The Darkest Driving Overdrive pedal from Fuzzrocious Pedals is a tank, with more options than you’ll know what to do with, and a plethora of distorted soundscapes to play with until the cows come home…and then a little bit more. 3 footswitches, 3 toggles and 4 control switches might seem a bit daunting at first, but once you get the hang of this beast, it’ll blow you and everyone who encounters it right out of the water.

One of the coolest parts of this pedal is the Clean Boost option, applied via footswitch. With a lot of overdrive or distortion pedals, the boost simply amps up the already affected signal, which most of the time I find pushes it a bit too far. The Boost section of the Darkest Driving is independent of the overdrive section, so you can use it as a standalone boost all on it’s own! It even has it’s own Volume knob, so you can dial in as much or as little as you’d like at any time, and an order toggle to place the boost before or after the overdrive circuit. Plus, when used in conjunction with the drive modes, it adds clarity and gusto, not just a bunch of highs and ear-piercing decibels. Great way to start off this pedal, kudos Fuzzrocious.

Now, for the meat and potatoes: the Overdrive. Next to the regular Bypass switch is a secondary “Dark/Bright” switch, which allows you to change how the pedal reacts to your signal with one simple CLICK. I really like the deeper, darker setting here: it seems to add a great bit of low end without overpowering the tone or muddying it up in the slightest, and it’s nice to have the option to switch back-and-forth so effortlessly. The Tone, Volume and Gain knobs do exactly what you think they will do, and the Gain has a good bit of width to it, really getting nice and light when turned counterclockwise, and yet able to get wicked crunchy and heavy when cranked to the right. This knob is essential to the Darkest Driving’s sound, as it works perfectly with the 2 diode toggles (Germanium, Silicon, LED and 4001), which produce NINE different clipping options in total, more than enough to find the precise tones you are looking for.

Ryan and his family do an outstanding job making some really unique and super-powerful effects pedals, and you don’t have to look much further than the hand-painted (sometimes by the kids) gear that they’re selling. Thanks again to Fuzzrocious Pedals for letting me review another fine pedal, I look forward to the pleasure of testing their entire line of products. Make sure you go check out their website for more creative designs and excellent sonic pedal masterpieces, and help spread the word about this fantastic little company!

Submitted by Mike B, Website

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