The Vanilla Sundae Rocky Road iSCREAM is an overdrive pedal voiced after the classic, early drives of the 1970s and 1980s. It is built on a dual op-amp circuit with a mid bump, and its defining feature is a soft clipping section that can be switched entirely out of the circuit, turning the pedal into a clean-ish boost. The pedal is hand made in Boise, Idaho.1
Sound and circuit
Vanilla Sundae describes the iSCREAM as having a mid bump but keeping a warm and thick tone that other similar pedals lack. In the maker's words quoted by Delicious Audio: "While it does have a good mid-range presence, it does not sound thin, shill, or 'honky'. It has a thicker sound."1
The circuit is the general classic dual op-amp design from the 1970s and 1980s rather than a copy of one pedal. As Paolo De Gregorio of Delicious Audio quotes the maker: "This isn't based on any particular pedal from this era, we just took the general classic dual op-amp circuit from this time." That puts it in the same broad family as the op-amp drives of that period, though it is not a clone of any one of them.1
The Lift/Clip toggle
The iSCREAM's signature control is a toggle switch labeled Lift/Clip. The pedal carries an asymmetrical "soft" clipping section, and the toggle adds or removes that section from the circuit1:
- Clip (clipping engaged): conventional overdrive with plenty of boost on tap1
- Lift (clipping removed): the clipping diodes are lifted out of the circuit, producing a lot more boost1
With the clipping section disabled, Vanilla Sundae says the boost available will slam the front end of any tube amp, which makes the Lift position usable as a straight boost into a cranked amp.1
Power
The iSCREAM runs on a standard 9 volt battery or a 9 to 18 volt negative center DC adapter, and draws 10mA. That low draw means any standard isolated power supply output can run it, and the battery option makes it easy to drop onto a small board.1
The adapter polarity is negative center, the same standard as most modern pedals, so a regular 9V DC negative center supply works. The pedal also accepts up to 18 volts per the maker's product page.1
A note on the name
RockBoard's pedal encyclopedia lists a Danelectro Rocky Road (DJ-20), a 9V DC center negative pedal. Despite the shared "Rocky Road" name, that is a different product by a different maker and is not related to the Vanilla Sundae iSCREAM.2
Videos
Delicious Audio
Questions
Does the Rocky Road iSCREAM take a battery?
Yes. Vanilla Sundae says the iSCREAM runs on a standard 9 volt battery, or on a 9 to 18 volt negative center DC adapter. With a 10mA current draw, a standard pedalboard power supply output should handle it without trouble.
Is the iSCREAM based on a specific pedal?
No. Delicious Audio quotes the maker as saying the pedal is not based on any particular pedal from the era. Instead, Vanilla Sundae took the general classic dual op-amp circuit of the 1970s and 1980s and voiced it after the early drives of that period.
What does the toggle switch do on the Rocky Road iSCREAM?
The Lift/Clip toggle adds or removes the pedal's asymmetrical soft clipping section from the circuit. With clipping engaged you get a conventional overdrive; lift it out and the pedal produces a lot more boost, enough that Vanilla Sundae says it will slam the front end of any tube amp.
Where is the Vanilla Sundae Rocky Road iSCREAM made?
The pedal is hand made in Boise, Idaho, using what the maker describes as the highest quality components. Vanilla Sundae builds its pedals there; the company's Red Velvet overdrive/distortion was also described as Boise made in a 2022 review.
Is the iSCREAM negative center?
Yes. The iSCREAM uses a negative center DC adapter, per the maker's product page. The related Danelectro Rocky Road DJ-20 is also listed as 9V DC center negative, but the two are different pedals from different makers.
Sources (2)
- New Pedal: Vanilla Sundae Rocky Road ISCREAM Drive, Delicious Audio, 2022-05-26
- Rocky Road (DJ-20) by Danelectro, RockBoard (rockboard.de), 2026
