15 Favourite Drunk Beaver Pedals

I pondered long and hard on which would be my Drunk Beaver chosen ambassador pedals - where I wanted to include a decent spread of effects - and both mainline and Pedal Drop editions. In the end I distilled it down to the 15 you see featured here - which I feel very well represents the brand.

There are obviously certain patterns here per my own preferences - and where you will hopefully note that these are the ones I've really advocated for over these last 4 years. Drunk Beaver is one of my essential brands - and all these pedals in the selection are at the top of their game as such!

So here is my final selection :

• Bloom (Bixonic Expandora)
• Distortion (Boss DS-1)
• Dnipro Jet Flanger (Ibanez FL9) [Pedal Drop #5]
• (Boba) FET OverBooster (Boss FA-1 FET Amplifier)
• The Forest Song High Voltage Overdrive
• Heavy Bat Distortion (King of Rats!)
• Hoverla Germanium Treble Booster
• Inglorious Bastard Overdrive (BluesBreaker)
• Kharkiv CMOStortion [Pedal Drop #9]
• Khmelnytskyi OD (Boss OD-1 + OD-3) [Pedal Drop #19]
• Kyiv Lead (Boss SD-2) [Pedal Drop #14]
• Lviv Liontaur [Pedal Drop #21]
• Poltava DOA Muff [Pedal Drop #16]
• Seattle Driver
• Secret Sauce (Harmonic Percolator)

All of these are big time favourites of mine - notably with the Seattle Driver replacing two of my longer-term favourites that would otherwise have been in this selection - the Fluff Octane Fuzz, and Mykolaiv Grunge.

Vitalii is so prolifically busy that he seems to be working on a dozen projects at any given time - where he's still doing Exar circuit traces - in the hopes of reviving that classic Polish brand one day. There is a smattering of Exar derivatives across the range, alongside pedals evolved from Boss and Ibanez mostly discontinued classics.

In my 15 there are 4 Boss-inspired pedals - the Distortion, (Boba) FET OverBooster, Khmelnytskyi OD, and Kyiv Lead, with kind of 2 Ibanez derivations here too!

Much like my friend Verlie in Australia (PastFX), Vitalii is also known for his properly smart selection of rare primo components - where many of those were actually made in his former Ukrainian heartland.

So many of these pedals sound brilliant - because of a mix of engineering prowess and superior component selection, and I'm proud to be friends with so many pioneers in this domain.

Note that several of these are discontinued - in fact 6 of the 15 - of course the Pedal Drop ones. And for the current mainline range - those are all small batch productions - so they will go out of stock every now and then - you just need to be patient and sharp-minded - and keep an eye on the Drunk Beaver Webstore and Instagram Pages - where new release and stock announcements are made!

Everyone should find something to love in this selection, full details below as usual! :

Controls - Volume, Tone, Gain, Mode : Overdrive / Crunch / Distortion / Fuzz, Voice : Ge / LED / Si, Fat : Fat / Tight / Classic.

An amazing take on the Bixonic Export with really useful additional controls to get the most out of this format, alongside a superb sounding rare Toshiba MC1458N OpAmp (Dual LM741). Much like with the Decibelics Reverend this sounds superb across all 4 - Overdrive / Crunch / Distortion / Forbidden Fuzz voicings - only somewhat more expansive. One of my very favourite takes on this superb circuit for sure!

Controls - Level, Tone, List, Clipping : Silicon 1N914 Sym / MOSFET / Silicon 1N4001 / Germanium D9B / '94 IN914 Asym / Red LEDs / '78 1S1588 Silicon / Boost, Mids : Stock Scooped / Less Scooped / Flat EQ, Op-amp : Vintage / Modern, Muff : Off / On.

This really takes the Boss DS-1 format to new heights via dual OpAmp selection, 8 classic clipping options, Mids Boost, and Muff input Mod - one of the most perennially popular of Drunk Beaver Pedals - and where I own 3 Editions of this fabulous circuit - really beefs up and rounds off that essential DS-1 Distortion flavour - everyone who encounters it loves it!

