Joe Naylor
Member
- Messages
- 965
Below is a re-post of a short review I wrote about the Rockett Tim Pierce Overdrive. I reviewed this pedal because several people had contacted me for my opinion on it, being as it's based on a Naylor Superdrive 60 amp. That and I was just plain curious.
So I purchased one from Rockett and had at it. I've used it for several weeks now, and am very impressed. It's now my main overdrive on my personal board.
And just to be clear, I have no affiliation with Rockett whatsoever. I'm just a very satisfied customer, and figure other tone freaks would be interested in hearing about this pedal. So here ya go:
"This pedal is Tim Pierce's signature model, Tim being a well known west coast studio ace, and a monster player. It's designed to sound like an old Naylor SD60, one of Tim's favorite amps.
I don't claim to have experience with every pedal out there, but this pedal is the most amp-like overdrive pedal I've heard, in terms of texture and feel. I have a seventies 100 watt solidstate Gibson amp that I test everything through, because it's very transparent and unforgiving, and you really hear the product. The Tim pedal thru that amp sounded better than a lot of tube amps!
The Power Amp control is amazing, I think of it as a "blackface knob" as it boosts highs and lows introducing an EQ akin to those great sixties Fenders. Having it's own separate footswitch, the Power Amp control can be used alone as a boost, adding big, bold and lively character to the tone. I prefer to use it together with the Drive side to dial in how much "American" flavor I want. I can get everything from mild bluesy breakup, to ZZ Top, Rolling Stones, James Gang, The Who, AC/DC, and even SRV out of this pedal. The versatility is shocking, thanks to the wide range of the Drive control, well voiced Treble and Bass controls, and the tone shaping of the Power Amp control. I'm also impressed with the sustain this pedal produces, without having to resort to high gain levels... very nice.
Does it sound like a Naylor SD60?... yes and no. The thickness, gritty texture, prominent mids, and basic character are there. The pedal is smoother sounding to my ears, but that's not a bad thing, and it's the reason the mild to medium drive tones are so great, and I actually prefer those tones over the SD60. The biggest difference is the highest gain settings, where the SD60 is tighter and more aggressive than the pedal when playing heavy rock or metal style riffs. But not a big deal, there's plenty of high gain pedals out there for that kind of thing (for amp-like higher gain rock tones I'm partial to the Wampler Pinnacle).
Overall, this is just a great sounding and versatile overdrive for mild to medium gain grind. It also looks well built inside and out, with a heavy duty steel chassis, aluminum faceplate, handwired footswitches, and a handwired double-sided/thru-hole PCB. Congrats to Rockett!"
Rockett Tim Pierce Overdrive
So I purchased one from Rockett and had at it. I've used it for several weeks now, and am very impressed. It's now my main overdrive on my personal board.
And just to be clear, I have no affiliation with Rockett whatsoever. I'm just a very satisfied customer, and figure other tone freaks would be interested in hearing about this pedal. So here ya go:
"This pedal is Tim Pierce's signature model, Tim being a well known west coast studio ace, and a monster player. It's designed to sound like an old Naylor SD60, one of Tim's favorite amps.
I don't claim to have experience with every pedal out there, but this pedal is the most amp-like overdrive pedal I've heard, in terms of texture and feel. I have a seventies 100 watt solidstate Gibson amp that I test everything through, because it's very transparent and unforgiving, and you really hear the product. The Tim pedal thru that amp sounded better than a lot of tube amps!
The Power Amp control is amazing, I think of it as a "blackface knob" as it boosts highs and lows introducing an EQ akin to those great sixties Fenders. Having it's own separate footswitch, the Power Amp control can be used alone as a boost, adding big, bold and lively character to the tone. I prefer to use it together with the Drive side to dial in how much "American" flavor I want. I can get everything from mild bluesy breakup, to ZZ Top, Rolling Stones, James Gang, The Who, AC/DC, and even SRV out of this pedal. The versatility is shocking, thanks to the wide range of the Drive control, well voiced Treble and Bass controls, and the tone shaping of the Power Amp control. I'm also impressed with the sustain this pedal produces, without having to resort to high gain levels... very nice.
Does it sound like a Naylor SD60?... yes and no. The thickness, gritty texture, prominent mids, and basic character are there. The pedal is smoother sounding to my ears, but that's not a bad thing, and it's the reason the mild to medium drive tones are so great, and I actually prefer those tones over the SD60. The biggest difference is the highest gain settings, where the SD60 is tighter and more aggressive than the pedal when playing heavy rock or metal style riffs. But not a big deal, there's plenty of high gain pedals out there for that kind of thing (for amp-like higher gain rock tones I'm partial to the Wampler Pinnacle).
Overall, this is just a great sounding and versatile overdrive for mild to medium gain grind. It also looks well built inside and out, with a heavy duty steel chassis, aluminum faceplate, handwired footswitches, and a handwired double-sided/thru-hole PCB. Congrats to Rockett!"
Rockett Tim Pierce Overdrive
