Anarchy Audio Gold Class Overdrive Pedal Review
The Anarchy Audio Gold Class Overdrive is perhaps the king of the transparent overdrives. There’s only a handful of off-clean overdrives I would personally use on my pedalboard and this is one of them. What I love about this pedal are its simplicity and two-mode toggle switch. The two modes are great, very musical, and can be used in either configuration depending on what you’re after.
The Toggle Switch
With the toggle switch up, you’re getting a regular overdrive pedal where the overall volume of the pedal can be much louder than your amps starting tone (like any decent overdrive pedal). With the switch down, you’re getting a pedal that will not exceed your amps volume and can be used as a “make everything better” type of pedal much like an EQ or audio enhancer.
Tone Tone Tone
I love the clean channel of my amplifier. It’s full and musical in all the right ways when I click the Gold Class Overdrive on, it sounds simply much, much better. Having the pedal on brings out the clarity and tonality of the amplifier, even more, I hear more of the nice frequencies my starting tone was missing. I was really surprised that it sounded as good as it did and instantly I was nodding my head going “wow!”. The above comments relate to either mode on the pedal but with the switch in the up position you can add more gain, not much- but enough to use for cleaner lead tones and also for boosting another pedal, or using the Gold Class as your off-clean base tone.
Colour Control
The color control is where this pedal shines (or “color” if you’re in the USA). This is like an overall mid’s EQ. With the control to the left or counter-clockwise you’re getting more of a scooped mids tone and with it all the way to the right you’re getting a fatter tweed-like tone that sounds both musical and warm. With the color-control cranked all the way with the gain up you’re getting a very light fuzz tone. Being that this pedal doesn’t have a regular tone control concerned me before I plugged it in and then I realized that it doesn’t need it. If you set your clean tone the way you like it, you’re going to love it even more with the pedal on.
Looks
It looks like a million bucks and is one of the nicest pedals I have seen. The case is white and having the gold plated styling on the front really lends itself to being a classy pedal that will appeal to many both visually and audibly.
One of the BEST!
It’s quite original in its approach and tone. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first tried it thinking it was going to be another overdrive but everything from the look, sound, and unique color control makes the Gold Class Overdrive stand out among the crowded overdrive market. Give this one a look if you want one of the best off-clean pedals ever.