CMATMODS Signa Drive

This takes some tweeking, but is a labor of love since all toggle positions sound great.

Just a brilliant pedal. You can go from Tube Screamer to T.S. modded and much more sustain. Even at the highest gain setting, it has unbeatable tone. This pedal covers a great deal of ground. It makes for a fantastic recording device allowing you to get so much sound from it. The tone is out of this world. He could sell this pedal for over three hundred dollars, and it would be still be worth buying. I bought mine for $135. What a buy.

It's tough, but I have not had it long enough to take it on the road.

All contact has been via email

Blues/Funk/R&B - 30yearsplaying - Yes I'd relplace it - TONE TONE Versatile - I wish it was a two channel pedal, so I could have more of this beautiful tone.

Standard drive, tone, level
Three-way swtich:
up- a really open drive with alot of presence (the best setting to my ears at least)
middle- a nice clean, kind of thick, boost
down- alot like the up position but with more gain, less presence, and with not as much of a volume boosting capability

I think people who like the sound of their amp cranked will like the the up and middle position the best.
For those looking for more of a drive the down position will be for them. Very versitile.

I'm playing a 2000 american strat and a 2002 gretsch duo jet into a vox ac-30 w/alnico blue celestions.

Before i bought this i was using a keeley 808 mod plus tube screamer as my main overdrive i say that because it being my main overdrive before makes it a bases for comparison. I liked the 808 alot and its a really good box i still carry it around as a back up but after playing the signa for a couple of weeks it no longer has a place on my board.

Its almost like my tone had a blanket over it because the best way to describe the signa is "open" I have to admit it took some getting used to because i was so used to that mid-heavy "boxy" smoothness the 808 gave me. Which is good for some applications but i can honestly say the singa is superior!
I'm so impressed with this pedal but i think there are some misconceptions about it: For one i don't think it sounds like a tube screamer, its completly evolved, although its based on the same chip used in most 808 clones i just don't hear it. Which in my opinion is good gear should always be improving and not be stuck in the past.
I also don't think it sounds like a marshall and i've owned a few ( a bluesbreaker, a 18watt plexi clone, and a dsl 2000 to be exact) It has a nice drive and i think its unique.

Very sturdy construction I don't foresee any problems.

I bugged Chad at cmatmods with so many pestering emails and he was always courteous and polite. When i was going though a mid-hump withdraw after switching from the 808 he even offered to add the mid-hump, i'm glad i didn't do it!

Great box worth every penny, if your on a fence just buy it you won't regret it.

Ive only had this pedal for a week. However Ive already found much more pleasing tones from this pedal than I have in the last 4 years of owning my fuzz and TS808.

"How easy is it to get a good sound out of it?"

Very easy. My ears like this pedal only after about a week of use. All settings are rich and useful.

The only thing lacking is a description of the pedals three way switch settings. Its not a big deal as you can hear the differences but Im a little bit "pedal dumb" so I could use all the help I can get :-) Thats the reason for a 9 instead of 10.

"What setup (i.e. what guitars and amps) are you using this with?"

I play either a MIM Strat or home-thrown together Tele straight into this CMATMODS Signa drive pedal, into a Fender Deluxe Reverb reissue amp.

"Is it noisy? On what settings?"

The pedal isnt particularly noisy as far as pedals go.

"Can you get the sound of your favorite artists? Who are they?"

I really dont have any particular artist tones in mind with this, but I can get a wide array of tones - cleanish boost, to a light crunch to all out gainy - but I can keep it smooth - thats what I like the most. Not quite like Eric Johnson's smooth OD tone but close... thats mostly because I play through a DRRI not Marshall's...

Havent gigged with it. Looks sturdy though and seems solid.

Chad is a good guy to deal with. Friendly to deal with.

"What style of music do you play? Is this a good match?"

I play mostly pristine clean stuff on the Deluxe reverb - blues, country, jazz, rock...

This is a perfect match for any style needing mild to moderate overdrive on the pedal.

"How long have you been playing? What other gear do you own?"

I had a TS808 until after I got this pedal. Still have a dunlop fuzz.

