MXR Duke of Tone Overdrive

It's really really good

Only used it for one gig so far. Decent sound. Good build quality and very compact.

I really wanted to like this pedal as I really like all of my other blues breaker circuit drives. Compared to my cheap king of tone clone it sounds harsh and thin even after adjusting the trim pot. Really surprised me.

Based on the Marshall Bluesbreaker pedal from the early 1990s, the Analogman King of Tone (KoT) dual overdrive/distortion is one of those boutique guitar pedals that has become legendary, not only because it sounds good but also because of the lengthy waiting list to buy one which is currently in the region of 5 years!For those of us not blessed with such high levels of patience Analogman has now worked in partnership with MXR to produce this new pedal, the Duke of Tone, which is a faithful recreation of one half of the original King of Tone and they re onto a winner!The MXR Duke of Tone is a pedalboard friendly mini pedal with Volume, Gain and Tone controls plus a dip switch to swap between Overdrive, Boost and Distortion, Additionally there is a trim pot inside enabling you to tweak the top end response.Soundwise the pedal is in the classic low/medium gain bracket. If you're after something heavier then the Duke of Tone isn't for you, although I found it works well cranked up in into an amp set at the edge of break up or stacked with other dirt pedals to create a dirtier sound.Personally I found The Duke of Tone with all knobs at around 2 O'Clock suited a telecaster into a Vox Style amp perfectly creating my favourite a classic rock tone that I could play for hours. I didn't notice a massive difference between the three dip switch settings, although there is definitely some there, but then again I have only used it at bedroom rather than gig or rehearsal volume.One thing worth noting is that like most mini format pedals the Duke of Tone has no facility for battery and you'll need to use an external boss style centre negative power supply to power it.In conclusion I recommend the Duke of Tone and if you buy two and run them in tandem you will effectively have your hands on a King of Tone without that wait!!