The Walrus Audio Ages Five-State Overdrive is a Walrus Audio overdrive pedal, currently around $199. Close alternatives include the Tru-Fi The Newton and the Walrus Audio 385 MkII Overdrive. It pairs well with the Friedman Dirty Shirley and the Mesa Boogie Mark Five:90 1x12 Combo.

Walrus Audio Ages Five-State Overdrive

Walrus Audio · pedal

The Walrus Audio Ages Five-State Overdrive is an overdrive pedal built around a five-position rotary switch offering distinct clipping modes, from low-gain silicon soft clipping to high-gain silicon hard clipping, each with its own tonal character ranging from smooth and compressed to punchy and saturated. A parallel-path topology lets players blend the dry signal with the effected path via a dedicated Dry control, alongside Gain, Volume, Bass, and Treble knobs and a boost/cut low-frequency control, making it as usable for transparent boost as for hard-hitting saturation.

What stands out

  • “Valued as a highly versatile overdrive capable of covering transparent low-gain boost through hard-saturated drive from a single pedal, thanks to its five-way clipping mode switch”

    — from the community notes

  • “Five-position clipping mode switch gives genuinely distinct tonal characters, , spanning smooth low-gain compression to punchy, saturated hard clipping”

    — from the reviews

  • “a parallel-path topology lets players blend the dry signal with the effected path via a dedicated dry control”

    — from the listing

  • “The Walrus Audio Ages Five-State Overdrive is an overdrive pedal built around a five-position rotary switch offering distinct clipping modes, from low-gain silicon soft clipping to high-gain silicon hard clipping, each with its own tonal ch…”

    — from the listing

  • “As part of the Five-State series alongside the Eons fuzz, it shares a family design philosophy of packing multiple distinct voicings into one compact pedal”

    — from the reviews

  • low gain
  • clipping
  • dry
  • parallel
  • transparent
  • smooth
  • boost
  • overdrive
$199View on Reverb

Price updated Oct 23, 2026

Genres the Walrus Audio Ages Five-State Overdrive is commonly used in

  • Alternative
    citedInferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag.
  • Blues
    citedInferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag.
  • Rock
    citedInferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag.
  • Country
    citedInferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag.
  • Punk
    citedInferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag.
  • Indie Rock
    citedInferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag.

Amps that pair well with the Walrus Audio Ages Five-State Overdrive

Friedman Dirty Shirley

Friedman

29% match

gain stackingStacks two gain stages for more saturation than either produces alone. (low gain → high gain)

Into a low gain tone, Friedman Dirty Shirley brings a pull toward high gain that's missing

Comes later in the signal chain

Mesa Boogie Mark Five:90 1x12 Combo

Mesa Boogie

26% match

gain stackingStacks two gain stages for more saturation than either produces alone. (low gain → high gain)

Mesa Boogie Mark Five:90 1x12 Combo leans this low gain tone toward high gain, which it doesn't make on its own

Comes later in the signal chain

Synergy SL2 Module

Synergy

tonal match

Comes later in the signal chain

Synergy SL2 Module leans this low gain tone toward high gain, which it doesn't make on its own

Mesa Boogie Mark Five:25 Head

Mesa Boogie

tonal match
$3849via Reverb

Comes later in the signal chain

Into a low gain tone, Mesa Boogie Mark Five:25 Head brings a pull toward high gain that's missing

Mesa Boogie Mark VII 1x12 Combo

Mesa Boogie

tonal match

Comes later in the signal chain

Into a low gain tone, Mesa Boogie Mark VII 1x12 Combo brings a pull toward high gain that's missing

Mesa Boogie Mark VII Rackmount Head

Mesa Boogie

tonal match
$3199via Reverb

Comes later in the signal chain

Mesa Boogie Mark VII Rackmount Head leans this low gain tone toward high gain, which it doesn't make on its own

EVH 000

Evh

tonal match

Comes later in the signal chain

Into a low gain tone, EVH 000 brings a pull toward high gain that's missing

Revv Generator 120 MkIII 10th Anniversary 4-Channel 120W Head

Revv

tonal match

Comes later in the signal chain

Into a low gain tone, Revv Generator 120 MkIII 10th Anniversary 4-Channel 120W Head brings a pull toward high gain that's missing

Pedals that stack with the Walrus Audio Ages Five-State Overdrive

MXR Micro Amp

MXR

22% match
$76.56via Reverb

fills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (bright → warm)

Run MXR Micro Amp after it and the bright edge settles into something more warm

Soldano SLO

Soldano

22% match
$119.99via Reverb

gain stackingStacks two gain stages for more saturation than either produces alone. (low gain → high gain)

Soldano SLO leans this low gain tone toward high gain, which it doesn't make on its own

Comes later in the signal chain

JHS Tidewater Tremolo

JHS Pedals

21% match

sits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.

