path when it is off. True bypass means the pedal does not buffer or color your tone when disengaged, which matters on larger pedalboards with long cable runs.
What circuit is the Seafoam Trident based on?
The Trident uses three individual Tube Screamer-style overdrive circuits, one for each frequency band. Guitar.com notes that while the design is based on the Tube Screamer, it is nothing at all like the classic unit in practice, because each circuit is filtered to bass, middle or treble frequencies and blended with the others.
How much boost does the Trident's Volume control give?
Guitar.com reports that adding more volume yields up to 15 dB of boost via the Volume control. Since each of the three bands has its own Volume knob, you can also use that headroom to push one frequency range louder than the others rather than boosting the whole signal.
How much does the Seafoam Trident Overdrive cost?
The Trident Overdrive carries a street price of $250, according to Premier Guitar's July 2018 announcement, which Guitar.com's report the next day matches with a $250 retail price.
Where can you buy the Seafoam Trident Overdrive?
At launch, Premier Guitar reported that the Trident could be purchased directly from the Seafoam Pedals online store at www.seafoampedals.com. The pedal was announced as a new release in July 2018, so current availability may differ.
Sources (3)
- Seafoam Pedals Unveils the Trident Overdrive, Premier Guitar, 2018-07-09
- Seafoam’s new pedal mashes up a Tube Screamer and EQ, Guitar.com, 2018-07-10
- Seafoam Pedals Trident Overdrive: A new take on the drive/EQ pedal?, gearnews.com, 2018-07-10