"If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again or get something else?"

Id get another one of these exact pedals. I love it.

This pedal is so rich with harmonics. I can turn up the gain and at low volumes get some beautiful feedback from the amp...

Great pedal! Check out www.cmatmods.com for sound clips too!

Very easy to use. Has a gain, volume, and tone knob - all self explanatory. The key is the three way switch which changes diode clipping to give you three very overdrive different sounds. I am still not sure exactly what these sounds are approximating but I will give a brief description of what I think they sound like. Up position sounds like a Plexi Marshall and there is moderate boost capability. Middle position is lower gain but works extremely well as a semi-clean boost as there is a fairly large volume that can be added in this position. If you have other overdrive pedals on your board, this position is very useful to push them even harder. I use next to a TS9/808 (Analogman)to get that SRV running two 808's sound. The down position has the highest amount of gain on tap and the least boost capability. It is a great sound by itself and remains transparent even at the highest gain setting. There is more gain in this position than my tubescreamer ant the sound is similar to a more modern Marshall.

I use this with my two main guitars - PRS McCarty and Fender 50th anniversary deluxe strat into either a 65 Super reverb (Not reissue) or Rivera Chubster. Sounds incredible with either guitar or amp .The tone knob is very useful over a wide range to help dial in you sound which I find very helpful since I switch between 6L6GC and EL34 amps. I also have several other pedals including Chad's Signa drive, a CMATMODS modded CE-2, CMATMODS modded DD-3, TS9/808 (Analogman), Analogman Fuzzface, Vox wah, and a few others. Works very well with all of these pedals.

Only had it for a few weeks but seems as sturdy as all of my other product from CMATMODS.

I can't praise Chad enough in this category. He always responds within 1-2 hours to my e-mails and has one of the fastest turnaround times on orders I have ever seen. You can send a pedal to him for a mod on Monday of one week and have it back by Monday the following week (It helps that I live in VA - Chad is based in TN). New pedals have gotten to me within 3 days.

I think for the money, this is the most versatile overdrive pedal I have used. I have played an OCD V3 and did not like the fact that I couldn't dial out the gain. I am sure there are better pedals out there but nothing that is even close to this in bang for the buck value.

Very Simple, Tone, Drive Level, and a 3 way toggle. The difference in the middle and top toggle settings are hard to discern, But basically they all scream. The bottom setting is a thicker Gain.

I've had this effect for about 9 months. I used to use two tube screamers in sequence, but the second one on top of the first could just get muddy, and if the levels arent perfect, you could click it on and it was quieter than just one. So basically I wanted a second quality OD for solos. I use either a 68 Fender twin, or a Carr Rambler for smaller gigs, with a couple of PRS's and a Strat. This pedal can get some searing lead tones. I think its as good or better than fulltone fulldrive 2, Zen Drive,tubescreamers, and obviously any boss OD. Then a friend lent me a Clay Jones OD (the unaquireable $1000 one) and upon playing it thru my Rambler, I did think it was worth all the hype. It certainly sounds great, but when I ABed the two last night at practice, I think the Sigma Drive is a little brighter and certainly more versatile, what with the 3 way toggle. The Signa can cut thru any Mix.

Its been quite reliable, Its got a really really bright LED, which I'm not sure I love for gigs. But Its been lugged around and had a couple beer spills on it, so I think its more than reliable.

Havent spoken to Chad, but I got it promptly. Looks like he puts alot of care into his products. I'm going to order a deeelay soon.

I've been playing for 20 years, in Bands for most of that time. Play classic rock, originals, Jam band -Allman brothers sort of stuff, and this certainly fits the bill nicely. It does make a tube screamer sound like its housed in cardboard, as some other poster here mentioned.

3 knobs and a switch. Up switch, marshall tone. Middle switch, tube screamer without mid hump. Down switch, somewhat of a compressor in it, also has a more fuzz like sound.

