I traded the Sick As MkIII straight for this demo, which is not something I’d do for a pedal I was lukewarm about. I’d been eyeing it for five years, and finally having one confirmed what I suspected: this is one of the best overdrives I’ve tried, period.
The Sick As is a Klon-based circuit, and I’ll be honest, I had written off the whole K-style category before this. Tried a few, wasn’t convinced. What changed my mind here is something Jon from Bondi Effects mentioned: the mid hump frequency is tuned a bit higher than a stock Klon, which makes it feel more versatile and less honky across more guitars and playing contexts. That shift makes a real difference.
The panel runs left to right: Gain, Bass, Treble, Level, with a small headroom toggle sitting below the Gain knob. That toggle is the secret weapon.
In the demo above I’ve set up sweeps for the Gain knob in both headroom modes, plus separate Bass Knob and Treble Knob sweeps, and a Headroom Toggle sweep so you can hear the two modes flip back and forth at the same gain setting. That last one is the most revealing.
The active Bass and Treble EQ is something I want on every overdrive I own. Each band can cut or boost, so dialing in the right amount of low end for your guitar and playing context takes seconds rather than a stack of workarounds.
The static presets show the range. Warm Saturation has the gain sitting at noon with the treble opened up, headroom in low mode: punchy, satisfying, a little thick. Sweet Chime pulls the bass back and flips to high headroom mode for something cleaner and more glassy. Soft Sparkle takes the gain lower and stays in high headroom, which is where the pedal sounds the most Klon-adjacent, that clear push with just a skin of hair. Heavy Growl cranks the gain to full in low headroom mode, and here it starts sounding more like a distortion than an overdrive: bite, presence, grind.
Low headroom is what I reach for when I use this on bass. An active bass EQ recovering the low end that clipping normally eats is a smarter solution to me than a parallel clean blend. It keeps the feel intact while the frequencies stay balanced. High headroom is where the pedal is at its most pleasing for guitar chords and light leads.
Both are low-to-mid gain drives that get compared whenever someone says “transparent overdrive,” so it’s a fair cross-shop. The Morning Glory V4 has a Bluesbreaker-derived circuit with a cutting mid character and a fairly aggressive bass cut. It’s punchy and present but leans toward pushing you forward in a mix rather than sitting anywhere you point it.
The Sick As has a wider tonal footprint. The active two-band EQ means you can adjust the low end recovery and treble presence independently rather than living with whatever the circuit’s passive tone control allows. The headroom toggle also gives you two distinct voices in one box. The Morning Glory has more raw character in a simpler package. The Sick As has more control and more usability across guitars, amps, and non-guitar applications like bass.
Players who want a Klon-flavored overdrive but found earlier K-style circuits too mid-heavy or too narrow will get a lot out of this. The active EQ makes it work well with single coils and humbuckers without major compromise. It’s also genuinely excellent for bass, which is rare.
If you want the most stripped-down low-gain push possible and prefer a pedal that just does one thing, there are simpler options. If you want versatility, build quality, and a circuit that rewards dialing in, the Sick As MkIII is hard to beat.
This demo is a full produced track, so the Sick As shows up in several roles:
Drums come from GarageBand’s drummer, and the mix gets light mastering: exciter, limiter, and gentle compression.
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Get detailed specs on Bondi Effects' website
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