Incorporates two serial effects. DR is a hard clipping circuit fueled by a NE5534 opamp. VA is a MOSFET clean boost seasoned with a modern interpretation of the Varitone tone circuit.
DR is a simple drive that celebrates the harmonic structure of your sound and maintains an airy open tone. NE5534 op-amp provides a low noise, high-performance amplification with a wide bandwidth.
VA doesn’t make your sound dark, makes it a tad beefier; it doesn’t make your sound trebly, makes it punchier, easier to cut through. The effect is not dramatic; it is efficient and subtle. The combination of Varitone and MOSFET boost, both sparkles and compresses the frequency range of your guitar to your liking, in 18 different ways.
This tone circuit is painstakingly overhauled by us. All capacitors and EQ notches are selected to match a wide variety of sounds. It is controlled via a 6-way selector, switching between 6 different capacitors, providing 6 different EQ filters. For further tweaking, there is also a 3 way “Q” switch that changes the filter bandwidth. Ultimately it provides 18 different combinations that can be used as 18 presets for your tone control. Varying on the setting, you get up to 20dB boost to your signal.
This pedal is quite useful for flavoring under-powered or weirdly equalized fuzz and overdrive pedals. We love DRVA as an always-on pedal.
"A Swedish outfit’s debut op-amp drive and “Varitone”-style MOSFET boost serves up a refreshing array of lush-to-sick sounds."
Premier Guitar - Shawn Hammond, Quick Hit Review (February 2018 issue)
"The Varitone circuit was pretty magical. Especially, how it interacted with the MOSFET overdrive."
EffectsBay - March 5, 2017