I use a gibson les paul, homemade strat, and epiphone les paul through a crybaby wah, mxr distortion plus, signa drive, and digitech rp 200 through a peavey valveking. I used to play a marshall mg. Made mg sound like a tube amp!!! Just buy this, it is sick. It blows the Dist. + out of the water. I love whenever I'm playing a clean song, I just roll the gain knob back to 9 o'clock, sounds insane. The only thing is there isn't enough gain but it don't matter.

Oh yes, its reliable.

Chad is a great guy. Helps a lot.

I play classic rock, punk rock, alternative, ska-punk, and some other rock. Mainly I play Led Zeppelin, Green Day, Sublime, White Stripes, Jimi Hendrix, and Foo fighters. Sounds great with all of them. Would buy another if it needed to be replaced. Just love it. I do wish it had more gain. PLEASE BUY THIS

Very easy to use, level, gain and tone knobs, unlike many other OD/Dist pedals, are usable on all settings. The 3 way switch changes the gain structure and is also usable in all positions.

9V power jack is on the side which is a bit irksome, but obviously, it is still easy to use.

I'm running a Telecaster, a Strat (with Lawerence Blade Pickups), and a Les Paul through a 62' Gibson GA-77 amp (think fender-like). I play classic rock, jazz, and country.

It sounds different with every guitar because it doesn't sound "like a pedal". It is truly amp like in both dynamics and transparency. Even with the gain and level cranked, there is very, very little noise.

On positions 1 (think tubescreamer with less mids), and 2 (think plexi-ish, not super high gain, but a nice crunch) sound is punchy but creamy. The 3rd position is very higher gain marshall-ish (not medal, but anything to Guns N' Roses type gain) and still cuts through great.

Mine's at least 5 months old and it's been solid as a rock, feels sturdy, built extremely well.

Simply the best, Chad (the builder of all CMATMODS pedals) responds to emails promptly, even if they are stupid questions, great guy and really stands behind his products.

Great sound, great value, best overdrive I've personally played, complements my playing style and tone preference perfectly.

Drive, Tone and Level controls plus a 3 position switch for the different drive voicing. Not much to confuse any of us here. It does take a little time to experiment with the 3 different voicings... this is not a pedal problem, it's because you will get lost in tone land somewhere during the process and forget to come back.

I run the pedal with a Fender reissue 60's strat into a Fender Reissue 65 Deluxe Reverb amp. I have Chad's delay pedal as well as his compressor (both of which sound amazing as well). I sold my Visual Sound Route 66 pedal which i loved and replaced it with Chad's Signa Drive. The Signa Drive is the quiest most transparent overdrive that I have ever used in 20 years of playing. It responds extremely well to your pick attack and there are so many good sounds in the pedal that I will be finding new ones for awhile. The drive knob has a real effect on the sound combined with the 3 position switch that controls the voicings. The pedal voicings, to my ears are a tubescreamer type sound (without so much mid hump) in the down position, a fat loud plexi marshal type tone in the middle position and a dumble kind of a sound in the top position. They are all good and the pedal is very inspiring.

No problems so far. The pedals have been built with quality components so I expect they will last a good long time.

Chad has a 5 year warranty on the pedals and he has been amazing at responding to all my questions via email within a short time period. Quite frankly I was shocked.. I don't recall this kind of service from any of the music companies other than from Schecter guitars when my son's bass had a circuit go out.

Overall, I am thrilled with the pedal and have in fact ordered a second one for my pedal board so that I can have one set one as a plexi boost and one as an overdrive.

Took a bit to figure out the toggle but I get it now. Down = TS tone, Middle = A Plexi or Boost tone, Up = Kind of a mix of both but with more of a Marshall voice. "A hint" The toggle reacts differently with the pedal's gain at different settings.

