Let’s face it: there are a LOT of overdrive pedals on the market right now. A LOT. For us, as pedal reviewers, we love it when something new and exciting in the world of overdrives comes along, and today’s featured pedal gave us that very feeling as soon as we plugged it in. It’s not so much the outer controls that make the Aerostat Overdrive from Killer Otter Electric stand out amongst a sea of screamers and klones, but what’s on the inside that counts. Let’s explore….
We do need to discuss the controls, however, so let’s do that first. Volume, Tone and Gain are overdrive staples, and the Aerostat is no different. It does have a nifty little toggle switch, though, letting you decide between three types of sonic character: jangly top-boost (TIGHT), classic rock crunch (MID) and thick, fuzzy drive (FULL). These options let you turn a possibly average overdrive experience into something exciting and potentially jaw-dropping.
The real key to the Aerostat’s sound is harnessed in its core – designed without using the op-amp design, it is a transistor-based, diode-free, organic-sounding drive, perfect for pushing an amp into warm and creamy, natural break-up, without over-compressing the signal, or adding in too much mid-hump tone. This also makes it extremely responsive to your playing, be it through fingerstyle or using a pick, it boasts a remarkable amount of touch-sensitivity, making it a keeper for all kinds of style of music.
The Aerostat Overdrive was designed to work with both single-coil and humbucking pickups alike, something not often found to be so smooth in a good deal of overdrive pedals out there. The toggle lets you control the low-end as well, shaping that portion of the circuit for finding specific drive tones all across the gain spectrum. A unique blue beast in a sea of similiar-sounding circuits, we really dug this fella, and wanted to thank the KOE guys for sending the Aerostat our way to check out. Hear some of its killer tones below in our demo video, and head over to the Killer Otter Electric website to pick one up for yourself!
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