Named after an ancient Greek colony near founder Vitalii’s hometown, the Drunk Beaver Olbia takes the Klon-style overdrive circuit somewhere more useful: a full 3-band active EQ and a Clean knob that blends your dry signal back in. The result is a pedal that covers clean boost and medium-gain overdrive while giving you real control over where it sits in the mix.
Controls
The top row holds the 3-band EQ: Bass (centered at 80 Hz), Mid (800 Hz), and Treble (1.5 kHz). These are active controls, so they boost and cut rather than just rolling off the top end. Below them sit Volume, Drive, and Clean. Volume sets the output level, Drive dials in the amount of overdrive character, and Clean blends dry signal alongside the driven signal. That Clean knob is the Olbia’s secret weapon: crank it up and the low end stays focused even with Drive pushed hard, because the dry signal anchors the low frequencies underneath.
In the demo I’ve set up sweeps for Bass, Mid, Treble, Drive, and Clean so you can hear what each control actually does. The four fixed presets show the range: Smooth Boost (Drive at 4, Clean at 5) keeps things warm and unobtrusive. Mix Cutter scoops the bass, lifts the mid, and keeps Drive low for a cutting, mix-friendly transparency. Distortion with Bite (Drive at 6, Bass at 6.5, Mid at 8) shows the Klon character getting pushed into genuine overdrive territory. Almost Fuzz maxes Drive to 10, cranks Bass to 10, kills Treble entirely, and pulls Clean to 0 for a thick, harmonically saturated wall of sound that earns its name.
How It Sounds
I particularly enjoy how the Olbia responds to pick attack and guitar volume. Roll the guitar back and it cleans up without going thin. Dig in hard and the gain blooms without getting brittle. The NOS Soviet D2 diodes Drunk Beaver uses in the clipping stage give the drive a slightly different character than the typical germanium or LED setups: it’s smooth without being glassy, with enough midrange presence to cut through a band mix.
The Clean knob makes the Almost Fuzz preset work in a way a standard Klon clone can’t. With Clean at 0 and Drive at 10, you’re hearing only the driven signal, and the Bass at 10 setting turns it into a dense, compressed roar. Bring Clean back up and the tightness returns immediately. That real-time dry blend gives the pedal a range that runs from transparent buffer-style boost all the way to something genuinely gnarly.
Olbia vs Timmy Overdrive
The MXR Timmy Overdrive is the other go-to for transparent, low-to-medium-gain overdrive with an active EQ. Both pedals share the philosophy of transparency first and clipping second. The Timmy has a tighter, more surgical feel: its Bass and Treble cut controls and 3-way clip toggle let you shape the voice precisely. The Olbia is more additive, boosting frequencies rather than cutting them, and the Clean knob adds a parallel-blend dimension the Timmy doesn’t have. The Timmy stays more consistent across the gain range; the Olbia gets considerably wilder when you push it toward Almost Fuzz territory. If you want a controlled, polished transparent OD, the Timmy is that. If you want more range and the option of a heavy parallel blend, the Olbia has the edge.
Who It’s For
This is a strong pick for players who want one overdrive to go from clean boost through medium gain without switching pedals, especially if the amp’s EQ isn’t doing everything they need. The active 3-band EQ handles a bright-amp or bass-heavy room equally well. It’s well-suited to single-coil players who need low-end reinforcement, or humbucker players who want to keep the mids articulate under gain. If your ideal overdrive is fixed-voiced and you never touch the tone controls, the six-knob layout is overkill. But if you like to dial in the frequency response precisely, the Olbia rewards that approach.
Specs
Circuit: Klon-style overdrive with 15 V internal charge pump
Clipping: red LED and NOS Soviet D2 diodes
Controls: Bass (80 Hz), Mid (800 Hz), Treble (1.5 kHz), Volume, Drive, Clean blend; LED brightness trimmer on PCB
Power: 9 V DC, Boss-style negative center, 15 mA; no battery support; do not exceed 9 V
Lifetime warranty
Signal Chain
Fidelity Guitars Stellarosa Lite II with Lollar Firebird pickups (bridge pickup)