I use Strats & Fender Amps.. This is hands down the best OD I have ever used... It has everything you should need. The TS tone, Boost or the Marshall voice. Lots of gain on tap. I can use it alone or with a boost pedal in front of it (Keeley Java or Pharoha Class A Boost) This pedal is outstanding!!!!! The bass is tight. The highs cut through (without being shrill) & the mid is solid but without the hump. It's creamy in TS mode, Punchy in the Boost/Plexi mode & it always remains clear. It reacts well to your guitars volume knob. I wish it cleaned up better with the volume knob but thats an opamp for ya. The germ pedals do that better, but this cleans up better then the other opamps I've had. This crushed my TS808 (trademark 1980 JRC) & was much more versitile. Great tone where ever the knobs are set. I've never had a pedal I could say that about. Spend the money you will not regret it. Trust me on this one. I sold my TS808 for $510.00 & bought this for $100.00. Like I said the Signa crushed the TS!!!!!!!

Seems solid, Good build, Chads a great guy & would do what he needs to do to help out. "A Great Guy"

Excellent

If your looking for a do all Overdrive. STOP HERE!!!!!!! This is it..... A great buy, Chads awesome to deal with & the pedal isn't overpriced like just about everything out there.

It??s very easy i belive...there really are a lot of useful sound here.
Three knobs and one three-way minitoggle switch.

I will keep this short. This is a very musical overdrive pedal at least according to my ears!
There is A LOT of really good sounds to dial in IMHO and they are found with ease (everything from just a slight push to over the top distortion) and the pedal also has one of the most musical boost-functions that i have ever heard (i would have bought the pedal just for this)!! Of course it starts with that i??m really happy with the rest of my gear (An excellent CS-strat and dito handwired tube amp combo). I have played for a lot of years and under this period had a lot of pedals (some good n?? some bad). This pedal is among top three in "overdrivepedal" category and the best (really)that i have heard when it comes to "boostpedal" category". This pedal also works great along with other pedals such fuzz, wha, delay, tremolo.

Looks well built inside...i have only had the pedal for two months so... but i??m sure it will hold for long.
My pedal was a bit "scratchy" underneath and also excessive glue there...

Nice to deal with builder. Fast answers during the buying-process.
Thanks again.

Bought two Signa_Drives, 1 is not enough for tone heaven...

Here we go: Three knobs and a small switch. How could it be simpler? ;-)

Simpler, just compare on/off sound with the Level Knob, and depending on what position is the mini switch, you've got to re-adjust it, by all means, I???ll explain below.

I've got some suggestions on settings from Chad Matthews on how setting them, but it's been almost a month with them and I haven't seem these recommendations, first and foremost "my ears" are the ones which tell me the way. But, I must agree that Chad has excellent disposition on helping out.

No Manual included, he trusts that a player should know how to set it up.

Signa Drive is the "latest" version which as you can read at CMATMODS site, came from the "Tube Slammer Deluxe" (discontinued by now AFAIK)

If I can get the sound from my favorite artist? YES INDEDD!!!
My favorite artist is ME!!! This is the most important matter that made me buy it, no "tone coloring" (althought it's not a crime, I'm looking for other Tone)

I'm mostly using it with: S-S-S G&L Legacy Series With a Keystone Bridge pickup -> "Mozz" Custom Modified JH-1 Wah (by microjunkers and wetv) -> Signa Drive Turquoise -> Ibanez CS-9 RI (Jpn) Chorus -> Signa Drive Burgundy -> Carvin Valvemaster 212 (100w All Tube amp w/ 6L6)

The Idea of having the Chorus in between the Signa Drives is:

- The Chorus is the only pedal with no TBP, hence I've compensated the internal buffer (which gladly it???s not that mid-awful buffer that boss pedals have) by putting it between them

- Chad Suggested to place the Signa Drives apart, which it'd be different from one next to the other (or both of them in one housing)

Well, any OD has to produce noise, but from my behalf it's as quieter as it can be, as "clipping" goes up, a little noisier it gets, but no biggie.

The effect sounds great, now let me talk about some settings and use that I've given (remember that I've got two of them):

1) The "Turquoise" one is set with no idea to be changed, that one stays always with the following setting:

- Drive -> Between 1 / 2 p.m. (0r 6/7 if you prefer) just pointing to the led as reference.

