MXR Il Torino Overdrive

Jim Dunlop welcomes the Il Torino Overdrive to their MXR line, featuring switchable Boost and Overdrive modes.

MXR II Torino Overdrive

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This latest drop in the ocean of dirt pedal releases leans toward the classic tones, it is specifically designed to replicate the feel and sound of tube amps.

The new MXR Il Torino Overdrive is co-designed by Carlo Sorasio, a custom shop engineer that is said to be a boutique amp and pedal builder that is based in Italy.

Sorasio and the rest of MXR’s Custom Shop team built this pedal using MOSFET technology, this type of circuit is known for its smooth tube-like grit as it recreates the gain structure of old tube preamps. The resulting pedal is described as having a “sweet, touch responsive saturation and natural sounding compression”.

Instead of just going for a straightforward overdrive, this pedal comes a Boost/OD toggle switch. This means that you get two different effects in a regular sized stompbox. Boost mode adds more volume to your output to increase dynamics while retaining a cleaner sound that adds some amount of compression and sustain. As expected the Overdrive mode showcases a more aggressive tone that behaves in the same manner as that of real tube amps when cranked.

Two knobs on the pedal provide essential overdrive controls, first of which is the master knob that lets you set the volume. The gain knob on its opposite lets you set the amount of overdrive that you want to apply on your signal.

The pedal also features a 3-band EQ section that will let you fine tune the sound of the overdrive, three dedicated knobs are provided for adjusting the bass, mids and high frequencies. When combined with the other two knobs, the EQ section will let you produce a wide variety of sounds, and it will also make it easier to match the pedal with different guitar types.

Check out the official video demo:

Finally, the pedal comes with a buffered bypass, the official description explains, “this pedal uses a sophisticated bypass system in the form of a Class A Low Impedance Output Driver — essentially a form of buffered bypass — to keep your tone sounding warm and natural across long signal chains where signal loss normally occurs.”

The new MXR Il Torino Overdrive comes in a sturdy blue-ish MXR metal chassis, and has an MSRP of $171.41. For more information and other details, visit Jim Dunlop.

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