Since 2014, the 50-watt Smallbox has been a staple of Friedman's amp head lineup, offering a plethora of British-voiced tones from vintage Plexi to high-gain. And now, in welcome news for overdrive pedal enthusiasts, the California company has reimagined the amp in a compact stompbox format.
Boasting the same control set as the amp version, the Smallbox Overdrive pedal features volume, gain and presence knobs, as well as a three-band EQ with bass, mid and treble dials.
There's also a side-mounted two-position Gain Structure switch, which allows players to choose between a Plexi-style gain voicing, or a harder, more modern tone.
Friedman touts the pedal's versatility, saying it's ideal for use with both clean and overdriven amps. It also says the pedal responds to guitar controls and picking nuance just like the amp version.
The Smallbox Overdrive pedal is assembled in the USA and available from November 20 for $199. For more information, head to Friedman Amplification.
Get The Pick Newsletter
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month**
Join now for unlimited access
US pricing $3.99 per month or $39.00 per year
UK pricing £2.99 per month or £29.00 per year
Europe pricing €3.49 per month or €34.00 per year
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Sam was Staff Writer at GuitarWorld.com from 2019 to 2023, and also created content for Total Guitar, Guitarist and Guitar Player. He has well over 15 years of guitar playing under his belt, as well as a degree in Music Technology (Mixing and Mastering). He's a metalhead through and through, but has a thorough appreciation for all genres of music. In his spare time, Sam creates point-of-view guitar lesson videos on YouTube under the name Sightline Guitar.
“An all-in-one suite for songwriting”: Mooer’s latest pedal is ridiculously light, insanely small… and could be the most portable multi-effects unit out there
“Trust me, the Hizumitas isn’t just a pedal – it’s an experience”: I swore off pedals, but Sweetwater’s time-limited 20% off EarthQuaker Devices Cyber Monday sale is too tempting to ignore