Extreme tone lovers should give the Airis Effects Savage Drive a try – it’s presented by the Canadian builder as “the most aggressive overdrive out there”!!
The company just unveiled a v5 that is a full redesign of the circuit.
The goal of this box is clear:
Every portion of this pedal has been tweaked for down-tuned high gain metal. It’s extremely loud, insanely tight, dynamic and aggressive all at the same time.
To deliver the best possible saturation for cavernous guitar tones, the Savage Drive features an expanded set of frequency controls with a 4-way EQ section (previous versions only had two):
Low: A knob that can tighten your sound when dimmer and enhance your chug at higher levels.
Lo-Mid: This control affects the crucial “body” frequencies of your tone, also impacting the perception of “warmth”, delivering tones from sharp to warm and smooth to fat and impactful.
Hi-Mid: That’s where the crunch gets enhanced. Higher settings increase that, and, with it, attack, presence and clarity.
High: With this knob dimmed the tone is smoother, turning it up will deliver bite and howl. It can help tame some shrilll frequencies produced by certain pickup/pedal/amp configurations.
The other two knobs are for Volume and Savage (Gain), although this is not exactly a high-gain pedal, as noted in the builder’s notes:
We went back to the older method of having just a small amount of gain and distortion so that it doesn’t destroy or dirty up your signal too much.
Here are the videos of the Airis Effects Savage Drive.
Here are demos of the previous versions. If Ola Englund digs it, there must be a reason…
Airis Effects Savage Drive, Builder’s Notes
The difference between loving and hating a drive or boost pedal is the lo-mid frequencies it has present. This pedal changes that.
Unlike the Porsche 911, we actually mean it when we say the New Savage Drive is all new. We started from the ground up to give you a totally original pedal and THE easiest way to dial in the most savagely aggressive tone you’ve ever dreamt up. Turn all the knobs to noon and go from there.
Volume: This is the most obvious. It makes the pedal louder. MUCH louder. But… maybe you’re adventurous and like overloading the inputs of things or maybe have some really low output pickups that you want to make louder than a banshee.
Low: This could also be called the Tight control. Sitting right in the middle of where the real “chunk” of your tone is, lower settings will give you a tight and precise sound. Higher settings will give you a massive chug and even as far as some fuzziness at max.
Lo-Mid: This is probably the most important control on the pedal and will be what makes you love it no matter what guitar you run into it and what amp you run it into. This is where whats called the “body” of your tone lies, as well as the warmth. Lower settings will net you a very sharp djent. A little above noon will have some warmth, smoothness and added chug. Turn it up even further to find your sweet spot for solo’s. Tip* you can use this for tone matching your favorite album tone!
Hi-Mid: Do you like crunch? Of course you do! So why not dial some in with this. Increased pick attack, presence and clarity are an added bonus.
High: Not enough bite from the Hi-Mid knob? Dial in more with the High. Keep it low for smoother tones and to remove shrillness in certain guitars/pickups. Crank it up for some bite and howl.
Savage: This control does what it says. It makes your tone more Savage! We went back to the older method of having just a small amount of gain and distortion so that it doesn’t destroy or dirty up your signal too much.
• Power: The Savage Drive features an onboard bi-polar power supply, so it requires 9volts ONLY!!! Higher voltage will only damage it.
• Graphics by Remy Cooper of Headsplit Design.
• Volume/Savage/Low/Lo-Mid/Hi-Mid/High Controls
• High quality, low tolerance components
• Neutrik Jacks
• Alpha Pots
• Heavy duty, yet lightweight diecast aluminum enclosure
• 2 Year Warranty
• True Bypass with heavy duty mechanical footswitch
• Powered by 2.1mm negative tip 9Volt DC adapter (Sold Separately)
• Current Draw 25-40mA
• Hand Built in Canada
IMPORTANT NOTE: “available for shipping” refers to the opposite of “available for pickup” and build/wait times posted above still apply.
