Xploration • Curation • Recommendation
ThunderTomate's Over-Drive+ Rev G is a beautifully balanced natural / organic overdrive with 3 exceptionally usable Voices
As I mentioned in my original overview of this pedal - one of my good friend Alberto Barrero’s demos first drew me to this pedal. Based on the name I thought it might have some relation to Boss’s original OD-1, but this is its own animal - where the circuit has been around since the early 2000’s and has seemingly found its way to its 7th Rev G iteration.
It had a wonderfully balanced tone, and is beautifully neutral on Stock Voice, elegantly cutting on the Bright Voice, and where its Full Voice serves as an incredibly full-range boost with the Gain turned down.
I really love most everything about this pedal, first impressions are excellent. My only tiny niggle is that it could do with a little more in the volume department. Most pedals these days are designed to go into the front of an ’On-the-edge-of-Breakup’ Amp, where that does a fair amount of the lifting as such. While through a Clean Pedal Platform Amp setup - you need a little more oomph in the engine room - to deliver the same force of output.
The Boss DS-1 is a great example of that - where it sounds thin and anaemic into a clean pedal platform, but full of verve and vigour into the front of an amp - indeed like Kurt Cobain, John Frusciante, Steve Vai etc al deployed it. But I digress ... all I’m saying here is that the Volume dial is permantely at Max for me, and I need to further bolster the output with my trusty Strymon Sunset Treble Booster - as a follow-on - that combination yields the superior tones for me that I hear in Alberto’s demo.
Controls - Level, Drive, Tone, Voice : Stock / Bright / Full.
I don't always like all the voicing of a pedal - and usually I gravitate toward the fattest and most expressive Voice, while not eh OD+ my favourite Voice is the Bright One - which has just the right amount of elegant cut-through for me - still maintains that perfect balance - but it's a touch brighter and more cutting - but in the most elegant of fashions.
The other 2 modes are excellent also - and depending on what output you're after each one has an optimal purpose. It's already gorgeous sounding on the Stock Voice, which is kind of equal runner-up for me with the Full.
Alberto recommends using the Full Voice as a potent boost - with the Drive all the way down - that has just the right amount of full-frequency punch to improve most everything downstream.
I tend to have the Level permanently maxed out, and Gain / Drive @ around 3 o'c. The Tone then mostly stays at 2 o'c, but rises to 3 o'c for the Stock Mode.
The Over-Drive+ Rev G is an incredibly tasteful overdrive - it's sort of adjacent to Blues Breaker and Timmy Territory - but very much with its own voice and a very natural and balanced aspiration.
It's night perfect really - it just needs a tiny bit more Level / Output to be perfect for my rig - and it still sounds amazing. I would imagine anyone going into an Amp on the edge of breakup would be very satisfied.
Alberto's demo below is an excellent reference for my own experience of this pedal - it really is that mellifluous and very much delivers honeyed tones indeed!
The Over-Drive+ Rev G is just €149 via the ThunderTomate Website - it's a really gorgeous, versatile, and properly useful overdrive with a personality all of its own!
Demos
