I have been using this EBS drive pedal for a couple years and I love it. From nice warmth to scorched earth is what it does. I do not prefer the distortion of non real tube pedals for my own preference, they sound electronicy( I just made that word up) or sizzly. Sizzle fry - that’s a good description. Some may be looking for that but I just want a bit xtra warmth or tube growl/ saturation. This is a great pedal for that. I would like to compare it to some other popular pedals like Aguilar or micro tubes but I don’t have a real strong urge to do that because Iam satisfied with this pedal. It can be hard to A/B stuff because you have to get it all in the same room. This pedal simply accentuates my tone in a positive manner. Takes an already great sounding amp and flavors it in a positive manner. Before I got it reading reviews that people talked negatively about it kind of clouded my view of it as too nasty sounding. I’ve found for my personal preference that I prefer the treble/ mid /bass set flat, I believe that’s where they got it wrong? On this pedal flat is Bass and treble 0, mid 10. Sais it right in the manual. I feel people do not realize that about the tone setting on this pedal? At first I had a love/ hate relationship with the pedal. After I set the tone flat I was better able to get the nice valve tone accompaniment I was seeking using just the volume and gain controls wich seem to be for me volume 11-12:00 gain 9-11:00 o clock. Iam usually just playing alone at home these days and not in a band so I usually have my rig at a pretty low volume unless no one is home. Last night I got a very pleasing and muscular tone out of my SVT2 pro using the EBS valve drive pedal. It was bedtime and I stayed up too late because I had a great tone and it sounded so pleasing I didn’t want to quit playing. I am a fan of the EBS Valve drive pedal. True tube tone that makes all tube amps sound even better IMO. It’s definately worth checking out if you are looking to add an additional option of tube warmth to your tone instead of just your amp. I play rock/ hard rock/ metal and I like a mild tube growl tone that’s present in most heavier music but not the massively overdriven bass tones of modern metal. I loved the muscle it added to my SVT tone. It was a nice accompaniment that made my mind smile. I have also used it with my Trace Elliot and Mesa Big Block with the same pleasing results. It’s a keeper.
