walrus voyager vs

Walrus Deep Six Compressor & Voyager Overdrive Pedals

Published 1 month ago on May 5, 2024

By Guitar Interactive Magazine

Walrus Audio is a small US FX maker with a fast-growing reputation, widely available in the USA and increasingly overseas, Lewis Turner looks at a compressor and overdrive from one of the ones to watch.

Walrus Audio is a handmade effects pedal company from Norman, Oklahoma...and that’s all I have managed to find out about them! Here's hoping that their pedals speak more than a flashy in-depth bio ever could.

I'm reviewing two pedals here, the Deep Six Compressor, and the Voyager Overdrive. Let's see what similarities they share before looking at each one in more detail. The first thing I noticed is they both look and feel great, with eye-catching paint jobs and unique artwork. They also feel solid, well-constructed, with positive switches and knobs that seem like they will stand the test of time. With true bypass, powered by either a 9v battery or DC supply, they look and feel great and offer all the features that players require, but the most important question remains:  how do they sound?

Ah, the age old question, to use a compressor or not? Whether you’re after the Nile Rodger's funk sound, or a Brad Paisley chickin pickin' cut-through, a good compressor pedal could help achieve the tone you're after. Some players love them and use them constantly, others hate them, and some use them occasionally to get “that sound”.  I fit firmly into the third category, so I was interested to check this one out and see how it matches up to others on the market.  Walrus claims “the Deep Six is inspired by the performance of the Universal Audio 1176 with the simplicity of the Ross and Dynacomp”.  This particular pedal offers Level, Sustain, Attack and Blend controls, which is a lot more than most other compressor stomp boxes.

Level – Used to set the Deep Six to unity volume.  When maxed out the pedal provides enough output to drive the amplifier and other pedals for added sustain.

Sustain – For rhythm playing, run the sustain control at a lower setting so that the compressor is more of a tone shaper. This will keep your sound nice and even and compensate for any variance in the velocity of your strumming. For those Santana style leads turn up the sustain control for added output warmth.

Attack – Allows you to adjust how fast the compressor will react to your notes. Set it higher for punchier leads, and lower for smooth rhythm.

Blend – Mixes in the compressed signal with the original, dry signal. Running the blend control all the way down while adjusting your level control will allow you to use the Deep Six as a volume boosting effect. Turn the blend control up to blend in the compressed signal. For high output signals (humbuckers), the blend control allows you to dial in more of the dry signal and dial out the distortion that most humbuckers bring to a compressor.

In use I found this pedal to be fantastic. With some time spent dialling in the various controls it adds extra colour to your tone without making it sound too fake, cold or forced. It makes rhythm playing sound even, and gives your lead sound that extra boost to cut through the mix. The blend control is a particular favourite of mine, allowing the perfect mix of compressed and dry signal to be obtained.

This is a great pedal and will compliment any pedal board, I would personally place it first in the chain.

Walrus Voyager Overdrive.

There is certainly no shortage of overdrive pedals on the market at the moment, so a manufacturer needs to come up with something special to get people's attention.  Walrus has certainly done that with the pedal's styling, but how does the sound sit in the swamped market of crunch?

The Voyager is a gain/preamp overdrive with just three simple controls, Volume, Gain and Tone.

Volume – controls the output level.

Gain – adjusts the gain output.  As it is increased, the signal becomes grittier and more over-driven.  When it is decreased, the signal becomes less gritty and sounds closer to the original, unaffected signal.

Tone – allows specific adjustments of high end/treble frequencies.  Turn clockwise to increase, counter-clockwise to decrease and add low bass frequencies into the signal.

In use I was slightly underwhelmed by the Voyager. It sounded good, but I felt it didn't live up to the hype of offering; “A full spectrum of tone from any setting, with the gain turned up, the Voyager transforms into a thick overdrive.” Personally, I think this is more of a booster pedal rather than an overdrive. As a booster pedal it would work great to add a bit more drive to one's sound, for a bit of chord crunch or bluesy lead. The tone control is fine, offering clear trebles, warm mids and non muddy bass. However, the gain is just not enough to really put it into the big “overdrive” category.   The Voyager would be a great addition to a pedal board in the chain as a booster/crunch, but if you are looking for a filthy metal overdrive then you may have to look elsewhere. That said, these things are always subjective, so have a look at the video and see what you think.

