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I just got one and let me fill you in on what this thing is.
It is basically a totally analog preamp/distortion pedal that is set up to mimic an overdriven Class A type gain and an overdriven Class A/B type gain. Let me give it to you in simple terms:
If you keep the Class A and Class A/B levels at 0 and you only use the volume and the tone it is essentially a perfectly clean boost.
Class A sounds to me like an MXR+
Class A/B sounds to me like a YJM308
You have the option of using both and blending them.
If you are using a clean channel and the Class A/B control you will get anything from crystal clean to an AC/DC type crunch and anything in between.
If you are using a clean channel and the Class A control you can get anything from crystal clean to Cream to old Black Sabbath.
Where this pedal really shines is in front of a tube amp that needs more gain. Especially if you don't want to color the sound.
Example:
I took my Carvin MTS3200 and dialed the gain down to around 6. At this setting it is very similar to a JCM800 2204 with the gain maxed out. We can all agree that this is not enough gain for most of us metal heads and certainly not enough for shredding solo's. I put the Tech 21 Double Drive in front of my Carvin and I used the Class A/B control and I dialed it up until I had the perfect amount of gain. The tone of my amp didn't change at all. Only the amount of gain. My settings on the Double Drive were:
Level-- to your own taste
Tone--10
Class A/B--6
Class A--0
I also tried the Class A control instead of the Class A/B and I was able to nail the early Sabbath tone.
Bottom line is that this pedal works best with an already overdriven signal. If you have a good heavy tone but you need more gain this pedal will do it. If you have a nu-metal sounding amp and you want it to sound more vintage this pedal will do that too. The Tech 21 Double Drive is another slick product from Tech 21.
It is basically a totally analog preamp/distortion pedal that is set up to mimic an overdriven Class A type gain and an overdriven Class A/B type gain. Let me give it to you in simple terms:
If you keep the Class A and Class A/B levels at 0 and you only use the volume and the tone it is essentially a perfectly clean boost.
Class A sounds to me like an MXR+
Class A/B sounds to me like a YJM308
You have the option of using both and blending them.
If you are using a clean channel and the Class A/B control you will get anything from crystal clean to an AC/DC type crunch and anything in between.
If you are using a clean channel and the Class A control you can get anything from crystal clean to Cream to old Black Sabbath.
Where this pedal really shines is in front of a tube amp that needs more gain. Especially if you don't want to color the sound.
Example:
I took my Carvin MTS3200 and dialed the gain down to around 6. At this setting it is very similar to a JCM800 2204 with the gain maxed out. We can all agree that this is not enough gain for most of us metal heads and certainly not enough for shredding solo's. I put the Tech 21 Double Drive in front of my Carvin and I used the Class A/B control and I dialed it up until I had the perfect amount of gain. The tone of my amp didn't change at all. Only the amount of gain. My settings on the Double Drive were:
Level-- to your own taste
Tone--10
Class A/B--6
Class A--0
I also tried the Class A control instead of the Class A/B and I was able to nail the early Sabbath tone.
Bottom line is that this pedal works best with an already overdriven signal. If you have a good heavy tone but you need more gain this pedal will do it. If you have a nu-metal sounding amp and you want it to sound more vintage this pedal will do that too. The Tech 21 Double Drive is another slick product from Tech 21.
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