Electro-Harmonix Crayon

The Crayon is an interesting pedal which occupies a rather unique space in  Electro-Harmonix's range of affordable overdrives. At the time of writing, it retails at around £60/$60. Unlike some of EHX's popular drives, the Crayon seems to bring a 'new' design, which does not seem to be based directly on any other popular pedals. This is somewhat of a rarity in the world of overdrives, which are often iterations on the klon, bluesbreaker, or tubescreamer. We're going to take a more detailed look at the Crayon, and see if it really is as exciting as it seems.


So what is it?

As noted above, the Crayon is not marketed as an iteration or clone of any other well known pedal. Despite this, it is rare to find a genuinely original overdrive, so it follows that the Crayon must surely be based on something else, right?

Despite the name, the EHX Crayon is not related or at all similar to JHS's pedal of the same title. There was some speculation online that the Crayon is a derivative of Paul Cochrane's classic Timmy due to a number of similarities in sound and circuit design. Now that some time has passed, it has become clear that this is not the case, and the Crayon is instead a modified version of the Xotic BB Preamp. As even the Klon was based on other pedals, it would not be fair to fault EHX for this. In fact, I think we should credit EHX for providing genuine contenders to 'botique' pedals for such an affordable price.


Design

The Crayon is housed in EHX's 'nano' enclosure, which is what many have come to view as the de facto standard pedal size. For comparison, this is a bit smaller than a Boss style enclosure. Unlike many of EHX's other pedals of the same size, the paint on the enclosure covers the whole pedal. The graphic on the pedal is also appealing, and there are two styles to choose from - a point that we will return to later. The '69 version and the '76 version both offer a variation on the same graphical concept. The colourful and clean design makes the pedal look considerably more expensive than it actually is. Many of EHX's recent designs have shown a serious improvement in the graphical department (i.e. the recent big muff reissues).

The enclosure is feels solid, and the pedal can take a 9v power supply or house a 9v battery. There are no internal dip switches to adjust, though this is not really a downside per se, as the external controls offer plenty of flexibility. The bypass switch is solid and gives a strong click. I have read a number of comments online saying that their EHX pedals have failed due to the switch, but I have never had any problems through my years of using their pedals on a daily basis. In general, I prefer soft press switches, but this may be asking a bit much of a pedal that is already so well priced.

The pedal features a 4 knob design, one each for volume, gain, lows, and highs. A nice green LED indicator light makes it stand out quite nicely on a board of mostly red LEDs.


Sound

The Crayon has a very broad range of gain settings. Truthfully, I do not tend to spend much time tweaking with controls once I have found a setting that I like, but I have been able to use the Crayon as an almost transparent boost, a low gain drive (similar to a bluesbreaker type sound), a smooth rhythm sound, and mid to heavy gain overdrive that was not too far off a RAT sound. The pedal is quite noisy in higher gain settings, though this is to be expected and is not much of an issue at all.

The low and high controls are incredibly useful. Dial them both back and you can achieve a nice mid-boosted drive that is sure to cut through in a band setting. Boost the bass and you get a thick rhythm sound, which works well when combined with a medium amount of gain. Boosted treble can be used as a piercing lead sound. Dial both up for a punchy scooped mid tone.

I can honestly say that the Crayon is the only drive that I have used that doesn't sound bad on any setting. Even with the highs max'd out. The Crayon is a smooth overdrive and not at all abrasive or 'difficult'. It is a great all rounder, but maybe lacks that special something. In fact, I think that the all rounder-ness of the Crayon works against it. If you take a look at some of the more popular overdrives in recent years, there is something about them that makes them unique. For example, the Hudson Broadcaster is gritty and unique sounding - it is not a classically 'pleasing' tone. However, this is what makes it so appealing. It genuinely offers something new and original sounding. Whilst it may not quite have the broad range of tones offered by the Crayon, when it is set right it can sound incredible.

The Crayon does not offer anything new. It is a good overdrive and can be used in a wide range of settings, but in my experience it just doesn't have any completely amazing tones in it. This is not to say that it isn't a great pedal - quite the opposite. It is a swiss army knife of an overdrive. It offers many good sounds, but no exceptional sounds.

One thing to note is that there is some speculation on whether the two visual designs of the Crayon offer different sounds. EHX have not confirmed this either way, which of course leaves the internet plenty of room to speculate endlessly. I personally own the '69 version, and I have not played the '76 version. Guitar.co.uk states that 'the difference between the 69 and the 76 pedals are the graphics. That's all.' Further investigation by internet sherlocks seems to confirm that the circuits are identical. I personally see this as a clever marketing move from EHX, but who knows.


So did EHX knock it out of the park?

In general, the Crayon is a solid pedal; It offers great value, it is relatively original, the design is great, and most importantly, it sounds good. EHX's recent output is incredible for us budget conscious guitarists, and they are certainly their position as one of the legendary pedal producers still active in today's market.

Like many gear obsessives, pedalboard space is a significant concern of mine. The Crayon is definitely not a space hog, though some of my favourite pedals are considerably smaller (like the Mooer trelicopter & yellow comp, Mosky XP boost). I use a Pedaltrain Nano+, and it is hard to justify having pedals on there that do not serve an important purpose. The Crayon is fantastic, but it just doesn't blow me away nor does it offer the same level of utility that some of my other pedals do. For that reason, I just don't think it has much of a place on my board. Those new big muff reissues are definitely tempting me...

I will play around with the pedal some more as there is such a broad range of sounds that I am bound to find something I really like and regret ever doubting EHX's genius.

What are your thoughts on the Crayon? Have you found a specific use for the crayon? Share your settings and feel free to ask any questions if you are curious about this pedal.