The Walrus Audio Harvester is a limited edition mid-range overdrive pedal produced by Walrus Audio of Oklahoma City, USA. It is a high gain overdrive, meaning it pushes an amp into saturated, driven territory rather than the light touch of a low gain boost, and it gives the player two gain ranges to choose from plus onboard bass and treble EQ1.
What the Harvester does
The Harvester sits in the overdrive family: it adds gain and sustain to a guitar signal, from a light push to a fully saturated drive, depending on the setting. Walrus Audio positioned it as a mid-range overdrive in its lineup, and the review that documented it framed it as a high gain overdrive first1.
Its two toggle switches are the core of how it works in practice1:
- Low gain mode: the reviewer found "extreme clarity, and a nice bit of break up to really help push your chords"1
- High gain mode: "Kick on that high gain though, and be ready for some hot tone and depth to consume your amplifier"1
That pairing makes it a two-character pedal: a clean-ish boost and light break up on one setting, and a thicker, hotter drive on the other, without needing a second pedal on the board1.
Controls
The Harvester keeps its panel simple: four knobs and the gain toggles.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Drive | Sets the amount of overdrive gain |
| Level | Sets the output volume of the effect |
| Bass | Sets the bass EQ of the overdrive |
| Treble | Sets the treble EQ of the overdrive |
| Gain toggles | Select between low gain and high gain modes |
All control descriptions come from the Pedal of the Day review1.
Onboard bass and treble knobs are not a given on an overdrive, and the reviewer made a point of them: "The Bass and Treble knobs are a great addition to any overdrive, and exceed expectations." In their view, they let you dial in your perfect tone without reconfiguring your amp's EQ settings1.
Status and where it fits in Walrus Audio's lineup
The Harvester was a limited edition release, and by the date of the review in May 2015 it was already no longer listed as a current product on the maker's shop page linked in the review1. Players looking for one today would be searching the secondhand market rather than a current product page.
Walrus Audio's overdrive range has grown considerably since. The maker's current and recent overdrives include the Walrus Audio 385 and its updated 385 MKII, the Voyager Preamp/Overdrive and its MKII edition, the Ages Five-State Overdrive, the Messner, the Warhorn and the Mayflower. For a broader look at how pedals in this family work, see the site's Overdrive Pedals page.
What reviewers said
The published review on record is Pedal of the Day's write-up from 12 May 2015 by Addison K. Its verdict on the EQ section was the standout point1:
"The Bass and Treble knobs are a great addition to any overdrive, and exceed expectations"
The same review characterized the two gain modes as its defining feature: low gain for clarity and chord-pushing break up, high gain for a hot, deep drive tone1.
Videos
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Questions
Is the Walrus Audio Harvester a limited edition?
Yes. Pedal of the Day's 2015 review describes the Harvester as a limited edition mid-range overdrive pedal produced by Walrus Audio of Oklahoma City, USA. As of the review's publication in May 2015, it was no longer listed as a current product on the maker's shop page linked in the review, so it was a limited run rather than a permanent part of the lineup.
Is the Walrus Audio Harvester still available?
The Harvester was a limited edition pedal, and at the time of the May 2015 Pedal of the Day review it was already no longer listed as current on Walrus Audio's shop page. Walrus Audio's current overdrive lineup has since moved on to pedals like the 385 MKII and the Voyager MKII, so the Harvester is a pedal players would now look for secondhand rather than new.
What do the two toggle switches on the Harvester do?
The Harvester has high gain and low gain toggle switch options. The reviewer at Pedal of the Day found that with the gain option set to low you get extreme clarity and a nice bit of break up that helps push chords, while kicking on the high gain setting brings a hot tone and depth that pushes the amplifier hard.
Does the Harvester have bass and treble controls?
Yes. Alongside level and drive knobs, the Harvester features bass and treble knobs that set the low and high EQ of the overdrive. Pedal of the Day's reviewer called the Bass and Treble knobs a great addition to any overdrive that exceed expectations, letting you dial in your tone without reconfiguring amp settings.
Sources (1)
- Walrus Audio Harvester High Gain Overdrive, Pedal of the Day (www.pedal-of-the-day.com), 2015-05-12
