Wampler - Belle Overdrive Effects Pedal

BELLE OVERDRIVE The pedal responsible for inspiring this circuit has been around for a long time in various different forms and formats, although most of them feature too much of a ‘Hi Fi’ sound about them, often failing to achieve the correct blend of clarity and bass which is required to make a good overdrive sing. Wampler have added more gain capabilities to this circuit, alongside a bass control which controls all of the harmonics from smooth and creamy, through to tight and crunchy.

The sound delivered by this circuit is an old favourite of Nashville guitarists and Brian Wampler’s take is everything you’d expect it to be – high-grade parts, stunning enclosure and spectacular tone. Once the gain is set low and the bass control up high, you get a wonderful clean boost sound that can rival any Klone circuit, but when you spin the bass down and the gain all the way up, you’ll suddenly find yourself with an awesome transparent overdrive / medium distortion sound with all the crunch you need.

The ‘Color’ control is more than just a standard tone control and it’s fair to say is very unique to this circuit. Dialling it right or left will either boost or cut the high and low end a little, but the midrange frequencies are left well alone. Combine this with the Bass control and you have a very versatile tone shaping palette with Wampler’s legendary ease of use. Mr Wampler has also added a push switch on the side which will control the amount of compression and alter the clipping structure in the circuit for some extra punch.

This pedal can add some serious muscle to your country, some extra grit to your blues, and some soaring boosts to rock – it’s such a flexible drive we know you are going to love stacking it with your favourite pedals as much as playing it straight through a clean amp.

at a glance • Wampler's spin on a Nashville session secret
• Transparent overdrive and harmonic enhancement
• Essential for front-ending an amp or modeling device
• 9–18-volt power supply required (not included)

wampler pedals"It must be another Tube Screamer Clone because it's green"

No, no, no no. A green colour does not always indicate a tubescreamer clone. The Nobels ODR-1 has long been one of my favorite op amp overdrive circuits, and it's nothing like a ts9, ts808, or any other type of tubescreamer type circuit. It's quite original, dare I say "transparent" as a drive pedal, and has a nice, full body yet stays crunchy and crispy in milk.

Wampler had a lot of folks ask them to come out with their take on this particular circuit, and the Wampler Belle is that particular take.