Donner Overdrive Guitar Pedal, Blues Drive Vintage Overdrive Effect Warm/Hot Modes for Pedal Boards Electric Guitar, True Bypass

I've found my perfect match with this guitar pedal, and I couldn't be happier. As a guitarist who primarily uses a Godin A6 Ultra Hybrid Acoustic Guitar with a humbucker pickup, I've been on the hunt for a pedal that would seamlessly enhance my sound without taking up too much precious space on my pedal board. This pedal not only fits the bill but also exceeded my expectations. My main goal was to find a pedal that could provide that sweet crunch when I blend in my humbucker with the piezo pickup for lead guitar moments. This pedal has proven to be the ideal solution. Its subtle yet effective impact on my tone is just what I was looking for. I've been using the warm setting predominantly, and I must say that the pedal's crunch isn't overpowering. It adds a layer of depth and character to my sound, enhancing my humbucker's output without overshadowing the uniqueness of the piezo pickup. It's like the pedal was tailor-made for my setup. One of the aspects that truly stood out to me is the pedal's ability to maintain the balance between the different pickups. It's a delicate dance, and this pedal has nailed it. The warm setting, in particular, has become my go-to choice, providing the perfect level of grit without compromising the overall harmony of my sound. Overall, I'm thoroughly pleased with this pedal's performance so far. It has enhanced my playing experience and brought a new dimension to my music. If you're like me, searching for a pedal that complements your hybrid acoustic guitar setup without overwhelming it, I highly recommend giving this pedal a try. It has certainly earned its place on my pedal board and in my heart. Pros: Ideal for blending humbucker and piezo pickups Subtle crunch without overpowering Maintains balance and harmony Compact size perfect for pedal boards Cons: None encountered in my experience In summary, this pedal has filled a void in my setup that I didn't even know existed. It's a versatile, compact, and harmonious addition that has elevated my sound to new heights. Kudos to the creators for crafting a pedal that truly understands the needs of hybrid acoustic guitarists.

Donner seems to have gone out of their way to confuse people on this one. Despite the name and color, this pedal is actually a Tube Screamer (TS) clone, NOT a BOSS Blues Driver (BD-2) clone. For some reason, Donner decided to name it "Blues Drive" and make it blue rather than the usually obligatory green for a TS clone. But from the main product summary up top: "Warm: The classic TS overdrive sound replica.". Plus, they mention "TS" a few times in the product description details above, as well as on their website. This pedal is essentially a re-brand of the Mooer Green Mile, which is less confusingly green, and uses the JRC4558 chip (used by the TS808 & TS9). Specifically, the Mooer and Donner pedals are both Ibanez TS7 clones, which is the same as a classic TS9 in "Warm" mode, and also has a "Hot" mode (boost). This pedal doesn't have a lot of gain (vs, say, a distortion pedal) because Tube Screamers don't have a lot of gain, so it isn't supposed to have a lot of gain. But you get your classic slightly "mids-forward", slightly "nasal" sound that TS-type pedals are known for, with gain/overdrive levels meant more for classic blues than hard rock. For hard rock, TS-type pedals are meant more for pushing other overdrive pedals and overdrive within amps than meant as standalone overdrive. They boost and tighten the sound of the main overdrive pedal/amp, which is mainly what this pedal does too. The "hot" mode is a bit interesting -- it appears to add more low-end, or maybe it's just perceived by the overall volume boost. This mode fascinated me when I realized that it sounded like my Zendrive clone (I've also played an actual Zendrive, but I don't own one). Keeping everything at noon, and using my guitar's neck pickup, it came close to the Zendrive "pillowy" sound that made Dumbles and the Zendrive so sought-after. Moving the tone knob all the way to the left made it even more pillowy/Zen-like. Now it isn't the same as a Zendrive circuit, but I'd say gets you 90% of the way there. But basically, once you get passed all the confusing marketing and naming of things, and judge the pedal for what it really is -- it is actually an interesting little pedal that gives you a decent TS-like tone and booster capability in "warm" mode, and a sort-of Zendrive-like tone in "hot" mode (which is ironic, considering the Zen-drive circuit is about as opposite as you can get from what "hot" usually means). Like most pedals, I was only expecting one mode to be useful when I bought it, but find both modes useful, making this pedal a really good deal for the money. Note that my star rating is relative to the price range, not all pedals in general.

