The Rock Machine comes in the standard sliding matchbox-style Solidgold logo box and is packed with an instruction/warranty sheet, four self-adhesive rubber feet and a Solidgold logo pic. The pedal is simply decorated with blue ‘Rock Machine’ text criss-crossing across the top of the box several times. The pedal controls are very straightforward. The box has one knob – Level, which controls volume and a two-way toggle that allows you to move between Rock and Blues settings. Inside, the Rock Machine gets its oomph from a NOS Military Spec CV7003 germanium transistor.

So let’s wrench up the Rock Machine. Using the Les Paul first we dial in a dirt pile and check for worms. With the level knob dimed, here is the pedal handling a simple rock pop/rock strum. First clean, then the Machine… Blues setting, then the Rock setting.

You can tell right away that their is a decent mid-gain range on tap here. This is no metal box. It will not give you brootalz cred, but more of a 70′s rock tone. The Blues setting is obviously a bit beefier than the Rock setting, which kicks in the mids. The Blues side gets a bit spongy with chord work when the Level is dimed, but the Rock side kicks in a nice mid-growl that works well with the pop progression. Over to the Strat, bridge pick up first, we lay in a little blues riff with the Level dialed back to around 2 o’clock. First clean, then Blues… followed by Rock.

With the single coils, the Blues setting here seems more natural and throaty. The Rock setting gets a bit spiky with a more lo-fi feel, but still completely useable. Shifting up to the neck pickup on the Strat we dial back the Rock Machine even further. With the Level at around 10 o’clock we get a little funky… clean, Blues, Rock… go!

The Solidgold FX Rock Machine is a solid overdrive stomp. It will take its lumps due to lack of controls, but the tone that Greg has dialed in here is fine one. Add in the Rock/Blues toggle and you can achieve a number of different low-to-mid gain voices with it. Plus, rolling off your guitar’s volume knob will get you even more tonal choices. The price, $175, might be a bit tough to swallow for a single knob overdrive, but that issue might be more psychological than functional. That said, I still wish I had a little more ‘on stomp’ control over the dirt texture. That’s our opinion anyway… your mileage may vary!

PLEASE NOTE: All YMMV Review clips are played through a Reverend Hellhound 40/60 combo amp with 1×12 extension cab. No reverb or other effects were added to the clips. Guitars used in this review include a 1979 Gibson Les Paul Custom and a 1998 Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster.