Truetone V3 VS-XO Dual Overdrive Pedal Reviews

Quite possibly the end all overdrive for me! I have never had as many compliments from my tone as when this pedal was enlisted in my arsenal. I have been playing entire sets live with just this pedal. The left side, which is based on the Nobels/VS Open Road style is just a dream! That channel on the amp you wish you had. Volume knob tapers perfectly when engaged. The right side is TS boost land and does it in spades with a smoother mid-hump than other GREEN pedals. This one was a sleeper for awhile for me and then the magic happened, stars aligned, and tone presented itself in ways that just make me smile! GET THIS PEDAL BEFORE IT'S DISCONTINUED!

I'm sure I've tried every OD pedal imaginable, including a few double drive pedals. I am blown away by how rich and transparent both sides of this pedal are. I gig with a PRS MT15, which has incredible cleans and raging distortion but zero in between. With this pedal I can use the right side to bump my clean to ever-so-slight grit and use the left side for a beautiful crunch. In essence, I now have a 4 channel amp with incredible tones all around. Thanks, Truetone!

Very musical, very versatile. Left side is a Nobels and right side is somewhere between a TS and a Klon depending on the settings. I've never seen a more flexible OD pedal, and trust me, I've owned and gigged most of them. Also, the price is great too!

Totally customizable tone on this one. 2 sides so I use the right as a rhythm dirt/crunch channel and the left (stacked) as a full on distortion. You can really dial in the tone with the Bass selector too. Every part of this pedal is usable. Highly recommended.

JUST RECEIVED THIS LITTLE JEWEL YESTERDAY AND THE NAME SAYS IT ALL! I HAVE TRIED OTHER DUAL OVERDRIVE PEDALS IN THE PAST BUT THIS IS TRUELY A PREMIUM DUAL OVERDRIVE PEDAL JUST AS IT SAYS ON THE PEDAL. THE INS AND OUTS ARE COOL TO ARRANGE DRIVE 1 AND DRIVE 2 IN OPPOSITE ORDER IF YOU SO CHOOSE. I HAD CONSIDERED STILL GETTING THE TS808DX BECAUSE IT IS A COOL LOOKING PEDAL AND
THE TS808 HAS BEEN A MAINSTAY FOR SO MANY MUSICIANS. THIS PEDAL CAN PERFORM MANY OF THE SAME OPTIONS PLUS IT GIVES YOU THE EXTRA OPTION OF HAVING SWITCHES INSIDE THE UNIT TO SWITCH FROM TRUE BYPASS TO A PURE TONE BUFFER SETTING WHICH IS AN AWESOME FEATURE FOR THOSE WHO MIGHT PREFER TRUE BYPASS SWITCHING OVER THE BUFFERED SWITCHING OR VICE VERSA.

THE CLEAN MIX SETTING IS SWEET BECAUSE WHEN YOU TURN IT FULL LEFT ( OFF) THE DRIVE 1 CHANNEL CAN FUNCTION AS A CLEAN BOOST SO IT CAN FUNCTION JUST AS THE TS808DX AND YOU HAVE THE OPTION TO PUT DRIVE 2 IN FRONT OF DRIVE 1 WHICH ACTS THE SAME AS THE BOOST TOGGLE SWITCH ON THE TS808DX LETTING YOU ROUTE THE BOOST BEFORE OR AFTER THE OVERDRIVE.

I HAVE ONLY HAD IT ONE DAY SO FAR BUT I CAN TELL YOU THIS MUCH, IT IS A KEEPER ON MY BOSS BCB60 PEDALBOARD AND I CAN'T WAIT TO TRY IT OUT AT MY UPCOMING GIG.

THANK YOU TRUETONE (FORMERLY KNOWN AS VISUAL SOUND) FOR MAKING SUCH A GREAT PEDAL AND THANK YOU SWEETWATER AND TED HUNTER FOR THE AMAZING SERVICE A FAST DELIVERY!

HECK, EVEN THE GUYS FROM FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE GIVE THIS PEDAL TWO THUMBS UP!

HOPE THIS REVIEW HELPS OTHERS TO DECIDE, OH, AND THE BLUE LED'S ARE A NICE TOUCH OVER THE STANDARD RED OR ORANGE ONES!

THE NAME SAYS IT ALL ! TRUE TONE. Very easy to dial in tones on this OD . The Amount of volume boost available on this puppy is more than sufficient for anyone. I find that i no longer need the high gain / lead channel of my amp with this !!! I use the clean Channel and just ENGAGE (In the words of captain Jean-Luc Picard).

Truetone VS-XO Dual Overdrive....is something else......the best OD i ever had !!!

I was looking for a true dual overdrive pedal and remembered that Visual Sound (Truetone) was making some interesting combo pedals. I didn't want a distortion/overdrive or a boost/overdrive, I wanted two independent overdrive circuits that I could use individually or stack together. The VS-XO is exactly what I was looking for. I owned original versions of the Route 66 and Jekyll & Hyde many years ago so I felt confident this would be a quality pedal, and it is. The tone is superb, and each side is a true overdrive, yet each side is unique and different.