JHS Tidewater Tremolo's modulated voice goes after Walrus Audio Ages Five-State Overdrive in the signal chain — it's not there to compete with Walrus Audio Ages Five-State Overdrive's own low gain character

Comes later in the signal chain

Crazy Tube Circuits Golden Ratio

Crazy Tube Circuits

17% match

fills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (bright → warm)

What Crazy Tube Circuits Golden Ratio brings here leans toward tight — that's worth building a pairing around

Comes earlier in the signal chain

Suhr Discovery

Suhr

15% match
$579.53via Reverb

sits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.

Put Suhr Discovery after Walrus Audio Ages Five-State Overdrive in the signal chain, clear of Walrus Audio Ages Five-State Overdrive's own gain stage — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)

Comes later in the signal chain

J. Rockett Clockwork Echo

J Rockett

15% match

sits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor. (fuzzy → modulated)

Keep J. Rockett Clockwork Echo after Walrus Audio Ages Five-State Overdrive in the signal chain, clear of Walrus Audio Ages Five-State Overdrive's own gain stage — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)

Comes later in the signal chain

Matthews Effects Architect

Matthews Effects

tonal match

Into a low gain tone, Matthews Effects Architect brings a pull toward high gain that's missing

NuX Drive Core Deluxe

Nux

tonal match
$74via Reverb

Into a low gain tone, NuX Drive Core Deluxe brings a pull toward high gain that's missing

Cheaper alternatives

EarthQuaker Devices Plumes Signal Shredder

EarthQuaker Devices

73% similarity
$99via Reverb

Shared character: high gain settings, compression, boost

Dunlop MXR Timmy Overdrive, sold as Dunlop CSP027

Dunlop

63% similarity
$140.51via Reverb

Shared character: high gain settings, treble, boost

Mythos Air Lane Drive

Mythos

59% similarity
$119via Reverb

Shared character: treble, compression, boost

Tone City Dry Martini

Tone City

58% similarity
$50.81via Reverb

Shared character: high gain settings, boost, transparent

Walrus Audio Fundamental Distortion

Walrus Audio

56% similarity
$74.39via Reverb

Shared character: volume, distortion

Electro-Harmonix Pico Triboro Bridge

Electro-Harmonix

56% similarity
$95.16via Reverb

Shared character: fuzz, distortion, overdrive

Boutique & premium upgrades

Strymon Riverside

Strymon

58% similarity
$299via Reverb

Shared character: high gain settings, pick attack, boost

Analog Man King of Tone

Analog Man

57% similarity
$705via Reverb

Shared character: high gain settings, treble, boost

Strymon Sunset Dual Overdrive

Strymon

57% similarity
$299via Reverb

Shared character: boost, transparent, bass

Similar charactersee all similar tone character →

Tru-Fi The Newton

Tru Fi

61% similarity
$199.95via Reverb

Shared character: high gain settings, boost, treble

Walrus Audio 385 MkII Overdrive

Walrus Audio

60% similarity
$206.70via Reverb

Shared character: high gain settings, volume, treble

J. Rockett Archer Ikon

J Rockett

58% similarity

Shared character: high gain settings, transparent, smooth

Walrus Audio Voyager Pre-Amp Overdrive 10-Year Anniversary Splatter

Walrus Audio

58% similarity
$193.42via Reverb

Shared character: clarity, transparent, overdrive

Boss OD-1 Overdrive

Boss

58% similarity
$218via Reverb

Shared character: high gain settings, boost, transparent

JAM Pedals Rattler Limited

Jam Pedals

58% similarity

Shared character: high gain settings, transparent, distortion

See all alternatives to the Walrus Audio Ages Five-State Overdrive (cheaper + boutique) →

Questions people ask

What are good alternatives to the Walrus Audio Ages Five-State Overdrive?+

The closest matches in character are the Tru-Fi The Newton, the Walrus Audio 385 MkII Overdrive, the J. Rockett Archer Ikon. Budget picks: EarthQuaker Devices Plumes Signal Shredder, Dunlop MXR Timmy Overdrive, sold as Dunlop CSP027, Mythos Air Lane Drive. Boutique upgrades: Strymon Riverside, Analog Man King of Tone, Strymon Sunset Dual Overdrive.

What pairs well with the Walrus Audio Ages Five-State Overdrive?+

Strong matches from rig and tone-complementarity evidence: Friedman Dirty Shirley, Mesa Boogie Mark Five:90 1x12 Combo, Synergy SL2 Module — Into a low gain tone, Friedman Dirty Shirley brings a pull toward high gain that's missing.

How much does the Walrus Audio Ages Five-State Overdrive cost?+

Around $199 (live listing price, updated Oct 23, 2026).

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