!["Addressing Past Challenges with Metal Tones: Ryan ‘Fluff’ Bruce Discusses His Signature Overdrive Pedal from Warm Audio and Explains Its Necessity"]](https://backingtracksfullcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Addressing-Past-Challenges-with-Metal-Tones-Ryan-‘Fluff-Bruce-Discusses-758x426.jpg "\"Addressing Past Challenges with Metal Tones: Ryan ‘Fluff’ Bruce Discusses His Signature Overdrive Pedal from Warm Audio and Explains Its Necessity\"] 1")
NAMM 2026: Warm Audio and YouTuber, producer and musician Ryan ‘Fluff’ Bruce have joined forces for a signature overdrive pedal inspired by an ‘80s Japanese classic – and Fluff says a comprehensive suite of improvements makes this drive pedal a natural fit for high-gain rock and metal guitar.
The pedal is called the Fluff Drive. It is offered with a Teal or White enclosure. The pedal that inspired it was a Maxon TS-01 Super Tube Screamer, but this promises to be quite a different proposition for your pedalboard.
And yes, that’s why your local guitar store’s pedal cabinet absolutely has more room for another overdrive. Does the world need another drive?
“The answer in my mind is always, ‘Yeah, of course,” says Fluff, who argues that drive pedals are like shoes, and you can’t have too many of them in your closet/on your ‘board. “I use many, many overdrive pedals for many different flavours, just depending on what I am working on, whether it’s for this channel – for you guys to check out – or for a band that I am mixing a record for and I’m reamping a bunch of stuff. It just depends on what I’m doing.
“And for me, overdrive pedals are a lot like shoes, right? You’ve got your hiking boots and you have your tennis shoes, and you have your skateboarding shoes, and they all serve different purposes. That’s kind of what overdrive pedals are for me.”
One of the purposes the Fluff Drive serves is giving extended-rage guitars a TS-style midrange power-up courtesy of a modded low-boost circuit. If you play a 7-string guitar, this give your low-end riffs some clarity. Warm Audio says the Pre/Post Mid-enhance switch will help you shape presence and attack in an instant, choosing whether to put the mids boost before or after the gain stage.
Image 1 of 2
What else does a metal guitarist need in their overdrive? Well, it’s not exactly mandatory but Fluff has taken the opportunity during the extensive R&D process, to add an onboard noise gate to the circuit.
This runs off 9V DC from a pedalboard power supply but internally pumps up the voltage to 18V for increased headroom and clarity. Again, you want those big saturated riffs to have definition.
All in, you have dials for Drive, Level, Tone, Gate and Mid-Enhance, plus the Mid-Enhance toggle and another switch for selecting the Low Boost mode or the standard.
If Fluff sounds a note of relief in the demo video above, that’s because this was a pretty exacting job. He said Warm Audio’s engineers were well up for the fight, though.
“I’ve tested a ridiculous number of pedals over the years, so when it came time to do a signature drive, I knew I needed a partner who actually cares about components and understands what makes the legendary circuits legendary,” he says. “Warm Audio was that perfect partner. They’re obsessed with the details and are circuit-obsessed enough to dig deep into every diode and resistor, but also experienced enough to help me nail the classic sound players expect.
“Together with them, I wanted to fix every issue I’ve ever had dialing in metal tones on similar pedals or even the original.”
The Fluff Drive is a limited edition pedal, available exclusively in the US via Sweetwater and at selected dealers worldwide, priced £209/$199. For more details, see Warm Audio.
