SKU: 61360566669
overdrive distortion pedal

overdrive distortion pedal Reuss Old Black Shoe Overdrive/Distortion

Sale price$20.80 Regular price$23.11
Save 10%

Pay in installments of $5.78 with ShopPay, AfterPay and Klarna

Shipping Estimate
USA
  • USA
  • CAN

Ships within 48 hours · Estimated delivery Jul 30 - Aug 4

Promo Codes Available:

For Your Every Summer RSVP, with Code: SUMMER15

Description

overdrive distortion pedal Reuss Old Black Shoe Overdrive/DistortionVERY LOW STOCK (limited availability) Reuss Old Black Shoe Developed for Harry Howard, this is a beautiful sounding overdrive distortion pedal using a vintage new old stock 'metal can' LM308H opamp The Old Black Shoe is a signature pedal I developed for Australian artist Harry Howard, who is the singer and guitarplayer of Harry Howard And The NDE and maybe better known as the bass player of Crime And The City Solution and These Immortal Souls. Harry

VERY LOW STOCK (limited availability)

Reuss Old Black Shoe

Developed for Harry Howard, this is a beautiful sounding overdrive/distortion pedal using a vintage new old stock 'metal can' LM308H opamp

The Old Black Shoe is a signature pedal I developed for Australian artist Harry Howard, who is the singer and guitarplayer of Harry Howard And The NDE – and maybe better known as the bass player of Crime And The City Solution and These Immortal Souls. Harry is also the younger brother of Rowland S. Howard

Harry Howard initially asked me to make a pedal featuring the distortion side of the RSH-03, with a tone control added, but the development took on its own life, and I ended up with a pedal far beyond a modified Distortion+ clone. It's a unique design more than anything else.

In 2021 my new, Danish electronics engineer and I gave it a complete overhaul and added quite a few additional tricks and improvements to it.

At the heart of the Old Black Shoe  sits a ‘holy grail’ metal can LM308H opamp IC, which is legendary for its wonderful sound and distortion texture in early 1980s RAT pedals.

Other features of the Old Black Shoe are an extremely flexible clipping arrangement that can be preset to silicon, germanium and MOSFET clipping - and combinations of these, including no clipping (boost) - and a subtle and tasteful tone control (only rolling off the most harsh highs and never muffling your signal completely). Inside the pedal there's a 'FAT' switch which lowers the frequency response one octave down, compared to the original Dist+ circuit.

The revised 2021 edition adds a recovery gain stage to the circuit, which makes the pedal very loud. This is great in the pure germanium clipping setting (vintage Dist+ / RSH clipping), which otherwise has a weak output by design. We also added an output buffer to ensure a uniform high quality output signal from the pedal. In the original MXR circuit, the output impedance would change with different volume settings. In the revised Old Black Shoe it is completely uniform, so you are always passing on a healthy signal to the next pedal in your chain (still the bypass sound is unbuffered, mechanical true bypass).

The Old Black Shoe is a very versatile pedal, offering a wide range of sonic possibilities. Depending on clipping settings, it can be used as a subtle, transparent crunch drive, a beautifully textured distortion and even an intense fuzz. The germanium clipping option with the distortion control dimed, gives an amazingly full and big fuzz sound. Very Bob Mouldish.

The pedal features artwork from Harry Howard’s own hand.

 

Mick Harvey used the Old Black Shoe live during the PJ Harvey 'The Hope Six Demolition Project' world tour.

Download the Old Black Shoe manual here

New demo coming asap!

Here's a youtube demo featuring Terry O'Tool giving the old version of the Old Black Shoe a go at my workshop (some clipping in the audio)

 

Old Black Shoe features and specifications

  • Overdrive/Distortion pedal designed in collaboration with Harry Howard
  • Wide range of clipping options: Germanium, Silicon, MOSFET, Germanium/Silicon hybrid, Germanium/MOSFET hybrid and no clipping (clean boost)
  • Vintage new old stock LM308H metal can IC and vintage NOS germanium diodes
  • Handmade in the European Union
  • Mechanical True bypass switching
  • Black powder coat finish with blue metallic sparkle. Real handmade silk screen printed graphics, designed by Harry Howardh
  • High quality Neutrik jacks, wired by hand
  • Upgrade quality footswitch (good for at least 30000 stomps)
  • 24 months warranty against manufacturing faults
  • Powered by a 9V battery (not included) or a standard 'Boss-type' guitar pedal power supply
  • Ships in a 'reuss' box and linen draw-string bag
  • Worldwide shipping from Denmark. Orders posted before 2:00 PM Central European Time on weekdays ships same day

VERY IMPORTANT NOTICE: The prices at the webshop are listed without taxes. For customers in the European Union VAT is added at check-out. For pedals shipped to other countries, including the US and UK, local taxes and tariffs etc. will be charged by the local authorities. In some cases, these taxes, tariffs and clearance fees etc. will be claimed by the shipping company while the pedal is still in transit to the destination country, for a smooth and fast delivery without delays for custom's clearance. Different rules and regulations applies in different countries, so please check what the terms are where you live before posting an order, to avoid unpleasant surprises and disappointments. These things are beyond the powers of Reuss Musical Instruments to control.

Shipping Notes
  • Free Standard Shipping on $100+ Orders to the USA.
  • Except Preorder products are shipped in 48 hours.
  • Delivery to the USA:
  1. Standard Shipping : 3-10 business days
  • If time is of the essence, please consider selecting expedited delivery for faster service.
Exchange/Return Notes
  • We offer a 30-day return/exchange service after receiving.
  • Final sale items are not eligible for returns or exchanges.
  • To process your return/exchange, please contact us at [email protected]
  • Please click here for more details>>> Return & Exchange Policy
SKU: 61360566669

Discover Niche Categories That Outsell overdrive distortion pedal

Top-Converting Item to Boost Your Average Order

4.3 ★★★★★
Based on 19 reviews
Sort
Highest Rating
Newest First
Oldest First
Product Reviews
J
Verified Purchase
Jonathan
New York, US
★★★★★ 4
Good quality for price.
Size: 13, Color: Black
Good quality for the price. Only thing i can complain about is the insole being really thin. Only thing these shoes need is a more comfortable insole other than that i have no complains.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2026
J
Verified Purchase
Jordan Miller
San Leandro, US
★★★★★ 5
Great fit!
Size: 13, Color: Black
Perfect for a last minute shoe to tie together a formal outfit. Loved that they had larger sizes as well.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2026
G
Verified Purchase
Great Reviewer
Lexington, US
★★★★★ 5
Stylish and comfortable
Size: 8, Color: Cognac
Great style, comfort and quality
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2025
R
Verified Purchase
RainMan
Draper, US
★★★★★ 5
Fits
Size: 7.5, Color: Cognac
Love the color! Fit is good.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2026
C
Verified Purchase
Catherine Gardner
Dallas, US
★★★★★ 5
Excellent quality for price
Size: 8, Color: Black
Really nice shoes! Honestly just as nice as some very expensive department store shoes we own.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2025

recommand products