At NAMM 2025, Greek pedal brand Crazy Tube Circuits introduced the Venus overdrive, a real tube overdrive inspired by all the pedal and rack versions of the Butler Tube Driver. The Venus is now shipping.
It’s a compact, modern take on classic tube-driven overdrive and distortion, offering a range of tones from smooth, subtle warmth to aggressive, high-gain fuzz.
At its core is an ECC832 tube, blending the characteristics of ECC83 and ECC82 tubes for clarity, string separation, and a wide soundstage. Users can swap tubes (e.g., ECC83, ECC81, ECC82) to tailor the sound, with a bias knob to fine-tune texture from gritty and gated to smooth and creamy.
There’s also a Bias knob that allows you to adjust the tube’s operating point, ranging from gritty, gated distortion (counter-clockwise) to smooth, creamy overdrive (clockwise).
A versatile 3-band EQ allows precise tonal shaping, while a Tight push switch toggles between fat and tight low-end responses.
Additionally, a switchable Line driver ensures optimal signal strength, preserving audio frequencies without compromising true bypass functionality.
