Tumnus ver G

If you are a Klon or Klon-alike fan then be informed of the new Tumnus Germanium version. Yes, the Tumnus is an already celebrated Klon-alike pedal out there but this is that version featuring the oh so magical germanium diode which Brian Wampler claims to be that identical one that resides in the original Klon. Watch what he has to further add to this claim & listen to the pedal in action with various amps:

Pic: Wampler

What battery?

Pic: Sweetwater

After listening / watching ample video references, I was ready to get the new Wampler Phenom distortion pedal. This spec sheet is from Sweetwater. 

The Phenom pedal does not accommodate battery application as seen above. Yes, it has ample cavity space for a battery mod but the current build has no battery clip, please take note. I would caution everyone to avoid relying on distributor product details to commit a purchase. In any case, the implication here is that Sweetwater might have just copied & pasted the details instead of making efforts to physically check the pedal itself. I believe laziness would entail disrepute especially when you can easily check once since its something new to the fold. Darn.

Phenomenal triumph

Wampler did a USD99 thing like JHS did - the Collective series. Currently, there are only two pedals in the lineup, the Triumph (overdrive) & Phenom (distortion) you see above.  The reduced prices would mean they are more affordable for the lay person because we know Wampler stuff are up there in terms of prices. These are already available at SV Guitars (Click for direct link to store page: PHENOM / TRIUMPH). I'm really glad Mike Hermans did a take on them so this is essential reference:

Pic: PG

Black Friday @ SV Guitars

Sharing the good stuff by SV Guitars  😎

Double Pant-ing

Latest enticement by Wampler. The Pantheon pedal already exists, it's now being cascaded into itself. Of course, there's an option for you to operate the channels independently. Not a fresh idea, this one but the Pantheon, in the Wampler circle, is one of their better selling, Bluesbreaker-esque pedal. As for me, I prefer a 3-band EQ but here's what you need to know / hear about the pedal by Mr. Brian himself:

Pic: Musicradar

Rat!

This is the current talk in guitardom - Wampler's Ratsbane. It's a distortion unit in the likes of Proco's Rat pedal. The Rat is an acclaimed distortion unit, in fact, it's one of the landmark pedals that influences many professional recordings. I've tried one in person & acknowledge its unique threshold to cross over into fuzz territory due to its clipping structure. The pedal did not win me over because at upper distortion settings (when things get fuzzy), it renders the bottom end quite undefined. For metal-inclined players, bottom end definition is important as it defines heavy voicings. However, those peddling doom might be interested in this one. Wampler offers additional tone editing features to address this concern & this interpretation of the fabled Rat tone might change some mindsets. Here's Brian Wampler himself to talk you through his new offering:

Pics: Wampler / World of Music

Belle

 

A new one by Wampler - the Belle OD. You might think it's another TS-like, mild OD unit just because it's green but the Wampler camp paid tribute to another low profile but just as good green pedal; the Nobels ODR-1. Mr. Brian himself with the demo:

PIC: Wampler

Tumnus deluxe

OK, something to look forward to in terms of pedals. That small push button at the right- it's an option button for you to use it in either a buffered or true bypass mode. 👍

Wampler price cuts

Happening at SV Guitars now- Wampler pedals (older designs) clearing for good prices. Do check them out if you are keen 😁

W(amp)ler

Yes, I'm amp hunting (again). Looking for some good cleans which isn't exce$$ive & hopefully not bear a Fender tag. It took me almost the entire year to discover the fact that Wampler is making an amp (again). A good one, in fact. It has that clean voicing which is good per se & one that supplements pedals. Now that's a thought that counts. In action:

Attack of the clone: Tumnus!

Alright- first from a SALE event, Wampler's Tumnus. Nothing great, just a Centaur clone & I am enjoying all the clones I came across because they give me what I wanna hear.

Pirated

Thanks to the good guys at Wampler Pedals for the pic here- beware of imitation. That's right folks, there are now fake Wampler pedals out there but we still trust our authorised distributors here with their inventory. This is just a heads-up to you if you deal in the after-market.

Wampler: Tumnus

This is a new one by Wampler, the Tumnus. With the reference to the control labels alone, we know which pedal this was modeled after. More details in the following clip, it will be available at SV Guitars in time to come.

SLO vs SLO

Those high gain bandits among us would know Soldano & the SLO100; it  makes other high gain amps feel a little wimpy. Wampler & Weehbo are among other effects manufacturers out there re-creating the SLO voicing in a more wallet-friendly package. However, since the manufacturers mentioned here are boutique proponents, that affordability factor isn't quite it. Nevertheless, these are currently on sale at SV Guitars so here's a little insight on both the SLO units featured here.

