Davey van Essen - 11 / Jan / 2023
Overdrives: A Buyers Guide!
We're in love with the overdrive! For most of the Fellows here, it's the first pedal we ever bought. To help you get through the wide variety of models available, here's a little buyers guide.

Overdrives are fairly easy to come by these days and are arguably the most popular form of guitar pedals around. Because there are so many different versions, we'd like to make choosing one a little easier. In this simple buyers guide we'll discuss the most famous variants.
How do overdrives work?
Overdrive naturally occurs when you crank a tube amp. Due to the sheer volume of a cranked tube amp this wasn't accessible for everyone in the 60s (before pedals were invented), let alone today! So guitar players found a way around it by simply destroying the speakers of their amps. This resulted in some great sounds, for example: You Really Got Me by The Kinks. Dave Davies got this (in)famous tone by slashing his speaker with a razor blade.
Soft Clippers
The most popular of all overdrives are soft clippers, which have been around since the 1970's. Soft-clipping happens when your guitar signal extends beyond the clean headroom and reaches its ceiling. Here, the waveform is compressed providing a smooth type of gain. The most famous type of soft clipper, and overdrive in general, is the Ibanez Tubescreamer.
Ibanez's Tubescreamer
Marshall's Bluesbreaker
Hard Clippers
Hard-clipping overdrive pedals also extend your guitar signal beyond the clean headroom. But unlike a soft clipper, these will simply cut off the signal as it exceeds the headroom, which produces a more aggressive, edgier sound. Although they can be more harsh to the ear, many players find them more dynamic and get better mileage out of the guitar's volume knob.
Pro Co RAT
Most distortion pedals can be filed under hard clippers and the Pro Co RAT is arguably on the most popular. In 1978, it was invented in Kalamazoo, MI. Scott Burnham and Steve Kiraly first had the idea after playing, repairing and modifying all the available distortion pedals on the market. They wanted a pedal that could go from overdrive to distortion and then all the way to fuzz.
Numerous variations of the original RAT pedal are still being produced today, but it's also inspired many builders to make pedals that are arguably just as good. Here at TFOA, we're big fans of JHS' Packrat. The PackRat is the ultimate tribute to the 40+ years of rodent evolution and its impact on the guitar’s sound. Artists from every genre have used the iconic tones in this unassuming black box to create their sounds, including Nirvana, John Scofield, Pink Floyd, Metallica, REM, the Eagles, Jeff Beck and Radiohead.
The Klon Centaur
"Amp in a Box" Drives
- Catalinbread Galileo (Vox AC30)
- Victory V1 Sherrif (Victory Sheriff)
- Vertex Steel String Supreme (Dumble Steel String Singer)
- Jackon Audio Twin Twelve (Silvertone 1484)
There are a lot of versions of every drive circuit, some true to the original whilst others are modified. At the end of the day it it all comes down to personal preference, the best way of finding a new drive is to simply try them! Here at TFOA we have plenty of overdrives, be it vintage, modern or boutique. You can order them online but if you have the chance, stop by our shop! Coffee's on us.