Dean Markley Overlord

[JCM1959]

Does anyone have a schematic for this pedal?  I just got one from a friend of mine in trade for a Rangemaster clone I built.

[Freddy205]

I have one of these beauts. Didn't sound that great until I subbed the 12ax7 in the pedal for a Mullard 12au7 as I was recommended to do. Now it sounds brilliant. The Overlord is the same as the later 5-knob Real Tube pedals - so I have been told.

[PharaohAmps]

Yeah, the Overlord and 5-knob Real Tube are the same pedal, minus minor cosmetic and component differences.

They both use an op-amp to drive the tube, which is run in starved-plate and with the cathode at a -ve voltage.  Lower gain tubes definitely sound better in those pedals - 12AU7 is a perennial favorite, although a 12DW7 is also a good choice (1/2 is like an AU7 and 1/2 is like the AX7.)

I used to use two of them on my pedalboard - one each Overlord and Real Tube - for dirty rhythm and light crunch duties respectively, and both at once for lead.  Worked great.

Don't have a schematic on hand but there's probably one for the Real Tube out there.

Matt Farrow

[Rodgre]

I seem to be repeating myself (wasn't there a thread about this recently?) but there is also an op-amp version of the overlord which used two 9v batteries and had a soft button-style bypass switch. Major bypass tone sucker.

I have one of those versions.

Roger

[JCM1959]

I seem to be repeating myself (wasn't there a thread about this recently?) but there is also an op-amp version of the overlord which used two 9v batteries and had a soft button-style bypass switch. Major bypass tone sucker.

I have one of those versions.

Roger

Yes, I read you mentioning that in another thread.  The one I own is the tube version.
As for the way it is sounding right now.  It's the tits up on this one.  Not sure which tube is in it currently, but makes my Marshall sound like it wants to take a ball bat to the world.  I'm running the level a little shy of halfway and the gain somewhere right before 9:00 with the tones centered up.  It is a lot gainier than the SD-1 when the gain is maxxed out, but the tone controls go from nil through SD-1, the TS varients, to harsh sounding tone controls.  I think I am satisfied with this pedal to push my SL.  Running it with my MXR 10 band graphic I am pulling out something in the area of a Venom meets Celtic Frost grind/tone structure.