REVIEW ROBIN TROWER OVERDRIVE BY FULLTONE: Signature tone of the master guitarist

THE RTO FROM FULLTONE

Who's Robin Trower? Are you kidding me? 

Mike Fuller approached Robin Trower about doing a signature distortion pedal and the great guitarist accepted (probably gets something from sale of each too ;-).

While the control layout resembles the Tube Screamer the sound from the RTO is much less buzzy and saturated, not so piercing or aggressive. The RTO has a smokey character that must be experienced or listen to the latest CD's from Robin Trower where you'll hear the RTO used.

"Where You Are Going To", a great release and (spoiler alert) this album features Robin himself on vocals, it's killer, one of those albums that grows on you the more you listen to it.

To truly approach the Trower sound you're going to also need a good "Vibe" pedal.

FULLTONE MDV-3 DEJA'VIBE

DEJA'VIBE CONTROLS

The Fulltone Deja 'Vibe (aka MDV-3) is what Robin uses for the "Bridge of Sighs" sound. These two pedals feeding into a Marshall get you 80% of the way to Robins tone (the remaining 20% comes from the artists fingers).

To get closer to Trowers classic tone you'll need a Strat tuned down two frets and strung up with heavy strings with a .012 for high E.

No regrets about buying these two boutique pedals from Fulltone, their sound is good, the build quality is solid and they are constructed in the USA. Fulltone employs several construction innovations to make their pedals some of the strongest and longest lasting pedals you'll find.

Rock On! Good Music to You!

Updated ©September 2025 by Mark King, it is NOT ok to copy or quote without written permission from the author.

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