In this episode of Golden Age of Gear, Derek and Joey break down their latest collaboration: the Dirt Dog overdrive — a pedal designed to capture the amp-like overdrive tones Joey used while recording Dog Ear, and recreate them reliably on a pedalboard.

What started as a conversation about chasing specific record tones turned into a deep dive on touch response, gain structure, and flexibility. The goal wasn’t just “another overdrive” — it was something that could move from clean boost to saturated drive, clean up with your volume knob, and feel more like an amp than a pedal.

We talk about:

How the Dirt Dog came together from early prototypes to final tweaks
Why amp-style overdrive is harder to get right than people think
Gain staging, EQ balance, and dialing the “in-between” tones
The importance of touch sensitivity and volume-knob cleanup
Why this pedal isn’t tied to a specific amp model — and why that matters

Along the way, Derek and Joey get sidetracked (as usual) talking about guitar technique, right-hand struggles, Winnipeg’s absurd talent pool, and why some pedals just feel better the more you play them.

If you’re into amp-like overdrive pedals, signature collaborations, or understanding how great tones actually get built, this episode is for you.

👇 Let us know in the comments
What kind of overdrive do you reach for most? Do you prefer amp-style pedals or classic circuits? And what tones should we chase next?