Aclam Dr Robert Overdrive Pedal

The Beatles fans, come together. Aclam have modelled the Dr. Robert overdrive on the rare Vox UL730 solid-state preamp, used extensively by The Beatles as well as other monumental names like Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones. 

You’d be right in thinking the artwork looks familiar – Klaus Voorman is the man responsible, who designed the cover for their iconic Revolver album. You still can’t escape Beatlemania in the 21st century.

Sound

Based on the Vox’s Normal channel, the Dr. Robert is an uncanny replica of the original used extensively on both Revolver and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. It was the not-so-secret key to their guitar tone.

Only a small number of original UL730 amps have survived to this present day, so you’ll be getting your hands on an extremely exclusive tone. The Dr. Robert captures the essence of one of the first hybrid amps ever created. It sounds great either through guitar or bass and performs admirably cancelling out low-end drops.

Controls

Controls include your standard volume, gain and middle, with the latter important for shaping the classic scooped British tone when rolled off and adding unprecedented saturation turned up high.

Aclam have added their own “Mach Schau!” custom FET circuit to the mix just for good measure. This mimics the feel of the tube power amp section, saturating things even further and making for a great lead tone. Adjust using the independent volume control.

Enclosure

As with all Aclam pedals, the Dr. Robert features a custom enclosure with side thumb screws to fasten the pedal to Aclam pedalboards and select boards from other brands.

Switching sounds tight and clean thanks to supreme Alpha pots & switches and the finest Wima caps. 

Specifications

• Dimensions: 13,6 x 8,7 x 5,5cm (5,4” x 3,4” x 2,2”) with knobs
• Bypass: True bypass
• Current Draw: minimum 40mA
• Power requeriments: 9V DC Center Negative 100mA minimum or a a 9V battery
• Included: 1 x Anti-sliding rubber pad & 1 x Velcro® pad