RevivalDRIVE Compact Overdrive Pedal Review

Crème de la Crème of amp in the box pedals

I have been watching this pedal for a long time. I've seen Sweetwater's inventory of this pedal go from in stock to back ordered to in stock to back ordered several times and yet only 10 reviews? My guess is that the owners of this pedal are far too busy making music with it to write reviews and I now understand why. I have a BluGuitar Amp1, a Strymon Iridium, and the Origin Effects… read more RevivalDrive Compact. They all sound excellent but the RevivalDrive is my favorite. It is creamy and very 3 dimensional sounding. It feels like playing through an amp. And the biggest thing I noticed was after playing for 2-3 hours straight it was only the RevivalDrive that did not leave me with ear fatigue. I never hear anyone talk about that aspect of pedals before but maybe people don't jam for 2-3 hours straight like I do? Or maybe it's not something people think to notice but it has become apparent to me. This pedal does not give me ear fatigue. At the price point it is rather expensive but this is not a pedal you buy and flip. It's one that will probably never leave your board. I know it won't be leaving mine. Once I got used to the controls I found it easy to achieve AC30, Bassman, Plexi, Twin, and Deluxe Reverb tones quite easily but the thing I like the most is I can dial in some wonderful tones I have not heard before. There is no singular sweet spot to the pedal either. Everything I have dialed up sounded good. If you are considering this pedal and can adford the price tag then I would suggest getting one. If you don't like it you can return it. Sweetwater is so good about that. But my guess is that you wouldn't think about returning it. It's that good! Adding the TC Electronic IR loader behind it makes it even better!

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Great always-on in front of 60's bassman

I've been really happy with this pedal since I picked it up a few months ago. Since Covid, I haven't played in a live setting, but at home and during practices with the band, this has been great. I dialed in a tone that is pretty transparent, and used the gain, blend and negative feedback to find a warm just-breaking-up tone on front of my '69 50-watt Bassman at a usable practice… read more volume. Stacking this with a JHS double barrel gives me a lot of possibilities. I've also been happy throwing an EP boost in front of the chain. I have found that I do need to tweak a bit when switching guitars (jazzmaster vs tele with TV Jones PUs, notably), but once you find your sweet spot, it's an easy tweak. I'm still experimenting, but regardless, this is the best pedal purchase I've made in years.

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Incredibly versatile, but different controls than most all other pedals

Well built, sounds great, incredibly versatile. This is a Vox/Marshall/Fender NMV tube amp factory in a box. It took me a few months to get the concept behind its design and start using it effectively. It's not like other pedals, where you use the EQ itself to (try to) get the pedal to sound good with the rest of your rig. On this pedal, that function has a dedicated post-drive… read more EQ circuit that is brilliantly designed, incredibly versatile yet also very simple to use. It's just one 3-way switch (two settings for brighter or more mid-heavy amps and a bypass) and a mini pot to fine-tune to your rig. So, what does the EQ section do then? Well, there's three interesting knobs. Two of them are confusing labeled "highs" and "lows" but they aren't like your normal tone(treble)/bass EQ controls on a drive pedal. They are rather voicing knobs that affect the highs and lows. Then there's another knob: More/Pres which impacts on the voicing of the negative feedback circuit. Each one of these knobs runs continuously through voicing modes of Vox, Marshall and Fender amps, or at least the concepts behind them, while also letting you dial in more or less of the respective element (negative feedback, highs and lows). So when you turn it all Vox, you get something very Vox-like (AC30). When you turn it all Marshall, you get something very Marshall-like. And when you turn it all Fender, you get something very Fender-like in both sound and feel. And then you can mix and match each of these settings to create more "custom" sounds. If you pair these with their respective cabs (or IRs based on those cabs -- I use a Digitech CabDryVR which covers all the bases), it sounds very authentic to my ear. Also, the "gain" isn't a normal gain control. It is, in effect, the non-master-volume control of a NMV amp, replicating both the distortion and feel of an amp cranked "that much." Then you can control the pedals output with another master volume. Lastly, it has a parallel wet/dry (clean) signal blend if you want more attack and clarity from a base clean signal that you really like. You can use it in front of just about ANY amp, and get that cranked amp sound and feel at any volume. Or you can throw a cab sim (and maybe DI) after it and use it in an ampless setup into a mixer or PA, etc. Also sounds good with a dirty or clean boost in front, but will sag and collapse if you already have the gain cranked on it and hit it even harder. Just like a real NMV tube amp, but at any volume you wish... Everything feels incredibly solid, like military spec in both components and fit and finish. It screams quality in feel, weight, construction, components, appearance, and of course, sound. I won't ever touch the bigger units. This small one has so much to explore it will keep me busy for a lifetime. And I created a workflow cheat sheet for its various Vox/Fender/Marshall and post drive EQ settings so I can work with and explore it a bit easier.

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Revival Drive does it all amazing pedal

My thoughts going in after watching all the videos on these pedals was better be that good . Man I'm blown away how nice this pedal is. First when you put this in your hand the build is absolutely one of the best I've seen. Then plug it in and you got tone heaven. I've absolutely found the drive I've been looking for you want ripping vintage tones you got em. Once you wrap your… read more head around these controls it's endless the amount of tones you can get out this pedal. I've stacked it with my BB overdrive killer clean boost My crybaby screams with this line up on my board. I've invested in the Origin Sliderig also now. I'm sold on Origin effects they got it going really impressed

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Outstanding Vintage Amp Factory in a box

I used to have the full size RevivalDrive Custom. I recently downsized my board and sold the revivaldrive. Regrettably, I bought another small Marshall in a box pedal that was close to working for me, but honestly nothing compares to the revivaldrive. Then it dawned on me..did some measurements and realized the compact version would fit on my new "mini" board. I've had the compact… read more for 2 weeks, and I think I love it more than the full size version. This device is unbelievable for what it does. I can't recommend it highly enough! I'm running a Tumnus into it as a clean boost, and it really makes this thing sizzle!

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