Solid Gold Sound Labs High Octane

2 knobs. 2 jacks. 1 switch. 1 Boss-style power adaptor jack. Simple as can be except for one hitch. The gain control is intentionally reverse wired. You turn it clockwise for less gain. This does make sense, in that you roll both controls to the right to get a great clean boost and roll them to the left to get a nice distortion.

Still, the reverse gain goes against the instincts of many (myself included) and Greg (the builder) will be going to a more traditional control in future builds. Other than this, the pedal is idiot proof. If you can't figure it out within the first minute you should put down your guitar and stick to playing the radio.

I'm using it mainly at the end of a long pedal board (with a few buffered pedals before it), going from a Jazzmaster (but sometimes a Tele or SG) into a clone of a Marshall Plexi (but sometimes into a Trinity Tweed Deluxe or vintage Ampeg Gemini).

This pedal really is the perfect low gain overdrive/clean boost. It lends a very rich character to your tone and lifts you up in the mix, making your guitar somehow sound both fuller and tighter. Nice vintage tweed style tones without sounding ratty or unbalanced.

Especially good placed after other pedals. It does a great job firming up whatever pedals are on before it, working almost like studio mastering on your tone. Again, tighter, fuller, more present in the mix.

Phenomenal stuff. I've owned/tried just about every BOSS, MXR, Ibanez, Menatone, Skreddy, Fulltone, Frantone, or Throbak Overdrive pedal and many more. This is the only one that stands beside my Crowther Hot Cake in terms of how much it adds to the richness of my tone and inspires new ideas. Lucky for me it sounds completely different than a Hot Cake, so it's easy to justify keeping both on my pedalboard.

I also love this pedal as the only thing between my Tele and my Tweed Deluxe. Instant Keef tones. Great on rhythym and complex chords too.

Looks flawlessly built. Goop on the circuit board, but what I can see is perfectly soldered and intelligently laid out. All parts are top notch quality.

Still, I haven't owned it long enough to jusge it's reliability, so no score this round.

Greg has been open, honest, great to deal with and he has gone well above and beyond the call to do things smoothely for me every step of the way.

I needed a pedal that went at the end of my pedal chain to lift me up in the mix, tighten what was before it and provide light and amplike OD tones. I also needed something that would work great on it's own as a natural clean/dirty boost when I'm just hanging out with my Tele and my Tweed.

This pedal is perfect on all accounts and a great deal for the price.