To my ears drive 1 is reminiscent of a tube screamer, but without the nasal like midrange. The mids are prominent but are not taxing on the ear. The clipping and bass boost switches work well and are truly useful. The clean boost knob works as advertised and provides many shades of drive. Drive 2 is less compressed, and has much more low end and gain on tap. It reminds me of my OCD, but without the scooped mids and fizz that I get sometimes with that pedal. I think Truetone is accurate when they describe the mids as "flat" for drive 2. I really like the bass knob on this side, you can really fine tune the feel of the low end response. Drive 2 also cleans up very well with the volume knob and is fairly touch-responsive.

Each side of the VS-XO sounds fantastic, but what I enjoy most is stacking the two sides together. With my LP's I can cover everything from soft blues to higher gain sounds from the 70's and 80's. The sustain is incredible, and I can't say enough about the versatility of this box. I could probably replace my OCD and my Fulldrive with the VS-XO. Lastly, the build quality is excellent and the pedal feels very solid. I really like the feel of the footswitches and they engage nicely. The blue led's are a nice touch and the pedal looks as good as it sounds. I'm more than satisfied with this pedal and highly recommend it to anyone looking for fat, warm overdrive tones that can also venture into higher gain territory if required.

Ever since it first came out I'm been wanting this pedal and I finally got one. It stacks up good with my Boss Combo Drive and My Wampler Pinnacle also. But most of all by it self this pedal will impress you with the tones you get. I have no bad things to say about it. If you want to play country chicken pickin. You can do this. If you want to play some AC//DC tones you can do this. Great Job they did on this duel overdrive. You will like it if you like to dial in different kinda tone. It's a tweaker pedal and that's what it was designed to do.

This pedal sounds, plays, and feels exactly like a tube amp. It's definitely one of the best sounding overdrive pedals out there in the market. You can dial in so many different kind of tones because of its versatility. What I like most about this pedal is how responsive it is with your attack and the feel of it. It also sounds really good. Very unique overdrive pedal. It's a keeper.

Let me preface this review by noting that I run an American standard strat through a Fender twin reverb amp, so it has been a long journey for me to find the right overdrive that wouldn't be brittle and weak like all the rest. I heard about this pedal through forums and other reviews, so I had some pretty elevated expectations from the start, but this pedal exceeded everything. It has plenty of drive on Side 1 to break up a pure clean tone like the Twin has and when combined with Side 2, the pedal simply sings. Perfect for Blues, Rock, and Country. The many options on the controls really do offer a seemingly endless amount of possibilities and you'd find it hard to leave this pedal out of your rig once you've tried it. Definitely a 5/5 pedal and the best overdrive I've ever tried.

So I just made several of the really nice (and pricey) pedals that I have on my board completely freakin obsolete. First, it sounds great and is very high quality looking and feeling. Second, it has some very cool features that are fairly unique. The clipping options make more of a difference than you think they would. Also, the blend pot is useful as well. On the right side I can get some very 808 tones that sound amazing with single coils. This side alone can go from pretty smooth to downright nasty. The left side is fatter and less gritty and sounds huge I'm a really good way. I'm still exploring but recognize already that this is a very tasty pedal that can take the place of many od boxes. There are some very complex low gain sounds in here, so don't think of it as just for high gain. In fact, the lower to mid gain sounds are where the magic is. So anyway, I have a few pedals that need new homes...

The Visual Sound VS-XO is just outstanding. I was initially concerned about space on my pedal board but, after making adjustments for room, added the pedal. It is super versatile. The ability to use one or the other or both ODs is exceptional. As well the controls have broad range allowing for many configurations of OD, Tone and Boost to be easily used. The build is solid and the layout such that it's easy to adjust even in dim light of clubs. I would recommend this to anyone wanting a versatile pedal. It's easy enough for a beginner, advanced enough for a pro and value priced considering all that you get

Really loving this piece of gear! I replaced an awesome boutique pedal with this one based on how similar the sound I was getting was, how versatile but also how QUIET the switching system is. Maybe not a big issue for the studio since you can edit/clean up pedal switching and noise, but for LIVE purposes is a game changer. Love it!!

I purchase this whilst on an overseas vacation to New york and on return I must say I am blown away !!!

The two different overdrive have distinct tonal characteristics which compliment each other really well.....This is no tubescreamer clone. This will could easily replace all your drives (besides maybe a extreme high gain pedal). The clean mix knob really reveal the clarity in your overdrive tones which are sometimes hard to accomplish without harsh EQ. Great sustaining lead tones......singing blues.....country bite.....smooth chordal grit....it will do everything.

Another thing ....if your ever worried about your tone becoming shrill with OD pedals don't worry .....this pedal has plenty of bass which can be dialled in to compensate for this

would (and have) recommended this to everyone I Know

sweet waters sales techs were amazing and provided a smooth shopping experience !!!

Within the first second or two of hearing this pedal I was just like "wow". Some overdrives color your tone, add their own tone, or just hijack that fretty fingery aspect of your tone. Not this pedal. This supports, nourishes, and enhances your current tone, and then some. This is the overdrive sound I want and need.

