Kossoff Drive | Hand Wired Paul Kossoff Inspired Overdrive | Aged Mermaid Green Nitrocellulose

Description

Kossoff Drive | Hand Wired Paul Kossoff Inspired Overdrive | Aged Mermaid Green Nitrocellulose

Description of Product

The Kossoff Drive is my flagship overdrive.

It began with one of the things I have always loved about Paul Kossoff’s playing. Not simply the sound, but how much control he had over it from the guitar itself. A softer touch could pull everything back. Dig in and the sound became rawer and more aggressive. The guitar volume was part of the gain structure rather than something permanently left on ten.

That became a fundamental part of the Kossoff Drive.

This is how I normally use mine. I set the pedal for the full gain sound I want with the guitar opened up, then leave it there. Roll the guitar volume back and the circuit cleans up. Pick more gently and it settles down further. Open the guitar up and dig in and the full lead sound is waiting.

There is a lot of ground to explore between those two extremes.

This particular Kossoff Drive is a slightly unusual one.

It is built into the smaller enclosure format, finished by hand in aged mermaid green nitrocellulose lacquer and fitted with brown cupcake control knobs.

I do not build many Kossoff Drives in these smaller enclosures. Everything has to fit into a much tighter space and, frankly, I prefer having room to work when I am building by hand. That makes the smaller versions relatively uncommon compared with the standard Kossoff Drive.

Inside is a collection of vintage capacitors chosen specifically for this build, including a vintage blue moulded capacitor of the type found in 1960s Fender and Magnatone amplifiers, a Mullard mustard capacitor, a Lemco silver mica capacitor and a Suflex tone capacitor.

I could build the required values using modern precision components. Using old parts is not about pretending that vintage automatically means better. I like incorporating components with a genuine connection to the period and equipment that inspired much of what I build.

It means every one off Kossoff Drive can have its own combination of construction, components and history.

The aged nitrocellulose finish follows the same philosophy. It already has some of the character I associate with older equipment and will continue to mark and change as the pedal is handled and used.

Over time it becomes less like the pedal that left my bench and more like the pedal that belongs to its owner.

Description of Sound

The most important control on the Kossoff Drive is not necessarily on the pedal.

It is what you put into it.

Picking strength makes an audible difference. Play lightly and the drive becomes cleaner and more restrained. Dig in and it becomes harder, rougher and more saturated.

The guitar volume gives you another level of control. Rather than simply making the same driven sound quieter, reducing the guitar volume changes how hard the circuit is being driven and allows it to clean up naturally.

That means you can set the Kossoff Drive for a full lead sound and work backwards from there, moving through driven rhythm sounds and into cleaner territory without continually reaching down to change the pedal.

Players who use their guitar controls rather than leaving everything permanently wide open will get the most from it.

The same responsiveness makes the Kossoff Drive particularly useful with other pedals. Change the signal going into it and you change the way the circuit responds. A boost or Rangemaster before it can push it into a different part of its gain range rather than simply making everything louder.

That relationship is one of the reasons the Kossoff Drive sits alongside a Rangemaster in the FreeRange.

The Kossoff Drive can certainly produce the thick, vocal lead sound that originally sent me down the Paul Kossoff rabbit hole, but that is only one end of it.

The important part is everything you can do on the way there.

Real World Testimonials

“This is without a doubt one of the best distortion/drive pedals I’ve ever played and I played a lot.”

Reverb feedback

“Excellent pedal, incredible quality and great responder.”

Reverb feedback

Call to Action

This is a one off Kossoff Drive, hand wired in the less common smaller enclosure and finished in aged mermaid green nitrocellulose lacquer with brown cupcake control knobs.

The vintage blue moulded, Mullard mustard, Lemco silver mica and Suflex capacitors give this particular build its own connection to the equipment and components that inspired it.

I will build other Kossoff Drives.

I do not build many in this smaller enclosure, and I will not build another exactly like this one.

If it speaks to you, it is available.