Build

Both manufacturers are serious when it comes to durability but the Wampler wins it in terms of aesthetics; its mild  glitter finish is a pleasant attraction. The Weehbo on the other hand, sports a pseudo-relic touch which is a current fad. It's a matter of personal taste here but be informed that gloss-finished housing like that of the Wampler is more prone to scratches & cracking upon rough handling.

Features

The Wampler is an outright 2-in-1 distortion unit. It has a central SLO voicing with a boost capability. The Weehbo differs by offering the user a selection of 2 drive channels, the boost function is located at the rear via a flick switch. Both pedals sport a 3-band EQ but the Weehbo offers a middle frequency range option. Both pedals are downright similar in terms of features, it's a matter of slight differentiation. In terms of ease of use, the Wampler is as simple as it gets. 

Tone

Ah, this is the crucial bit, many of us fork out good money for the tone we are after, details are secondary. Which pedal is a definite SLO repro? My definite answer: Neither the Wampler nor the Weehbo wins it. I came to this conclusion because both pedals contain that harsh SLO push distortion fiends love to hear but the more one tinkers with the controls, the further one gets from the true reference. Don't get me wrong, lads, this is indeed a good thing. The Wampler is able to manifest that saturated crunch which the SLO specializes in but when push comes to shove, the pedal manifests a good serving of throaty crunch, very much like what an SLO would do when cranked up. The Wampler's volume is a little subdued until its boost mode is engaged so this is its Achilles Heel. The Weehbo on the other hand is an angry pedal that stays true to the SLO voicing & it retains that much needed clarity upon switching to the boosted (higher voltage) option. However, things can get a little too treblish when the volume gets dialed up every time so some EQ meddling is a necessary follow-up.

Conclusion

Which SLO pedal is for you, then? It's a matter of personal taste, ladies & gentlemen. This is especially so when both pedals tend to stray from the base reference once more tinkering gets done. Knowing the profile of players here, I'd wager that majority of them won't be too familiar with the SLO voicng compared to a MESA or Marshall tone, for instance. At the end of it all, the final performance of the pedal matters, not that it mimics the SLO character closely, both pedals sport the same price tags anyway. 

Thanks to brother Tirmizi @ SV Guitars for his relentless help when these two pedals were being tested. I must say that I was a fussy customer who took time to scrutinize boutique stuff because they are make-or-break products that should not put the buyer in a losing situation upon purchase.

Low driver

This Low Blow pedal by Wampler will be made available to the masses come 1st July 2015. It's definitely good news for the bass dweebs because manufacturers out there seems to forget that the bass people embrace pedals as well. Wampler pedals are not cheap but they manifest quality. The more pressing consideration here is the fact that the manufacturer gives the player what they want to hear. It's easy if you have real players over at the manufacturing site, not just clueless workers at the assembly line.

Wampler: Plexi Drive Deluxe

Two days ago, I tried this pedal; it's Wampler's Plexi-Drive Deluxe. It's a deluxe version by virtue of an added pre-gain feature that boosts the primary signals in addition to being an independent boost function. This means, you can activate the pre-gain function even if you have the primary channel in 'off' mode. The catch is, that solitary pre-gain button is wired exclusive to the primary/ post-gain channel so all the 4 knobs above it have no controls over the pre-gain feature. Once you activate the pre-gain button, you only have the pre-gain knob to deal with.

The good thing

This works very much like having a Tube Screamer or any other light-type overdrive hooked onto your primary drive/distortion source: Guitar into boost drive into main drive into amp. That's putting it crudely. If we connect our pedals this way, we know that our boost drive (ie. the pre-gain push) would have zero influence in terms of EQ once the main drive is activated because the main drive's 'more powerful' being would reduce the pre-amp's function to supplementary status. That's how the pre-gain feature in the Plex-Drive Deluxe works; it's job is to boost gain by virtue of saturation, everything else doesn't matter.

The not so good thing

Thank you Wampler for making it as simple as it is but for the price we are paying ($345), having some other controls manipulating the pre-amp feature would be splendid. This means, we can further sculpt our tone without having to add another pedal to the set up. Also, we know of many 2-pedal combinations which lies below the $345 mark. 

On hindsight, the manufacturer would want the Plexi-Drive Deluxe to work this way because this is the most accurate way to manifest the tone of an amp with a boost drive in the pre-gain stage. I prefer the PDD's overall tone with both features activated- saturated drive with lots of picking dynamics complement. If you are not a Marshall fan, all this might sound over-rated to you because you can get away with a similar tone using other pedals for less money. If you know what 'Wampler' has to offer, this one is a very convincing reproduction. 

