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I've owned a few JRAD pedals and I hoped for a while they would make the rest of their line in the same housing as the Archer. The Archer was always a favorite but the Klone-like treble and presence never really fit quite to my taste in my current rig. It served its purpose, but when the Tour Series Blue Note released I knew it was for me. The drive is very transparent in the sense that the overdriven tones seem to envelope the original guitar sound rather than be injected into it. Though not intended as a boost like the Archer is, there is plenty of headroom for good clean boost and there is much more gain on tap than I was lead to believe from videos and other reviews. The 'Fat' knob makes it a great candidate when using multiple guitars, but between my Fender Duo-Sonic and Gibson Les Paul Jr, I don't feel the need to adjust it. The 'Tone' knob sits in a very usable range and never gets too piercing or too dark. This pedal is great for a first stage drive that can easily push the front of an amp if need be and if you can pick up a B-stock Blue Note, you won't find this class of overdrive at a more reasonable price.

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