Earthquaker Devices Crimson Drive Killer Overdrive

Earthquaker Devices Crimson Drive Killer Overdrive

A while back I posted an article about a couple of overdrives I built and one of them was based on the Earthquaker Devices Crimson Drive which was one of my favorites. Earlier this week I took delivery of a real Crimson Drive. THIS is the kind of overdrive I love! It’s got vintage black glass OC139 germanium transistors and germanium diodes and i’ve been a fan of germanum based OD pedals for a long time. One thing this pedal  isn’t is transparent. Not even close. It has a unique flavor that I really dig. It’s dripping with harmonics at all gain levels and there isn’t really a clean boost setting to be found. At higher gain levels it sounds like a boutique mild fuzz but fuzz backed with some of the ballsiest overdrives you’re likely to find. And it has a lot of volume on tap. This is hard to put into words but it has this incredible tone that’s gritty and sweet and smooth all at the same time (no I’m not high). You hit unity gain almost the instant you start to turn the knob, after that it’s overdrive heaven (for me at least). I’ve always liked Earthquaker Devices product cause they build a superior product that’s rock solid and this is no exception. The enclosure is crimson red with a bad-ass skeleton graphic on it that looks wicked cool. I almost forgot to say that it stacks with other overdrives very nicely. Compared to the one I built there isn’t a huge difference but it’s significant. Seems there is a little mojo in the original version of this pedal so it’s a keeper.

Read earlier article on DIY version of Crimson Drive, click here