TateFX Antares Overdrive

The TateFX Antares Overdrive is a boutique overdrive pedal from the UK builder TateFX. Its designer describes it as an attempt to create "the perfect mid pushed overdrive," a pedal that emphasizes the midrange as it drives, covering what he calls "warm gain tones through to pushed mid tones."¹

For a player, that places it in the same family of midrange-forward drives as the classic Japanese designs it draws from, a territory also covered by pedals compared in Boss SD-1 vs Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer. If you are still working out what an overdrive does next to its neighbors, see Overdrive Pedals, Distortion Pedals, and Fuzz Pedals.

What it does

The Antares is a "mid-pushed" overdrive: it pushes the midrange frequencies as gain is applied, which is the character associated with the classic Japanese overdrive circuits that inspired it. Its designer says it is based on a Hi-Fi grade Burr Brown opamp, the chip at the center of the circuit.¹

The pedal's distinguishing control is the Clean blend:

The Clean control matters in practice because a mid-pushed drive tends to pull attention to the mids and can thin out the low end. Blending in clean signal lets a player keep bass frequencies and note definition underneath the drive, which is also why clean blends are common on Bass Pedals and on Preamp Pedals aimed at retaining clarity.

Build quality

TateFX specifies the same component grade across its pedals, and the Antares follows it¹:

• Hi-grade Panasonic and Wima capacitors
• 1% metal film resistors
• Heavy duty Alpha footswitches
• Premium Lumberg jacks¹

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