 

Thanks to the good people at SV Guitars for the warm accommodations.

Smooth options

These pedals are rather fresh. Both are signature products & they are treading the same path, one which serves great smoothness in drive voicings powered by a 2-in-1 concept. 

The Wampler Dual Fusion is a complex beast. There are subtle controls here that would alter your tone rather drastically especially at higher volume settings. It is able to manifest an 'alternative' arrangement akin to switching the positions of two pedals aligned in series. Marvelous.

The JRockett Allan Holdsworth pedal is no wimp when it comes to drive intensity as well but it works on a slightly different note; one of its channel is a booster unit as opposed to the Wampler's double drive serving. The immediate advantage here is that the booster unit doesn't temper with your tone drastically, instead, it supplements your gain concerns. Awesome.

I've been meddling with both pedals individually because an inital hook up just manifested too much gain to such an extent it becomes a very fuzzy affair, something I'm not too keen with. Both pedals are menacing when it comes to that smooth fusion tone so these specialists are singular in their performances in this aspect, it's not quite as good for anything else for that matter. If you think you need some inspiration for your legato techniques, do check them out.

Wampler: Triple Wreck

Hi ho, distortion fans! Searching for something rather intense in the diverse realm of distortion? Then you need to check this Wampler pedal out, it's called the Triple Wreck...

As mentioned, the pedal is rather intense in its distortion capacity but it's very capable in its lower range as well, for us non-metal dweebs. The EQ sweep is very dynamic across all 3 available frequencies; the bass offering is rather extreme, be warned.

What's that boost button for, then? It's a gain booster (Duh!) but it effectively evolves the pedal into fuzz mode, implying, no more metal applications to manifest. Think smooth, wooly, treble jabs... Don't let the 'Vintage' mode fool you into thinking it's going to be convincingly polite upon activation- it is but it's still forceful in drive definition. Let's just say it's still crunchy when that happens.

Is the Triple Wreck a 'metal' type of pedal per se? Absolutely not. If you've come across the Landmine distortion, this is its adversary. However, the Triple Wreck can pull off metal-type tones convincingly, no doubts about it. You are going to read elsewhere, the Triple Wreck being a MESA amp drive emulator (hence the name... Triple Wreck = Triple Rec? You don't get it? Then you don't know MESA...); you have to hear it in action to convince yourselves, some of us would agree, others would think it's merely an emulator, coming close to the real deal is personal & subjective. Another reminder: It's not a metal type unit exclusively. Not cheap, this one...

Pedal avaialble @ Standard Value/ SV Guitars
List: $360

PS: Can't sleep... hence the entry.

Wampler: Pinnacle 2 (Part 3)

I've finished putting the Pinnacle 2 through my playing rigours, some stuff:

• this is the revised Pinnacle pedal (hence the '2'), in a dimension which would appeal to pedal board users
• the pedal has the primary aim of replicating Van Halen's Marshall brown sound but let it not put you off because for someone not keen on this signature tone, I find the overall offering very appealing
• the BOOST feature here adds more intensity to the overdrive to such an extent you'd hear distortion grittiness instead of more drive so it's really a mode switch which would take you from overdrive to distortion. Judging from the mere change in tonal output, I believe it's wired to be post-drive, giving the output a bump in volume as well. It also alters the overall tone character, giving it more depth in overall EQ- to the rest of us, it sounds 'fatter'
• Mr. Wampler took time to give us a pedal which has a good palette of tonal offerings; the TONE/ CONTOUR controls are capable of serving the vintage & modern tone mongers alike in terms of EQ. These are in addition to the immediate tone-shaping flick switch which takes the user into the aforementioned vintage & contemporary settings in terms of drive character

So much fanfare, can the Pinnalce 2 serve the metal dweebs?

• immediate answer: NO. It's not an intense distortion type, not in the same league as your favourite (BOSS) Metal Zone
• but wait till you attach a mild overdrive/ distortion pedal between your guitar & this pedal (the reason you see my Coolcat overdrive in the pic above); listen to the heightened saturation & intensity (but still not the metal-type ferocity) of the final output. The Pinnacle 2 accepts other mild drive type pedals very well. If you've tried the Sound Drive amps (especially the SG612R) & like what you hear in terms of drive, then you'd like what this red menace has to offer

What's that? You don't have a clue what the Brown Sound is all about? It's time you find out, you're 30 years behind...

Wampler: Pinnacle 2 (Part 2)

The good people at Wampler initialed their handiwork, serialized it & date marked it- that's how much effort was put into the ware.