E.W.S. Little Brute Drive

Recently, we reviewed the Brute Drive (Eric Gales model) and were quite impressed by a company we had previously never heard of. In continuing with checking out this company, we got our hands on that previous pedals’ younger brother, the Little Brute Drive, and I’m gonna tell you right now, this is a super-charged pedal in a tiny and deceiving enclosure.

What appears to be a simple, one-knob overdrive pedal is really hiding a couple of secrets, the tone it produces being one of them. Right away, with the Gain at 9:00 or so, you can tell the Little Brute is gonna be a beefier pedal than you thought it would. Moving the Gain knob slowly clockwise yields a multitude of drive sounds, from a sweet, chime-y boost to a growling overdrive, bordering on distortion levels when maxed out.

By looking at this pedal, you’d think that one knob was all there is to it, but then you’d be incorrect. Opening up the back panel reveals not one but TWO internal trimpots that allow for more tonal tweaking. One controls the overall output volume, which is nice to be able to adjust, and the second is a tone-shaper, treble-enhancer sort-of control. These two internal adjustments really open up the possibilities of a pedal that could have easily been a one-trick pony.

Little. Different. Better. The Little Brute Drive really did surprise me in it’s sound and options, and while it’s still a very basic overdrive, it’s compact size and tonal range make it a worthy opponent of bigger, fatter overdrive pedals that are also on the market. Thanks to Toshio and E.W.S. for sending us this cool little pedal – look for our review of another E.W.S space-saving pedal, the Little Fuzzy Drive, coming soon!