We’ve been reviewing a bunch of drive pedals from Diamond Pedals recently, and today’s featured pedal is another in this esteemed list of great gear they’ve been putting out. With many of their pedals having a lot of controls and a ton of options, this pedal is simple, easy-to-use and sounds great. The Nine Zero Two (which happens to be the area code for Nova Scotia) is a stripped-down but powerful overdrive, that can get pumped up into distortion territory fairly easily as well.
Three big, white knobs make up the control section of the Nine Zero Two, and while they’re pretty standard, there’s a lot going on inside. Volume is your basic output level control, with enough juice for you to keep up with a volume-heavy bassist or cymbal-crashing drummer easily. The Tone knob has a wide range, able to get deep, low end response, without muddying up the waters at the same time, and the high end is crisp and crystal-clear, slicing through your amp’s speakers and producing gorgeous, balanced tone. The Gain knob also boasts a great range, and I was able to coax out everything from a warm, light boost/drive-type sound, to a crunchy and beefy mid-range overdrive, and all the way up to an almost-distortion sound, which was both powerful and clean, if that makes any sense. Based on multiple discrete transistor gain stages placed in series, the Nine Zero Two uses differing types of circuits to create a harmonically-driven, amp-like sound that’s easy to control and dial in.
I also like the fact that the Input/Output and Power jacks are all on the TOP of the Nine Zero Two, making it a perfect space-saving fit on any sized pedalboard. A beautifully simple pedal, this overdrive can produce a surprising amount of different tones, and will be a great addition to any rig. Thanks so much again to Aimish and all at Diamond Pedals, we love your gear, and couldn’t do this without you. Cheers!
Specs:
Simple, traditional overdrive interface of gain, tone and volume
Top mounted jacks on a small enclosure for tight pedalboard layouts
Wide gain range multistage discrete transistor gain topology with amp-like tone stack
9V battery power, with standard 9V negative tip adapter ready
True bypass operation and LED power indicator
Submitted by Mike B, Website
Demo Rock pedalboard by West Coast Pedalboard
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