- Tone -> At 11 o'clock (or 4/4.5) never liked OD's and Distortions with the tone passed 12 o'clock unless some of them lacks of real tone shaping

- Level:

First mini switch position -> At 9 0'clock (or 3/4)
<<This is the "original" Signa Drive Tone">> And this is my "Main OD sound"

It's not a TS-ish (tubescreamer) per se, it's more organic, not mid rangy, real honest tone coming from the Guitar/Amp. I assume it's a silicon component. The best thing of this pedal is that it has more gain than a common OD you'll find around (at least from the TS range)


Second mini switch position -> At 8 0'clock (or 2/3)
<<<This is a more of a TS-ish tone>>>

It sound fattier, but with less Gain than the 1st position, a little more mid-toned, and well, it gets more volume, hence you've got to lower the "Level" Knob a little bit.

I assume it's a "Led" component that gives you that sound.

I do not use it much in the "drive area" but I'll explain more thoroughly when do I use it, how I use it.

Second mini switch position -> At 11 0'clock (or 4/5)
<<<This is a major plus!!! Almost a brown sound, Marshall in a box ballsy sound>>>

By assuming it's a "Germanium" transistor to get that sound (thankfully, nothing compared to a RAT otherwise I'd have bought one, and I do not fancy RATS)Once again, It's not my "Drive area" Tone, but I set it on the 2nd Signa I've got (the Burgundy one)

I'm mostly an "OD kinda' guy", I like to hear the notes clearly, not fuzzy (pheww I hate fuzzezzzz) but with some gain, crunch, balls, you name it. Hence, the first setting (1st mini switch position) is the tone I feel more comfortable and as "my tone"

2)The "Burgundy" one is the 2nd "tweak" Signa which I select by having two options (depending on the song or results I'm looking for):

1) Clean Boost: Just leave "Gain" set to minimum or just a tiny bit, "Level" up to MAX and tone, well, depending on your Boost, leave it "Fatter" (before 12 0'clock or 5) or "Trebler" (past 12 o'clock or 5. And keeping the "Mini switch" in the second position (middle position) This is a REAL CLEAN BOOST, if you add no GAIN, perfect!

2) Brown/Marhall sound: See settings above.

There you go: You can have an OD + a Booster /or/ Clean Booster /or/ Marshal sound, all in the Clean Channel of my amp. On my behalf, if you look for more that that, you need to play metal or stuff more "High Gain". Once again, not buying two of them it's almost a crime!

Can I depend on it? Hell Yeah!

Look, I've seen some "hand made" custom effects, made here in Chile (coz I live here..) and by looking at the Signa Drive's "guts" I got really impressed, plus the input jacks are so tight that they show a rugged construction in a classic "DIY" metal case.

No fancy things on the outside, just a simple but well made paint coating, a 3DPDT (if you hear pops at the beginning, give it some time, they come so hard to press, that you'll need a little time to soften them up and that'll be all)

Maybe the side 9v adaptor sometimes makes a little complicated if you don't have long enough cables, but on my case, no sweat on it.

I just give it a 9 coz even though I rely on Chad's craftsmanship and use of good components, if anything happens to them, it'll be a hassle to send it over to the US and getting it back, even though I know that if anything happens, Chad will respond to it in a blink of a time. He's that serious and reliable on his products and service, but mostly, taking care of his customers.

I would use it in a Gig w/out a backup, coz I've got two of them, plus I'm confident they won't let me down when I need them the most.

One of the best plus ever, and for me an important factor is (HAS TO BE!) ???Customer Service???.

You need to talk to "the face behind the product"??, I've had so many bad experiences when talking to "representatives" and well, even though I must trust them, whenever you have the chance for talking to the owner/builder of the stuff you're buying, you should feel lucky and add 70% more on the price by having this chance. And let???s be honest, you???ll never get a ???boutique pedal??? like this for this costs, it???s a fact. Chad should increase his prices (not for me though hehehe)

Chad had assisted me from the beginning, curiously, being so far apart we have the same "ideas" on Axes (guitars), tones, and some pedal brands, I felt 100% identified with him (not in a queer context please LOL) and his "tone taste" that i had to give it a shot.

