The 45 Overdrive is a amp-in-a-box overdrive inspired by JTM45 amps, designed to reproduce the grain, dynamics and response of early British tube amps.
It offers a warm, open and organic sound, from clean boost to vintage crunch, with excellent playability.
🎥 Video demo
A full demo will soon be available to illustrate the pedal's dynamic response and different gain levels in real-life situations.
Musical intent & use cases
The 45 Overdrive excels in edge-of-breakup, light crunch and vintage rock overdrive registers.
It works equally well in rhythm and lead, with a response that remains open and legible even when the gain is increased.
Its dynamic range makes it easy to switch from an almost clean sound to a more pronounced crunch simply by playing the guitar's attack or volume.
This direct interaction with the player’s touch is central to the pedal’s design philosophy.
Bass and Treble equalization makes it easy to adapt the response to different amps and guitars, by adjusting the bass base and treble opening.
Who this pedal is for
The 45 Overdrive is designed for guitarists looking for a vintage overdrive type JTM45 for guitar, with expressive grain and strong dynamics.
Particularly suited to musicians who prefer touch, natural crunch and classic blues and rock sounds.
This pedal is for you if :
- you're looking for a JTM45-type sound with a vintage, dynamic crunch
- you play blues, classic rock or edge of breakup
- you want an overdrive that reacts strongly to your playing and guitar volume
Positioning in the range :
The 45 Overdrive represents the most vintage and lowest-gain approach in the amp-type overdrive range.
The British Drive offers more gain and is in the Plexi universe, with a more pronounced crunch.
Erebor pushes this logic towards more aggressive saturation.
The Dirty Shire takes a more modern Friedman-like approach, with higher gain and tighter response.
Closing note
The 45 Overdrive is an overdrive with character, designed to reproduce the grain, dynamics and feel of early British amps, with a simple, expressive approach.
Key design points
- Overdrive inspired by early British JTM45-style architectures
- Voicing focused on vintage crunch, open grain, and dynamic response
- Highly responsive to picking attack and the guitar’s volume control
- Circuit designed for improved stability and reduced noise
- Controls: Volume, Gain, Bass, Treble
- EQ section allows adjustment of low-end weight and high-frequency openness
- 100% analog circuit, hand-built with through-hole components
- True bypass
- Standard 9V DC (center negative)
- Compact 125B enclosure