Color Drive

Big, classic overdrive, from clean-ish to dirty, with master volume

 

 

The Color Drive overdrive rack effect module compares to the Colorsound Overdriver.  It has a huge range of gain and volume from cleanish to fuzzy.  Addition of a master volume lets you get those great cranked tones without blood coming out your ears.  A little dirtier than the Color Bomb, but very similar.

 

Description

The Color Drive is similar to the Color Bomb.  Both have a wide range of gain that can be dialed up.  They also both included Bass, Treble, and Volume controls.  As you crank the Volume, the drive went from cleanish to near fuzz tones.  To get those classic drive tones, though, you had to play it loud.  Like really loud.  That's why we renamed the Volume control Drive and included a master Volume control in the Color Drive.  Now you crank the Drive all the way to the top and get those drive tones at lower volumes.  It mixes well with other drive and fuzz pedals.  There are some circuit differences between the two circuits, but one of the key differences is that the Color Drive runs at 9V while the Color Bomb runs at 18V.  Lowering the voltage to 9V increases the drive and gain that is available.  There is considerable overlap between the two, with the Color Drive having the more gain.

 

Configurations

  • Color Drive - Compares to Sola/Colorsound Overdriver

 

Options

  • Custom Transistors - There were multiple transistors used at different times in vintage units.  We use BC169C by default.  BC109C and BC184L may have also been used.  Or pick another NPN silicon transistor you prefer.  Pricing depends on the actual transistors selected, but most suitable replacements will not cost extra.
  • Components - We use metal film resistors and a selection of capacitors that provide good tone and low noise.

 

Front Panel

  • On/Off indicator LED
  • Drive - Volume and distortion increase with the Drive Level
  • Bass
  • Treble
  • Volume - Master volume control.  Adjust Drive, Bass, and Treble to get the tone you want, then adjust Volume to get that tone at the level you want.

 

Rear Panel

  • Audio In
  • Audio Out
  • On/Off Footswitch
  • On/Off Override
  • DC Power
  • DC Power LED

 

Module Width

  • 1.5"
  • 2" left wing available
  • 1.5" right wing available

 

Power Consumption (aprox)

11 - 15mA

 

Base Configurations

Part # Description List Price
MOD-CDRIVE Color Drive module $225

 

Options

Part # Description List Price
MOPT-CDRIVE-TRANS Custom Transistors TBD
MOPT-CDRIVE-CC Component Changes TBD