Origin Effects has launched the the Halcyon Blue Overdrive, a high-end twist on the classic Marshall Bluesbreaker overdrive pedal, incorporating the British guitar effects pedal company’s Adaptive Circuitry to make the dynamic low-gain drive even more dynamic.
The Halcyon Blue Overdrive is the latest in the high-end drive pedal series, with Origin Effects already having produced inventive twists on the Tube Screamer and Klon Centaur overdrives – in Green and Gold respectively.
Unveiled by Marshall in the ‘90s, later made a cult pedalboard classic thanks largely to John Mayer’s patronage, and recently reissued as the British guitar amp brand relaunched its stompbox lineup in February 2023, the Bluesbreaker makes a logical subject for the Origin Effects R&D team, who promise a wider range of gain from a pedal that responds to your playing.
The Adaptive Circuitry is the USP here. With the volume knob on your electric guitar at 10, digging in when playing will yield a traditional Bluesbreaker tone, all that heat and soft-clipping drive with plenty of meat on the midrange frequencies.
But rolling back that volume control, or playing softer, and the midrange content – that hump – clears up, which can be ideal when you want glassy clean articulation between the notes.
Origin Effects makes no secret of the inspiration. The promotional materials even has the Bluesbreaker pictured in case you couldn’t guess that this was the inspiration behind the pedal. But the Halcyon Blue Overdrive is no straightforward clone.
The Adaptive Circuitry is not the only differentiator – there’s also a Mod switch for toggling between a traditional Bluesbreaker circuit and one that’s got a bit more gain, different clipping, and a frequency response that applies some “extra warmth in the low mids”, which Origin Effects says can be just the thing you need for adding oomph to a single-coil pickup.
As with previous editions of the Halcyon series, there is a Dry control for blending clean and processed signals in search of more tonal sweet spots. Set at noon, the dry mix is the same as the Bluesbreaker. Every overdrive pedal could use one, especially when you are working with an already overdriven amp and trying to maintain clarity.
The Adaptive Circuitry is controlled by a 3-way toggle that allows you to take it completely out of the signal, thus giving you the same response as the original Bluesbreaker, to run it with full Adaptive behaviour, or at a position in between, which comes in handy if you want to keep the low end tight and prevent feedback.
Another toggle selects the voice of the pedal, while Drive dials in gain, Level controls output volume, and Tone controls the tone.
Designed and built in the UK, the Halcyon Blue Overdrive has a high-quality buffer. It has an ultra-high input impedance and draws a healthy 200mA to ensure low-noise performance. Use a quality 9V DC pedalboard power supply and you’re good to go.
Priced £249 / $299, the Halcyon Blue Overdrive is available now. See Origin Effects for more details.
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