Handy FX Minotaur Overdrive

The infamous Klon has produced more clones than perhaps any other circuit (well, maybe the Tubescreamer has it beat). We love a good Klone here at Pedal of the Day – hell, we even have a series dedicated to them on our YouTube channel. Today’s pedal brings another mythical creation to the table, this time in the form of the Handy FX Minotaur Overdrive…

With the familiar layout and classic oxblood knobs, you’ll feel right at home with the Minotaur at your feet. Like the original, it sounds excellent as a tone-shaping boost at the end of your drive section, but it also offers some of the best over-driven sounds we’ve heard. It features a classic dual potentiometer that controls the Gain by simultaneously increasing the input to the gain stage and blending in more of that affected signal. This beast uses a pair of NOS germanium diodes in the classic hard-clipping configuration, and headroom is internally increased with a voltage converter that steps up the 9v input to 18v.

The Minotaur also offers two internal slide switches for you to control whether it uses True or Buffered bypass, and whether you want to stick to the original circuit in Cent mode or the higher-gain and fatter-bass of Mino mode. Here, the input to the gain stage is increased, resulting in higher gain possibilities. The overall bass is increased as well, resulting in a fatter tone with more warm low end presence.

A basic three-knob clone the Minotaur Overdrive is not – with a bunch of internal options to choose from, this one is a true tone-shaping machine, able to give you all the best of both the Boost and Drive worlds. We love unique and creative spins on classic circuits, and this one fits the bill to perfection. Congrats to Handy FX for not only creating a wonderful klone, but putting their special stamp on it as well. Be sure to visit their website for more info on the Minotaur, watch our demo video below and then snag one for yourself! Cheers!

Affiliate Links:
Sweetwater – https://sweetwater.sjv.io/MX05KP
StewMac – https://stewmac.sjv.io/P0X7BQ
Perfect Circuit – https://bit.ly/3pHpS6P
Amazon – https://amzn.to/3FN04Mq