The Fried Gold is an overdrive pedal from Yellowcake Pedals, a small builder whose pedals are hand-built with high-quality parts1. It sits in the overdrive camp but stretches toward fuzz: Delicious Audio describes it as "a straight forward and versatile overdrive type pedal that ranges from mild, to a blown out 'Fried' almost 'fuzz-ish' tube amp"2. If a player wants one drive pedal that covers clean boost-style push and full-on saturated grit, that range is the point of the pedal.
What it does
The Gain control is the heart of the pedal. Pedal of the Day's reviewer, Mike B, wrote that "Gain lets you adjust from a mild overdrive to a blown out fuzz-ish territory sound"1. At the low end it adds drive to a clean tone; at the top it imitates a tube amp pushed past its limit, which is where the fuzz-like character comes from. Players who want a straighter, more conventional drive can compare it with pedals in the distortion or fuzz families, which sit at either end of the same territory.
Level sets the output, and the review found headroom to spare: "Level gives off all the output power you could want, and then some"1.
The controls
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Gain | Adjusts from a mild overdrive to a blown out, fuzz-ish tube amp sound21 |
| Level | Output volume, with what the reviewer called all the output power a player could want1 |
| Tint | A subtle tone control that adds extra glass and presence to the drive21 |
Tint is worth a note for players used to more aggressive tone stacks. Both Delicious Audio and Pedal of the Day describe it the same way: a subtle control that adds "a bit of extra glass and presence to the drive"1, or in Delicious Audio's wording, "some extra glass and presence"2. It fine-tunes brightness rather than reshaping the pedal's voice.
With an amp
The Fried Gold was designed to work both in front of a clean amp and into an amp that is already breaking up. Delicious Audio says it is "designed to complement the front end tube amp while capable of mixing wonderfully with the dirt channel to provide more punch and grit"2. Pedal of the Day's reviewer agreed from the other direction, finding it "will also help push your favorite tube amp into sweet, sparkling breakup territory with ease"1, and that it excels at adding a range of drive sounds to a clean tone as well as beefing up a dirty channel with extra oomph and punch1.
"The Fried Gold excels at adding a nice range of drive sounds to your clean tone, as well as beefing up your amp's dirty channel by giving it an extra bit of oomph and punch."
Where it came from
Videos
Pedal of the Day
James' Home of Tone
15 Second Gear Demo
Questions
Is the Fried Gold a fuzz or an overdrive?
It is an overdrive pedal, but one that goes further than most. Delicious Audio describes it as a straightforward and versatile overdrive that ranges from mild to a blown out 'Fried' almost 'fuzz-ish' tube amp sound, and Pedal of the Day's review likewise says the Gain control takes it from a mild overdrive into blown out fuzz-ish territory. At the top of its range it behaves like a fuzz, but it is built and voiced as a drive pedal.
What does the Tint knob do on the Fried Gold?
Tint is the pedal's tone control, and both Delicious Audio and Pedal of the Day describe it as subtle. It adds a bit of extra glass and presence to the drive rather than making dramatic tonal shifts, so it is for fine tuning how bright or smooth the drive sits in a rig.
Can the Fried Gold push a tube amp's dirty channel?
Yes. Delicious Audio says it is designed to complement the front end of a tube amp while mixing wonderfully with the dirt channel to provide more punch and grit. Pedal of the Day's reviewer found it excels at beefing up an amp's dirty channel by giving it an extra bit of oomph and punch, and that it can also push a tube amp into sweet, sparkling breakup territory on its own.
Sources (2)
- Yellowcake Pedals Fried Gold Overdrive, Pedal of the Day, 2016-03-16
- Yellowcake Pedals Furry & Fried, Delicious Audio, 2018-11-09