How Many Overdrives?

In this video, I wired up a pedalboard from scratch and tried out a range of different overdrives to get a sense of what my overdrive preferences were at the time.

Pedalboard Setup

• Started with a fairly blank board

• Embers stayed on because I really liked the underdrive

• Companion was left off to save space

• Octave pedal wasn’t used this time

• Added The Eight (with new knobs)

• Twin Parallel and Broadcast were included

• Dug out my old Blues Driver (over 15 years old)

Signal Chain

• Embers

• Tuner

• Broadcast

• Modded ODR-1

• Blues Driver

• Stereo delay

The board was messy and not laid out “properly” in terms of power order, but everything turned on, which was the main thing.

Clean Sound Reference

• Telecaster into a stereo AC30 setup on HX Stomp

• Harmonic tremolo before the split

• Two identical amps with slightly different IR mic positions

• Slap delay on the left (RE-201 style)

• Slower, fading slap on the right

• Slightly different delay times for width and space

Overdrive Notes

Embers

• Used mostly with the underdrive switched on

• Acted more as a low-gain overdrive than a full fuzz

• Full fuzz setting was very immediate and present

• Fairly full-range with some fuzzy sizzle

• Very dynamic and cleaned up well from the guitar volume

• Cut through well as a rhythm sound

Blues Driver

• Had been a mainstay on the board for years

• Usually left on at low gain

• Could sound a bit sterile on its own, but worked well in context

• Considered modding it, but felt it was great as it was

Broadcast

• Modelled on a sound desk-style preamp

• Unique breakup character

• Overlapped slightly with underdriven fuzz sounds

• Worked especially well as a clean texture pedal

Modded ODR-1

• Different clipping diodes from stock

• Less compressed and more open than the original

• Sat more in a rockier overdrive / light distortion role

• Retained overdrive-style dynamics

Twin Parallel

• Blended between a clean Twin Boost circuit and a bias-starved side

• The main control felt like a gain knob but was actually a blend

• Very fast, immediate and articulate

• Clear even at higher gain levels

• Extremely versatile for a two-knob, two-switch pedal

The Eight

• Two clipping modes and four tone modes (eight total flavours)

• Asymmetrical clipping had a faster attack and more bite

• Symmetrical clipping tamed things slightly

• Mid-forward character worked well as a solo boost

• Not modelled on anything specific, despite a screamer-like circuit shape

Takeaways

• Having multiple overdrive flavours was inspiring rather than excessive

• Embers covered a lot of ground as both overdrive and fuzz

• Broadcast and Twin Parallel overlapped with other pedals but did things in their own way

• The Eight worked particularly well as a solo boost

• In reality, some pedals would likely come off to make room for reverb or delay

This session wasn’t really about finding a “best” overdrive, but about listening, stacking, and enjoying different textures.