AndromedaNatural Overdrive

From the vendor

A unique overdrive pedal whose complex drive tone earns it a spot on the pedalboards of many Nashville studio musicians.

Project description

The Andromeda Natural Overdrive is a recreation of the Nobels ODR-1, a German pedal from the early 1990s that has come to be known as a “secret weapon” among Nashville studio musicians.

The overwhelming complaint of the ODR-1 is that it has way too much bass with no way to dial it out. To that end, the Andromeda incorporates a variable bass control inspired by the Timmy and Zendrive. The stock tones are still there with the knob all the way up, but now you have the option to dial it back.

Looking at the schematic, you can see a stark difference with Japanese-designed pedals (i.e. most Ibanez or Boss circuits). This is German engineering at its finest—tons of odd-value resistors and capacitors forming very precise filters and signal shaping. This is not a particularly simple build, but it’s very rewarding and well worth the effort.

Note: The PCB-only version of this project uses a type of capacitor that has been temporarily discontinued by WIMA. Please see our news article about the issue and the substitution spreadsheet for project-specific recommendations. We are stocking a limited supply in the mean time. The build document has not yet been updated to reflect this. It does not impact the kits.