Kyle C.
I’ve been looking for a blues pedal for years and never thought that a pedal under 50$ would actually create the sound I’ve been looking for since I started playing guitar 20 years ago.
Christopher S.
This is a great little gain pedal that creates a very unique type overdrive sound for live blues that I cannot get out of any of my other (far more expensive) gain/amp modeling pedals. I run it through a Crate Vintage Club 50 tube amp, which has an awesome clean channel and seems to react very well to the gain on the Blues Drive. The toggle switch on the Blues Drive allows you to go "hot" or "warm" and the tone control knob adds even more versatility, so it sounds equally good with my solid body Telecaster and my hollow body Epiphone Sorrento with P-90 pickups. Even if I am not using it to push the gain and tone settings, just turning it on at the lowest gain setting adds a little bit of presence and thickness especially in the mid-range. It is a true bypass pedal and it does not seem to add any additional noise or hum when I place it at the beginning of my pedal chain. It is a very solidly-built mini-pedal with smooth controls, although if you have fat fingers the small "level" and "tone" knobs might be a bit aggravating to dial in.
As a comparison, I also have one of the El Mocambo overdrive pedals from TC Electronic and if you are looking for the Stevie Ray Vaughan Texas blues sound, the Blues Drive will get you there for less than half the price. For $30 the Blues Drive is a surprisingly powerful mini-pedal that punches far above its weight and is a great addition to your pedal board if you are into old school rock or blues and want a true vintage overdrive sound.
Shawn M.
My new favorite use it every time I play now! Getting another soon!
Steve R.
When I received my Blues Drive I was immediately impressed with the packaging. A solid, sturdy hardboard box with a tight fitting hard foam inside. I took the unit out and was again impressed with the solid, quality built feel of the pedal not to mention the beautiful finish!
All that's great, but what really matters is sound, right? Well, in my opinion, it sounds as good as it looks! It has two settings on a switch, Warm and Hot. I like it on hot best but it produces a nice range of sounds in either setting. I already have a drive pedal that sounds almost exactly like this Blues Drive on the Warm setting, so I keep it on Hot and I love it!
I have only two complaints. One; If you want to switch between Warm and Hot modes you have to do it by hand. Two; the "foot" or base has a really nice silicone rubber (I assume) won't stick to the adhesive on the back of the Dual-Lock fastener strips I bought make my pedal board so I had to use zip ties. Both are minor complaints as far as I'm concerned.
A pedal that's this well built, looks this good and sounds like the Blues Drive, at this price point? I'd never have believed it if I hadn't tried it myself! I can't recommend it highly enough. Kudos, and thank you Donner!
mike z.
really didn't use it much so far , but what I tried , was so much fun . Loved the sounds . If I could afford another one , it would be the one that has 7 setting , I think .
Carlos Alberto V.
Overall a great product. The build quality is amazing, just like on all the micro series, very rugged and durable.
The sound is great for the price, it can be just a small boost or a real screamer.
Doc W.
Compact, versatile, just what I was looking for and priced within my bedget
Brian B.
I have loved the pedal! I get a great Bluesy overdrive sound from my Strat, the sound I was hoping to get with this pedal. It is easy to use and feels like a sturdy pedal for its size, and I got it at a great price. Very happy with it and would recommend it. Also, dealing with the company was great, fast shipping and good communication/followup.
Dan M.
I was very surprised at how much I liked the tone the very first time I used it. It was pretty much what I was looking for playing blues type songs. I have two other similar effects on my pedal board but this one may turn out to be my favorite.
J***S
Excellent product. Excellent sound. Recommended
M***i
A very nice overdrive. Delivered so quickly as always from Donner OS :-) Thx!
J***k
Delivery only 11 days to Czech Republic! Unbelievable quick.
chris
great sound
The two different sound of the little switch is great
Dubmaster Kahn
Bluesey baby
This was the first Donner pedal I bought. The sound with the switch "up" has a nice bass boost to the sound and a very old-school sounding thick break up. With the switch down, it distorts easier, and has a pretty serious low cut (somewhere around 150hz if I had to guess), but it can get you into light distortion territory. It's a great and pretty unique sounding blues style
overdrive. It's nice for warming up the tone of your guitar into a pleasing saturation. This pedal beats out much more expensive pedals... just check out the YouTube comparisons! Don't hesitate to buy. I purchased 3 other Donner pedals because this one was so great. Cheers
George
Great pedal at an incredible price.
I bought this pedal a few years ago for less that $30. Previously I would not have thought that you could get a decent pedal at this price range, but I was surprised to find out what great tones it can achieve. My impression in that the gain range is rather limited, but that is the only flaw (if you can call it that) I would be able to find. In the hot setting, it gives me a nice bluesy overdrive that I could not get from more expensive pedals. The warm setting is a little thinner, but it is quite good for rhythm work, especially with humbuckers. Although I have acquired lots of other overdrive pedals since buying this, it still finds a place in my pedalboard, where it does not occupy too much space anyway. Would recommend it without hesitation, it is a complete steal at this price.
