Electro-Harmonix Soul Food Transparent Overdrive Pedal | Transparent overdrive with great touch and response!

The EHX SoulFood is a pedal that suffers from many preconceived notions of what it is or isn't, due in no small part to the very facts of its existence. As stated, it is EHX's take on the Klon Centaur. Those in the know immediately conjure aural notions of what this pedal *should* sound like. Those not in the know (like myself when I first came across this pedal) take to the web to find out what the Klon sounds like. After having used this pedal for quite some time now, I think that both these responses are inaccurate in some ways, and perhaps unfair to the SoulFood itself. This pedal is EHX's interpretation of the Klon. It isn't a duplicate, nor is it a complete redesign. It obviously doesn't use the same components or housing or manufacturing processes, so it is unfair to expect the exact same sound and performance from it So what does it sound like? It sounds like a fantastic pedal that comes at a great price. It is extremely transparent with regards to sound, imparting almost no coloration to the signal (I intentionally do not say "tone" to avoid the ambiguities associated with it). It has an impressive amount of head room that allows for full note expression throughout its entire "Drive" range. The "Treble" adjustment is helpful for dialing in a bright or dark sound, though I often leave it at a neutral setting (or just slightly below neutral to wick away some treble depending on the guitar setup I've got in front of it). It has a full range of boost or cut and is a nice touch to help dial in the exact sound you want from this pedal. The "Vol" adjustment is good for whatever you want to do, either matching unity with the entire chain or boosting the signal to take a walk during solos if that's what you want. I have tested both the buffered and unbuffered signal options (as well as on other pedals) and I can not tell a huge difference between the two, though this is almost certainly due to my personal rig rather than any benefit or flaw of the pedal. As such, I can't speak to the quality or usefulness of this feature. It is worth noting, as with almost any musical instrument, that your mileage may vary greatly depending on your own setup. I use this pedal exclusively with tube amps. I have not tried it with a solid state amp, and I believe that the sound with solid state will be quite different. I would not expect this pedal to make a solid state amp growl like a high gain tube amp, but at the same time it might give some nice overtones and grit that could be exactly what you're after. For the price, it is almost hard to argue against getting this and experimenting with it. It has a lot of potential in many genres and styles of music thanks to its wide Drive range and transparency, and just might be the missing piece to that perfect sound you've been after.

IT SOUNDS AS IT SHOULD. Pretty amazing to get this at this price. If you know what a KLON CENTAUR is that you know what this is. They managed to get a very good clone of it at a absurdly low price. For the best video review do a search on Youtube for SOULFOOD pedal and watch the one from proguitarshop. Not only are you not paying a absurdly high price for an original, you are paying no where near another clone or kit would be. It seems well made on a PC board. It is in an unpainted strong metal box box with a decal on top thus reducing production costs. Amazingly it comes with its own power supply for the price. If you look at various ads as on eBay, sellers make it look like they are throwing in the power supply. It comes with the unit in the box. It can also use a regular modern Boss or 1-Spot.(9.6V DC 200ma,center -). It only uses 22ma at 9V DC. You can also use a 9V battery. There is nothing unusual about the power supply. In the manual it indicates 1 yr warranty (but you have to pay $12 US, $15 Canada, Europe and other countries $25). The service center is in Long Island City NY. The company is in NYC. This overdrive is so great I bought a second one as a spare as it really has an addicting quality to it so if one got stolen or lost I want to make sure I have another. Many pros use a KLON, and also a lot of people who afford them have KLONS, now a clone can be in everyone's budget. They sold loads of these. It was so smart of EXH to make these. Buying it from AMAZON and being a PRIME member got it to me in two days no charge. I also own many other overdrives like a ZEN clone from CBC Pedals, which is a very well hand made ZEN clone at low cost. Two different overdrives that really cannot be compared. I like them both, as appropriate, based on the guitar and music. In closing, many times we buy effects and find that we have limited use for them or they just don't sound right. For instance, how many times would you use a Uni-vibe? But this effect is the kind you find yourself using more and more, especially if you have a tube amp. I just can't get over how good this thing is and that I could buy one (actually two) at this price. This has had to cut into sales of Boutique and expensive clone makers sales and make a lot of players unhappy they paid so much in the past. Yeah, they have bragging rights, but I prefer the extra cash in my pocket. I have recently obtained a Roland Cube 80GX and let me tell you this is the pedal to get a bluesy tone out of it. It is like it is made for it. AND EVEN MORE AMAZING - TRY THIS IS A FENDER BASSBREAKER - WOW!

