Xploration • Curation • Recommendation
Drunk Beaver's Vitalii breaks the mould yet again to deliver my favourite ever sounding Klone - The Olbia Overdrive
Readers will recall that Vitalii made a somewhat evolved Lviv Liontaur Klone back in May of 2024 - which split out Dry and Distorted Signals to separate Level Controls, and made use of killer Soviet NOS D2 GE Diodes. While the Olbia is a whole other level above that - sort of in a category of its own!
For me the Olbia embodies the essence of classic and killer rock and roll sound - in that compact enclosure. And similar to how Thorpy’s ’The J’ delivers the ultimate enhanced-texture for a Tweed Drive, the Olbia delivers the best ever texture for a ’Klon’ - much elevated and enhanced of course with a much richer and harmonically complex breakup texture - along with Active smart 3-Band EQ.
Controls - ACTIVE 3-BAND EQ } Bass (±80Hz), Mid (±800Hz), Treble (±1.5kHz), Volume, Drive, Clean level.
From Vitalii :
"Olbia is our evolved take on the Centaur circuit, engineered to address the original’s limitations and expand its tonal palette. While the classic operates its gain stage at standard voltage, Olbia runs internally at 15V, providing increased headroom and a more open, uncompressed feel at the input."
"Outdated, noisy charge pumps (such as the 7660) have been replaced with a silent, modern power supply for studio-quiet operation."
"And for added texture, your signal travels through a distinctive clipping sequence / array — first a Red LED (externally visible through a facia aperture), then the same NOS Soviet D2 GE diodes as in the Liontaur — delivering complex, harmonically rich grit. With separate Overdrive and Clean Blend controls for precise mixing, and an active 3-band EQ for tone shaping, this delivers a Klon-style sound without compromise."
About the Olbia Name
The pedal is named after 'Pontic Olbia' — written as OΛBIO (Olbio) by the Greeks and known as Olvia in Ukraine — this ancient city lies near Vitalii’s hometown. Where as the son of history teachers, Vitalii spent his childhood exploring Olbia's ruins, making it the perfect personal counterpoint to the Klon’s mythological roots.
My Preferred Settings : Bass @ 8 or 9 o'c, Mid @ 3 o'c, Treble @ 4 o'c, Volume @ 3 o'c, Drive @ Noon, Clean Level @ 10 o'c.
With those settings the Olbia sounds utterly glorious. I had had it for a couple of weeks before Vitalii confirmed the details of the circuit. Obisouly the separate Drive and Clean Controls are a clue - but there are other pedals with Drive and Clean Blend Controls. And the Olbia didn't really sound like a Klone to me - it was something grander - with a lot more texture on board - really beautiful breakup texture which is incredibly richly detailed - but still of an open nature - as Vitalii has managed to further tame the compression of the original.
I was pretty much smitten from the start. I usually favour a Marshall sound for classic rock and roll - but the Olbia is even more appealing to be - in fact an immediate joy to deploy. It sounds perfect formed now - and delivers on every level. You can of course shape it different by adjusting the EQ to your preferences - you can make it very smooth if you wish - or you can go full fat textured like I like it!
I felt the same when I encounter the ThorpyFX The J, and I feel it even more with the Olbia - it's pure perfection for me - and straight to the top of the tree for the Klone category - defining S-tier, while others might judge that this has evolved beyond the Klone - and is something slightly different now in its elevated state.
Everyone needs to check one of these out - you may know Klones - but you ain't heard anything yet. The Olbia is an absolute triumph for me - easily my favourite Drunk Beaver Overdrive and as I keep saying my favourite ever Klone - which makes it one of my very favourite overall overdrives.
Vitalii has obviously infused the Olbia with magic - it sounds extraordinarily good. This is one of my signature sounds now - what a killer pedal!
The Olbia goes for $175 / €175 / 649 PLN on the Drunk Beaver Rocks Webstore. I expect these to sell incredibly well - the demos I've heard so far don't quite do the Pedal justice - it really is exceptional and a very special overdrive!
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