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May 07, 2023

1981 Inventions Launches Second

With the many colorways and limited-edition variants of 1981 Inventions' DRV

With the many colorways and limited-edition variants of 1981 Inventions' DRV overdrive, you'd be forgiven if you thought the company had a full lineup of effects. However, that was the company's one and only pedal.

Now, the eagerly awaited sophomore effort—LVL—is officially here.

From the mind of 1981 founder and Relient K guitarist Matt Hoopes, and in collaboration with the supremely talented John Snyder of Electronic Audio Experiments, the LVL is a lower gain overdrive that is decidedly "non-transparent."

As Matt describes it, the LVL is "a professional low-gain device, which achieves overdrive gain ranges with a new and unique circuit. A combination of light clipping and op-amp push gives the pedal a unique sound and gain structure. (It also works great on bass."

In fact, Matt worked on this circuit over the course of four years, while trying to perfect a tone he wanted to achieve while playing Relient K's "Forget and Not Slow Down."

He told Guitar World, "I don't know why I wanted to play that song with this pedal, but I kept tweaking it and tweaking it."

The result is a versatile OD that will no doubt help drive countless great songs well into the future.

Grab your 1981 Inventions LVL on Reverb.