1981 Inventions DRV No. 3

A highly nuanced preamp/distortion pedal designed in collaboration with Jon Ashley of Bondi Effects. Through four years of abandoned prototypes and circuit tweaking, I think that we have emerged with something really special here. I wanted the DRV to be an extension of myself and what I personally needed from a distortion pedal. It is vintage minded in sound and concept. I find that there is a wide variety of sounds that can be found from tweaking three highly interactive knobs, which is how I like to tweak when I am finding a sound.

Clear and harmonic-rich warmth with guitar specific midrange, which brings a lot of clarity to almost any instrument. I think I’m most proud of the lower gain sections of the pedal, where preamp meets distortion. The DRV has a unique dynamic range and sensitivity, where instead of going clean to slightly overdriven, it goes from clean to slightly distorted. I also love the thick and yet clear fuzz sounds that you’ll find in the high gain settings.

Built and wired in the USA. Vintage style through-hole components on the PCB. The DRV features off-board jacks and power enclosed in a uniquely subtle folded steel box. Each unit thus far is personally tested and hand numbered.