The design aim with the True Overdrive 1 was to emulate the way valve circuitry behaves, so that the sound cleans up very naturally as you back off the guitar volume control or play quieter.
Designed to allow the guitarist to produce familiar amped tones without the need for an actual amplifier, Radial’s ToneBone JDX Direct Drive emulates the tonal coloration of a guitar amplifier/speaker combination.
DSP technology now allows pedal manufacturers to create studio-quality reverbs that evoke the spirit of classic springs, plates, concert halls and caverns... but EarthQuaker Devices’ Transmisser takes a somewhat different direction.
Since being acquired by Music Group, TC Electronic’s engineers have continued to add to their pedal line, and the three on review here are all based on traditional analogue circuitry.
Overdrive pedals create distortion in different ways. EarthQuaker Devices, though, have really hedged their bets with their Gray Channel, as each of its two overdrive channels offers a choice of three clipping types.