Friedman crams its Smallbox amp head into a pedal

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.

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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.