GERMANIUM OVERDRIVE
Natural drive with a focused midrange.
OD1 recreates a sought-after germanium overdrive circuit, delivering familiar midrange presence, smooth clipping, and a natural response.
The Optimist Dual Overdrive & EQ
$349
SHIPPING LEAD TIME // 3–4 WEEKS
Orders placed today are expected to ship within
3–4 weeks.
Style
Classic
THE OPTIMIST DEMONSTRATIONS
Hear it in the mix.
JACKSON AUDIO × CORY WONG
Two drives. One complete rhythm section.
Pair a mid-focused overdrive with a flat-response drive, then shape everything with an independent studio-grade EQ.
OD1
OD2
EQ
THREE SIGNAL OPTIONS
Choose your foundation.
FLAT-RESPONSE OVERDRIVE
Clear, balanced, and rhythm ready.
OD2 remains even across the guitar’s frequency range, making it ideal for articulate chord work and transparent harmonic enhancement.
STACKED OVERDRIVE
More gain without losing definition.
Combine OD2’s balanced response with OD1’s focused midrange for a larger lead sound that remains controlled and articulate.
BUILD THE SOUND
Rhythm to lead in three moves.
Start with OD2
Flat, open rhythm drive.
Add OD1
More gain and midrange focus.
Shape with EQ
Fit the guitar into the mix.
INDEPENDENT THREE-BAND EQ
Adjust what the room needs.
The post-drive Baxandall-style EQ provides ±12dB of adjustment for bass, middle, and treble. Use it with either drive, both drives, or entirely on its own.
−12dB
FLAT AT NOON
+12dB
2
Independent drives
3
Active EQ bands
±12dB
EQ adjustment
STARTING POINTS
Three useful combinations.
Clean and articulate
Use OD2 at low-to-medium gain. Keep the EQ near flat and adjust the mids to suit the room.
Focused and responsive
Use OD1 for a stronger midrange voice that pushes through a dense arrangement.
Stacked and controlled
Engage both drives, then use the EQ to add definition or remove unwanted low-end buildup.
OD1 Mid-focused germanium drive Natural clipping and familiar presence +
OD1 uses carefully selected germanium diodes to recreate the response of a celebrated mid-forward overdrive circuit. Its active EQ can be bypassed when the original response is preferred.
OD2 Flat-response overdrive Balanced across the guitar’s range +
OD2 provides a contrasting response with no intentional midrange emphasis. Use it for rhythm work, transparent gain, or to drive OD1 harder.
EQ Post-drive or standalone EQ Activated with both footswitches +
Press and release both footswitches to activate the EQ. Because it follows the overdrive circuits, it can shape either drive, the stacked sound, or operate independently.
MIDI Control every section remotely OD1 · OD2 · EQ +
CC #1OD1 on or off
CC #2OD2 on or off
CC #3EQ on or off
Optimist receives MIDI through the ring connection of a compatible TRS MIDI cable.
SPEC Technical specifications Power · Impedance · Dimensions +
POWER9V DC maximum
POLARITYCenter negative
CURRENT150mA minimum
INPUT1MΩ
OUTPUT100kΩ
SIZE2.7 × 4.875 in
OD1 · OD2 · ACTIVE EQ
Stay clean.
Get loud.
Overall rating: 4.875 / 5 from 16 reviews.
AI Generated Review Summary
Summary topics
Review topics: ["pedal","tones","sounds","drive"].
Review highlights
Reviews
Truly amazing k style dual OD with heavenly EQ
"Trying is believing on how an amazing OD can be. Thanks to Cory Wong and Jackson Audio to come up with the wonderful OD pedal that is so versatile for the great tone that we are all after all these time."
— Vara C. (5/5)
Swiss army knife
"The ultimate drive/eq section in a small footprint. It is truly a masterful display of tone and versatility. This pedal allowed me to consolidate because it is essentially kicking 2 other pedals off my board. I gave me more room to add some effects I’ve wanted to try."
— Holman C. (5/5)
Great pedal
"Super versatile pedal. The EQ allows me to dial in whatever drive I need."
— Kieran B. (5/5)
Good, but not perfect
"Received few letters asking for a review even before I've got the pedal. Ok, here you have it. I really like the sound of this pedal, even use the EQ, which I didn't initially plan to do. Compared to another Klon clone and enjoy the OD1 of the Optimist more. OD2 is great, I have it on 90% of the time now. Dialling a great tone on this pedal is easy. Here are some downsides. Turning the effect on/off on release of the button is very inconvenient. It could be ok if it was possible to hold your foot on the button for any amount of time, but if you do that for quite some time then the button will just not work on release. That is pure frustration for me. Maybe MIDI solves that, but I cannot check. Next thing that I don't really get is what is the actual chain of the effects. Logically it should be from right to left, but that means OD2 comes first and naming doesn't make sense to me in this case. I expected to read about that in the manual, but haven't received one. Also the pedal wasn't sent on the same day, took 5 days at least for that + shipping time. Anyway, this pedal sounds awesome and I'm happy to have it"
— Dmytro G. (4/5)
Great dual overdrive tone
"Firstly, super fast shipping. Got the pedal within 3 days from purchase even though it was during the peak season. Plug the drive in and with the EQ it really brings out various tone and shape the one to your liking. Have many drive, but this is so versatile and might send some drive pedals off the board, especially with such a small footprint."
— SG-2120-0364 Y. (5/5)
This thing slaps!
"Such an amazing pedal! Basically 3-in-1. The EQ is a game changer on it too! Highly recommend."
— Daniel E. (5/5)
Amazing Quality and Great Service!
"I ordered a "custom art" version of the "Optimist" and absolutely love it! Art work is exactly like I wanted it and the pedal sounds amazing! I'm keeping the EQ on at all times whether I'm on OD1 or OD2. Really a great versatile must have low to medium gain pedal for any pedalboard."
— Jeremy S. (5/5)
Excellent pedal
"Well Jackson Audio sure knew what they were doing with this amazing pedal. Wonderful clarity and big features. Love the double option overdrive AND 3 band EQ. “Fu getta bout it ” !!!"
— Johnny D. (5/5)
Phillip Czarnecki
"Just giving a shout out to Phillip Czarnecki, who regularly provides great YouTube demos of JA products. His Optimist and Golden boy videos are terrific."
— Seth R. (5/5)
fire
"just so so so good. not a bad sound in it. absolutely in love with the optimist."
— Jake F. (5/5)
Q&A
of
Related products
of