First off, it isn't a 100% clone of Boss's blue box, it's has less gain and it sounds to me to be a bit more "rounded" and is actually quite pleasant. It really is its own beast. The gain, volume and tone controls are identical to 99% of OD pedals on the market, but the little switch on the top is kinda pointless to me. To me, what it sounds like what it does is activate a roughly 10-15dB clean boost circuit in front of the gain stage. I COULD BE WRONG, and I haven't looked at the schematics, but to me, that what it sounds like. When engaged, the volume goes up quite a lot and the gain increases a moderate amount... similar to what happened when I put a clean boost pedal in front of the Donner Blues Drive and A/B'd the two. When engaged, it sounds kinda fuzzy and with a few glitches, not really nice to the ears. I keep mine on the "warm" setting for those reasons- it's smoother, a bit more compressed and, because I run my 50-watt Vox clone at just past clean, has more than enough gain for me. It sounds good, is well built, inexpensive and the footswitch is easy to change. Four out of five stars from me!

This is 1 of 15 Donner pedals that I purchased. The Donner Overdrive Guitar Pedal is a fantastic choice for those seeking authentic vintage tones. The Blues Drive model offers rich, warm overdrive that enhances your guitar’s natural sound while adding a touch of grit. Key Features: Versatile Controls: Intuitive knobs for gain, tone, and volume allow for customized sound shaping. True Bypass: Keeps your signal clean when the pedal is off, maintaining the integrity of your tone. Robust Build Quality: Sturdy pedal housing designed for durability on stage and in the studio. Overall, the Donner Blues Drive Overdrive Pedal delivers classic overdrive tones that appeal to blues, rock, and alternative guitarists alike. Highly recommended for anyone looking to enhance their sound with a vintage flair!

Replaced because someone stepped on mine and broke the toggle switch. I used it with my acoustic guitar and it gave it a nice rich blues sound.

A great overdrive substitute for the B*ss unit. Although it has a little less high end if you are looking for that. Profiled it or my Quad Cortex, so that I always have it with me. As easy to use as the BD and the controls are the same. A worthy replacement to keep in your emergency bag.

I've never owned a Boss Blues Driver or another pedal with that topology, so I can't say how much is this specific pedal or just the circuit itself. The pedal is well built for a mini form factor. The switches, knobs, and footswitch are solid, and the case is great. It should handle a lot of abuse well. Physically, it's a steal for the price. That said, I just don't like it. I really tried for a few months, thinking it was just me or that if I kept working, I could find sounds I liked out of it. It's hard for me to get an overdrive tone out of it, and I don't really like the tone of that small window. It's a decent boost. But the overdrive is muddier than eg a Tube Screamer, and it jumps quickly to a distortion that I really don't like. The boost end may create a decent overdrive on a cranked or dirty amp, but I'm a bedroom player and want an overdrive effect to create that experience at low volumes through a clean amp. Honestly an opamp distortion pedal is better to me at low gain. I don't know if this experience is common to Blues Driver circuits or just this particular iteration, though. If you like a Blues Driver, I wouldn't rule this one out based on my experience. It may be that the pots are the wrong taper/values, or it may be the nature of the topology. I prefer a pedal with more granular gain control and better tone stack, like discrete treble/bass. I replaced it with something much more expensive and am in love with that, but that's an apples:oranges situation.

I have a Fender Smolder overdrive, but I only have a little room left on my portable pedalboard set up. The Fender is great with maybe too many settings. This Donner is tiny. Quiet enough. And best of all it works just fine with my Martin SC-10E. I rarely use this sound but for as little space that it takes on my board and is true bypass, and for this price, I couldn't pass up trying it out. It's a keeper. If you are an acoustic performer that occasionally needs to stir up an audience with a little Honky Tonk Woman, chord crunch, this will work nicely. I use it with the Hot switch up. The tone knob all the way to the right. Gain at 10 o'clock. Set the level to work with your set up. Very happy! Acoustic players have few options. I hope the word gets out.

Love it love it ❤️ Almost converts my accoustic guitar into an electric like sound. Needed this exact sound for a particular stage show and am loving it. My Hobner guitar sounds excellent but the inbuilt amp is not very good. This pedal has improved the plugged in sound output immensely

Mete ruido al momento de accionar el botón, pensé que la marca era de mejor calidad.

I compared this with my $300 OD pedals and it was 95% as good. This pedal is great. I had it in my board for a week. If I didn’t have my Fulltone and Wampler pedals, I’d have kept it on my board. I’m thinking about selling my Fulldrive 2 and replacing it with the Blues Drive. Boutique tones for $29.

I'm a bit amazed how good this things sounds. I've used a pretty long list of overdrives over the years, including higher-end ones from Ibanez and Boss and a few boutique manufacturers, and this easily stands next to them all. I can testify that it not only sounds good into a proper tube amp, it also sounds excellent going DI into an audio interface's hi-Z input and through digital amps/cabs in something like Logic or Reaper. Brings my old Godin Radiator alive, makes it sound like a bad*** blues guitar. Paired with the compressor pedal from the same series of Donner pedals, it's perfect blues drive and tone. No issues at all in a bit over a week of daily use, I'll update this review if anything goes wrong, but for now, I'm more than happy, this is an incredible pedal for the money.

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