I only played it for twenty minutes, so I can't comment on it's versatility. But it left a pretty big impression with me, so I will be buying one of these in the near future and never letting it go.


At very least, give this pedal a shot and see if you aren't impressed.

I love stacking overdrives, especially a transparent drive turned down low with a bigger one to the left in the chain (Klon clone next to OCD or Marshall Master types, even the old Cool Cat Transparent V1 next to Drive V1). The subtle differences mean everything for alt country and blues players who need articulate low to moderate gain and the steps in between. I had a Jekyll and Hyde - great pedal. Still the screamer and shredmaster tones didn't make for a usable sound combined (IMHO).

The VS-XO was built so that the two channels work well together. This combined with some clean boost to the side is pretty much like having 4 channels (or more) at your feet. There is a lot of range here with a lot of useful settings as opposed to a one trick pony pedal. The clipping and bass options are great.

I say that, for the price, you're getting a lot of value here. This thing will stay on my board for some time.

I needed an overdrive that wouldn't kill my favorite tones.. this thing is so tweakable.. it was perfect for taking my high gain tone into that fat soaring lead zone.. the 2 channels is a nice feature two.. I use the left channel for dirtying up my clean tones, and the right channel for boosting my dirty tones for the fat leads.. you will LOVE this pedal

The title says it all. With two separate overdrive channels that you can also stack together, you have everything from subtle clean boost to thick, crunchy goodness and everything in between. The right side of the pedal is so versatile and will fit any amp or guitar you use it with. There's Klon, tubescreamer, KOT tones all in just the right side of this box. Kick on the left side and you have less mids and more crunch. Two different flavors that work extremely well together. Country, Rock, Blues etc.... Just an amazing pedal from the good guys at Visual Sound.

This pedal is all it's been cracked up to be. It's crazy versatile. It's small. It's incredible. This is now my go-to overdrive because it kicks my other overdrives right in their pedal butts. (I still like the others also, Fulltone Drive 2, Jekyll & Hide) but this one seriously has everything and more that I need. I've always liked VS pedals, but this one raises the bar to a whole new level. I tried it out with my Fender Jag, 72 Telecaster, and Nashville Tele, and it brought out everything I love in all three. So happy I have it----- it's a keeper!

This is a great sounding and very versatile Dual OD pedal. Channel 1 has a lot of flexibility in itself, with the variable Clipping and Bass controls, and the Clean Mix is a very practical feature. Channel 2 is a bit more straightforward, with an additional Bass control to fine tune.
It's nice that you can use patch cables to reverse the cascading order of the channels, but I would have preferred a toggle switch myself. However, the separate ins and outs will work great for someone who's running the channels independently, so I see their logic.
Bottom Line: It sounds great and is very versatile. Check it out.

One of my favorite overdrive/distortion pedals. It can go from a transparent clean boost all the way into JCM 800 territory. The distortion is smooth and not grainy like many other overdrives. Possibly the best overdrive in its price range.

Let me start off by saying that I'm a long time proponent of the Nobels ODR-1. I bought one in the '90's when it showed up at a local music store when I had little money and it happened to be a cheaper alternative to a BOSS or Ibanez. I got lucky. It became my "go-to" foundation pedal. I've seen many waves of ODR through obscene price inflations via resale and several duplications. My favorite was the Wampler Underdog (actually an ODR-S), then the Rockett Chicken Soup and Open Road. Neither actually COMPLETELY harnessed the sound and presence of the ODR perfectly, but they were close and much better built than the Nobels. I really enjoyed the Open Road, but the low mid or bass was more exaggerated than the ODR. So, I was excited about the VS-XO with the bass cut on the Open Road and all the diode clipping and bass cut options on the 808 side.

Unfortunately, on the Drive-2 (Left or Open Road-ish side) VS or Truetone accented an odd low midrange set of frequencies differently than the Open Road, and it cannot be dialed out. It's cool in a way. It seems to make every amp sound like a 1x10" combo. So, for some people this might be the key to a good solo tone. On the other side I've never bonded with the majority of TS variants, and this is no exception. Maybe a KOT, but I still wanted more sparkle than that gave me. Drive-1 (right side highly modified TS) has a nice clean boost capability, but I found I liked it almost 100% clean. So, it made more sense to use a more EQ flexible booster instead. The amount of volume on Drive-2 is incredibly high. That also might be good for those looking to pound the front end of an amp.

For reference I play dumbed down or intricate indie pop/rock. My preferred boosts are [the original] Nobels ODR-1, Paul C Timmy, Rockett Blue Note, Barber Gain Changer, and EQD Tone Job (I know it's just a volume booster, but it's awesome!). Some sort of compression gets in there sometimes, too. High gain solos draw on a Fuzz Face, Soul Bender, Brassmaster or Octavia style fuzz or multiple stacked pedals into a modified Tweed Deluxe or Plexi style amp. With the VS-XO was hoping to replace a couple of other pedals with a better build, smaller form factor, and more tonal possibilities.

Bottom line is maybe for a session player that needs the low mids and a TS upper mid boost the VS-XO could be the perfect pedal. It's small, flexible, well built, sounds good, but it's not for me and [unfortunately] won't replace any of the aforementioned pedals.