Glen
Really great blues pedal
I was able to purchase this pedal during the Black Friday sale and have been completely satisfied with it. I have been stunned by the quality at such an affordable price. The pedal is able to deliver great tones and in very short order it has become a permanent occupant of my pedal board. My compliments to the Donner team for such a great pedal.
James Svec
A True Gem
I'm going to share some facts as well as my opinion of this pedal. First the facts. This pedal is built with high-quality materials and has a very solid fit and finish. Also, the regular price at just over $30 is incredible but I caught it on sale for $23. I'd purchased another pedal a couple of weeks ago and set up an account with Donner and was given a $10 off coupon. So, I paid $13 for this amazing device with zero tax or shipping cost. The main point of my review is to express how truly incredible this pedal sounds. It is capable of giving you a light overdrive or all the way to a dirty, blistering fuzz. Keep playing with the dials and you'll keep finding new tones. The Donner Blues Drive proves to me that expensive big name brands and overpriced Boutique pedals are somewhat of a joke. Over the last 25 years I have had dozens of guitar pedals ranging from high end to low end and this is the first one I guarantee I will keep until it dies. Just for reference, I am frugal and play reasonably inexpensive equipment but I'm particular about how my rig sounds. I'm using an Epiphone Les Paul special with P90s and a modded Epiphone valve Junior Half Stack with, of course, the Blues Drive. I couldn't be happier. Thank you, Donner.
noar
let's blues!
construction robuste, qualité du traitement sonore, seule ou en complément d'une autre disto ou overdrive, fonction hot efficiente, only good things to tell about this great pedal!this is the seventh i 'm buying and they're all great!
Very fast shipping to france and all the staff is kool!
huge fan!!!
C F
Amazing Blues Pedal!
This pedal is a great example of a big thing in small package! It has a wide range of sounds that will really compliment a Stratocaster all the way to a Gretsch. Switching between Hot and Warm really opens up the mid scoop and gets as muddy as you want.
If you haven't tried Donner Pedals yet, don't wait, they kick a$$!!!!
Daniel Ham
An honest Steal of an Overdrive
As far as driver pedals go, I own a Digitech Bad Monkey, a Boss SD-1, a MOEN AM-OD Phoenix Song, a Jet City Guitar Slinger series Overdrive, a Behringer T0800 and a Danelectro FAB series Overdrive. The Donner Blues Overdrive beat out 5 of those pedals when compared back to back. The real advantage to this pedal has to be it's voicing toggle. It has a setting for HOT and for Warm. The Hot setting is a very heavily condensed boost which sounds really good for fattening up a single coil guitar pickup. The Warm setting turned out to be a very Mids highlighting boost which I really really liked through a humbucker. Playing it through my Custom Epiphone SG, I found that I could get a down right luscious bluesy tone on a clean channel, and on a dirt channel, it does a really great job of boosting into high gain. There's actually a LOT of gain on tap with this pedal despite it's price tag and size, so if you're curious, yes it certainly does Metal. It fell behind The Digitech and Jet city pedals after all things considered, but it came out on top of all the rest.
There's just a lot of great features on it. It's an all metal body, it has True Bypass circuitry, it's half the size of most pedals, Bright Orange LED, and it costs Barely Anything. I have been very impressed with Donner lately. They just do Fantastic pedals at super low prices. No, I couldn't give them the same praise as I would T-Rex or Electro-Harmonix but still very Impressive. Recommended, check them out.
Laercio Jr
Great Overdrive pedal
Rich sound, add Strong harmonics.
Kajhlo Alv.
Sounds Good & Great Customer Service.
It is a good mini pedal, the price is formidable and feel the construction well done. The customer service ... excellent!. Very communicative.
Es un buen mini pedal, el precio es formidable y la construcción la siento bien hecha. El servicio al cliente... excelente!. Muy comunicativos.
Louis.L.
Works Great And Sounds Great
All is well. Good little pedal! Good price. Packs a lot of different tones and has enough punch for big solos and rifs.
KevinT
Amazing pedal!
FANTASTIC pedal!Great sound out of this mini pedal. I use it pretty much exclusively on warm. Wide range of overdrive. Super simple layout. The step button seems a little flimsy but ive been using it for a month and its it's still fine.
The Blues Drive is inspired by the legendary TS-style overdrive pedal and its famous mods. Combining iconic vintage tube overdrive sound with wide dynamic range and flflexible controls, this pedal gives you a wide tonal range from smooth whispers to searing leads.
