Smrcka Effects Overdrive Station III

I'll talk about sound later, but what I can tell now, this pedal is very amp-sensitive. You'll have to plug it in a clean channel of your amp (because it creates an athentic 'huge' overdrive, it's not a booster pedal), it sounds best when plugged into a more 'bass sounding' channel, not the treble one (if your amp has this option). If plugged into a treble channel, it can sound a bit harsh. It's also bit speaker-sensitive, but it sounds great with a Celestion Vintage 30 (which is a very popular and reasonably priced speaker).

I play a Fender American Stratocaster, changed the pu's from original Delta Tone to R.M. pickups Strat Custom Flat, I play it through a Fender 5E3 Tweed Deluxe, customized to have a better clean headroom (almost no natural overdrive) and with a Celestion Vintage 30 60W speaker in it (I know this maybe isn't the 'right' speaker for this amp, but it sounds great, better than with a low watt Jensen). I didn't know how this pedal sounds when I bought it, I just knew it was a nice overdrive :) I live in Slovak republic and I didn't know anyone here who could own this pedal, so I just ordered it to try it. I had to figure out at first how to set it 'right' for my amp, but now when I plug it in that 15W Fender Deluxe, it's like havin' a vintage halfstack dimed, or something similar. It's really a huge overdrive, real aggresive and 'hard rock' sounding pedal. It's no metal meat, but also no butter (it doesn't sound like a TubeScreamer), it's just right for classic rock and good ole' hard rock stuff, like Deep Purple, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin etc. It'll make your single coils sound like a crunch beef, full, rich, heavy overdrive. Of course you can lower the amount of gain, if you like. The pedal has 5 knobs, Crunch, Hi gain, Treble, Level, Jump. Crunch knob is for a crunch channel (lower gain, but still AC/DC), hi gain is for hi gain channel (higher gain, Deep Purple, the hi gain channel is basically a crunch channel with more 'overdrive'), treble sets the treble (which is nice to have here), level sets the amount of volume of both channels. Finally, there is a jump knob, that sets a 'jump' amount of volume boost, that every gitarist will appreciate. It has 3 footswitches, EFF ON (crunch channel), HI GAIN (engages hi gain channel) and JUMP (this is volume boost, you set it with Jump knob - beware, if set above 12' IT'S A BIG LEAP!). There's also a small toggle switch above the knobs, which sets the pedal in a Vintage or Modern mode. Vintage is better suited for single coils, Modern for humbuckers (a less mids, more treble and bass). It' not noisy at all.
So, the controls are really great and this pedals gets full 10/10 for controls. It only gets 9/10 for sound because it's not really what I need (see later).

It's nearly mint, so I can't tell. But it looks and feels very well made, very sturdy.

Mr. Smr??ka, the maker of this pedal, is allways very kind and responds as quickly, as it is possible at the moment. If he's busy makin' pedals (or just having a life, don't forget he's a human too), you'll have to wait a couple of days (if you emailed him), but he gets to you, as I can tell.

I play for 3 + years, I tend to play mainly blues rock stuff and some jazzy tunes, so this pedal is not exactly what I need, I tried a TubeScreamer recently and it had just enought gain and 'touch' for this kind of music. For a 'more violin like or Gilmourish-like' distortion leads I'll use rather some valve pedal or pedal preamp. This pedal is best suited for people, who play mostly classic or hard rock and have some kind of Fender amp, that doesn't have this kind of heavy overdriven channel. You just plug this pedal before it and you'll have it, AC/DC, Deep Purple, I have to use earplugs almost every time, because this thing delivers real punch and massive volume. It has a volume boost, 2 'gain' channels, nice visible leds, 3 footswitches, selector switch for 'hums' and single coils and looks great it overall. It is a popular pedal in Czech republic, just like it's maker, Mr. Smr??ka (just check out his other pedals, like his Analog Chorus - which I also own and 'really dig').

This pedal is extremely easy to use, but allows for maximum tweekability. This comes with a short manual on use, and what each knob does. It is basically an overdrive pedal, with a boost, plus a switch to cut the mids. I am giving it a 9, as you cant get much easier, and you can tweak it to suit your needs. If it was a 1 button/one knob pedal, that you could somehow tweek to get all the sounds that this does, it would get a 10, but I dont think such a pedal exists

I have played this pedal through a couple of different amps, to see if it preferred one type of amp over another. First amp was a Sovtek Mig 50 combo, with vintage 30 speaker. This is basically a Marshall sounding amp, and it accentuated the Marshall tone without getting to harsh. Some pedals I use with it, makes the amp sound shrill, but this was not the case. I also used it through a Fender Deluxe Reverb Silverface version. This is where the pedal is most at home. I set it up on a clean channel, and put both the boost and the overdrive on at the same time. This was a great combination for classic rock tones and leads. When you turn up the amp a little, just on the verge of breaking up, the pedal makes a great lead sound, very violin like.

I would depend on it, as it is built like a brick!!!. The pedal is in a chromed enclosure, and all the components are top notch. Panasonic capacitors, true Bypass, etc. I have not seen this much detail go into a pedal in a long time. The parts are mounted on a circuit board, with plenty of spacing, good solder connections, and a neat dual opamp configuration.

I have owned this pedal for about 3 months, and it hasnt let me down, and has gigged with several bands, that I have lent it out to.

Jaroslav, the maker is in Czech Republic, so it might take a while to get something fixed, but he is a top notch guy, and I would trust that he would do what is right to fix a bad pedal. Again, this pedal is not likely to fail, so I couldnt think what would need to be done...

This pedal really shines in a band situation, where you need something that will withstand the rigors of the road, beer spills, smoke, and a crowd that wants to hear good music.

My favorite thing about this, is that you can get a large variety of sounds to accomodate many music styles. You can also swap opamps, to increase or lower the gain, different tone, etc.

The pedal on the Hi Gain is not very high gain with the standard opamp, but I have plenty, and you can get what you want, very cheap.

The only thing that I didnt really care for, was the 18 volt AC adaptor, which means that you have to use the one that is supplied to use the pedal. I think the new Pedal Power 2 plus has an AC socket, but the one spot, and a few others do not have the capability of supporting AC voltage. This is minor, as the pedal does come with the correct power supply, and the upside is great.