Blackstar Dept. 10 Dual Drive 2-channel Tube Overdrive Pedal Reviews

This is the pedal/unit/gem I needed but didn't figure that out until now. Decided to try putting some analog tube tone into my modeler and researched a number of other units before going with this one as it has multiple outputs, two drives (only 1 at a time though), and I could see building a pedal board around this unit in the future as it also has amp/cab modeling output if you want it.

Putting this early in my Amp/FX digital modeler chain really brought out harmonic true goodness that I struggled to get with the digital modeler alone! The Dual-Drive analog cleans/overdrives and tube combined with my modeler is the best of both worlds and so easy to dial it in now. Instead of one box (just my modeler) now I have two to pack but the dual drive is 1/3 the size of my modeler and the extra weight is well worth it. First pedal unit I received was defective but Sweetwater quickly sent a replacement - excellent cust service!

I got the Dept 10 Dual Drive with the idea of running it as my direct amp. Pedals in front, effects in the back, XLR to the deck at church. It sounded great, but I missed my other direct amp setup so the Dual Drive got shelved. On a whim for a certain song, I put the Dual in the chain as a stand alone tube drive....voila!!!! This is that tube amp tone I've wanted in my drives all along! I kid you not, it's never off! All my boutique pedals, and I have a gazillion, are surely bored, as they never, and I mean never get turned on any longer. The volume knob on my guitar with channel 1 on the Dual is pure edge of breakup to full on drive. Channel 2 is set to searing smooth lead, and it cooks well done! Don't miss this pedal.

I moved from a Synergy rig to a simpler less expensive rig stil maintaining all analog, high voltage tube basis. The more I use all three of the Dept 10 pedals the more I like them and the better the tones get. If you're looking for a vast range versatility in your gear like I do. These are just some great pedals/preamps. The red and black both have vast ranges of gain able to capture that clean as well as the ellusive mid and edge of breakup gain tones easily. The high gain is very articulate and wholly tube based that only high gain real tubes can muster. Accolades to the Blackstar Dept 10 crew just some amazing pedals which all in all are resonably priced for the range they have. I am not using the CAB stuff just merely using the three Dept 10s into my Two Notes ReVolt as a foundation base. Out of the ReVolt feeds my Strymon stuff just like an effects loop before the power amp. I use my Mesa twin cabs with Black Shadows and my very cool Synergy stereo tube power amp. Best rig I have put together at perhaps less than a fourth I had wrapped up in my Synergy stuff. Synergy is very cool and I loved that stuff for a couple years, needed to downsize and get things more simple but maintain great sound. Dept 10 helped me do that.

I have no doubt these are some of the best pedals, when you consider high voltage tube overdrive and the range they have from high gain to clean they are amazing. I have all three now and could not be more pleased. Never a bad tone or hard to dial something in, just easy to use and fantastic results. Quality build and design. I am not using the IR stuff right now but nice to know it has some great editor cab stuff in there for future use. I run a live rig chain of these after my comp and boost pedals into my Two Notes Revolt then into a tube power amp. Best sounding and easy to use rig of all time. Thing about this one in particular is the ability to craft edge of breakup and moderate distortion/drive tones. You can't get this stuff out of modeler at least none I have tried. Dept 10 is some seriously well designed and quality stuff. YOu also have the artful options of the drive/dist having a nice effect loop. I keep my Revv G8 in the dual Dist loop for NR on uber high gains. They sound better and absolutely amazing into the Two Notes Revolt.

this came to me really fast, thank you Sweetwater. I wasn't looking for an overdrive pedal but got curious about this after reading about it.
I'm really glad I bought it.
I didn't think my sound could be improved but this did just that. it made me want to play even more. it operates like a preamp for my amp, and it has such a versatile range. this is one of the best pedals I've bought in years. thickens the sound makes a small amp sound huge. it can get loud so be careful. this thing will hurt you. lol

I bought this pedal to use with a solid state amp I felt was a little bit sterile at high volume and it really added some nice, gritty warm crunch and tone. My only suggestion for future iterations is to add separate equalizer settings to each channel as the single set of dials affect both channels - not always what you want. What sounds great on channel one might be too muddy for channel two. But, for the price, not a big problem. Definitely a keeper.

I am a full time, professional guitar player with over 30 years of experience. I never write reviews but this pedal is special. I've tried and/or owned many amp in a box pedals. I gave up on tube overdrives many years ago as the tube was always run in starvation mode instead of plate voltage, which is necessary to have a real amp feel/response. Anyway, I took a chance on this one. I waited for over three weeks - playing many different gigs - before reviewing this pedal, as I wanted to really put it through everything. Using a Fender clean style tube amp, I can get a full blown Marshall, Mesa Boogie, or combination thereof with this pedal. It's truly amazing. It's also quiet. The tone controls are extremely responsive, and the ISP is brilliant for taking one from American flavors, to British, or anything in between. I use the left side for crunch and the right for high gain. I use single coils usually and have no problem getting more than enough gain to get me into hot-rodded Marshall territory on the right side. This pedal sounds so good that I'm seriously considering buying a second one as I always want to have a back up. I hope this review is helpful to anyone on the fence. Cheers!

I bought the Dual Drive and Boost to add different tones to my Mesa MKIII Bluestripe. I also use an Axe Fx.The Boost is great. The Dual Drive has a ton of range from clean to mean. The Crunch 1 whith the gain dimed is the best hot rod Plexi you can imagine. I do wish it was the Crunch 2 however for switching purposes. It shares the clean mode. The Crunch 2 is thicker and has more gain but I am not really using it. The Overdrive mode is liquid gain and feels amazing. The direct sound with Cab Rig sounds great and has plenty of options. You do need to tweak though to find your tone.

I've been a fan of the Blackstar HT Dual pedal for a while. It has such great tube tone and makes my Katana come absolutely alive. I loved it also for helping liven up my recordings going into amp sims. But there were a few things I didn't love. The knobs were very difficult to see where they were set due to the little black dot on a chrome knob. Also the volumes and gains were on concentric knobs which made adjustments of gain and volume for each channel easy to affect the other channel.

The Dual Drive improves upon the classic by overcoming both of these limitations. It also adds the ability to have the crunch on both sides which is great so you can dial in two very similar tones but have the right side boosted for solos, etc.

But...my favorite aspect is the new USB functionality. This works as a instrument interface with a PC or Mac. But there is one other thing that was not listed anywhere that I looked. This is a CLASS COMPLIANT USB interface. That means that you can hook this up to an iPad or iPhone as well and record directly without having to fuss with drivers!

With an amp = Awesome
With a computer = Awesome
With a portable device = Portable Awesome!

The only con that I have is with the non-standard power supply, but oh well. It's worth it for the tone.

This pedal is a beast! No need to carry that heavy tube amp around, this will replace it for when you need to carry as little amount of equipment as possible. The tone and low end you get with this pedal is absolutely amazing! I highly recommend this pedal to anyone who is needing to just bring your pedal board
&'guitar and plug straight into the board. I was worried about loosing that tubed amp sound going direct, but with this pedal it is just like playing through your amp. Love this little toy!

Works as described. There is a bit of a learning curve, BUT, if you are going straight into a p.a. or recording console/DAW, it sounds close enough that 90% of the listening audience cannot tell the difference between having a mic-ed amp in the room and this unit.

This pedal has an ok metal tone but every channel drains the fetal from my Mesa Mark V 90. In every possible situation, it made my tone much worse. Might be on for a cheap amp…