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Walrus audio voyager preamp/overdrive effects pedal review.

Packing great tone, superb versatility, and top quality hand-built craftsmanship, Walrus Audio pedals don’t just offer ways to color your instrument’s sound, but an assortment of tools that push your tone to the next level. From the  Janus Fuzz/Tremolo  and its unique yet intuitive dual joystick controls to the insane amount of sonic possibilities packed into the  Descent Reverb , Walrus Audio effects never fail to impress or surprise us. Today, we're taking the Voyager for a spin, a preamp-overdrive hybrid that always seems to be mentioned on several players' top lists. Is it as good as advertised? Keep reading to find out.

The Features Of The Voyager Preamp OD

The Walrus Audio Voyager @ $189.00

At its core, the Voyager is a low midrange overdrive pedal that can also function as a booster. And unlike the Mayflower Overdrive and it's many configurable settings, this Walrus Audio OD keeps things simple; Tone, Gain, Volume -- that's it. While Volume and Gain are pretty self-explanatory, the Tone knob controls the amount of treble (with a particular emphasis on the midrange).

As far as the build is concerned, this is a top quality pedal through and through. Handcrafted in the USA, the Voyager feels like a solid stompbox that should easily last you years of wear in tear on the road or in the studio. From the feel of the knobs to the satisfying click of the footswitch -- not to mention the awesome paint job -- you can tell that there was a lot of care and attention to detail when this pedal was being built.

It should also be noted that Walrus Audio does not recommend using a daisy-chain type power supply. Instead, it should be used with an isolated power unit, such as its own AC brick (which is what we used), or a simple 9-volt battery.

The Sound Of the Voyager OD

While three control knobs might not sound like a recipe for a versatile pedal, in action, the Voyager proves itself to be very capable of producing a wide range of sounds. With the gain turned low and the tone knob set past its midpoint, the Voyager brightens up the overall tone and adds a great amount of string to string clarity. Lowering the tone knob (with the gain still set at low) gives you a deeper, more subdued sound that still allows each individual note to ring through. Turning the gain slightly below the midpoint begins to yield a satisfying growl. And with the gain turned to its highest setting, the Voyager really kicks things up, transforming your tone into a thick overdrive, providing impressive depth while still retaining the clarity needed to cut through. And that's just scratching the surface.

From smooth and mellow to dirty with plenty of attack, I was easily able to churn out a ton of unique sounds. The only real problem I faced while using this pedal was trying to dial in the exact sound I wanted my first try. Not to say that it was difficult, it just took a little more fine-tuning than I'm used to with OD pedals. Still, a few minutes messing around with the various Tone and Gain knob combinations is more than enough to get a feel for what the Voyager can do. Aside from that, the Voyager is easily one of the more versatile ODs I've come across these last few years.

Oh yeah -- if you're just looking for a clean, colorless pedal that can push your tube amp into natural distortion, the Voyager can do that too.

Final Thoughts ...

All in all, the Voyager easily lives up to its reputation as one of the best modern ODs out there.  From its lowest to highest settings, the Voyager provides a superb amount of clarity that suits almost any style of playing. While it might not be as easy to use as other ODs, the few minutes it takes to learn its tendencies are well worth the tones you'll be able to pump out. A true workhouse overdrive pedal, the Voyager easily deserves a spot of pedals boards everywhere!

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More than a one-trick pony… 

The Walrus Audio Voyager can serve as a treble shaper, clean boost or as an overdrive. All of this with a great amount of definition and a broad dynamic range. Like many overdrive pedals its set of controls is reduced to three knobs. A volume knob to match the level or to drive the preamp a little more, a tone control to shape predominantly the high frequencies and a gain to go from crunch to lead.

Apart from sounding great on its own, when combined with other pedals it can be used to shape the other pedals’ sound in a superb and efficient way as a boos or a tone shaper. The build quality is top-notch and it is true-bypass.

A bunch of good reasons to launch this voyage.

