The Truetone Custom Shop Overdrive is a low-gain overdrive pedal from the Custom Shop arm of Truetone, the company known to older players as Visual Sound. Truetone describes it as "a low-gain, dynamic overdrive that pushes an amplifier over the edge with honesty and character", and positions its sound against the usual overdrive clichés: "Not a mid-scooped shimmer box or a compressed tube emulator, a pedal that sounds like a great amp being played at the right volume."1
The Custom Shop Overdrive is no longer in current production. Truetone lists it under "Custom Shop · Archive" on its site, so units in circulation come from the original limited run.1
What it does to your sound
This sits at the gentle end of the drive spectrum, in the territory covered by overdrive pedals that work with an amp that is already close to breaking up rather than replacing the amp's distortion. Truetone's own framing is that the pedal behaves like an amplifier at the right volume: dynamic, responsive to picking, and honest about what the guitar and amp are doing. That places it apart from mid-humped Tube Screamer-style drives, a comparison explored in Boss SD-1 vs Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer.1
The maker's own words carry the character of the pedal better than a paraphrase:
"Not a mid-scooped shimmer box or a compressed tube emulator, a pedal that sounds like a great amp being played at the right volume."
Limited production, individually numbered
The Custom Shop line is Truetone's small-batch arm, and this pedal was sold as "Limited Production · Individually Numbered", with the maker stating plainly that "Every unit individually numbered."1 That puts it in company with other makers' custom-shop programs:
| Maker | Custom Shop pedal | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Truetone | Custom Shop Overdrive | Overdrive, limited production, individually numbered1 |
| Fulltone | Custom Shop OCD (Red) | Overdrive3 |
| Beetronics | Overhive Mid-Gain OD Custom Shop OV1451 | Custom Shop unit of the Overhive, serial OV14514 |
| Beetronics | Overhive Custom Shop Ouija | Custom Shop unit of the Overhive5 |
Where it came from
Buying one today
Because the pedal is archived and was a limited run, availability depends on the secondhand market. Two practical points from the maker's page1:
- Shipping was USA only, with shipping and taxes calculated at checkout.1
- Each unit carries its own number, which is worth checking when comparing units offered secondhand.1
Videos
Truetone
Truetone
Tommi Kujala
Questions
Is the Truetone Custom Shop Overdrive still made?
No. Truetone lists the Custom Shop Overdrive in its Archive, meaning it is no longer in current production. The pedal was a limited-production run with every unit individually numbered, so units in circulation are the ones that were made during the run. Players looking for current Truetone drives can look at the company's standard overdrive line instead.
Is every Truetone Custom Shop Overdrive numbered?
Yes. Truetone's product page states that every unit is individually numbered, and the pedal was sold as a Limited Production, Individually Numbered release. That numbering is part of what separates the Custom Shop line from the company's standard production pedals.
Does the Truetone Custom Shop Overdrive ship outside the USA?
No. Truetone's product page notes USA only for shipping and taxes, so the Custom Shop Overdrive was sold for delivery within the United States. Players elsewhere would have needed a US-based address or a reseller to obtain one.
Is the Truetone Custom Shop Overdrive a low-gain pedal?
Yes. Truetone describes it as a low-gain, dynamic overdrive that pushes an amplifier over the edge with honesty and character. In the maker's words it is not a mid-scooped shimmer box or a compressed tube emulator, but a pedal that sounds like a great amp being played at the right volume.
Sources (5)
- Custom Shop Overdrive, Truetone, 2026
- Truetone: Visual Sound's New Name & Jekyll & Hyde V3, premierguitar.com, 2015-03-30
- Custom Shop OCD (Red) by Fulltone, RockBoard (PedalPedia), 2026
- Overhive Mid-Gain OD Custom Shop OV1451, Beetronics
- Overhive, Beetronics
