An Interstellar Dose of Overdrive
Astro-aquatic animals lead the way to otherworldly overdrive. The October Audio Ubiquity is a deeply flexible, tone-shaping overdrive pedal built around classic pre- and de-emphasis filtering concepts. From punchy jangle to dreamy, saturated drive with gobs of gain on tap, Ubiquity is designed to inspire exploration rather than lock you into a single sound.
Ships in 3 days.
Sound & Performance
The Ubiquity delivers a dynamic overdrive voice that can stay articulate and chimey or push into fuzz-adjacent saturation. Its unique frequency emphasis controls allow you to decide which frequencies distort and how they’re shaped after clipping. Soft and hard clipping options provide everything from clean, loud overdrive to gritty, asymmetrical distortion reminiscent of early circuits.
This pedal excels at responding to your playing dynamics, guitar volume knob, and amp interaction, making it a versatile choice for both subtle tone enhancement and expressive gain stacking.
Circuit Design & Signal Path
At the heart of Ubiquity is a dual op amp circuit with intentional frequency sculpting before and after gain stages.
- Preamp emphasis determines which frequencies are pushed into overdrive and clipping.
- The second amplifier stage adds additional gain and character.
- The op amp’s influence on tone is significant enough that October Audio sockets the chip for easy experimentation.
Post-amp tone shaping lets you retain or tame the high-frequency content generated during amplification and clipping, keeping the sound musical at any gain level.
Controls & Switches
VOLUME
Controls overall output level.
GAIN
Sets the gain of the first op amp stage.
PRE-CLIP
A pre-emphasis high-pass filter that determines how much low-frequency content is overdriven. Turn it clockwise for more low end; roll it back to emphasize mids and highs.
FILTER
A post-gain de-emphasis low-pass filter. Open it up to retain all generated frequencies, or dial it back to smooth out high-end content.
DISTORT (Toggle Up)
Hard clipping using an asymmetrical diode configuration for increased clipping and a fuzzier, more aggressive drive. This style is commonly found in early distortion circuits.
DRIVE (Toggle Down)
Soft clipping with a symmetrical diode configuration for a cleaner, louder overdrive character.
Components & Voicing
- Op Amp: LM1458 (dual LM741), socketed for easy swapping
- Diodes: A mix of silicon and Schottky
- Clipping Options: Soft and hard clipping via toggle switch
The result is a pedal that feels alive, tweakable, and highly responsive to both gear and touch.
Aesthetic & Inspiration
The sound design draws from classic pre- and de-emphasis filtering techniques, while the visuals are inspired by 1950s–60s jazz album artwork—black-and-white photography accented with a single color wash. The theme reflects Ubiquity’s philosophy: overdrive is everywhere, but the right one sparks imagination.
A young space traveler looks to the stars for guidance—and Ubiquity invites you to do the same with your tone.
If you’re looking for an overdrive that goes beyond the usual mid-hump formulas and rewards experimentation, the October Audio Ubiquity is a uniquely inspiring addition to any pedalboard.
BOOM!
