Designed By A Nashville Session Pro – REVV Tilt Overdrive Review

Canadian amp and pedal masterminds join forces with session guru Shawn Tubbs to introduce a uniquely designed overdrive pedal. Boasting simple yet incredibly versatile controls, this pedal is crafted for both studio and live use.

DISCLAIMER: This product was provided to me by REVV and I got to keep it, but they have no say in the things I mention in this video/review nor do they get to see the post/video before it is published.

Specifications

  • Versatile touch-sensitive amp-voiced drive & unique multi-voice Tilt Boost 
  • Shawn Tubbs’ signature pedal, who developed his signature sound over 30+ years doing sessions in L.A. & Nashville + touring with Grammy Award-winning artists 
  • Over 1 year of R&D, 10 revisions, & prototype shootouts with world-class artists & engineers 
  • The first Revv Signature Series pedal – from scratch designs to bring a guitarist’s unique tone to life 
  • Drive Circuit w/ treble, bass, level, & gain controls 
  • Tilt Boost w/ boost & Tilt EQ controls + 3-voice tight switch 
  • All-analog design powered by 9-12v 35mA (center negative external supply only) 
  • Top jacks & silent relay switching 
  • Charcoal blue powder-coated metallic finish w/ custom graphic & laser-etched Shawn Tubbs signature 
  • Made in Canada
  • Manual, velvet bag, Shawn Tubbs pick, sticker, & more included in box 

What is REVV Tilt Overdrive?

REVV designer Dan Trudeau and Shawn Tubbs designed this pedal from scratch, meaning it’s not directly based on any other pedal on the market. The visual design of the pedal is based on Shawn’s love for motorcycles (you ‘revv’ and ‘tilt’ your motorcycle) without it being too obvious. If I’m totally honest, I didn’t even notice the bike on the pedal at first, but maybe it’s just me.

There are two sides to the pedal, on the left you have the overdrive section with Treble, Bass and Volume controls.

On the right there’s a boost with some unique features I haven’t seen on other overdrive pedals, namely the Tilt EQ.

As with all REVV pedals, the Tilt Overdrive feels premium with its build quality and finish and based on my 5+ years of experience with my G3 pedal, these things are made to last.

Overdrive Side

The drive side of Tilt Overdrive aims for sounds of a cranked vintage amp with lots of dynamics that you can control with your playing. It doesn’t have a massive amount of gain (as you can tell by the video above) but allows you to dial in just the right sound for those slightly-broken-up cleans that turn into distortion when you dig in with your pick.

The EQ on the drive side is quite powerful, with plenty of cut or boost available with the Treble and Bass controls. It seems to be voiced in a way where it boosts/cuts frequencies that are usually most problematic on the electric guitar, making it easy for you to dial in great tones fast.

Tilt side

This is where things get… different. I have never seen a boost section like this before, and I must admit it took me a few moments to figure out how the Boost side works.

Setting up Boost and Tilt EQ controls at noon and the tight switch on ‘normal’, hitting the boost switch makes everything sound a bit louder and ‘better’.

The Tilt EQ knob allows you to decide which frequencies are getting boosted. Turning the knob to the left brings out more of the low end when boosted, and turning it to the right obviously brings out more of the high end instead.

Paired with a three-way tight switch, that allows you to cut out some of the low end, it helps you dial in exactly the right sound no matter what kind of guitar you are using.

It took me a few moments to get a full grasp of how you sculpt your tones with this pedal, but once you get the hang of it, it makes a lot of sense. The pedal starts with an assumption that you already have a decent tone going on with your guitar and your amp and helps you fine-tune it to take it from good to great.

The Secret Function On The Drive Switch

You can tell this pedal was designed by someone who has played countless live gigs: When you press and hold the Drive switch, it engages both Drive and Boost sides simultaneously. It’s a small but incredibly convenient function that saves you an extra tap any time you need to play leads, for example.

IS THE REVV Tilt Overdrive Good And Worth The Money?

The REVV Tilt Overdrive is a great, versatile pedal, built to the highest standards and designed to last. It may not be for everyone as it mainly focuses on tones from slightly-broken cleans to lo-to-mid overdriven sounds. However, these sounds are exceptional, and the EQ controls and the Tilt EQ allow you to dial in professional-level sounds regardless of the guitar you are using.

If you’re interested acquiring your own REVV Tilt Overdrive and support what I do, you can find affiliate links here:

►►Get Your Tilt Overdrive at Thomann: https://thmn.to/thoprod/542708?offid=1&affid=394

►►Get Your Tilt Overdrive at Sweetwater: https://sweetwater.sjv.io/xkEWG3

 


Posted by

Search By Tags

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *