Jext Telez Uni-Drive

SOUND:
Presented in the YouTube video below are the tone characteristics of a rare and classic drive pedal, now available from Jext TELEZ:



Not only do other pedals and amps sound better with the Uni-Drive, but it has rich and diverse capabilities. When dialed low it is more transparent and not so obvious, yet adds a slight kick-in-the-pants to other pedals and amps – a bit of ‘punch’ or thickness that produces a more three-dimensional sound covered in some warmth. As you move the Drive knob to about 12-noon you begin hearing that intense saturation, but even at that level you still can push your other pedals and amps rather hard without losing note definition (and you can play Jimmy Page riffs with pretty good replication). Once you start pushing the Uni-Drive to about 3-o’clock or at full capacity the tone cascades into a multi-layered fuzz that will send you down 1970s heavy rock memory lane.

OVERALL IMPRESSION:
Retailing for $209, the Uni-Drive by Jext TELEZ is a great deal for a pedal limited to 100 made and that mimics faithfully one of the earliest overdrives ever created and used by greats like Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page. Recreated faithfully with Acme Audio in Detroit, the Uni-Drive’s tone is based on NOS low gain black button silicon transistors and can add warmth and unique tones to any amp or pedal all the way to a full-bodied fuzz/distortion. You can find Jext TELEZ pedals on Reverb.com, RogueGuitarShop.com and JextTELEZ.com.

EASE OF USE:
Fairly straight forward in its use, Jext TELEZ’s Uni-Drive can vary in tonal outcome depending on how much ‘mix’ and ‘boost’ you want to achieve with your equipment. The Volume can be adjusted in order to achieve parity or you can increase it to provide some degree of boost (with 35dB of clean gain and plenty of headroom). The Drive output will vary the results, as a little warms an amp and produces additional tones and depth when turned up low, e.g., quarter-way. Conversely, as you approach full Drive the signal remains clear (not muddy) while pushing the saturation into a thick and boisterous fuzzy distortion. Even then, the result is very ‘classic’ and not ‘modern’ as we have come to know ‘high-gain’ output. When the Uni-Drive is up full pushing a regular (not high-gain) amp that has its gain or drive only half-way you get those Black Sabbath type results.

RELIABILITY & DURABILITY:
The Uni-Drive has a very vintage appeal with its blue lettering on a black painted solid steel chassis, measuring in at 3.75 x 4.75 inches (9.5 x 12.0 cm). The LED ‘on-off’ light is far situated from the foot switch and between the two knobs (Drive and Volume). The footswitch has a solid click to it and is not near any of the other controls. The guitar cable input and output both are located on the sides, but since the Uni-Drive is a somewhat wide pedal there’s plenty of room for stomping without hitting any cables. The power input is located in the back, saving it from potential strain when switching the Uni-Drive on and off. The large plastic knobs for Drive and Volume are of heavy construction and the pots are of good quality when turned.