Great little overdrive pedal at a nice price. I always like the form factor, size, and simplicity of controls on Electro-Harmonix pedals like this. They use the "standard" 9V power supply and put the jack where it belongs on the back. Also with the quick peeling off of the rubber feet, you are one piece of velcro from sticking this on a pedal board without weird topography on the bottom of the pedal -- it's just flat, with recessed screws -- perfect. I bought this just for the hell of it because it's inexpensive - and I really like it so far. Have only used it on a small amp that needed just a hint more overdrive and it worked great. This could be used for clean boost, or as an overdrive pedal. I've used it in a band setting with just a hint of overdrive for a light plexi crunch tone, or with more drive. Sounds pretty good. I have about 10 different overdrives and I like this one quite a bit, especially for the price. Overdrives are like chili...some have beans, some are all meat, some have different flavors or spices. Most are pretty good and your particular favorite is a subjective choice only you can make. The nice thing about the EH Soulfood is it's cheap so you can give it a try without much cash at risk. Pros: form factor, 9V power supply, nice range of tones, good amount of boost available on tap, reasonable price Cons: can't think of any

It took me a while to decide whether or not to buy this or another buffer pedal and/or a combo buffer pedal with a clean boost or other characteristics (VooDoo Labs Sparkle Drive, a JHS buffer, and/or another buffer made by Visual Sound). I decided to buy this and I've been very happy and would definitely buy it again. This stays on all the time on my pedal board. This pedal is a great clean buffer pedal and has definitely enhanced or "sweetened" up my tone. Even if you were just looking for an affordable and reliable clean boost pedal or a kin to the Klon Centaur it'd be worth trying this one out. The distortion sounds wonderfully warm and is not too muddied. There are separate gain and volume controls and the treble control is a nice way to dial in how bright you want your tone to be and it's definitely sensitive (mine stays at 12). The pedal even comes with a 9v power supply. I thought that was pretty neat too. You never know when you'll need an extra one of those to power something down the road.

Love it. Put it early in my chain and have a TS9 after it. The combo of the two sounds great.

Awesome pedal. Performs as described and as expected.

This pedal is not entirely "transparent". But it probably is more "transparent" than most overdrives out there. I found that it cuts the bass and gives a mid EQ bump. It sounds good, but if you are looking for a transparent overdrive, something to retain your EQ and just add a little grit, this is most likely not what you are seeking.

As advertised. Good product.

Es un producto que llegó sin problemas estéticos, funcional y en perfecto estado antes de lo estimado. Algo que resaltar sobre los demás productos, llegó con eliminador !!!!. Una excelente compra sin duda.

Sehr solide gebaut, butterweich laufende Potis, helle LED, feines, schlichtes Artwork. Gefällt mir sehr gut - der Sound ist von subtil boostend bis zu resolutem, mittigem Overdrive, ohne dabei zu Nasal zu klingen. Ein wenig auf der Strecke bleiben die äußeren Frequenzen oben wie unten, aber ich finde das moderat und die Gitarre setzt sich gut durch. Sehr schön auch als Booster nachgeschalteter Drives zu benutzen, oder um beim Umstieg der Gitarren bspw. Single Coils etwas anzupusten. Tasty! Einziges Manko ist aus meiner Sicht, dass mehr EQ-Potis da eine Menge Flexibilität gut machen würden - z.B. ein einfacher, gestaggerter Bass/Mid-Poti. (ein bisschen ist das bei diesen Drei-Knopf EHX-Minen so ein Ding: mindestens die Hälfte von diesen gut klingenden Pedalen könnte man vermutlich mit der anderen Hälfte an Pedalen überflüssig machen, hätten die ausreichend EQ-Möglichkeiten an Bord). Ansonsten aber: günstiger, solider Treter der Spaß macht, zum Spielen animiert und klasse klingt - auch in Kombi mit anderen!

Pedale fantastico. Ho molti overdrive e distorsioni, boss, vox, zoom, ma questo è veramente un’altra categoria. La cosa migliore é che è praticamente identico al Klone Centaur ad un prezzo accessibile. Consiglitissimo

I love this pedal more and more. If you want a kick without going into fuzz, this is the one. Switchable between true bypass or buffered, solid construction, boosts output without generating noise, warm overdrive for clean boost up to a crunch up to really natural valve overdrive sound. I really love it for being at the subtler end of the overdrive possibilities, as I'm not on the whole a big fan of fuzz, or noisy guitars, but this has improved my clean tone no end, providing nice harmonics for my reverb to sweeten. Lush! Love it!

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