10 Rocking Overdrive Pedal Reviews – Give your Tone a Boost in 2024

If you’re looking for a Klon clone, J. Rockett Audio is arguably the most authentic. They manufactured the original pedals, giving them intimately familiar with the inner workings of that classic pedal. Short of dropping a few grand on a vintage Klon Centaur, the Archer is the closest thing you’ll find to that sound.

This pedal has our favorite clean boost on the list. You’ll want to be gentle with the output knob because it can get crazy loud pretty fast. The gain control is smooth, giving you the whole spectrum from clean tone to full crunch.

Sound aside, the Archer is also cleverly designed. It’s built so you can change the battery without taking it off your pedal board, and the top-mounted jacks let you connect it with less cabling—little details that a gigging guitarist can appreciate.

Features:

• Controls: Gain, output, treble
• Dimensions: 7” X 3” X 5”
• Weight: 1.25 pounds
• Power: 9V battery or AC adapter
• 1-year Limited Warranty

TC Electronic MojoMojo Overdrive Pedal

User Manual

TC Electronic is known for making great equipment that’s affordable for any guitarist, and they don’t disappoint with their MojoMojo Overdrive. It gives you a transparent overdrive that’s full in the low end—no screechy distortion here. With a lot of options in a compact, rugged package, it’s a versatile pedal and, in our opinion, the best value on the list.

This pedal is an especially good choice if you like chaining effects. It was designed to complement with the Dark Matter and it sounds great paired with a wide range of distortion, fuzz, and other effect pedals. The same is unfortunately not true of amp styles. The MojoMojo sounds especially great paired with Marshall-style amps but can be muddy when used with a lot of solid-state amps.

What’s the bottom line? Paired with the right equipment, the MojoMojo has a warm, open overdrive perfect for jazz, blues, and rock—and you definitely can’t beat the price.

Features:

• Controls: Drive, Level, Bass, Treble knobs; voicing switch
• Dimensions: 5” X 3” X 4”
• Weight: 10 ounces
• Power: 9V battery or AC adapter (not included)
• True Bypass
• 3-year Warranty

TC Electronic MojoMojo Overdrive Pedal

User Manual

TC Electronic is known for making great equipment that’s affordable for any guitarist, and they don’t disappoint with their MojoMojo Overdrive. It gives you a transparent overdrive that’s full in the low end—no screechy distortion here. With a lot of options in a compact, rugged package, it’s a versatile pedal and, in our opinion, the best value on the list.

This pedal is an especially good choice if you like chaining effects. It was designed to complement with the Dark Matter and it sounds great paired with a wide range of distortion, fuzz, and other effect pedals. The same is unfortunately not true of amp styles. The MojoMojo sounds especially great paired with Marshall-style amps but can be muddy when used with a lot of solid-state amps.

What’s the bottom line? Paired with the right equipment, the MojoMojo has a warm, open overdrive perfect for jazz, blues, and rock—and you definitely can’t beat the price.

Features:

• Controls: Drive, Level, Bass, Treble knobs; voicing switch
• Dimensions: 5” X 3” X 4”
• Weight: 10 ounces
• Power: 9V battery or AC adapter (not included)
• True Bypass
• 3-year Warranty

User Manual

Wampler is too large a company to really be considered a boutique pedal manufacturer but in terms of quality that’s what you can expect from the Tumnus. These pedals are still hand-built using the same overdrive circuitry that built their reputation. The only difference is they’ve put the famous Klon Centaur overdrive in a remarkably tiny pedal.

You only have to listen to the Tumnus for a few seconds to know why people love the effect. It is the ultimate in transparent overdrive, giving your sound some extra grit without losing tone or definition. The clean boost tone is great too. It does use a buffered rather than a true bypass. A lot of players like the effect on their sound, but it’s something to keep in mind.

The Tumnus isn’t cheap, though it’s definitely more affordable than the boutique pedals it competes with. If you’re looking for a versatile transparent overdrive, it’s worth the extra expense.

Features:

• Controls: Gain, treble, volume
• Dimensions: 7” X 4” X 7”
• Weight: 7 ounces
• Power: 9V AC adapter (not included)
• 5-year Warranty

User Manual

If it’s vintage overdrive you’re looking for, you’ll definitely want to take a look at the Tube Monster from Behringer. It has both the sound and the look of classic overdrive pedals from the ’50s and ‘60s, combined with modern build techniques that make it a more durable and versatile option.

Behringer markets this as a tube amp crammed into a pedal, and while that’s a bit of an exaggeration it’s not far from the mark. The 12AX7 vacuum tube inside the Tube Monster gives your tone a warmth that digital effects can’t replicate.

Want to know the best part? You can get the Tube Monster for right around fifty bucks—definitely one of the most affordable ways to add a true tube overdrive to your sound. Experimenting with different tubes also gives you more ways to customize the effect sound. Overall a solid pedal at a great value.

