Full Gear: the REVV Amplification Tilt Overdrive
Not just ANOTHER overdrive...
It could be said that the "bread and butter" of any pedalboard is the overdrive pedal. Don't believe me? Go ahead and look at your pedal collection. I'm certain the majority of you have more than one overdrive. And I'm willing to bet that some of you have WAY more than just two. I know that I personally have AT LEAST 10 overdrive pedals. And I'm not even counting distortion, fuzz or boost pedals...
So with this type of pedal being such a ubiquitous piece of our rigs, how could we possibly get excited when yet another one is released.
Well, I can only speak to the Tilt in this case: when it's made by an amp company whose gear sounds incredible and tuned to the ear of one of the finest modern guitarists currently active, that makes you take notice.
Revv Amplification is, in my opinion, one of the finest modern amplifier companies around today. Their flagship Generator 120 amplifier is quickly becoming a go-to amp for the modern-minded guitar player. It excels at the pristine cleans and roaring high gain tones that define modern metal music. But this obviously leads to Revv being typecast is a "metal amp" company. But if you REALLY listen to their amps and pedals, you know Revv doesn't make "one trick pony" gear. Enter Shawn Tubbs...
If you ask an "aware" guitar player of who some of the finest players are alive today, Shawn Tubbs is a name that will get brought up MANY times.
A veteran session and touring guitarist, Shawn came to prominence in recent years thanks to his wildly popular YouTube channel and gear reviews...not to mention his smokin' guitar style!
It wouldn't be a stretch to refer to Shawn as a "player's player".
It may surprise you to learn that Shawn Tubbs and REVV have fostered a very strong relationship. Shawn regularly hosts videos and livestreams on Revv's YouTube channel. Shawn regularly uses Revv's amps to great effect (the D20 being the one I've seen most recently). So it was only a matter of time before the Revv team and Shawn put their heads together and came up with something fun.
Shawn doing his thing...
Photo credit: rockettpedals.com
The Tilt Overdrive is the result of the collaboration between Shawn and REVV. At it's most basic it is the sound that Shawn heard in his head; achieved via a two-in-one overdrive & clean boost pedal. The overdrive is a medium gain overdrive with plenty of smooth saturation that is equally at home playing solos of rhythm. The Bass & Treble EQ controls are finely tuned to provide exactly what you want for guitar: fatness and articulation. Then, there's the Boost section...the true secret weapon of the Tilt Overdrive. Although its a "clean" boost it is made far more versatile thanks to the inclusion of a Tilt EQ. This "Tilt EQ" control allows you to tune the frequency response of the Boost to favor either a boomier, more bass-heavy Boost tone or a thinner, more focused sound. In addition, a three way toggle switch labelled "Tight" allows access to three levels of Bass roll-off on the "Tilt EQ". This makes an incredibly handy pedal that can fatten up thing single coils or shave off excess low end from humbuckers.
And then you can play both side together and the REAL magic starts to show itself!
I'm going to come right down and say it: the Tilt Overdrive is one of the FINEST overdrives pedals I've played!
The Overdrive is very sweet but can easily be made to sound articulate and crunchy.
And the Boost, thanks in part to the Tilt EQ, is a huge winner! I would TOTALLY take the Boost side of this pedal as its own pedal.
Separately, both sides of Tilt are great examples of their style but together they are tone-shaping juggernauts.
And best of all, Tilt is a pedal ANY guitarist could get along with.
I've pulled great classic rock, blues, alternative and rootsy tones out of it and even used the Boost for metal tones.
I highly encourage you to check it out for yourself...maybe even consider buying one with my Sweetwater affiliate link.
I hope you enjoy the video and would love it you left a comment telling me your favorite sound with Tilt!
Wishing you Great Tone & Happy Stomping!
SPJ