I know, I know... not another boring-ass overdrive pedal. But here's the thing: I needed one. So I made one for myself, and I'll be damned if it's not killer sounding.
I never thought I'd want or need an overdrive, but I've been listening to a lot of straight up 'overdriven amp' albums (Social Distortion, At the Drive-In, Matthew Sweet, Weezer Blue Album... you know) and I've been struggling to get those various tones. Not so much an overdriven amp sound, but the different types of amp sounds from thick sludge to half gain to compressed to really open... I don't have a library of amps available, so to get there I made the Pocket Watch.
The controls are simple, but cover a LOT of ground:
Level: The level control is just that, overall output volume. There's a LOT of volume on tap, no disappearing stomp box syndrome here.
Gain: Pretty pointless to have an overdrive without a gain control. This one has a WIDE sweep, from barely there grit (some settings can get 95% clean) to full-on saturation.
"A.M." The A.M. knob is where the pedal starts. This control is sorta like an EQ, but it also has a big effect on the amount and type of clipping and distortion that happens. It's basically a sweep-able input capacitor that goes from thick, bassy crunch to a low-cut, clean boost type sound. The sweep of the knob is designed to accommodate most guitars around the middle position, so a bass heavy guitar might want to roll off lows, and a thinner single coil guitar can beef up the low end. It is VERY interactive with the gain knob, and has a direct effect on how much the pedal clips and distorts.
"P.M." the P.M. knob is the last stop before your amp, and it is designed to do one thing: emulate different power sections and speakers. Turned up full, the sound is clear and defined, tight, and reacts very quickly to your playing. It 'feels quick.' Sorta like plugging into a 100 watt amp with a modern sound, through a 4x12"... As you roll the P.M. knob back, the feeling gets looser, more spongy, more distorted, and even might break up a little when trailing off. Tough to explain, but it just reacts differently to your playing. Imagine a guitar sound at the same sound level as the last example (100 watt 4x12) but instead being created by a 15 watt, tube rectified combo with a speaker that's about to quit. It's a slower, less defined tone. This is a subtle knob, so don't expect a HUGE sweep or drastic tone change. But once you feel the difference in how your guitar reacts at different settings, you can really dial in a sound that is exactly what you've wanted in an overdrive.
The Pocket Watch will be ready mid-May 2013. Retail price will be $149.95, the very first one will be free. Stay tuned to figure out how to get your hands on that one.
EDIT: NOW WITH GIVEAWAY FOR POCKET WATCH NUMERO UNO!
Just head on over to the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=167123586802953&l=4519fd234b and 'Share and like' the photo to be entered, ORRR simply post your ILF name here in this thread to be entered to WIN Pocket Watch Number 1!
" - smile_man