I'm no simpler phrasing guy, I extend myself with paragraphs and paragraphs of ideas, bad ones and good ones, questions, I'm almost a dizzying person on that matter, I'm what you may say:

"The perfect customer"

or

"The most annoying customer ever" :-)

Chad had the time, patience and pedagogy to explains things calmly extensively, not hiding any vital information and really comprehensive. A++ to this! Plus, I've sent "midnight e-mails" with questions/inquires and I don't know how he does it, but he is able to answer back in less than 18 hrs, sometimes in less than 18 mins...

For those who may have bad ideas on "small business" that brings you up great products, CMATMODS is one of the best examples on Customer Care and product knowledge (duuh, I know It's the owner who answers, but anyway! it's a +++)

Once Again, you won???t get this kind of product and service at this cost. But I rather you have more ???brand pedals??? than CMATMODS ones, so it???s a ???win ??? earn??? situation (the ones who have CMATMODS ???win???, the ones with brand pedals make the corporate ???earn??? lots of dough by putting a big bosom hot chick and make them buy from them ???out of horny??? ;-)

I play Fusion, Jazzy, Rock, Stupid ideas, some Blues and whatever comes into my mind, except Metal (well sometimes just for fun) and Pop (by meaning Pop, I mean Pop-Pop, not Bowie, Prince or such)

I've had a guitar since I was 15, been playing for almost 20yrs (now I'm 36), and as women, I've had a love-hate relationship with playing. Playing in and out from time to time, the latest 3 years I've started again and I guess I'm never gonna stop anymore, I was GASless, but now with so much info around, as well products, it's a beautiful hobby, and well, I've been Gigging once in a while, I wish I had more time for dedicating to play (alone and with a band).

The main reasons I've made up my mind for the Signa Drive where:

1) The soundclip: I couldn't believe the range it had, please take your time and listen to it completely, when you get near 70% of the sound clip you'll "the difference" why you get interested into this pedal.

2) Too many guys using Tubescreames, Fulldrives 2 (I've had one which it was a Clone, and I was in love with it!) Jeckill and Hyde's and so on, that I felt that I was becoming "one of millions" who has the same tone "idea" (not the tone per se coz when you play, everyone sounds differently). I really did want it (my tone) to sound more "personal" more like me, and well, even though it's a difficult thing to really get, I'm gonna still continue doing this way.

I've own an (at the Luthier's now) Ash Thinline Tele customized (it was a Squier MIM, just kept the neck which I found excellent!) with Bill Lawrence's Keystones Tele Set (you've got to try them!)

I've got a 100% Custom Made in Brazil Guitar made of Cedar Tree, Brazilian Rosewood (whn it wasn't a crime buying this wood) and "Pau Marfim" Neck, set neck, with a Paf Pro (neck) and a custom Pickup wounded right here in Chile (yep, here we have great people trying to do things, and well made!) Gotoh Floyd w/ tremsetter, 2 mini switches for coil tapping (phase/out of phase - Series/parallel) and the works. Plus a Carvin Vintage 16 Modified by Richon (RICHAMPS -> you can watch the video at mi website http://www.guitar.cl/ front page, and well, we're remodeling and trying to finally launch it more officially, damn day job!!!)

If I had my Signa Drives Stolen I'd talk to cops immediately coz they would be the only (I guess) ones around in Chile, so they'll be easy to find and recognize. If not, I'd order another one without hesitation.

Lots of friends that already listen to them had liked a lot these pedals, of course they won't tell you right away or even show any envy, but due to, it's a matter of taste, my sound it's probably (and hopefully) a sound that no one would try to get or devote to, I'm so thankful for not being a "role model" that it makes me happy.

The Signa Drive is really an (quoting a friend) "organic" Overdrives, it does not color your sound (which is good or bad, depending on what you are looking for) and they respect the tone you've got from your guitar to your amp. Quoting a friend "They sound so "clear" that I do not like them"

TubeScreames and their series are a great option in the market (well, some of them) but once again, I was looking forward to not getting the "latest fashion in tastes and sound".

