Silktone Amps overdrive+

The Silktone Overdrive+ is an overdrive pedal from Silktone, an American boutique amp maker, and it is the brand's first drive pedal¹. Guitar Pedal X calls it a "universal full-range dynamic overdrive"², meaning it is voiced to work across the whole frequency range rather than cutting bass or honing in on one midrange band the way many classic overdrives do. The enclosure shares the high-end aesthetics of Silktone's amp lineup³.

What sets it apart from most overdrives at this price is the control set: alongside the usual three knobs there is a bass cut switch, a clipping mode toggle, and a second footswitch that engages a boost section⁴. guitar.com's reviewer found it delivers "a superbly midrange-rich amp-like tonality" with "tons of available output level and a stratospherically wide yet usable gain range"¹.

A full-range overdrive with an amp-like voice

The Overdrive+ covers a wide spread of drive sounds. Set low with soft symmetrical clipping, guitar.com's Ed Oleszko found it "perfect as an always-on sweetening pedal," while turning up the gain and switching to asymmetrical clipping revealed "a raw cooking tweed amp-like [overdrive] with plenty" of tight attack and excellent string separation¹. He concluded that "it's no mere clone, it has its own unique voice and wonderfully responsive amp-like feel"¹.

Premier Guitar's reviewer went further on versatility, writing that the design "covers miles of sonic territory and gives you the power to effectively turn a single-channel amp into a three-channel wonder"⁴. For players who run a simple amp and want one pedal to cover clean-ish edge, crunch and lead, that is the use case the reviewers point to.

The boost section has its own character. In strangle mode, Premier Guitar found "you get a pile of harmonics that (depending on your amp setup) generates rich, controllable, and musical feedback"⁴. guitar.com described the boost as "tonally rich in second-order harmonics with sustain for weeks," with a strangle-mode midrange that sits almost like a treble booster, suited to a lead boost¹.

The controls: knobs, mini switches and two footswitches

The control setup is built around three standard knobs plus a set of switches and two footswitches⁴⁶.

The boost footswitch is a non-independent lead gain boost, meaning it adds gain on top of whatever the main circuit is doing rather than acting as a separate clean boost¹. GuitarPlayer notes it carries its own filter-mode switch and status light, and is "intended to add further gain to the signal while enhancing second-order harmonic distortion"⁶.

Inside the circuit: JFETs, op-amps and diodes

According to designer Charles Henry, the Overdrive+ is an original circuit that uses a collection of JFETs, op-amps, and diodes to create a wide variety of drive sounds⁴. Pedal of the Day and Delicious Audio describe the same topology: a combination of JFETs, op-amps and a few diodes, with all clipping handled by the JFETs or the diodes⁷⁵.

The op-amp's role is worth noting for anyone who stacks drives. Pedal of the Day explains that the op-amp is used for gain and buffering and is raised to around 30 volts so it never clips, even when another pedal is stacked in front of it⁷. Delicious Audio frames the result as "a pedal with, literally, infinite headroom, even when fed very high levels, thanks to its 30v buffering dealt by the op-amp"⁵. In practice, that means you can put a hot pedal or a loud boost ahead of it without the input stage itself adding unwanted distortion.

Clipping modes and stacking

The clipping toggle is where much of the pedal's range lives. GuitarPlayer describes it as "a clipping mode switch to select between Asymmetrical (left) and Symmetrical (right)"⁶.

• Symmetrical: akin to the clipping scheme used in an Ibanez Tube Screamer, among others; described as smoother⁴
• Asymmetrical: in the fashion of a Boss SD-1; described as more natural and textured⁴

The comparison is a familiar one for players who know the Boss SD-1 vs Ibanez TS9 divide: symmetrical clipping rounds the wave evenly for a smoother voice, while asymmetrical clipping lets one half of the waveform behave differently, adding even-order content for a more open, textured feel. On the Overdrive+ you get both in one pedal, switchable on the fly⁸⁷⁴.

Combined with the high-headroom op-amp front end, the pedal is built to stack. The 30-volt buffering means the input will not fold when another boost or drive pedal feeds it hard⁷⁵, and the bass cut switch lets you tighten the low end when it sits later in a chain of distortion or fuzz pedals.

What reviewers said

The published reviews were positive across the board, with a consistent theme: this is not a clone of anything⁶¹.

GuitarPlayer's Dave Hunter wrote that "the circuit and features are different from any previous OD I know of, and the results put this pedal in a place all its" own⁶. On value, guitar.com's reviewer took the view that "The price may be steep, but a versatile overdrive is an investment and you get a lot of scope for your money here"¹.

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