Mooer Hustle Drive

the OCD is well known as one of the best overdrive pedals on the market.
wether you agree or not with the massive hype surrounding it, the OCD is undeniably a very versatile stompbox, able to range from a subtle and dynamic break up to a proper distortion, with a very personal voice.

the MOOER Hustle Drive is an OCD clone, able to deliver more or less the same tone its bigger cousin is known for in a much more compact - and definitely less overpriced - package...

the tiny metal case hosts 2 minuscule potentiometers for level and tone (the latter is a set and forget control, but a bigger knob for level would have been extremely useful - if impossible to fit on such a small pedal), a full sized drive control and a miniswitch to select the drive mode (HP adds gain - even a bit too much - and compression, and turns the OCD in a proper distortion pedal. LP is more dynamic and "overdrivey") withouth really changing the pedal's voice.
the footswitch feels a bit stiff, but works perfectly fine. oh, and of course there's a function LED.

there's no place for a 9V battery, so an external power unit is mandatory (power consumption is minimal, 6 mA, so massive daisy chaining shouldn't be an issue...)

as i wrote above, the gain range is surprisingly wide, and goes from a clean boost to a mid-high gain distortion. i'd dare to say it goes definitely beyond a classic DS-1, but loses definition and character, with some of the mud and fizziness you can expect from solid state pedal distortions... up to 3 o clock (approximately) it sounds very sweet, and still gainy enough to play classic rock. use a tube screamer (or similar) to push it a bit more and you're ALMOST in plexi territory. ALMOST. personally i prefer to use it around noon, in LP mode, to get that sweet, bluesy overdriven tone, and boost it with another overdrive when i need some more power (still below the gain levels of my amplifiers, of course, but that's the whole point of using OD pedals on the clean channel!)

to summarize, it sounds like an OCD. it's small, cute and cheap. there's really no reason not to buy it. except if you've already got the original pedal it's based on...

Una replica del Fulltone OCD a una frazione del costo e della dimensione dell'originale. Il rapporto qualità prezzo è sicuramente alto, tuttavia si tratta pur sempre di una replica a basso costo, e si sente se paragonato all'originale.
La qualità della distorsione è abbastanza fedele, dunque più che buona, ed i controlli sono molto precisi e reattivi, tuttavia c'è un leggero ronzio di fondo ed il segnale perde un po' delle frequenze più basse, anche se non eccessivamente.
Funziona discretamente anche sul basso, a patto di prendere in considerazione la leggera perdita sulle basse, come appena detto.

A review of the Mooer Hustle Drive

First off, a blunt reminder. This does not use a battery?and it does not come with a power supply. You will have to buy a 9V DC power supply separately?which was something I didn?t do! Haha. I live in the US?and after waiting two weeks for this order to come in the mail, I had to wait another week before playing it because I made the mistake and thought this pedal used a batter. This was completely my fault?no one is to blame but myself. So?now you should know!!

OK. Let?s talk about the pedal. It?s small?yet completely sturdy. I have large, full size pedals that don?t feel as tough as this thing. I?ve had it for a while already?and it?s still rockin? and rolling like new. I?ve hauled it around with me to several shows?and not problems at all with it. I can?t see anyone having trouble with this because it?s like a rock.

The on/off foot-switch works fine. A part of me feels nervous about this long term?.but the pedal itself hasn?t given me a reason too. I?ve more use to the on/off switches of pedals like BOSS than this. Still, I?ve used it a lot. It?s clicking as good as ever? so hopefully, I will have nothing to worry about.

It has in and out jack?and a spot for power supply to plug in. All of it seems fine. I can?t see any potential problems with any of that.

The on light is good and bright, which I like a lot in darker atmosphere. I appreciate this.

The Hustle Drive comes with a tone knob, volume, a large white drive knob, and a High Peak and Low peak toggle switch. All of these knobs seem fine. The large white drive knob does kind of feel like a cheap plastic?which I guess the small tone/volume knobs are too?but the drive is what people see, and I adjust the most. As long as it lasts, it should be fine.

The volume knob is simply?a volume knob. You know what that does.

The tone knob does fine with adjusting the clarity of the notes. It can get muddy if the drive is up, and the tone is down?but hey, some people love to swim in those muddy waters. ;)

The drive knob, when cranked?can really add some overdrive distortion which?with the right guitar, sounds great. I haven?t used this pedal with any single coil based guitars, but have used it on a Harley Benton SC-Custom?and many of my homebuilt cigar box guitars which use piezo?s for pickups.

For blues, or old school rock, the tone this pedal gets with humbuckers are fantastic. I absolutely LOVE using this with my HB Custom, and then popping out the slide. IMO, the rockin? slide sound you get is one of the best you can ever hope to achieve. IT IS FANTASTIC.
For most of the time, I keep this on low peak. I have used the high peak with my custom a few times with using the neck pickup of my HB Custom. With the bridge pickup, it gets a bit too bright and scratchy for me. All of this ultimately comes down to the settings on your amp and the type of guitar you are using. HP and the Neck Pickup I honestly love?and everything else is LP?and it?s all good also.

OK?now I need to get to my Cigar Box Guitars. I build these?I sell ?em?and I needed a good natural distortion pedal to use occasional for my CBG blues. The high peak, with the peizo?s? I find to be a big no no. To high?to screechy? I?d rather rip my brain out through my ears.
The low peak tho, is great. I use this pedal when playing ?Dust my Broom? with slide. The tone is sooo beautiful? I have a video where you can see me jamming with the pedal. In fact, Mooer actually posted it on their Facebook page sometime back. For my cigar box guitars, the Mooer Hustle Drive is awesome. I can?t picture a pedal with a better tone. It?s been awesome?.especially for the price.
If you want a great, natural drive blues/old school rock pedal? this pedal is worth getting.

I hope I didn?t leave anything out! Thanks!