Stop the presses! There is a new overdrive pedal on the market and it is inspired by that little green box, the iconic, the ubiquitous and the occasionally controversial Ibanez Tube Screamer.
But wait, before you roll your eyes – or worse, adjust the internal trimmers in your fuzz – the Envy Pro Overdrive from Nashville-based stompbox company Mythos Pedals has some tricks up its (green) sleeves.
“With it’s increased output, expanded drive range, and thickened low end the Envy takes the TS formula and makes it more useful for every player, regardless of style,” says Mythos.
Before we get to them, let’s all take a moment to appreciate the design here. With a pleasingly deep shade of green, a superlative typeface in white, this is another sweet-looking enclosure from the guitar effects company that brought us a delicious lunch-time special in the form of the Extra Hot, a twofer drive cooked up exclusively for Carter Vintage Guitars.
Having digested those visual clues from the Envy Pro Overdrive’s design – the big one being the triumvirate of Level, Drive and Tone knobs – turn your attention to the two mini push-buttons positioned either side of the Tone dial. These are the twists.
The button on the left, marked “Lows” is offers a quick way of dialling in some hefty low-end to fill out your electric guitar tone, perhaps something to give your single-coils a bit more warmth. Set neutral, and the tone circuit behaves more like your typical TS.
To the right of the Tone dial you’ve got the Clip button that allows you to disengage the diodes, opening up the sound. It’ll be louder. There will be less compression. Maybe through a piercingly loud Fender Twin this is the secret sauce that makes your playing dynamics come to the fore.
Under the hood, for your cork-sniffing pleasure, there is a RC4558P Dual Op Amp, and knowing that people get excited about the merits of one Op Amp over another, these has been socketed so the DIY modder can swap it out if they so choose and affix their preferred Op Amp with a minimum of fuss.
Mythos lists the following Op Amps as potential alternatives, but notes the list is in no way exhaustive: RC4558, JRC4558, TL072, OP275, OPA2604, LM1458N… Perhaps that’s a project for those dark nights of the soul when you’re done practising and it’s time to get fidgety with your rig. Either way, it's another sign that this might another TS-alike but it is its own thing.
The Envy Pro Overdrive NV-9 is available now, priced £141. See Mythos Pedals for more details.
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