Enough said, there's no "direct comparison" with other pedals around, Boss ones have major design problems that could be avoided from factory (I guess it's their trademark nowadays), most pedals aren't TBP (snobby or not, It's better to have one that is TBP just in case) and many of them just can't get right, they are "almost there" but never a "click, tweak and play" kind of pedals, you always have to expend a great amount of time and combine them to get the sound you are pleased to.

If I had to wish anything that it's not in the pedal, it'd be substituting the mini switch for 2 more 3dpdts' but c'mon!!! It???d be a massive pedal!!! No one likes mammoth sized pedals, in that case, get a rack!!!!

Very easy to use. No bad settings from this pedal. If your amp sounds good, this pedal makes your amp sound amazing.

Sound is superb. I have an FULLTONE OCD and it is in the same concept (to my ears) but has a more amp quality to it and can produce a better texture. This is a VERY well balanced tone, good mid spank with balanced highs and lows. WAAAY more balanced than any other overdrive that I have. Sounds better than any Hot Cake, TS, OCD, Fulldrive and so forth. THE best Overdrive.

Chad is an amazing guy, he will assist you with everything. I have worked with a few companies mainly Fulltone and they have become a washed up corporate company who doesn't return emails! This guy does it right and wants his customers happy and is very passionate about what he does.

Like I said, better than any other Overdrive out there and I have quite a few boutique pedals. If you are on the fence about it, get it. He is such a great customer oriented guy who knows his tone and what to get you set up with.

this pedal is awesome. 3 switchable tone settings.. 3 nobs... and very very easy to dial in good tone. in fact.. its very very difficult to find anything raspy or fizzy out of this baby. kicks the fulldrive and all other ts type pedals out of the park. i play it along side my BoR. great combo.

im a church player mainly... which equates to pop rock / alternative / indie .. into slower melodic stuff.. and then lead stuff, etc.

my setup is a strat with lil 59ers.. Buddawah> DubtronicsComp> CMA TMODS Signa >ZvexBoR >CusackScreamerFUzz> AffectronixUniphabrato> BossDD5> Line6Echopark> into a Goldentone Reverbmaster.

If i needed one pedal for a gig, this would be it. it can easily switch from high gain drive to med-low cleans with a bit of bite with a flick of a switch. very good. very very quiet.

solid as bricks.

i sent em an email to say thanks for the fantastic pedal, and got a reply within 12hrs with a manuel attached. very happy.

buy one.
IMO and experience its better than:
Ibanez ts9
Fulltone Fulldrive
Tubezone

Its very similar to the
Dubtronics Tubescreamin
HBE powerscreamer..

obviously just without the boost option. but it holds its own in terms of the extra gain.

Very easy to use. Three knobs, gain, tone, and volume with a three way toggle switch for different gains.

Right off the bat, I started to remind me of an old late 70's Marshall MKII master volume head that I used to own thru my Fender amp in the way it was dirty but yet clean. That old Marshall had a certain something and this pedal is very close to that. It responds to pick attack and the guitars volume knob extremely well. Pick hard and the notes come thru big and bad. Pick softly and each note has a very nice fullness with sustain. Back the guitar volume knob down and even at the highest gai setting, it cleans up very nicely.

The pedal is built very well. I would have no problem gigging with it.

If anyone that is reading this has not bought anything from Chad, you are missing out big time. Let me tell you the story of World Class customer support I again recieved from Mr. Matthews here. I emailed Chad on Sat. afternoon about the Signa Drive. He responded in less than one hour!! I purchased the pedal after reading his email response and sent him an email back stating it would be cool to get this before Fathers Day, the next weekend. He sent me an email the next day stating his employee went in on Sunday to build my Signa Drive and he would be shipping it out on Tuesday after he put the lettering on it. I recieved it on Thursday, plenty of time before the weekend. Now, I don't know of any other pedal builder anywhere that would take care of his customers in the the way Chad did for me. Chad has a customer for life in me.

