Origin Effects RD Compact Hot Rod Overdrive Pedal Overview
Need the potent sound of a high-gain, hot-rodded valve amp in a portable stompbox format? The RevivalDrive Compact Hot Rod has you covered. Combine Origin Effect’s acclaimed build-quality with a truly authentic amp tone and you have yourself a winning pedal.
Mammoth Sound, Small Box
This offering from acclaimed pedal company Origin Effects is a valuable addition to their impressive lineup of groundbreaking pedals. The RevivalDRIVE Compact Hot Rod is part of the RD family of incredible amp-in-a-box effects pedals.
The Compact Hot Rod features the same touch-sensitivity, realistic tone and characterful harmonics as the rest of the RD range thanks to an innovative all-analogue transistor design, which accurately recreates the signal path of a bona fide valve amp in a pedalboard-friendly enclosure. It’s a great way to add a new sonic flavour to your favourite amp and bring out your signature sound when borrowing backline.
Realistic Amp Tone
Inspired by the hallowed amp technicians of the '70s & '80s, the Compact Hot Rod makes its mark in the RD family - boasting a Class A preamp stage that has been pushed to its absolute limits. The result is a tone with boosted gain, sustain and aggression.
Every aspect of a classic, modified amplifier has been replicated in Origin Effect’s Compact Hot Rod, including the vital push-pull output stage. The precision-engineered power supply has been designed to introduce the ideal amount of “sag”, which is a key aspect of how a prized valve amp responds to your playing.
Deep Control
The RD Compact Hot Rod is equipped with an array of intuitive and powerful controls, which allow you to dial-in the perfect amount of distortion, dynamic response and tone sculpting. A world of juicy tones is at your fingertips.
Whilst the Compact Hot Rod excels at ripping high-gain sounds, it has a vast gain range - allowing you to seamlessly transition from bold cleans to all-out saturation. Since this pedal responds like a valve amp, you can clean up the sound by altering your attack and turning down your guitar’s volume knob.
You can easily tailor the Compact Hot Rod to your amp of choice thanks to the Post-EQ, which optimises the pedal’s sound depending on what it’s running into.
Premium Construction
Made with top-quality components and constructed in England, you can count on the Origin Effect’s Compact Hot Rod to always deliver the goods.
The Compact Hot Rod is a fantastic addition to the already astounding Revival Drive series. If you need a realistic amp-in-a-pedal that responds, feels and sounds like the real deal - and has tonnes of gain at the ready - the Origin Effects Compact Hot Rod is a top choice.
- Unabridged valve amp-style signal path recreated in all-analogue electronics
- Class-A preamp stage with realistic, “hot-rodded” amp gain-staging
- Full control of tone, dynamic response and distortion characteristics
- Wide gain range, from clean to full-on saturation
- Powerful Post-Drive EQ tailors the pedal’s voicing to suit any amp
- Premium components throughout
- Designed and built in England
- GAIN: Like the Volume knob on a non-master volume amp – increasing the GAIN will gradually increase overdrive in the emulated amp circuit.
- OUTPUT: Simply an output level control – this will not affect the tone or overdrive of the pedal.
- MORE/PRES: Alters negative feedback in the emulated amp circuit, affecting not only the presence and brightness but also the transition into overdrive.
- HIGHS: Adjusts the Treble and Mids in the emulated amp circuit. This will affect the tone and the character of the overdrive. Fully counterclockwise, this control emulates the sound of a Marshall with its tone controls set flat. Sweeping to 12 o’clock gives you a cranked, hot-rodded Plexi, through to a cranked Fender-style tone with the HIGHS knob fully clockwise.
- LOWS: Adjusts the Bass in the emulated amp circuit. This will affect the tone and character of the overdrive. High settings will result in a thick, raspy overdrive tone with a more vintage character. Low settings will be tight and defined, like a classic hot-rodded Plexi.
- BLEND: Turning the control counter-clockwise from maximum will begin to introduce some of your clean guitar signal. As highly overdriven sounds don’t blend too well with clean tones, the BLEND control also reduces gain in the pedal as the clean signal is blended in.
- POST-DRIVE EQ: This innovative output filter tailors the sound of the RD Compact Hot Rod to suit any amp. Choose from three filter settings, then fine tune to exactly match your rig with the Adjust control
- The RD Compact Hot Rod has a high impedance input and its output level will suit typical amp inputs, power amp inputs and line inputs. Power using a 9VDC 2.1mm centre-negative adaptor delivering at least 100mA. Voltage rails are increased internally for high headroom.
- Size: 143 x 66 x 65 mm (5.62 x 2.6 x 2.56 in.)
- Weight: 620 g (1.37 lb)
