I wrote about Tube Screamers a little while back and in that article I mentioned being curious about the Halcyon Green Overdrive from Origin Effects. It’s safe to say that there are zillions of Tube Screamer type pedals out there, so why bother with another variant. Well, I bought one based on my 100% happiness rating with other Origin Effects products and now is the time to share my findings and opinions.

Origin makes no secret that the Halcyon is their take on the Ibanez TS-808 Tube Screamer. That the primary switch position says 808 on the case is pretty clear giveaway. But different from a stock TS-808 are three things. The first is a switch that let’s you choose between the default 808 and a Mod setting. Second is a switch to select between stock 808 performance and one of two proprietary ADAPT settings. Third is the presence of a control knob that allows you to mix the effected signal with your dry signal. Let’s talk a slightly deeper dive into these controls.

The first switch called Voice, allows for the default tones of a TS-808 with that expected subtle mid hump that we get from a classic Tube Screamer. By switching to Mod, you get a bit more presence and bite in the tone. Since many players like a Tube Screamer with single coils but are not so fond of one with humbuckers, the Mod setting helps address that, particularly if you are seeking that light overdrive using a neck humbucker. I am one of those people who use different guitars with different pickups and did not keep a Tube Screamer on my boards because I disliked the effect with humbucker pickups. The Mod option makes the Halcyon more usable across the board in my view.

The second switch that I mentioned can engage the Adapt function. This is where Origin has really focused their efforts. In the 0 position, there is no Adapt functionality in the signal path. Thus you get what you expect from a Tube Screamer and when you roll off the guitar volume, particularly with single coils, it doesn’t clean up nicely, instead the sound gets weedy as the treble and bass rolloff aggressively. In position I you get partial Adapt function, which maintains some rolloff, but keeps the low end tight and reduces feedback with high gain tones. In position II, the full capability of the Adapt function is revealed. You don’t hear that sudden change that you do with the original TS-808. Instead you preserve the treble and bass tones that usually get lost when you roll off the guitar volume. For folks trying out the pedal, start in Position II and then flip to the 0 setting to really hear the value that Adapt brings. It is really noticeable with older single coil pickups and more so with those that are not wound hot. As far as I am concerned, this is a killer option, and I have not heard anything as effective on the myriad TS clones that I have tried over the years while trying to find a Tube Screamer type pedal that I liked.

For me, the knob that allows a blend of Dry and Wet tones is a real game changer. I tend to build wet dry rigs (using the Wet Dry definition as explained by Mick and Dan on That Pedal Show), but one of the challenges is that overdrives need to go in front of the preamp, but sometimes I want a mix of effect and no effect. I can use a parallel box to make that happen, but having the control right on the Halcyon makes it even more effective and useful. I freely admit to being a pedal geek, so my boards are never just one pedal.

Single Coil Samples

In this track, I used a US Strat Ultra with the pickup selector in position two, all knobs at ten, running through a board into a REVV D20 using the built in Two Notes Torpedo configured as a blackface Twin Reverb with the 6L6 power amp emulation active and two virtual microphones, an 87 condenser and an SM57. The DI output from the D20 is run into the front of a Focusrite Scarlett 818 set to a sample rate of 96KHz which feeds Studio One v6. No plugins are active in Studio One. On the board, there are two other pedals active, a unity gain D&M boost and a Source Audio Atlas compressor set for low compression in optical mode (like a Teletronix LA-2A). The first set of tones is the guitar with the Halycon disengaged followed by the Halcyon engaged. The Halcyon for all samples does not change. Gain is about 10 o’clock, level the same, all wet and tone about 1:30. For the first set, the Halcyon is in 808 mode with Adapt in position II. For the next set of tones, I use the Halcyon first in 808 mode then in Mod mode. For the final set I roll the guitar volume off to about 5, and then play with Adapt in position 0, then position I and finally in position II. You choose what you like best, for me, with the single coil set up, I am fine in 808 mode, but prefer Adapt setting II in every case.

Humbucker Samples

In this track, I repeat the same sequence as for the Stratocaster, but this time with a Les Paul Axcess with the pickup selector in the neck position. Everything else remains as for the Strat samples.

Conclusions

While I have owned my TS9 for over 20 years, it never made a permanent position on any pedal board. I didn’t care for the sound and even when I auditioned a recent 808 while it was ok for single coils, I would not use it with humbuckers and as board real estate is limited, never went forward with one. That has changed with the Halcyon Green Overdrive. The Adapt functionality makes the pedal significantly more usable and the ability to blend wet and dry signal is a boon to me. Some may ask why I used a Boost and a Compressor for my samples, and the truth is that both are always on, I never turn them off and so to do so would not be indicative of the sound that I like best. I find a clean boost at unity gain always opens up the soundstage and an optical compressor set light provides a smoothness that I prefer. To be clear, I do not like squishy compressors at all. I have tried some and they always end up returned or in the not in use container. Optical compressors are my jam as they say, and while I could add one in post, because I play live more than for recording, I want that all the time. Following this testing of the Halcyon Green Overdrive it has earned a permanent place on my board, now the challenge will be to decide which board it’s going to live on. The only pedal that I own that I have two of is a Strymon Volante, otherwise I make a point of never buying two of the same thing. I may break that rule with the Halcyon.