This pedal has to be one of the best sounding medium gain pedals out there, no kidding. It responds so well and does so many things so nicley, it will get tons of use from me and every gig. It is not a metal pedal and I am so glad of that. It has enough gain to sound huge but, each pickup setting on my Strat sounds like it should. Very nice balance in tonality, mids are not overly done, treble is not spikey, and bass does not get flabby sounding at all. If you play classic rock, ex. Deep Purple, Zepplin, ZZ Top, etc. This is the sound.

This is Chad's latest OD pedal and it rocks.
Pretty easy to use. Volume, Gain, Tone and a three way switch.
The three way switch determines the clipping and varies the available gain and volume a little.
Not a bad sound in this pedal!

I can set this up in a variety of ways, clean boost, phat boost, dirty boost, always on. OD, light Crunch, heavy crunch. If you bring your amp towards break up, you can go into metal land.
I've used this pedal with Single coils and P-90s (Imagining humbuckers gives me shivers there is a lot on tap!)
The sounds just keep being amazing, lively and full. Pedal isn't noisy at all and of course it is true bypass.
I've played this into my Maven Peal Zeeta and a Wreck Clone and a Princeton Reverb.
One difference with the Signa Comp-Drive - The three way switch alters the OD and Volume realm much more then with the Signa Comp-Drive

So far totally reliable. I've had other pedals from Chad and they last!

Chad is a tone nut and great to talk to and ask questions, very responsive.

I play worship at church and I go from needing light stuff to liven up the sound to heavy duty stuff to catch some of those Hillsongs like tunes. Great pedal, does it all in the full OD realm, the only pedal that trumps this pedal .. is his Signa Comp-Drive (because it adds the compressor side!)
Stolen ... I'd get another right away.
I've compared this to a ClinchFX Mosfet classic, Gaspedal Carb and the Tubeslammer. The tubeslammer is left in the dust. The other two are great pedals for what they do, but the Signa Drive can cover both of those areas! Amazing pedal.
Oh and it stacks well with other pedals
(You'll see similar raves about the Signa Comp-Drive because I have both)

This is super easy to use. it is only 3knobs and a toggle switch. There is no manual one isnt needed. This is about the size of a boss pedal and it runs on a batery or an adapter.

This is where this pedal shines! I have several CMATMODS pedals and all of his dirt boxes. I have the Buttah, Brownie, Tube Slammer and the Tube Slammer Deluxe. These are all great pedals and have been on my board but the new signa drive can do what all of these pedals can do except it doesnt get as much gain as the Brownie it is an OD and the Brownie is a Distortion.

When I first plugged in this pedal I left in on the settings Chad had it on and man I thought here is the sound I have been looking for it is perfect! Then I started playing with the knobs and the switch and there is every kind of OD you can imagine in it and then some. A friend has a Landgraff OD and he played this and after some prying it finally admitted it was better and he would have to get one. Like I told him $140 for a truebypass pedal that sounds as great as this one is a STEAL! These pedals will have to go way up in price they are that good. I have never played a Klon but my friend with the Langraff has and he said the Landgraff was better than the Klon and he hated to admit it but the signa drive is better. This is the best value I have found. I have several CMATMODS pedals and this one is just amazing!

This pedal does the clean boost very good and it does the tube amp breakup thing good and then it goes further it has ample gain on hand and like Chad says it does the Marshall cruch thing very well. I have a Cmatmods signa comp and I plugged both into my Plexi and with the amp breaking up I had so much gain and the most sustain that I have ever heard! Chad has a new pedal with both effects in it called the comp drive or something and that is my next purchase!

I have had several of Chads pedals and the only problem I ever had was I plugged in the wrong adapter in the tube slammer and fried it. I told Chad and he offered to pay for the shipping even though it was my fault. I paid to ship it to him he fixed it for free and sent it back on his dime. I would trust Chads pedals without a back up as long as I dont do something stupid.

I have emailed Chad a million times with a million questions he has always got back to me promptly and he has always been profesional and coutreous. CMATMODS is my pedal company!

I have been playing for 28yrs and I gig about 3 times a week. I have owned pedals from everyone and most of my pedals are CMATMODS. This really has taken my tone to the next level. I cant wait for the next pedal