The Golden Boy Transparent Overdrive (designed in collaboration with Joey Landreth) is the most versatile and transparent overdrive ever made.

Rich in harmonic detail and overflowing with headroom, the Golden Boy redefines the concept of transparent overdrive and brings it up to date with modern features never before seen in an overdrive pedal.

The GOLDEN BOY is a very flexible overdrive with 4 presets for clipping options, an innovative gain adjustment feature that we call GAIN CYCLE, and a 3 band active EQ for maximum tonal flexibility. To top it off, we added a boost circuit which is the same type of MOSFET boost circuit found on our top selling PRISM Preamp pedal.

The boost circuit is in its own true bypass loop which means it can be used independently of the DRIVE circuit. The boost circuit in the GOLDEN BOY is a MOSFET based boost much like the AMP MODE found in our best selling PRISM Preamp pedal. To activate/deactivate the boost circuit simply press the BOOST footswitch.

Preset 1 – YELLOW LED: Bright Boost. Very useful for creating a thinner sound or when boosting a thick sounding overdrive.

Preset 2 – GREEN LED: Mid Boost. Not as thin as the yellow mode, the green mode allows more lows and takes on the character of a mid boost.

Preset 3 – AQUA LED: Tailored Boost. Most people will find this a perfect setting that will complement most any overdrive setting in the GOLDEN BOY.

Preset 4 – BLUE LED: Full Range. No tonal coloring here! Just your guitars natural tone!

To select a boost preset, press and hold the BOOST footswitch for more than 1 second and boost program mode will become active.

When in this mode, the BOOST led will flash to indicate that you are in program mode. A quick tap on the BOOST footswitch will cycle the boost presets and you’ll be able to hear these presets change as you cycle through them, assuming that the boost circuit was active when the boost program mode was entered. Once you arrive at a boost preset that you want to use, press and hold the BOOST footswitch for more than 1 second and boost program mode will exit.

EASTER EGG! There is an easter egg in the boost circuit of the GOLDEN BOY! The boost circuit is based on a MOSFET transistor which is a very popular type of transistor to use for boost circuits because it has many “amp like” characteristics when it clips etc. There can be downsides to this circuit though.

Several very popular MOSFET boost circuits on the market have a very noticeable crackle when their boost knobs are rotated. We fixed this issue in the GOLDEN BOY and our boost is perfectly silent when the boost knob is rotated. The only downside to our fix of this problem is that we lose about 5% of the gain at the highest rotation setting. To most people this would never be a problem as the boost on the GOLDEN BOY is crushingly loud as it it.

OVERDRIVE OVERVIEW: The Golden Boy is based on the Bluesbreaker/King of Tone circuit, so the resulting tone is very open, uncompressed and transparent sounding. Think John Mayer overdriven tones. The Golden Boy sits in the mix perfectly and while it adds overdrive and grit, your guitar still sounds like your guitar!

Where the Golden Boy differs from other Bluesbreaker type circuits is that it has the ability to run much higher gain and instantly switch to a low gain transparent overdrive with a tap of the footswitches. With four gain settings at your feet while you play, you can use the GOLDEN BOY as an always on tone shaper, a low gain transparent overdrive, a mid gain drive or a high gain solo drive all without bending down to adjust settings! With the GOLDEN BOY, you keep playing and use your foot (or MIDI) to adjust the gain for you!

CLIPPING DIODE PRESETS: The GOLDEN BOY allows for 4 different presets of clipping diodes which themselves drastically alter the tone and feel of the way the overdrive clips and distorts.

To select a clipping preset, press and hold the DRIVE footswitch for more than 1 second and the clipping program mode will become active. When in this mode, the DRIVE led will flash to indicate that you are in program mode. A quick tap on the DRIVE footswitch will cycle the clipping presets and you’ll be able to hear these presets change as you cycle through them, assuming that the drive circuit was active when the clipping program mode was entered. Once you arrive at a clipping preset that you want to use, press and hold the DRIVE footswitch for more than 1 second and clipping program mode will exit.

Serial Number: 2426