# Royal Overdrive by Van Weelden



## Alex (Feb 11, 2006)

wow, great sounding unit. It is interesting how the mini switches are adjusted to a specific amp.


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## Cups (Jan 5, 2010)

Very nice. Probably the same price as an amp though?


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

Cups said:


> Very nice. Probably the same price as an amp though?


Just shy of a grand CD, so yes.

Doesn't seem to be a Canadian distributor, not that I'd need one. 8)

Seems like a good idea to make it more useful to more players though.


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## Alex (Feb 11, 2006)

sulphur said:


> Just shy of a grand CD, so yes.
> 
> Doesn't seem to be a Canadian distributor, not that I'd need one. 8)
> 
> Seems like a good idea to make it more useful to more players though.


Is it really a grand? I couldn't find any on Reverb.


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

Alex said:


> Is it really a grand? I couldn't find any on Reverb.


The only price that I could find was 549 GBP, which works out to $936.98 CD on my converter.

Van Weelden Royal Overdrive Pedal | Andertons


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## Alex (Feb 11, 2006)

sulphur said:


> The only price that I could find was 549 GBP, which works out to $936.98 CD on my converter.
> 
> Van Weelden Royal Overdrive Pedal | Andertons


That includes 20% VAT so it's roughly a modest $US600........+ shipping + HST...that's what I call a Royal with cheese...I bought years ago a Klon for $US350 and sold it (for the same price) as I thought it was too much dough for an OD pedal. I'll have to pass on the Van Weelden.


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

Ah, yes they are imported from the Netherlands.

One reason that I never looked into an Ethos, too much scratch.


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

I stopped watching the video after Jock listed the price


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## KapnKrunch (Jul 13, 2016)

I must have spent more than a thousand dollars on cheaper OD.s before finally biting the bullet and buying the STEPHENSON STAGE HOG. I was so impressed that I had him build me an amp and speaker cab as well. That being said, I am now back to inexpensive gear -- the latest being a Beckemer Soloist solid-state amp for a couple of hundred (shipped from Quebec). Funny how I've acquired snobby gear only to go back to the beginning. Having fun with whatever is on hand.


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## Alex (Feb 11, 2006)

Well, I overrode my own statement by purchasing one. I have a good friend that owns a Royal Overdrive and with the hype, I decided to take the plunge.

I spent a couple hours on the first day and was very impressed but wasn't quite sure about the value. The usual characters involved were; my SVL Strat, Les Paul and my PRS running through a Matchless SC-30 and a Tone King imperial Mk II. I tweaked quite a bit and after talking to the same friend and spending more time with, it is an absolutely phenomenal unit. As mentioned in the Pedal Show Dumble episode, the Dumble pedals have a very different sound than a typical tube screamer or other OD and this is certainly the case with the RO. Different but not unfamiliar...

The unit has a lot of gain on tap and I usually max out the gain at around 4. With the gain boost switch on and hitting the midrange button, you can go from heavy crunch to soaring lead tone. What I'm impressed is that it sounds massive. There's a fullness without having it being too mushy - you can hear each note.

The RO is really "amp friendly" and the Mode and Bright switches are there to adjust to any amps EQ. For my amps, the best combination for me seems to be Mode A with bright switch on 2. It is really important to view the video or read the instructions since those two functions dictate how well the unit will work with a given amp. With the wrong setting, you will utter a loud wtf?

The unit is built sturdy and weighs over 4lbs. Given the price, it has to be heavy  - On the subject of pricing, I realize the price point will be a detractor and frankly, you can buy a decent guitar for that price, BUT, I must confess that I have not played an Overdrive with that character and note definition and it is really pleasing to the ear. I played with my PRS last night and combining the Nemesis delay and it was "eagle soaring" type tones. Once you crank up the volume, it only gets better.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

It probably doesn't hurt that you're using really good gear too! Congrats on the purchase.


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## Alex (Feb 11, 2006)

Budda said:


> It probably doesn't hurt that you're using really good gear too! Congrats on the purchase.


I think the spirit of the RO is to make any amp sound really good or at least decent. If you are a travelling musician working with a supplied backline for each venue, this is an incredible tool.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Alex said:


> I think the spirit of the RO is to make any amp sound really good or at least decent. If you are a travelling musician working with a supplied backline for each venue, this is an incredible tool.


I was talking to Rob about that on Wednesday when I stopped in to consign my guitar. He told me that the Veraman (sp...) twin pedal was great for consistency if you don't know what you're going to get. I had no idea he's played in India haha.

Everything mentioned in this thread is out of my price range regardless though, so I'm not too worried.


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## Alex (Feb 11, 2006)

Budda said:


> I was talking to Rob about that on Wednesday when I stopped in to consign my guitar. He told me that the Veraman (sp...) twin pedal was great for consistency if you don't know what you're going to get. I had no idea he's played in India haha.
> 
> Everything mentioned in this thread is out of my price range regardless though, so I'm not too worried.


He has the Vemuram rage e which I also had (it is a great unit). Rob is a great player....I was at TGS a couple months ago and was trying out a 594 and at one point I stopped and heard these great lines...sure enough it was Rob. Killer tone - it's all in his right hand on how he attacks the string. I compared notes and we use the same picks but the comparisons stop there


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Yeah, dude definitely knows what he's doing. 

I intentionally did not try the 594 while I was there.


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## Alex (Feb 11, 2006)

Budda said:


> Yeah, dude definitely knows what he's doing.
> 
> I intentionally did not try the 594 while I was there.


Good move  I was pretty blown away by it.


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## pstratman (Jan 26, 2012)

The Vemuram pedals are great for stacking- you can control the clean and dirty with your guitar volume and by how hard you pick.....better than other pedals that I have tried.

1st clip is a clean tone with both pedals on 2nd shows picking dynamics and volume- really cool pedals.


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## pstratman (Jan 26, 2012)

Sound is more compressed when stacked.....with either pedal run by itself it is a little more open....this was a stacking exercise....was recorded with tablet mic...


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## Alex (Feb 11, 2006)

Sounds good - i preferred the stacked set up as the signal wasn't clipping as much. Being in the room would probably result in a different outcome.


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## Alex (Feb 11, 2006)

I've tinkered more with the RO and it sounds PHAT but very clear. I'm not sure this is a Dumble pedal…it reminds me of the tone on the 1st side (live) of the Fandango album by ZZ Top.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

pstratman said:


> Sound is more compressed when stacked.....with either pedal run by itself it is a little more open....this was a stacking exercise....was recorded with tablet mic...


I believe any time that you're adding gain (ex. stacking drives), you're adding compression. I could be mistaken though.


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## pstratman (Jan 26, 2012)

Like that ZZ sound..... both clips are stacked- ultimately what I want is to be able to get most gain sounds I need with my volume knob. I am going into a 65 Deluxe Reverb(vintage), and a Tone King Royalist(Marshall) a great start....


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## Alex (Feb 11, 2006)

Fell onto this clip while surfing Youtube….nice touch and tone


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## Alex (Feb 11, 2006)

Another clip with a Strat


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