Cultco 001 Medium Overdrive

I had never come across a pedal that had been produced initially for one specific band, much less one that had been used on almost every track of a major label album release, with little or no exposure or advertising. That is until I was contacted by the band Joywave about featuring an overdrive pedal they had created with Adventure Audio, to which I was instantly intrigued, and decided that I had better check it out. A few days later, the 001 Medium Overdrive from Cultco arrived on my doorstep, and the adventure had begun.

The 001 Medium Overdrive is just that, but can get a little nasty if you need it to as well. Boasting an easy-to-use control knob section, it appears to be an ordinary overdrive, but therein lies the deception. Featuring a nice Gain range and an even bigger EQ range, this slick pedal will do just about any drive tone you can think of, and while not exactly a wall of distortion when cranked, it’s not trying to do something it can’t.

With the Gain turned down, you still get a nice, mellow growl, one that you can just leave on all the time if you want, to add some beef to your tone. Crank it up a bit, and you’ve got a warm and meaty overdrive, with a boatload of sustain that will make any amp sing. Plus, when you play around a bit with the Equalizer control knob, you can get some great low-end presence, as well as a sharp and clear but not offensive treble tone, perfect from ripping solos and cutting through mixes with ease.

I dig the clean, simplistic graphic design of this overdrive, and the simple control layout suits me just fine as well. Plus, it’s not often I get to work directly with a band who had a single go to #1 on the Billboard Alternative charts (“Dangerous”, check out the awesome video HERE), which is pretty rad in my book. Thanks to Joywave and Cultco for bringing this incredibly under-the-radar overdrive to my attention, hope we can get more people to check it out as well!