Tech 21 Double Drive 3X

The Tech 21 Double Drive 3X is a distortion pedal with an unusual brief: instead of modeling a preamp, it is designed to capture the power amp distortion of tube amplifiers. Tech 21 describes it as a "unique pedal design [that] captures the lush, muscular power amp distortions of both Class A and Class A/B tube amps." It does this with two Drive channels, Drive A and Drive A/B, that feed into each other, and a Level control that can also work as a clean boost of up to 10dB.¹

A related version, the Tech 21 Double Drive 3X Private Stock MOD, revoices the same circuit for harder styles. Tech 21 also builds other distortion and character pedals around its own circuit designs, including the Tech 21 Blonde, the U.S. Metal and the Hot-Rod Plexi¹²³.

How the two Drive channels work

The core of the pedal is the pairing of Drive A and Drive A/B. Drive A produces a "Class A" style distortion, which Premier Guitar describes as rich in even harmonics, while Drive A/B produces a "Class A/B" distortion rich in odd harmonics, the harmonic signatures of the two most common tube power amp designs.²

The two stages are not simply summed. Tech 21 explains that the signal path of Drive A runs into the signal path of Drive A/B, which "results in an electronic multiplication, rather than addition, of the amount of distortion for a cascading effect." In practice, running both channels together builds distortion faster than blending two independent drives would.¹

The Level control has a second job. Tech 21 says it is "capable of extremely high output, up to 10dB (even in clean setting)," and describes it as useful as a pre-boost for additional gain out of your amp without altering its tonal characteristics. With both Drives at minimum, the company says you can program a clean boost up to 10dB for blazing solos.¹ That makes the pedal usable as a boost into a driven amp as well as a standalone distortion pedal.

Connections and power

The pedal keeps its connections simple, and its power draw is very light¹.

• Input: 1/4-inch, 1 megohm high impedance, the same as traditional tube amps use¹
• Output: 1/4-inch, 1kOhm low impedance, which Tech 21 says drives long cables without loss of signal integrity²
• Battery: standard 9V alkaline, not included¹
• Power supply: optional Tech 21 Model #DC4-A¹
• Current draw: approximately 5mA¹

At around 5mA, the Double Drive 3X is among the lightest pedals on a board for power, and a 9V battery is a practical option. Tech 21 names its own Model #DC4-A as the optional supply¹².

The Private Stock MOD version

Tech 21 runs a Private Stock division for limited deluxe versions of its pedals, through which it has also released deluxe versions of pedals such as the Blonde from the SansAmp Character Series.⁴ The Double Drive 3X went through the same program: Premier Guitar reported in October 2011 that the pedal "has undergone a Private Stock MOD to feature more aggressive tones, a tighter low end, and a wider Level taper."²

Tech 21's own page on the MOD version puts the change in player terms: "It has been revoiced for more aggressive hard rock and metal tones rather than classic, bluesy-style tones."¹ The MOD also keeps the clean boost option, with one channel reservable for a clean boost of up to 10dB via the Level control by setting both Drives at minimum.²

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