Tech 21 Richie Kotzen Signature OMG

The Tech 21 Richie Kotzen Signature OMG is an all-analog distortion pedal built in collaboration with Richie Kotzen, the guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer formerly of Poison and Mr Big¹. Tech 21 says it was "not simply a pedal with his name slapped on it" but "an intense collaborative effort"². Its slightly asymmetrical distortion emulates single power tube Class A amplifiers, with a tighter, quicker and snappier response designed to articulate every nuance of Kotzen's playing style².

The same OMG overdrive also appears as the distortion section of Kotzen's signature RK5 Fly Rig multi-effects unit, where it sits alongside an all-analog SansAmp, delay and reverb³⁴. This page covers the standalone pedal.

What it does

The OMG is a dual-footswitch pedal: the left-hand switch operates the distortion, while the right one brings in up to 28dB of boost, set via a knob¹. Tech 21 describes the character of the distortion as Class A, single power tube emulation, with a slightly asymmetrical clipping design². MusicRadar's reviewer Trevor Curwen calls it "an all-analogue distortion pedal" and notes that the EQ knobs do a great job of matching the sound to complement your amp¹.

The Drive control is highly interactive with the guitar's output level: Tech 21 says it cleans up when the guitar's volume is decreased and increases distortion when it is raised, similar to pushing the output section of a tube amp².

The controls: Tone, Girth, Drive and Boost

MusicRadar's review adds player detail on the two EQ knobs: Tone offers a flat setting when fully clockwise, and you can wind it back to tone down the high end, while Girth is an active midrange control with a null setting at the 12 o'clock point¹.

The Boost kicks in up to 28dB of pre-amp gain when the OMG is engaged, activated via its own footswitch and usable independently from the effect as a clean boost². MusicRadar confirms the same 28dB figure¹.

Power and connections

The pedal runs on a 9V alkaline battery, which is not included, or on an optional DC power supply, Tech 21 Model #DC4-A². Connection is straightforward: a 1/4-inch high-impedance input and a 1/4-inch low-impedance output, with metal footswitches and jacks and silent-switching custom footswitch actuators².

Richie Kotzen's signature version

The OMG overdrive began life inside the Richie Kotzen RK5 Signature Fly Rig, a multi-effects fly rig introduced in 2014 with an overdrive section tuned per Kotzen's specs, employing a Class-A-style distortion⁴. Vintage Guitar reported at the time that the RK5 otherwise offered the same features as the company's Fly Rig 5⁴. In Pete Thorn's demo of the RK5 on his YouTube channel, he notes that Kotzen tweaked the distortion section himself, spending time getting his distortion sound, and that the OMG section carries level, tone and drive controls plus a separate boost that can be turned on and off independently to kick the front end of the drive section⁵.

In the RK5 Fly Rig, the Boost within the OMG section kicks in up to 21dB of pre-amp gain, less than the standalone pedal's 28dB, and can be used independently to boost the SansAmp section³¹. The 2019 RK5 V2 update added a Fuzz mode to the OMG overdrive and installed a chromatic tuner⁶.

The standalone OMG pedal, by contrast, is a compact 3.75" x 4.75" x 2.0" box weighing 12 oz., compared with the Fly Rig's 11.5" length²³. Kotzen himself primarily uses his RK5 live in conjunction with his standard amp rig³.

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