GEAR SPOTLIGHT
SOUTHAMPTON
FIFTH GEAR
OVERDRIVE
REVIEW BY NICK RAMBO
STREET PRICE $129.00
I’ve played lots of
overdrive pedals. Too
many, probably. Now,
that probably sounds
braggadocious—but facts
are facts. I’ve written
about my pedalwhoring
in a couple of past issues
of Tone Report, but of all
the pedals that have been
shuffled in and out of my
house in small cardboard
boxes, overdrives have
been the most frequent
variety. I’m a bit of an OD
addict.
I say all this to drive
home a specific point:
where drive pedals are
concerned, it takes a lot
to surprise me.
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GEAR SPOTLIGHT //
I mean, sure—many of the
drive pedals I’ve had the
good fortune of trying
out have been interesting
at the very least, but
rarely does one make me
reconsider how I many
gain pedals I actually
need.
Which is where I’d like
to introduce you to the
Fifth Gear from Ontario’s
very own Southampton
Pedals—SP for short.
VROOM VROOM
The marketing copy for
the Fifth Gear reads that
it “is potentially the only
drive pedal you need.”
Big talk, but the pedal
comes in a tall 1590BS
Southampton Fifth Gear Overdrive
enclosure—so it stands
up.
And honestly, after a
few days with the Fifth
Gear, I continue to be
impressed by just how
satisfying it is to play. I
can’t say that it’s the most
dynamic drive I’ve ever
played, but it’s certainly
up there on the list. The
volume knob cleanup—
which can easily go from
a subtle clang to a meaty
grind—is remarkable, to
say the least. And the
combination of controls
really helps with that.
The Fifth Gear is in its
second iteration. The
first version was a mini-