Colorsound Overdriver

Great British tones known to all of us from these awesome rock and blues albums. Easy to use; bass, treble,gain and master volume
Tried it with !963/66/68 Fender Bassman and 76 Marshall 50 watt head.

Very natural, transparent,doesn't color the sound like most pedals.Very versatile; can serve as treble booster,volume booster,overdrive and fuzz.
Has that Jeff Beck/J. Page sound and much more,very useful,

Built like a tank , should not break, great quality inside out

Never dealt with any company I bought from.

I play a lot; rock and driving blues .I did not like the difficult access to battery and had ac adapter installed for easier use.

I'm just one guy, so please go play this pedal and make up your own mind before buying. But, I've played for 25 years, I work professionally and I just had to throw my two cents in about this pedal. I'm not sure where some of the other players that have reviewed this unit are coming from, but in the interest of helping a talented musician out there get their hands on objective review of this utterly kick ass product, here goes...

Yes, it is easy to get a great sound out of this pedal! That is the understatement of the year!

No, there are no patches to edit thank God. It's a four knob magic box with very active controls.

Do you like the treble and bass and gain knobs to respond in a way that you can actually hear when you turn them? How about, when they respond, to actually create musical and useable changes to your sound? Well, welcome to the Overdriver.

There is no manual. Which is fine by me. You play and tweak until it sounds right...not much to that. HOWEVER, and Colorsound, if you read these reviews, please take note:

It would sure be nice to at least have a frick'n business card stuck in the box so that new owners could ascertain whether or not there is a warranty and/or contact person in case anything goes wrong with the pedal. Perhaps even a website?

That is the only thing that makes me nervous about this pedal.

Here's where the Ease of Use rating takes a hit:

This pedal is a clone. As in, right down to the electronics. As in, right down to the "we drive on the wrong side of the road in the US" configuration of the input and output jacks (they are reversed from what you would most likely be used to...not that big of deal really unless you run a bunch of peds on a tight board...having your lines crossed for one ped could cause you an issue). There is also no 9v input, so leave your wall wart at home. It's all about the battery. With a pedal like this, a battery is the way to go anyway.

But, let's talk about that battery for a second:

If this is indeed a faithful clone, ease of battery change was clearly not an issue back in the 60's. Two easily stripped screws must first be removed, then you use a screwdriver to pop the casing off, then you will need to rig the inside so that the battery you install doesn't fly around unsecured. The reason for that? Because although Colorsound has provided a metal battery clamp to hold it in place, if you put the battery in the clamp and try to close the pedal back up, it can't fit properly now because it is trying to share space with the internal electronics. So, I would recommend that you stick a little piece of velcro on the base of the pedal (in the open area that they should have put the battery clamp to begin with) and put another piece on your battery. Is that going to be a pain in the ass every time you want to change out? Yep! Get used to it. Trust me, as big a pain as this process is, the sound makes it more than worth the trouble.

So yeah, ease of use in terms of getting a perfect sound? _10
Ease of Use in terms of the above? _5

(Hence the 7 rating)

Guitars: Grosh Set Neck & Vintage Tele,
Amps: Germino Club 40 & Carr Hammerhead 1x12.
Pedals: Tortuga Neptune, Overdriver, Electro Harmonix Memory man delay.

The Colorsound Overdriver delivers AMAZING tone on all levels. Noise is a non issue, it's an incredibly quiet pedal...you will be amazed even at high gain/volume settings.

Nothing "weak" about the Overdriver. Rich full bodied distortion/fuzz/overdrive/boost. Just utterly musical on all fronts.

I also tried it in front of a Budda Superdrive 80 (to see how it lite up 6L6 tubes, both my amps are EL34's). It just loves amp inputs! You'll have all shades of dirt available to you if you experiment.

Volume knob clean up is beautiful...works so smoothly!

If you own a tube amp, you can pitch your other dirt/fuzz/drive boxes. This is a player's pedal for sure. You sort of just become one with it and use your skills, fingers and gear to get what you want. It is the best pedal and amp compliment that I've ever heard/played. Has a bold, focused and powerful sound at all times. Records like a dream...mic's love it.

Only time will tell. The overall build is good. The enclosure is sturdy as hell. But, the battery issue and the openness of the electronics exposed inside the box make me nervous. We'll see.

One thing that tells me it will probably take at least a little road-wear is that, due to the fact it is shipped without any form of packing material, allowing the unit to bounce around in transit, it didn't seem damaged and nothing was loose.

That's another thing Colorsound could do to forge a better relationship with their buyers; throw a couple of strips of bubble wrap or some frick'n packing peanuts inside the box when you ship them! The money you're saving by not printing a manual or business cards should cover the costs. If the units indeed are produced in the UK, that's a long way for a $300 pedal to travel to the US. Just a thought.

Ah, here in lies the issue.

Does it even exist?

This is the ONLY problem with this pedal. If Colorsound can get it together in this area, they will make millions once word gets out about how kick ass this pedal is.

