By: Austin
Rockett Pedals Animal Overdrive
Like many fellow guitar players and gear enthusiasts, the search for that perfect overdrive pedal is one that rarely finds an end. I can’t tell you how many late nights I’ve spent scouring video reviews on YouTube and proguitarshop.com looking for that perfect box of sonic goodness. This is why I can’t tell you that my search is finally over. What I can say, is that I’ve found a pedal that has halted my search. That pedal is the Rockett Pedals Animal Overdrive.
Let’s start with a quick review of the Animal’s features. Upon first glance, you’ll see that the Animal is slightly larger than a Boss pedal and built like a tank. The rugged enclosure can take a major beating as well as the high quality switch. The large TV style knobs make changes onstage very easy. Also, one of the first things that excited me about the Animal was the presence of the Bass knob. As I’m sure we all know, 99% of the overdrive pedals out there consist of 3 major controls: Volume, Gain, and Tone. While this works, it somewhat limits the sonic characteristics of the pedal.
Many players complain that a turn of the Tone knob increases treble but also cuts bass, or vice versa. The Animal has your normal Volume and Gain knob, but in place of the Tone knob the Animal boasts a Treble and a Bass control. In addition to these controls, it also has a mini toggle switch labeled “Snarl.” This control takes the overall sound from a modern, tight gain sound to a more vintage, open overdrive sound. Of course the Animal also has a 9volt, negative center power adapter input to be powered by your average Boss style AC adapters.
The Animal is described as a wide open “plexi” sound. For my review I played a ’74 Les Paul Goldtop with mini humbuckers, and a Mexican Strat with Kinnman pickups through an Orange Tiny Terror head and a 2×12 cab with one Celestion Greenback and one Celestion Vintage 30 speaker. At 15 watts, the Tiny Terror is already near breaking up with the volume and gain at 12 o’clock. That’s just how I like it. I started with the controls of the Animal all straight up at 12 o’clock and the mini-toggle on the “modern” setting.
Wow! My initial response was how much volume is added immediately. To keep my volume at a more bedroom level, I turned the volume down to about 10 o’clock. This sucker roars! The tone is a very tight “chunk” with much more gain on tap than any Tube Screamer or clone I’ve played. At this setting the Animal is perfect for your heavier “chugga chugga” palm muted parts and soaring leads. Sounds great, but not my cup of tea. After some quick control changes, turning the treble to about 1 o’clock and the bass to about 2, backing off the gain to about 11 o’clock and flipping the switch to “Snarl,” the guitar gods smiled upon me.
This was the tone I’ve been searching for! It was Led Zeppelin… but, dare I say, better! The organic tone cleaned up nicely as I backed off the volume on my guitar, and the touch response is absolutely incredible. I spent the better part of 3 more hours fiddling with the knobs. I never found a sound I didn’t like.
The Animal can be found at numerous places online including proguitarshop.com and themadape.com. Price can range anywhere from $170 to $190 depending on shipping rates. The Animal is a great addition to any pedal collection, and it has ended my search for a great sounding overdrive pedal that plays well with others.
******
Austin is an avid blogger and has been playing guitar for 17 years. He loves to travel and can be found blogging on his own site at artroommelody.com.
