The Sinvertek Drive N5 is an overdrive/distortion pedal from Sinvertek, a Chinese boutique maker whose N5 line of amp-like distortion and preamp pedals has run through several generations12. The Drive N5 is an evolution of Sinvertek's original Distortion No. 5, a pedal Guitar World notes "met considerable acclaim thanks to its ability" to deliver amp-like drive1. The new version sweetens the formula with an improved dynamic response when you roll back your guitar's volume knob, and an expanded range on every control1.
The core idea across the N5 series is drive shaped like a tube amp rather than a stompbox: RockBoard's PedalPedia describes its circuits as forged "after years of research in the field of tube amp overdrive"3. The Drive N5 is the straightforward, affordable expression of that, sitting in the distortion pedals family while its bigger siblings lean toward preamp pedals.
The controls and switches
The Drive N5 puts a full amp-style control set on the box: Volume, gain, mid, treble, bass and presence knobs, plus two switches, one for midrange and one for top end1. That is a four-band tone stack with a presence control on top, which is more shaping than most compact drive pedals offer, and it is part of why Guitar World called it "super-tweakable"1.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Volume | Output level |
| Gain | Drive amount |
| Bass, Mid, Treble | Three-band tone stack |
| Presence | Upper-mid and high-frequency bite |
| Midrange switch | Three-way selector, American or British midrange voicing1 |
| Top-end switch | Adjusts the high-frequency character1 |
The midrange switch is the personality control. Guitar World describes it as a three-way selector you "can tailor to sound more American or British," shifting the gain structure between those two classic amp flavors rather than just adding or cutting a frequency band1. Between that and the top-end switch, two pedals with the same knob settings can land in noticeably different places.
How it relates to the Distortion No. 5 and the N5+
The Drive N5 is a direct evolution of the original Distortion No. 51. The family tree around it has grown considerably:
- N5 (2018, or 2019 by some accounts): the original, the format the whole series grew from2.
- N5+ and N5+ 3D (2021): the 12-control evolutions of the N5 drive, part of what Sinvertek called its Ultimate Drive System Platform 142. The N5+ packs 7 knobs, 5 toggle switches and two pressure buttons into a compact case, with an engine made up of Drive Generating Stages and a Tone Shaping Network followed by a Full Frequency EQ System4.
- N5 MGAT-1 (2022): a Marshall-focused "Hyper Preamp" designed by Mr Wu, essentially the fifth pedal in the N5 series, with Volume, Gain, Presence, Treble, Mid and Bass knobs, eight three-way toggles, and three channels labeled CRUNCH, OD1 and OD256. A later version ramped the control count from 12 to 146.
- MGAT-5 SRAA (2025): the fifth-generation N5/MGAT pedal, a "Real Amp Abstraction" of the Soldano SLO, which Sinvertek says delivers the full authentic analog/solid state amp experience23. See the Sinvertek MGAT-5 SRAA page.
Guitar World's reviewer positions the Drive N5 and the N5+ as a pair: if the Drive N5's low end is more than you want, "you might want to check out Sinvertek's new Drive N5+"1. The N5+ has already gained excellent reviews in several guitar publications, according to Delicious Audio4.
The N5 line has forked into two kinds of pedal. The Drive N5 is a conventional true bypass drive pedal; the MGAT-series pedals (MGAT-1, MGAT-5 SRAA) are dense, limited-run preamp-style units with channel switching and far more controls, sold in small batches. The MGAT-1 EVO Great Era Edition is a recent example.
What reviewers said
Guitar World's review is the main published verdict on the Drive N5 itself, and it is positive on the pedal's core promise1:
"A super-tweakable distortion pedal that offers a wide variety of drive tones and actually fulfills the promise of an extra gain channel for your amp"
That "extra gain channel for your amp" framing is the standard test for amp-like drive pedals, and the reviewer's point is that the Drive N5 passes it rather than merely gesturing at it1.
Reviews of the wider family point the same direction, with one caveat about complexity. On the MGAT-1, Guitar Pedal X's Stefan Karlsson wrote that "none really get close to the range and dynamics of the MGAT-1" when comparing compact high-gain pedals5, while also noting that "some people have been fairly negative about the jumble of controls" on the 14-control version6. The Drive N5 is the answer to exactly that criticism: the same amp-derived voicing approach, with eight controls instead of fourteen, and a midrange switch doing the work that a wall of toggles does on the bigger pedals.
Videos
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Questions
Is the Sinvertek Drive N5 true bypass?
Yes. Guitar World's review lists the Drive N5 as true bypass, so with the pedal off your signal passes through without active buffering. Sinvertek's later N5/MGAT pedals take a different, more preamp-like approach, but the Drive N5 keeps the conventional true bypass arrangement.
What power does the Sinvertek Drive N5 need?
It runs on a 9V power supply only, with input, output and power sockets on the enclosure. There is no battery option, so it needs a spot on a pedalboard power supply or a dedicated 9V adapter. Sinvertek's later SRAA N5 MGAT-5 specifies 9V DC center negative, the standard pedalboard convention.
What does the midrange switch on the Drive N5 do?
It is a three-way selector that tailors the gain structure's midrange character to sound more American or British. Rather than stacking another EQ band, it shifts the whole voicing between those two amp-style flavors, which is where much of the pedal's range of drive tones comes from.
What is the difference between the Sinvertek N5 and N5+?
The N5+ is an evolution of the well-received N5 drive, part of Sinvertek's Ultimate Drive System Platform 1. It expands the control count to 7 knobs, 5 toggle switches and two pressure buttons, with an engine made up of Drive Generating Stages, a Tone Shaping Network and a Full Frequency EQ System. Guitar World suggests it for players wary of too much bottom end.
Can the Drive N5 run on a battery?
No. The Drive N5 takes a 9V power supply only, with no battery compartment listed. You will need a 9V output on your pedalboard power supply or a standalone adapter to run it.
How much does the Sinvertek Drive N5 cost?
Guitar World's review lists it at $149 in the US, or £165 in the UK. That sits well below Sinvertek's later limited-edition N5/MGAT preamp pedals, which have ranged from around $349 to $350 plus fees and shipping.
Sources (6)
- Sinvertek Drive N5 review, Guitar World, 2020-03-31
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2025-04-21
- SRAA N5 MGAT-5 by Sinvertek, RockBoard PedalPedia, 2026
- Sinvertek N5+ Drive, Delicious Audio, 2022-07-05
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2022-11-08
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2022-08-29