Overall, this is the best overdrive/fuzz/distortion/boost pedal I've ever owned in 25 years of solid playing. Everything from distinctive backing tracks to a signature lead tone is contained in this little brown box. The money is justified 100%. I feel very sad to not be able to log a 10 for this rating. But, the little build issues and customer care, on a $300, pedal needs to improve (exist).

Horribly easy to use - just plug it in, fiddle with the knobs and away you go. No manual with this one, but it isn't rocket science - drive, treble, bass and volume...duuh - easy.

A good sound is instant - tried mine out in Macari's Music in Charing Cross Road. We tried it in a Marshall AVT275 (same as mine at home). In line with the guitar it was ok, especially on clean channel, but not much difference when using the high gain channels. Then we put it in thee effects loop on the back. Wow! It was like suddenyl sticking 4 EL34s in the power staage - incredibly thick sound, with high harmonics and amazing clarity, and when kicking the boost in the volume shot through the roof. used it at my last gig, and made our other guitarist with his #1700 Mesa cry at the sustain, tonality and sheer guts. Also scared landlord with volume, but hey! I play with a Gibson SG and Indie Guitar Co.Les Paul - both sound so cool through it, I have dies and gone to heaven.

Just pack a spare battery I think - ! Have a Marshall Gov'nor Mk I as a spare, but it doesn't even come close!

I play a hotch potch of 50s rock'n'roll, 60s Who, 70s rock covers and some modern stuff. Used as a volume booster and tone 'fixer', this box makes a moderate Marshall amp sound like soemthing 4 times the price. If you have a valvestate Marshall and can't afford the price jump to all valve; if you need a rock stomp box with simple, but amazing variablity, then this is what you want. Yes you do - your wife rang and said it was ok!

No manual supplied and not very easy to get workable sounds without lots of fiddling. Turning up the driver also takes the volume sky high and vice-versa. No marks on the knobs so if you make a change its difficult to get back to where you were. Very fiddly to open up to change the battery.

Ibanez Les Paul type to Fender HRD. Sound quality at lower drive is OK but at 80% plus on the drive this thing would rather be a radio receiver. I find poor quality foreign radio stations dont really work for me as a backing track.

Hasn't broken yet which is sad 'cos then I could take it back and change it for something better.

Haven't had to call.

I play blues and 70s rock. It tries to deliver the sound occasionally (apart from the radio pick up) but just isn't user friendly enough for me. When you open it up to replace the battery and see only about #2.50 worth of components and a bit of foam to wrap the battry in you start to wonder why you paid so much for it!

If it was lost or stolen I certainly wouldn't replace it. I now use a Marshall BB2 and couldn't be happier.

simple.easy as pie. the model i have appears to be quite old. the original box has these wierd seventies style graphics. it has tone, depth,and fuzz controls and on the side of the unit a volume knob.

i use a gibson les paul and sg with both a vox ac-30 and a fender deluxe reverb reissue. the sound is ultra cool. i need nothing else.

i've had the peddle for 6 or 7 months now and have had no problems whatsoever. it is well made,tough, and i can see it lasting for ever.

i have not dealt with the company. i read somewhere the man who designed and hand made all of his products passed away just over a year ago.

acid rock. psychedelia. blues.

I have to twist the knobs and fiddle with it sometimes to get it to work but it's still good

I use it with all these crappy amps and it still sounds pretty good, it's not the greatest but hey I traded a copied CD for it so who cares.

It's pretty tough, it's been in two fires and the guy I traded it from beat the hell out it and it still works.

Can't say, the box is older than I am.

It's pretty cool but I wouldn't that much for it. If I lost it I really wouldn't run right out and get another because it's not that unique and I wouldn't know where to get it, it's so damn old.

It`s real easy in use. Just plug it between your guitar and amp and you`re rocking away. Even with the slightest setting you hear a difference.
It has only 4 knobs:Treble, bass, drive and master. With these knobs you can create a lot of different overdrive sounds. From a subtle raise of volume to an extreme boost. There was no manual.

I`m using an Les Paul through an old Mashall amp. It is sounding great with the overdriver. The sound is a mix of Jeff Beck`s Blow by Blow and Led Zeppelin`s first, but when you use the effect with other devices, the sounds are amazing (try a fuzz-pedal).
It also sounds great through effect loop, but don`t try this at home. I blew my first amp this way!!!

The pedal is reliable. When you press the button the effect is cutting in.
The only problem is that it has no AC-power jack, so you can only play it with a battary..... sometimes a pain, but a handy person can create one on his own.....
I never leave home without it!

I`ve never called the guys, there was nothing wrong with it.

In the end, the pedal is a must for everyone who wants his amp louder, heavier or has that Led Zeppelin/Jeff Beck feeling. It is also usefull for people who want their other effects louder, but don`t want to alter their amp settings. It is great using it with a clean, almost overdriving amp, when you want to rock with the push of one button. Try it!!!! It is great!!