The Winford Drive is an overdrive and distortion pedal from XAct Tone Solutions, a Nashville company that builds gear for session and touring players. Its defining trait, according to the maker, is touch sensitivity: rather than simply cleaning up when you roll back the guitar's volume, the pedal translates small changes in playing dynamics into what XAct Tone calls "a huge palette of tones"1. The company describes its range as going "from light overdrive on country stages, to big wooly distortion on the hardest rocking gigs"2.
What it does to your sound
The Winford Drive sits in the overdrive and distortion family, covering a wide gain range from a single circuit. On the RockBoard PedalPedia entry, the Gain knob is described as covering "tones from very light overdrive to monstrous distortion"4. XAct Tone's own framing is similar: the pedal "adapts to nearly every situation," from country-friendly light overdrive to heavy distortion2.
The touch-sensitive response is the pedal's headline feature. XAct Tone states that "the Winford goes beyond cleaning up simply by rolling back on your guitar's volume. Small changes in playing dynamics are translated immediately to a huge palette of tones"1. In practice, that means the pedal is meant to track how hard you pick and where your guitar's volume knob sits, rather than acting as a fixed gain stage.
Guitar Interactive Magazine's Jonathan Graham, covering the launch, described it as "a flexible pedal that has it covered for just about any OD tone needed, from light grit to crushing grunge," and noted that it offers "access to a huge variety of distorted tones via its simple, but powerful controls"5.
Controls and power
The pedal keeps its control layout simple, with the Gain knob as the primary tone-shaping control4. Power and connections are standard for a pedalboard pedal:
- Power: 9 VDC via a 5.5 x 2.1mm plug, center negative1
- Bypass: True bypass1
The Winford Drive runs on 9 VDC with a center-negative 5.5 x 2.1mm plug, the standard format for most pedalboard power supplies1.
Where it came from
XAct Tone Solutions announced the Winford Drive on May 27, 2015, describing it as "one of the most versatile guitar effect" pedals in its press release carried by Premier Guitar3. The same announcement marked the launch of the company's new website for direct sales, and the pedal was made available "directly online or through dealers worldwide"5.
The name has a local origin: according to Guitar Interactive Magazine, the pedal is "Named for the Nashville street where XAct Tone solves the sonic problems of the world's top session and touring musicians"5. The company lists the pedal as made in the USA1.
Availability
The Winford Drive was priced at $249.00 USD on the maker's product page1.
Videos
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Questions
Is the Xact Tone Winford Drive true bypass?
Yes. XAct Tone Solutions lists the Winford Drive as true bypass, meaning the pedal's circuit is removed from the signal path entirely when it is switched off, so your guitar's signal reaches the rest of the board unaltered.
What power supply does the Winford Drive need?
The Winford Drive runs on 9 VDC through a 5.5 x 2.1mm plug with center negative polarity, the standard pedalboard supply format. It has no battery option mentioned, so plan a dedicated output on your power supply.
Where does the Winford Drive name come from?
According to Guitar Interactive Magazine's coverage of the launch, the pedal is named for the Nashville street where XAct Tone is based, a company that works with top session and touring musicians.
Is the Winford Drive still available?
The pedal was released in May 2015 and was available directly online or through dealers worldwide.
Where is the Winford Drive made?
XAct Tone Solutions lists the Winford Drive as made in the USA on its product page.
Sources (5)
- Winford Drive, xacttone.com
- Winford Drive, xacttone.com
- XAct Tone Solutions Unveils the Winford Drive, Premier Guitar, 2015-05-27
- Winford Drive by XTS Custom Pedals, RockBoard PedalPedia, 2026
- New Overdrive from XAct Tone Offers Ultra Responsive Dynamics and Massive Range of Tones, Guitar Interactive Magazine, 2015-05-27