Controls - Delay Time, Width, Speed, Regen, Voice : Flanger / Chorus.

A superb take on the long discontinued Ibanez FL9 Jet Flanger [1981-84]. Delivering a proper full flavour Flanger, but with Chorus voicing also. I'm obviously a big fan of Flanger Modulations - and this is a great representative of the more flavoursome of that ilk - really cool colourway too! Note no official demo - so I reference an original Ibanez FL9 here!

Controls - Bass, Mid, Treble, Output, Tight (Low-Cut), Mode : Drive / Boost, Gain.

A fantastic take on the Boss FA-1 FET Amplifier. My very first of that circuit family - where I have 4 now - including the JHS Clover Preamp, and Audio Blend Edge EQ and Fourleaf takes on that same format - all brilliant takes on that circuit. While the (Boba) FET OverBooster was my first of that kind and therefore kind of more endearing! It truly sounds superb and has the most magnificent range extension and versatility - a really potent Boost / Overdrve and Distortion even!

Controls - Volume, Resonance (500Hz + 800Hz Peak Filters Cut/Boost), Drive, Mode (Clipping) : Boost / LED / MOSFET / Si / Ge / Asym Si, Volts ≈ 18 / 30.

An intriguing not-a-screamer which takes a different path with Resonant Filter, 6 potent clipping options and high voltage @ c18V and 30V. The final production version was in effect a V3, where my V1 had significant volume-drop issues with the Ge Clipping. Vitalli then did two further iteration - and the pedal was significantly improved in every area - now with the Ge voicing as one of my favourites! A very distinct and potent sounding overdrive where originally the voltage component was variable, but caused too much interference with the circuit - which is why it was reduced to a binary switch.

Controls - Clean Blend, Filter, Low, Mid, High, Distortion, EQ Mode : Heavy (HM-2) / Classic (Filter-only), Volume A, Volume B, Clipping Mode A : LED / None / SI / Soviet SI / Hybrid / Mosfet / GE / Bat, Clipping Mode B : LED / None / SI / Soviet SI / Hybrid / Mosfet / GE / Bat, Op-Amp Selector : Classic / Soviet / Modern / Ancient, dual footswitches : Bypass + Channel A/B.

I included this in my recent Reference Collection World Odyssey article - where I named it my favourite Polish pedal of all time - so by extension it has to be my favourite overall Drunk Beaver pedal too - while I'm definitely spoilt for choice there. This is a superb engineering achievement with quad OpAmp options, and 3-Band EQ across 2 separate channels - each with 8 Clipping Modes. I've crowned this the 'King of Rats' and I still stand by that sentiment. To complete that set - I also include the Fat Bat - which has a slightly different take on the Rat. The Drunk Beaver Bat Series is a killer and very distinctive take on the Rat Distortion format - and anyone who is serious about this circuit type - should most definitely own a Heavy Bat!

Controls - Range, Master, Impedance (for Pickup Simulator), Pickup Simulator Off / On, Bias, Bias Volage Display (3.15 > 0.63).

A further enhancement of the Sumy Treble Booster circuit [PD#10] with variable Voltage Bias display and slightly different mostly soviet Germanium transformers - sounds and looks superb - a fantastic take on the RangeMaster format!

Controls - Level, Tone, Drive, Saturation, CLIP : Mosfet / LED / Si, BRIGHT : Dark / Bright / Stock.

I actually waited a while to get this one as I wasn't happy with the earlier artworks, it paid to wait it out in fact, as Vitalii found an even better stash of Toshiba TA7727P OpAmps - which really sound superb. This BluesBreaker type is right up there with the very best of them - like the Snouse BlackBox Stage Pro edition and Wampler Pantheon, I mostly like it set to LED clipping - it's an improved BluesBreaker for sure!

Controls - Bass, Mid, Treble, Level, Drive.