Voyager technical specifications

Voyager reviews & comparison videos

Voyager reviews & comparison.

Find your best price for the Voyager

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Voyager Preamp/Overdrive 10 Year Anniversary Edition

The Voyager is a gain/preamp overdrive that boasts a full spectrum of tone from any setting on its simple set of controls. From its lowest to highest settings, the Voyager provides a uniquely superb amount of clarity to any style of playing.

For our 10th year as a company, we went back to our DIY roots with a more hands-on approach to these limited edition anniversary Voyagers. Screen printed by our friends at Oklahoma Shirt Company then splatter painted by Walrus employees and finished off with a hand-sprayed clear coat. No two are alike and you can be sure that yours is completely unique. Exclusive only to walrusaudio.com while supplies last!

Please note that no two voyagers will look alike. These were all splattered by hand. Some will have more paint than others in all different areas. A spray-on clear coat was also applied to protect the paint from chipping.

At lower gain settings, it brightens the signal and adds clarity to each note played. With the gain turned up, the Voyager transforms into a thick overdrive, providing depth to chorded playing while retaining the clarity needed to break through on solos. Has True Bypass switching.

• 9V DC 20mA – 4.77 x 2.9 x 2.3 inches
• The use of an isolated power supply is recommended for powering all Walrus Audio Pedals. Daisy chain power supplies are not recommended.
• Power supply not included.
• English Manual

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Thank you for submitting a review!

Your input is very much appreciated. Share it with your friends so they can enjoy it too!

An excellent alternative

I've never been one for the standard boosts and drives. The one thing that I'm always looking for is clarity. This pedal brings that. The controls are simple. It's easy to dial in a great tone by itself or pushing an amp.

Walrus Audio

Hey Dave, We appreciate your review. The Voyager was the first pedal we made. Glad to see you picked up a 10 year anniversary edition. All the best. - Walrus Audio

Heavy and clear, what more can you ask for

I've wanted a Voyager since they came out and I never stumbled across one in the wild. Then a couple days ago I found a used one with the regular artwork at GC for pretty cheap so I picked it up. Its super heavy distortion tones but it does not lose the clarity. Then I got bored and was poking around the website and saw the splatter paint and I had to have it. So i took the used one back and paid double for the limited one and its worth every penny. I ordered it in the morning and it made it to Los Angeles by the next afternoon. It even came with a little polaroid of someone in the office and bunch of freebie picks. I used to have a Janus many moons ago that I pawned when I was beyond broke but that will be the next one on my list again. Walrus has regained another customer for life!

Hey Zack, Welcome to the family! So glad to hear you had a great experience. We do our best to make sure our gear gets to you on time so you can get back to inspiring others with your tunes! Thanks for the Voyager love! - Walrus Audio

Perfect pedal

I love this pedal, the perfect push on the right amount of break up. Walrus just makes great products

We love you! Thanks for the kind words! - Walrus Audio

Absolutely amazing pedal. The splash art is the chef’s kiss.

They are all unique. All of the Walrus Team spent a day painting those together! You have a special piece of history! Thanks for the review. - Walrus Audio

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• Board index Modern Stompbox Effects (1975 - ...)

Walrus Audio - Voyager Overdrive

Post by lovetone » 28 Jan 2014, 09:55

Post by mmolteratx » 28 Jan 2014, 22:54

Post by lovetone » 29 Jan 2014, 11:35

Post by triplesevener » 29 Jan 2014, 15:41

lovetone wrote: ok what another tube screamer?

Post by roseblood11 » 04 Apr 2017, 13:13

Post by Manfred » 04 Apr 2017, 14:36

Post by roseblood11 » 04 Apr 2017, 22:05

Post by marcao_cfh » 05 Apr 2017, 03:08

Post by Manfred » 05 Apr 2017, 06:54

marcao_cfh wrote: According to the schematic posted here, the original Klon have two 1uF and one 4,7uF electrolytics in the signal path. Anyway, that dual gang gain pot is another evidence that it's a Klone.

Post by marcao_cfh » 05 Apr 2017, 16:01

Post by Manfred » 05 Apr 2017, 17:05

The two yellow ones may be tantalum, not ceramic, but still there's one cap missing.

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