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AnalogMan reveals that he secretly helped Electro-Harmonix develop one of its most popular modern pedals
Turns out the Duke Of Tone wasn’t the first collaboration between AnalogMan and a major effects maker – he just didn’t mention it.
East River Drive. Credit: Electro-Harmonix
AnalogMan Mike Piera has revealed that his company helped Electro-Harmonix develop their hit 2013 OD pedal, the East River Drive – but has simply never told anyone about it until now.
Earlier this year, AnalogMan and MXR broke the internet with Duke Of Tone – a pedal that seemingly brought Piera’s legendary pedal know-how to an affordable price point and mass audience, but it turns out the brand had quietly collab’d with one of the pedal world’s biggest names years earlier – and simply not mentioned it.
In an Instagram post shared on 9 February, Piera disclosed AnalogMan’s role in the creation of the East River Drive, which was an EHX take on the classic Tube Screamer. “It’s not well known, but when EHX wanted to make a classic overdrive pedal, they asked Analog Man to help them out, as we have been working on Tube Screamers longer than anyone else,” Piera wrote.
“We worked with the EHX management and engineers, and they built this excellent pedal, to our exact specs, with the JRC4558D chip which we have used for so long. A winner at any price, it’s a no-brainer at (way!) under $100,” he concluded of the pedal.
EHX released the TS-808-inspired East River Drive in 2013, with the pedal becoming a staple on pedalboards worldwide due to the affordable pricing and compact size due to EHX’s compact Nano-sized enclosure. The pedal is still available at for under $100 at authorised EHX dealers.
In other EHX news, EHX recently reissued the Slap Back Echo pedal with modern upgrades and a smaller pico-sized chassis. The “1978 rarity” was brought back after Josh Scott pleaded with the brand on The JHS Show to “just re-issue this, or let me do it” back in 2021, with the scaled-down reissue boasting an analogue delay with a single repeat, with the capability to produce subtle doubling, up to wide and glimmering echo.