MXR CUSTOM SHOP
IL TORINO OVERDRIVE
REVIEW BY NICK RAMBO
STREET PRICE $119.99
A blog post on the Jim
Dunlop site from November
2014—Dunlop acquired
the MXR brand in 1987—
indicated that the MXR
Custom Shop had opened
the doors of international
collaboration on its “quest
for sonic discovery.” The
company put out a call for
accomplished independent
pedal designers from all
over the world to put their
unique perspectives and
design styles to work in
exploring “the furthest
reaches of tone.”
The first such exploration,
a partnership with Carlo
38
GEAR REVIEW
//
Sorasio—Italy’s “premier
boutique amp and pedal
builder”—produced what I’ll
be reviewing here: the aptly
named Il Tornio Overdrive.
FORZA ITALIA!
Who exactly is Carlo
Sorasio? Yeah, I didn’t
know either. Apparently
he’s the man behind LAACUSTOM, a brand of
amplifiers and effects
based out of Turin, Italy.
From what I’ve gleaned
from translated interviews,
Carlo is dead set against
cloning, so it’s easy to
understand why he was an
MXR Custom Shop Il Torino Overdrive
ideal choice to partner with
MXR on an original Custom
Shop overdrive design.
Carlo says that every project
starts with a dual focus—
the player and the tone. So
by elevating both through
the outright refusal to
compromise on components
or costs, sonic barriers are
removed and innovatively
dynamic circuit designs
become the result.
TUTTO È BENE
The Il Torino is a highly
versatile MOSFET-based
drive that features both a
low gain overdrive and a