Features:

• Controls: 3-band EQ, gain, and master knobs; noise gate with adjustable threshold
• Dimensions: 8.5” X 7” X 2.5”
• Weight: 3 pounds
• Power: 9V AC adapter (included)
• True Bypass
• 3-year Warranty

User Manual

The OCD from Fulltone has been around for a while, and it graces the pedal boards of players the world over. The most recent release of this iconic pedal has the same sweet crunch as the original.

Great things will happen if you get an 18V AC adapter for the OCD. This pedal takes a lot of power. If you want that devastating, heavy metal-style overdrive, a 9V battery just isn’t going to cut it. It can give you a more subtle overdrive if you want, too, although the effect range is definitely not the widest on the list.

Fulltone makes reliable pedals, and the OCD definitely has a great tone. It maybe costs a bit much for what you get, and it’s not the most versatile option, but it’s a solid effect that’s definitely worth considering for metal players and hard rockers.

Features:

• Controls: Volume, Drive, Tone
• Dimensions: 5” X 3” X 2.5”
• Weight: 1 pound
• Power: 9V battery, 9V or 18V AC adapter
• True Bypass
• 5-year Limited Warranty

User Manual

When you think of high-gain overdrive, the screaming rock solos of the ‘70s and ‘80s definitely come to mind. If that’s the sound you’re going for, you definitely want to check out this pedal designed in collaboration with one of the icons of the era: Eddie Van Halen. The EVH5150 is a beast of a pedal with a flexible overdrive effect that sounds great in any situation.

The EVH5150 seems like it should be a bigger pedal than it is. There is an impressive number of customization options for a pedal that weighs less than a pound. This does make the interface feel a bit crowded. Combined with the black-on-black color scheme, it might be tricky to adjust in low lighting. Still,

Here’s the deal: The EVH5450 can take you from subtle warmth to super saturation and everything between. It’s the pedal you want if you’re looking for full control over your sound, and you can count on it for a great tone no matter what kind of amp you’re playing through.

Features:

• Controls: 3-band EQ, output, and gain knobs; boost and gate switches
• Dimensions: 5.5” X 4.5” X 2.5”
• Weight: 7.4 ounces
• Power: 9V battery, AC adapter, or DC Brick
• True Bypass
• 1-year Limited Warranty

User Manual

Here’s another option from Fulltone that gives you the same reliable high craftsmanship but with a different overdrive color. As it turns out, this pedal is the perfect choice for metal, hard rock, and any other genre that calls for massive overdrive.

The first difference you’ll notice with the Fulldrive is the size. It’s a big pedal, but with good reason. Along with standard effect controls, there’s an adjustable Boost mode and toggles for activating MOSFET overdrive or changing the clipping style.

If you’re looking for a more subtle effect, this might not be your best choice. The Fulldrive2 can do it, but it’s at its best when you let it scream. If you want aggressive overdrive, look no further than the Fulldrive2.

Features:

• Controls: Volume, tone, overdrive, and boost knobs; mode and style toggles
• Dimensions: 7” X 4.5” X 3.5”
• Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Power: 9-18V AC adapter
• 5-year Limited Warranty

User Manual

The overdrive from a vintage tube amp has a very distinctive sound. Getting that sound used to mean spending thousands of dollars, but no more thanks to amp overdrive emulation pedals like the Friedman BE-OD. It’s based on the company’s classic BE-100 amplifier and gives you the same tight distortion and full bass in a smaller (and much more affordable) package.

The BE-OD gives you twice the tone-shaping options that you’ll find on most overdrive pedals. This is a good thing if you like having complete control over your sound, though it does mean spending a bit more time with the pedal to figure out what all it can do.

This definitely isn’t the cheapest item on the list. A lot of players balk at the idea of spending two hundred bucks on an overdrive pedal—until they hear what all it can do. If you want the big, bold tube overdrive of a vintage amp, the Friedman BE-OD is worth the investment.

Features:

• Controls: Bass, treble, presence, volume, gain, tight
• Dimensions: 7” X 4” X 4”
• Weight: 1 pound
• Power: 9V or 18V AC adapter (not included)
• True bypass
• 3-year Limited Warranty

User Manual

Even if you like a lot of distortion on your tone, the situation sometimes calls for an effect that’s more subtle. The Super Overdrive from Boss lets you do both in one pedal. The overdrive is designed to emulate the tone of a classic tube amplifier and it does the job well, with a sound that’s surprisingly full and warm.

Sadly, we had some issues with the build. Boss usually delivers impeccable construction, so we were a bit disappointed to find the connections felt a bit loose and the knobs slightly flimsy. It doesn’t seem as rugged as you’d expect Boss pedals to be.

Despite these flaws, the sound of the DS-1 definitely makes it a great value at the price. It even comes with cables and a cloth (though, oddly, not a power adapter). The natural tone and low price make it a good choice for players on a budget.

Features:

• Controls: Tone, Level, Drive
• Dimensions: 9” X 4” X 6”
• Weight: 2 pounds
• Power: 9V battery or PSA-series AC adapter (not included)
• 5-year Warranty