MXR has been releasing a string of well-received overdrive pedals in the last couple of years, and the FOD Drive shows a continued interest in continuing this trend.
The company presents this pedal as a dual mode overdrive modeled after “a pair of heavily customized guitar amplifiers of legendary make and model,” but the circuit seems to be an evolution of their popular “Greenday Overdrive,” the Dookie, and therefore based on Billy Joe Armstrong’s two custom Marshall 100w Plexi Super Lead amps.
One of the amps was modified for super scooped high-gain saturation, while the other was modified for punchy midrange crunch. A center toggle switch provides the two modes, adding also a flat option.
Check out the videos of the MXR FOD Drive below – we added it to our thorough shopping guide to the Best Plexi-Style Overdrives.
The MXR FOD Drive supplies the overdriven power of two highly coveted amp stacks in a single housing. Pros and tonechasers have been combining amplifiers on stage and in the studio for years, blending their sounds together and opening up new tonal palettes for exploration. Thanks to MXR’s award-winning team of engineers, you can recreate that experience right from your pedalboard.
The MXR team got their hands on a pair of heavily customized guitar amplifiers of legendary make and model, reveled in thunderous bliss, and then pulled them apart for careful analysis. One of the amps was modified for super scooped high-gain saturation, while the other was modified for punchy midrange crunch. Played in tandem, the complementary tonal profiles revealed a harmonically complex palette of grit, grind, and maxed-out overdrive that sounded so incredible that the team knew they had to make it available to players around the world.
The FOD Drive is the result of their efforts. Painstakingly recreating each amplifier in pedal circuit form, the MXR engineers fit them into a single housing as separate channels—High Gain and Crunch Gain. Each channel has its own Gain and Volume controls so that you can dial in just the right sonic signature for each side. The Blend control then allows you to set the mix ratio of the two signals—just like having two separate amps running into a mixing box. The Tone knob sets the EQ for the overall output signal, and the Scoop switch allows you to choose between flat, scooped, or boosted midrange voices.
Get the MXR FOD Drive, and experience the invigorating potential of playing through two ripping amp stacks.
