Jackson Audio The Optimist

MIDI-Controllable Dual Overdrive and EQ

Jackson Audio proudly collaborates with Cory Wong, one of the foremost guitar players of today, to bring you THE OPTIMIST. An updated take on the mythical Klon circuit, probably the most celebrated and sought-after drive pedals of all time, while at the same time fusing it with an independent Timmy-style circuit. The Optimist also adds Jackson Audio’s MIDI control and a killer 3 band EQ section, which makes the pedal a single product for creating some of the finest and inspiring lead and rhythm tones today. 

Main Features:

• Dual Overdrive and EQ pedal

• Designed in collaboration with Cory Wong (Vulfpeck, Fearless Flyers)

• Two separately switchable mid-gain Overdrive circuits and a studio grade EQ circuit

• OD1 circuit based on a Klon-style circuit featuring mystical Germanium diodes

• OD2 circuit is a Timmy-style transparent full-range overdrive circuit

• Active Baxandall-inspired 3-band EQ with +/- 12dB Boost/Cut per band- for optimal tone shaping

• MIDI control • Small footprint and top-mounted jacks - for ease of pedalboard mounting

• Powered by 9 V DC PSU (centre -, 2.1mm, ~ 150 mA current draw)

OD1 is based on the most expensive, hard-to-find, mythical overdrive ever created! For all of its hype, this magical pedal is still one of the most natural-sounding overdrives ever made and has cemented its reputation in the history of guitardom. Jackson Audio reproduced this circuit in perfect detail to provide the stock tone that people are looking for from this legendary pedal. Further, they updated it with an active EQ (bypass-able) to take this classic circuit into uncharted territory! Just like the original circuit, OD1 features impossible to find (unless you know how to use eBay) germanium diodes that have been carefully washed in unicorn tears to deliver the best tone possible! Why? Because you deserve the best. You deserve diodes that have been washed in unicorn tears. Standing in stark contrast to the mid-focused tone of OD1, OD2 is designed to be perfectly flat across the full range of the guitar.

Perfect for rhythm work, OD2 is a perfect harmonic enhancer for OD1 when you want to boost OD1 even further! Based on the legendary Baxandall EQ that is featured in countless studio EQ’s, The Optimist EQ takes this circuit and tailors it for guitarists! Jackson Audio spent tons of time on this EQ dialing it in so it would hit all the frequencies that guitarists need to adjust and then sweetened it by removing the ear fatiguing highs and lows that can appear at extreme settings. THE OPTIMIST features MIDI control over all functions! OD1, OD2 and EQ can all be controlled via MIDI for an unlimited selection of tones. Jackson always want to make sure that their pedals are as easy to integrate into complex rigs as they are into simple rigs and MIDI makes that happen!

"The Optimist is the most versatile overdrive pedal I’ve ever used. My goal was to design a pedal that could give me the full range of drive levels for punchy rhythm to soaring lead guitar lines. I knew that Jackson Audio was the place to land for this pedal. I’ve been blown away by the pedals they’ve made and wanted to explore some new circuits with them. The Klon has been this mystical and hyped up circuit for years and for good reason! It’s an incredible sounding circuit and the way it pairs with the flat response overdrive is incredible. OD1 has the mid bump Klon circuit that we know and love. OD2 has a flat response overdrive that has an incredible range of drive. When the two of them pair together it creates an even more boosted drive that doesn’t squeal because they’re both mid-level drives! The final piece of magic on this pedal is the EQ. Brad Jackson has been trying to convince me about the power of an EQ pedal for a long time and now I know why. We created an EQ section that focuses on the frequencies that you want more of in single coils and less of in humbuckers. The EQ can help tone shape your guitars to match each other or it can help you get the perfect clean tone out of an amp.” -Cory Wong