MusicRadar Verdict
There's a certain simplicity to stepping on a pedal for a cleaner sound. Genius.
Pros
- +
Instant clean tone. Easy to use.
Cons
- -
Very few.
MusicRadar's got your back
Underdrive: a new category of pedal? Well, not exactly new, as we've seen the HomeBrew Electronics Detox EQ, a Paul Gilbert signature pedal, does a similar job.
The idea is that if you have a vintage single-channel amp that you can turn up to find your sweet spot of overdrive, you can kick in the Underdrive to instantly get a cleaner tone when needed.
So, why not just use your guitar's volume knob? Well, that can darken the tone to an unwanted degree, whereas the Underdrive turns down the midrange where the overdrive largely comes from, but has bass, midrange and treble knobs to get that cleaner tone sitting just right.
It all works really well, too. With the pedal's volume control setting exactly how much the signal to your amp is reduced, youcan clean up a dirty sound while keeping your EQ just where you want it. A bonus is you can use it as a booster if you turn the midrange knob up.
Guitarist is the longest established UK guitar magazine, offering gear reviews, artist interviews, techniques lessons and loads more, in print, on tablet and on smartphones Digital: http://bit.ly/GuitaristiOS If you love guitars, you'll love Guitarist. Find us in print, on Newsstand for iPad, iPhone and other digital readers

“We hadn’t rehearsed. We weren’t used to playing acoustic. Even the people from MTV thought it was horrible”: A new Nirvana’s Unplugged exhibition features not only Kurt Cobain’s $6 million Martin D-18E but his green cardigan too

“The screaming was deafening!”: How a Japanese tour transformed the career of a weird little band known as the ‘Beatles of hard rock’

Ranked: Moog’s semi-modular ‘Mother’ synths from worst to best