The Visual Sound Open Road Overdrive is an overdrive pedal built as a refinement of the company's earlier Route 808 Overdrive, which itself was a clone of the Ibanez TS-808 Tube Screamer1. It carried an MSRP of $1191.
What it does
The Open Road is a refinement of Visual Sound's earlier Route 808 Overdrive, which itself was a version of the Ibanez TS-808 Tube Screamer circuit1. Players who know the Tube Screamer family, covered in our Boss SD-1 vs Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer comparison, will recognize the territory, but Premier Guitar's reviewer came away hearing something beyond it:
"Above all else, I came away with the sense that the Open Road was more of an amp simulator than a distortion box."
The same review described "a fat, ballsy tone that doesn't shortchange the often-neglected bottom end," with a shimmering presence the reviewer likened to a tube amp on the brink of breakup1. In that reading, the Tone knob works like a tube amp's presence control and the Drive knob like a hot channel's preamp gain stage1.
Controls
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Tone | Adds sparkle to the top end when turned clockwise, without adding an overabundance of midrange1 |
| Drive | Sets the gain, described as working like a hot channel preamp gain stage1 |
The tone circuit is unusually deep for an overdrive. In Premier Guitar's Summer NAMM demo video, Joe Coffey explained that the "Open Road features a very interactive tone circuit, effecting not only high-end roll-off, but gain structure as well"2. In practice, that means turning the Tone knob changes the drive character, not just how bright the pedal sounds.
Build
The Open Road sits in the larger Visual Sound housing, which Premier Guitar's reviewer described as robust and heavy, with a substantially wider footswitch button than typical pedals, hardware the reviewer compared to mil-spec surplus1. That bigger footswitch is easier to hit accurately on a dark stage than the small buttons on many compact overdrives.
Where it sits in the Visual Sound range
The Open Road sits in Visual Sound's overdrive line as a refinement of the company's earlier Route 808 Overdrive, which was itself a clone of the Ibanez TS-808 Tube Screamer1. For more on the effect type, see Overdrive Pedals.
Videos
Sweetwater
Premier Guitar
Truetone
Questions
Is the Open Road Overdrive the same as a Tube Screamer?
It descends from one. Premier Guitar describes the Open Road as a refinement of Visual Sound's earlier Route 808 Overdrive, which itself was a version of the Ibanez TS-808 Tube Screamer circuit. Reviewers found it had moved beyond that template, hearing it as more of an amp simulator than a distortion box, with a fat tone that keeps the bottom end intact.
What does the Tone knob do on the Open Road?
According to Premier Guitar's review, the Tone knob adds sparkle to the top end when turned clockwise without piling on midrange. Visual Sound's demo at Summer NAMM '09 described a very interactive tone circuit that affects not only high-end roll-off but the gain structure as well, so it shapes the drive character, not just the treble.
Sources (2)
- Visual Sound Overdrive & Truetone Boost Review, Premier Guitar, 2009-07-22
- Visual Sound, Premier Guitar, 2009-08-28
