Powersound Overdrive (Colorsound Overdriver)

[MichaelW]

If I were a gigging guitarist I'd have a BB Preamp on my pedal board for sure. It's a bit of a Swiss army knife drive. Lots of different sounds you can get out of it. But since I have the luxury of sitting on my butt playing with every imaginable flavor of overdrive, specialization drives suit me better

 

[Big Monk]

Which opamp style version(s) are you referring to?

The oft-repeated Internet hearsay is that the EHX Crayon is a minimally tweaked clone of the Xotic BB Preamp. (Although people on the Internet also often say the BB Preamp is based on the Bluesbreaker, which it is clearly not; the BB Preamp is a Tubescreamer with Bandaxall tone controls.)

All these subsequent opamp overdrives have a shared lineage to something like the Powerboost. The gain stage structure, EQ sections, etc. They are of course not the same pedals but if we look at how the gain stages are laid out and structure, etc. you'll see many similarities.

For instance, if we look at something like the Cattle Driver, it's pretty damn similar in topology to the BB or to a TS with Baxandall, etc. Opamps differ and there are some tweaks but they are sharing the same topology. Obviously diode clipping adds some differences as well.

Furthermore, the Tube Driver, Mosfet Driver, etc. are all similar as well.

To this point, you can trace the lineage of something like the Crayon back to the Powerboost.

 

[Coda]

To this point, you can trace the lineage of something like the Crayon back to the Powerboost.

The OG OD...

 

[Big Monk]

The OG OD...

Exactly.

I know people get hung up on X pedal being different from Y pedal because of Z but most drive circuits that also have a Baxandall tonestack share a pretty similar gain structure to the Powerboost.

 

[MichaelW]

How far off is the Powersound Overdrive to the Vick's Audio Overdriver? Sounds like basically the same pedal? Or does Vick do something different with theirs? I "need" to build a Rams Head now........

 

[Big Monk]

How far off is the Powersound Overdrive to the Vick's Audio Overdriver? Sounds like basically the same pedal? Or does Vick do something different with theirs? I "need" to build a Rams Head now........

They are all pretty much the same. I don't think any of the small differences between circuits make any difference sonically.

 

[Coda]

They are all pretty much the same. I don't think any of the small differences between circuits make any difference sonically.

But on the other hand, you have mojo…

 

[Feral Feline]

No sonic differences, but how they FEEL when you play through them...









I'm gonna start my own overdrive...

...with blackjack ...

and hookers...

In fact forget the blackjack, and the hookers...

Ahhh forget the whole thing, it's all the same circuit anyway.

 

[cdwillis]

The Crayon is 100% a BB Preamp clone. I had one I was using for a while before it got traded off. I was hoping it wouldn't have that midrange honk from the tube screamer circuit, but it was still in there, just with the added Baxandall tone stack afterwards.

 

[HamishR]

I like both the Colorsound Overdrive and the Boost. Oddly enough I think I like the Overdrive better as a clean boost. They have a great midrange which makes for a killer boost for a dirty amp or overdrive.