I had never heard of Taylor McGrath Guitars until a few months ago, but this pedal with the weird name kept coming up in different circles and online, so I figured I should check it out. I watched a couple of video demos (most notably the Pete Thorn demo) and decided that I need to try the awesome-sounding DRHIVE for myself.
Designed with legendary artist, writer and producer David Ryan Harris (Follow For Now, Brand New Immortals), The DRHIVE is an effector overdrive which also doubles as a fuzzy boost – basically, an awesome 2-In-1. The control knobs are pretty straightforward, and I like that there are separate controls for treble and bass, allowing you to really dial in your tone, as opposed to just the usual, boring Tone knob. Any EQ versatility is OK in my book, and the DRHIVE offers a nice range of tonal options in it’s EQ section. The Gain knob has a great range as well, going from a smooth, warm boost to a nice, gritty, crunchy drive sound. This pedal really sparkles when you hit the 2nd switch, the MORE option. It adds in a big amount of signal boost, and pushes your amp into a beautiful overdrive, bordering on fuzz territory, but clean and shiny throughout. I found myself leaving the MORE switch on on the time, dialing in the right amount of volume and just using the regular On/Off switch for a great overdriven boost. This pedal really makes your tone sing, and your amp come alive with a rich, meaty drive sound, without any harshness a lot of pedal produce at high levels.
TMG‘s recent problems aside, they build a great overdrive pedal, and I, for one, am looking forward to what awaits us pedal freaks in the future from Taylor, Sean and Taylor McGrath Guitars.
Specs:
2 stage IC driven, overdrive effector pedal
Germanium compounds
Alpha potentiometers
Neutrik connectors
Submitted by Mike B, Website
