NimbusDynamic Overdrive

From the vendor

A modern reimagining of the classic Tube Screamer circuit, featuring a dual drive/blend control adapted from the Klon Centaur.

Project description

The Nimbus Dynamic Overdrive is an adaptation of the Maxon OD-820 Overdrive Pro, first released in 2001 as part of Maxon’s Vintage Series alongside the AD-999 Analog Delay, DS-830 Distortion Master, PH-350 Rotary Phaser, and a few others.

Despite the name, the Vintage Series were not reissues of vintage circuits. The pedals in the series were released in the same big-box enclosure style they used in the 1970s, but featuring all-new designs, vintage-inspired with modern improvements.

With its bipolar +/-9V charge pump and dual-pot “gain/blend” control, the Maxon OD-820 Overdrive Pro actually shares a lot of concepts with the Klon Centaur. They are often compared with one another in sound, but it is by no means a clone. The OD-820 is actually a little closer to a Tube Screamer with regard to its clipping diodes and tone control. (Check out this Legendary Tones article from 2004 comparing the OD-820 with the Klon Centaur.)

The OD-820 is the same circuit as the later VOP-9 Vintage Overdrive Pro. The OD-820 has a larger enclosure that matches the other Vintage Series effects while the VOP-9 is housed in the smaller standard Ibanez 9-series enclosure.

Note: 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.