An interesting evolution of the Mostortion circuit where a part of the circuit is switched out with a discrete Opamp configuration, uses a CMOS Chip 2N7000 + BS250 Pair instead, and removes the input buffer. The end result is that it sounds fantastic - really smooth and sustaining with a very distinctive breakup character. No official demo exists for this circuit - and so I've made use some original Mostortion comparison sound samples!

Controls - Volume, Tone (from OD-3), Drive, Clipping : LED / None / Silicon.

Something I've always wanted is an enhanced tone-stack OD-1 featuring the very original 14-Leg chip - which is essentially what we have here - where Vitalii managed to get his hands on some Motorola MX3403 OpAmps which are the exact equivalent to the Boss used Raytheon RC3403 ones. The addition of LED clipping really helps too - for an all-round improved take on the very original fuller sounding OD-1. I've suggested that Vitalii do an even more extended version with added clipping options, phat mode, and 3-Band EQ. In any case this Khmelnytskyi OD edition is already brilliant as is - and I'm so glad I got my hand on one! 

Controls - Treble, Mid, Bass, Master, Presence, Gain.

Another brilliant Boss derivation / enhancement, where Vitalii expands on the Lead Channel from the Boss SD-2 Dual OverDrive discontinued in 1998, I've always thought of this as a slightly Rat-style sounding distortion, while many disagree. In any case you get an added 4-Band EQ here - including additional Mid and Presence controls. An already fantastic format sounds even better in this version - a superb sustaining distortion! Once more no official demo exists so I'm compelled to use an original SD-2 pedal sound sample.

Controls - Loud, Timbre, Purr (Dry Level), Roar (Gain Leve).

A genius take on a Klon Centaur where Vitalii has cleverly split out the normally single parallel Dry and Gain Level control into its two separate constituents. He also deploys some really unique oversized Germanium D2 Diodes - which you can see though the viewport slits on the pedal facia. A fantastic and really granularly shapeable Klone! Indeed it was so popular that Vitalii made a second batch in Yellow a couple of weeks later! Once more - no official demo exists for this pedal - so I've had to use another sounds sample one - I'm pretty sure everyone knows what a Klon sounds like these days - just imagine one with even more precise and expansive controls.

Controls : Volume, EQ, Sustain, Tone Stack : BMP EQ / LPF Rat Filter, Impedance : Custom / Standard.

A fantastic sounding OpAmp Muff based on a combination of the best aspects of the classic EHX OpAmp Fuzz and Ibanez CR5 Crunchy Rhythm - utilising a rare Portuguese TI RC4559P OpAmp chip. The different EQ and Impedance settings give you a wider and more expansive output profile. A really beautifully textured OpAmp Muff! Again - no official demo exists - hence the EHX OpAmp Muff sound samples!

Controls - Fat (± Bass centered @ 80Hz, 5.06 Q), Muscle (± Mids centered @ 875Hz, 5.5 Q), Air (± Highs centered @ 1550Hz, 4.58 Q), Exhaust (Volume), Vacuum (% Ring Mod Upper Octave), Power (Drive).

A replacement for 3 Drunk Beaver Pedals - the PW-2-derived Mykolaiv Grunge and Big Grunge, and the Fluff Octave Fuzz. Vitalii has combined the best elements from all of those into the single new brilliant sounding Seattle Driver. Which is probably my second favourite pedal in the range after the Heavy Bat - while there is really stiff competition for that slot. The RingMod style octave adds a lovely searing tonality on top of that amazing sustain - a really fantastic sounding fuzz! 

Controls - Compression, Diodes : Ge/Si, Symmetry (Diode Clipping) : Symmetrical > Stock Percolator > Asymmetrical, Output, Q2 Transistors : Ge/Si, Harmonics (Gain).

A superior 4-knob Harmonic Percolator with Germanium / Silicon Diode and Transistor Options - with an obviously expansive soundstage - to match that striking yellow enclosure / purple knob combination. One of the best Harmonic Percolators out there in a really neat form factor! A perennial favourite for sure!