Origin Effects Announces Premium RevivalDrive 2-Channel Overdrive & Distortion Pedal

I was really excited when Hamstead launched a new kind of luxe compact overdrive pedal at the tail end of last year - the Odyssey Intergalactic Driver - and I was quick to snap it up. The new RevivalDrive is twice the size of that but has 2 separate channels and around 5 times the controls - 12 regular dials, 5 small kind of screw-head-like dials and 6 mostly 3-way toggles along the top surface of the pedal. If you buy the Custom version you get an additional front panel which contains 4 more mostly 3-way EQ adjustment switches for an incredible total 45 different parameters. This looks superbly engineered as all Origin Effects products are and includes some extra bells and whistles that I’ve not seen before. In addition to the Regular and Custom models, there is also a separate dual footswitch add-on to Engage Mids and Override Blend.

This is a significant step-up by compressor specialist Origin Effects - which has been hitherto known for just a single pedal category - where they were starting to domninate the more pro-end of that. The focus has shifted to include overdrive now in a most intricate and unique fashion. While the Hamstead Odyssey was instantly understandable - there are several controls and parameters here that I am somewhat unfamiliar with but decidedly intrigued by.

Stated Features Include:

• Silicon solid-state and Valve-styled rectifier channels
• Dual Class-A preamp stages
• Phase inverter and push-pull power amp stages
• Built-in reactive speaker load
• Fully variable mid boost
• Unique Ghost control
• Dry Blend control for parallel drive effects
• Re-Amp EQ controls

There are no demo videos or sound samples yet, so we don’t fully know what to expect here - or the range of tones or gain covered. It looks glorious though and seems to have pretty much every angle covered in its own way. All this goodness though must come at a premium price too, and the standard / regular RevivalDrive comes in at £469/$549, while the Revival Drive Custom (with front EQ panel) is £569/$659 - the additional dual footswitch is still to be confirmed. Pre-orders open up on Thursday 29th March, there are only 200 units in the first batch and these will undoubtedly go fast. £569 is a significant investment in a single pedal, but I am more than seriously tempted to take the hit! I am always on the look out for the ultimate drive pedal, and this looks like it could be an incredibly strong contender.

I will add in some sound samples and demo videos as soon as any materialise ...