NAM 2017: Electro-Harmonix Operation Overlord Stereo Distortion

[monsterthompson]

Interesting.

NAMM 2017: Electro-Harmonix debuts Operation Overlord stereo distortion

A three-position switch lets the user select the proper input level for their instrument and ensures that the Operation Overlord is compatible with guitar, keyboards, bass and most electronic instruments. Active Treble, Mid and Bass controls plus a Dry blend provide total tone shaping.

Silent foot-switchable Normal and Boost modes deliver distortion ranging from mild to saturated. Normal mode uses three JFET gain stages for tube amp-style response and tone while Boost adds a classic pedal-type overdrive circuit before the JFET stages Dedicated LEDs indicate effect status.

Fully stereo capable, the pedal is equipped with left and right ¼" input and output jacks.

The Operation Overlord comes equipped with a standard EHX 9.6DC200mA power supply, is available now and features a U.S. List Price of $197.10.

 

[holy ghost]

This actually looks pretty cool!! Digging the blend and the 3 band eq. I'll check out a demo for sure....

 

[gregmon79]

Cool

 

[MGR]

I'll be passing on this one, but it's clear to me that the people at EH are reading the effects forum at TB lately. I wish them well on this product.

 

[Corythosaurus]

it's clear to me that the people at EH are reading the effects forum at TB lately.

What?? No way, not even a little!

 

[monsterthompson]

What?? No way, not even a little!

Really? What do they do all day to avoid work and kill time in their office?

 

[rjovin]

I would like to hear a bass demo for sure.

 

[ChubbyJerk]

What?? No way, not even a little!

Psst...if anybody over there is reading this, I'd really like to see a new <blank>9 pedal. I'm thinking something like an Accordi9.

 

[Andy westwood]

Mmmm looks ok feature wise however i dnt get the stereo? most people i know who use a double set up want a very different drive sound on each side.

 

[monsterthompson]

Mmmm looks ok feature wise however i dnt get the stereo? most people i know who use a double set up want a very different drive sound on each side.

Probably part of the "multi instrument" feature set, for people running stereo keys. Or, it would work if you wanted to run it after a stereo effect.

 

[Corythosaurus]

Really? What do they do all day to avoid work and kill time in their office?

We practice our bass faces, right @mannysilvers ?

I would like to hear a bass demo for sure.

The last part of the guitar demo video will have a little bit of bass.

Probably part of the "multi instrument" feature set, for people running stereo keys. Or, it would work if you wanted to run it after a stereo effect.

Yeah, lots of things you can do with the stereo. Works with another stereo effect (I've been messing around with it after stereo chorus), or by itself it can send one signal to a mixer, one signal to your amp. I wanted to give it a lot of options.

 

[monsterthompson]

or by itself it can send one signal to a mixer, one signal to your amp. I wanted to give it a lot of options.

Nice. Will the mono-in/stereo-out function only when the pedal is active, or will it split the signal when it isn't engaged? I'm guessing it splits when on or off.

 

[Corythosaurus]

Nice. Will the mono-in/stereo-out function only when the pedal is active, or will it split the signal when it isn't engaged? I'm guessing it splits when on or off.

Correct. In mono-in/stereo-out it splits your signal whether you're in effect mode or bypass mode.

 

[ole Jason]

Looks pretty good, I'd like to hear a bass demo as well.

 

[jumblemind]

I'm becoming more and more a fan of EHX. While I hate the freaking slippery knobs, and they nearly ruined the Pi for bassists (entirely my biased opinion), they nail the function and price point equation almost all of the time. The Glove and the Hot Tubes are steals for what they can do. I'm definitely interested in learning more about this one.

 

[Andy westwood]

Probably part of the "multi instrument" feature set, for people running stereo keys. Or, it would work if you wanted to run it after a stereo effect.

yeh i guess i see your point

 

[SirMjac28]

I always give this company credit because they never stop introducing cool new pedals at good prices.

 

[smogg]

Looking forward to sound clips with bass.

 

[danosix]

We practice our bass faces, right @mannysilvers ?


The last part of the guitar demo video will have a little bit of bass.


Yeah, lots of things you can do with the stereo. Works with another stereo effect (I've been messing around with it after stereo chorus), or by itself it can send one signal to a mixer, one signal to your amp. I wanted to give it a lot of options.

Is there an option for Dry out/Effected out?That would make it a necessity.
Also - what was your sonic starting point for the distortion itself? Is it more Muff, Guv'nor, TS or Klon?

 

[Corythosaurus]

Is there an option for Dry out/Effected out?

No, sorry. That's a great idea, I might look into it in the future, but in general it's easier to just add a dry-out jack to a mono pedal (see: nanoPOG, etc.)

Also - what was your sonic starting point for the distortion itself? Is it more Muff, Guv'nor, TS or Klon?

None of those, actually... it was more a open-ended design process. I started with some JFET amplifier stages that worked pretty well, and strung them together in tube-preamp style schematic (this is pretty common with JFETs lately), but did a variety of tone-shaping throughout the signal path. It was sort of an iterative thing... I actually just disassembled the huge messy breadboard I started the project with, but it went through a lot of changes as it morphed into its final form.