In case you're in any doubt what genre the T-Rex Alberta II Dual Overdrive's designers had in mind, it's blue. It's also pretty expensive, at $279. Does the world need another expensive blues overdrive? That's between you and your credit card, but if you are in the market for a professional-sounding overdrive, the Alberta II might be for you.

It's actually two pedals in one, hence the II. What you get is identical controls for both sides — dual levels drives and tones, which double as the pedal's “on” lights. “I” is a more compressed tube-under-duress sound, and “II” sounds pretty much the same but opens things up a bit, like an old Marshall and an old Fender. Oddly, it isn't possible to cascade one channel into the other, Stevie Ray Vaughan-style, and it won't distort that much, but when you get past the pedal's limitations, meandering into its possibilities is like finding an Eames chair when you expected a rocket-powered barstool.... Click on the title for more