When a pedal with just three knobs and a $200 price tag features in the chart of the top 10 best-selling overdrives on Reverb.com, you can be sure it’s there because of the way it sounds. Enter the Greer Lightspeed overdrive, handmade in Athens, Georgia.
Rather ironically, what makes this pedal stands out it’s its lack – or rather subtlety – of sound: it’s a very transparent and touch-sensitive low gain overdrive that lets your original tone shine, adding rich harmonics and complex but smooth clipping. Also, it packs enough output volume to bring your amp to the edge of breakup, for an extra dose of harmonics and saturation.
This neutrality of tone makes it ideal for many applications because it works well with all other pedals, including all types of dirt boxes – before or after them. It also has a rather wide palette of tones thanks to an unusual interaction between the Loudness and Drive knobs.
There isn’t much more to it than to hear how it sounds, in the videos below.
We added the Greer Lightspeed to our comprehensive article about the best overdrive pedals.
Greer Lightspeed Overdrive, Builder’s Notes
The Lightspeed Organic Overdrive is a very natural sounding overdrive.
Why “organic”? Well, simply put, it’s the clearest, most natural feeling, and best overdrive we’ve heard for the player looking for a natural drive tone. Blending with the tone of the guitar and amplifier, this pedal has rich harmonics and complex but smooth clipping.
The Lightspeed Overdrive is sensitive to pick attack and has a different “feel” than other overdrives. The Lightspeed can be set to be “transparent,” but can also drive your signal to the edge.
- On tour with Peter Stroud (Sheryl Crow, and others), Alex Weeden (Miranda Lambert), Drew Shirley (Switchfoot), J.B. Brisendine (Brother Hawk), Casey Meyer (Jim Quick and Coastline), Jason “JJ Boogie” Reichert (Arrested Development), James Duke, Matt Goldman (Glow in the Dark Studios), JR Mead (Kutless), Jordan Peters (Lauryn Hill), and more!
- Natural light to mild overdrive!
- Rich harmonics, smooth clipping!
- Can be set to sound like original signal (what some call “transparent”)!
- True Bypass!
- Uses 9-Volt battery or standard neg. center, 2.1mm power supply.
- Built with top quality component
