Reuss Old Black Shoe Overdrive/Distortion

Sold out.

SOLD OUT - Discontinued (returning in 2021 in a revised design)

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.

At the heart sits a ‘holy grail’ metal can LM308H opamp IC, which is legendary for its wonderful sound and distortion texture in early 1970/80s RAT pedals. Other features of the Old Black Shoe are a hybrid silicon/germanium clipping arrangement and a subtle and tasteful tone control (only rolling off the most harsh highs and never muffling your signal completely). The circuit is revoiced for a slightly fuller and warmer sound, compared to a Distortion+, making it useful for bass guitar too. The Old Black Shoe is also a great boost pedal, with the TOE (drive) control all the way down.

The Old Black Shoe is a wonderful, transparent drive pedal, which sounds great from subtle, sparkly crunch to full on heavy drive. The pedal is finished in grey/silver sparkle and 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.

Sound samples:

- The clips features my friend Fzat playing a a custom PAF humbucker equipped guitar and a Tokai Les Paul Jr. copy through his 1980s 100W Marshall Super Lead amp. Fzat is a hard rocking dude, and shows the heavier side of the Old Black Show here. I'll record som additional demoes of the pedal's more subtle qualities as soon as possible.

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

Reuss HH-01 ‘Old Black Shoe’ features and specifications:

Overdrive/Distortion pedal designed in collaboration with Harry Howard
Vintage new old stock LM308H metal can IC and vintage NOS germanium diodes (rare and expensive parts)*
100% handmade in the European Union
True bypass switching
Silk screen printed aluminium enclosure in a grey/silver sparkle finish
High quality Neutrik jacks, wired by hand
Mammoth Electronics upgrade quality footswitch (good for at least 15000 stomps)
White LED
24 months warranty against manufacturing faults
RoHS compliant
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
Fast worldwide shipping via DHL from Denmark. Your pedal is only few days away, no matter where you live. I ship Mondays and Thursdays

Download the Old Black Shoe manual here

PLEASE NOTE: Prices at the webshop are listed without VAT. For customers in the European Union 25% VAT is added at check-out.

*EU-customers also please note: Your pedal ships with new production RoHS-compliant 1N270 germanium diodes (not vintage new old stock) due to EU environmental regulations