Highlighted by the JHS show as one of the best new guitar pedals of 2021, the Poison Noises The Crook is a $99 (v3) and now $119 (v4) Mosfet overdrive made by a prolific upstate NY company that’s rapidly gaining momentum. The device was updated to V3 in late 2021 and to V4 in March 2023.
Like many modern overdrive pedals, the Crook features dual diode mode accessible via the Goods toggle switch, which was added in V3: stock Mosfet and LED-based, which opens up the sound quite a bit, while V4 adds a third Silicon clipping mode (like the one found in Tube Screamers) and adds a Switcheroo toggle that changes where the diodes are in the circuit allowing the Crook to deliver a wider variety of tones from soft to hard-clipping to… no clipping.
The knobs have abstract names but are basically Volume (Entering), Gain (Breaking), and a Bass control (Lay Low, also new in V3), and their interaction at different settings can deliver a wide variety of tones, from light overdrive to thick distortion, as reported in this thorough review of the pedal, which gives it an 8.7 out of 10 mark, also in consideration of its price.
The latest V4, announced via a dedicated video on the JHS show (see below), also adds a High Tail knob to finely control the high frequencies.
Have a listen to the sounds of the Poison Noises The Crook V3 in the videos below.
Poison Noises The Crook, Builder’s Notes
Your favorite overdrive is pulling another job. Feast your eyes on the new and improved version of The Crook. The new Lay-Low sneaks a little extra bass response into your signal. While the Goods switch now provides even more headroom than the original. With a few more usability tweaks, and some more streamlined controls, the Crook is ready to steal the place of your old overdrive. Get your hands on one today!
Controls are Gain, Volume, Diode Switch, Tone, and Bass Response.
Foot switch is true bypass.
Takes 9V power supply
Every new product comes with a Poison Noises sticker and plectrum.
