Silktone's Overdrive+ is a smart new take on a universal full-range dynamic overdrive
Silktone’s Fuzz upgraded the Germanium Fuzz Face in several ways - giving it more range / variability and flexibility with its Bias Voltmeter Display, Cleanup control, and Raw voicing alternative. And here it’s doing similar to the old amp-like overdrive pedal - imbuing that also with smart new features.
The most innovative part of the pedal is the Strangle Boost / Voicing which introduces a Wah-like Inductor filter into the mix - which delivers heavily accentuated mids - or that typical Cocked-Wah sound. You also have the option of just a Raw Full Range Boost - the Strangle here is pretty unique though.
In tandem with that we have an internal Voltage boosted to 30V via charge pump - from a 9V DC [-] supply, and we have additional Bass Cut and Asymmetrical / Symmetrical toggle switches too.
Controls - Volume, Tone (Brightness), Gain, Bass Cut switch, Clipping : Asymmetrical / Symmetrical, Strangle / Raw Footswitch : Strangle (Cocked Wah-like Inductor Filter) / Raw (Inductor-less Full Boost), Bypass Footswitch.
The impact of all these options is a vastly expanded range of tones onboard - which in tandem with the touch-sensitivity and dynamic aspects of the circuit - give you an amazing all-rounder overdrive.
I don't mind that it's in a BB-size enclosure - while I would have preferred it in more pedalboard-friendly vertical orientation.
There's no doubting though that Silktone have done it again - in innovating a pretty distinct departure from the classic effect this is based on.
It sounds excellent in the demos - in fact good enough for me to not mind it too much in this format - while I'm not sure it's going straight onto the priority list - currently rather more the nice-to-have list - but I do really like this - all things considered!
The Overdrive + goes for $269 - which is exactly the same price as its excellent Fuzz. Both are of course available right now on the Silktone Webstore. And I would imagine the overdrive will be available imminently at international dealers too!
Demos
12 Degrees of Saturation 2023 Compact Edition
