Headroom
New gear and guitar arcana you need to know about. This month:
1 J Rockett Audio Designs Lenny £159
There are only about 300 Dumble amps out there, and when any do surface on the market they go for up to £100k, so it’s little wonder pedal companies are offering us affordable alternatives. As the name suggests here, J Rockett’s latest boost stompbox in its Tour Series has SRV’s sound in its sights – namely the late legend’s Dumble Steel Stringer. Its boosted mids aim to imitate his Steel Stringer being pushed on a clean setting. In principle, it should offer enough gain for leads without moving into distorted territory, but coupled with a Tube Screamer-type overdrive you’ll have a righteous boost at your feet. Head to p125 to read our review. www.rockettpedals.com
2 MXR Shin-Juku Drive £166
MXR’s new collaboration with premier Japanese amp tech and pedal guru Shin Suzuki seems more vague in its mission statement of “legendary boutique amp sound”, but when it elaborates to say Shin used his wealth of experience to “capture the sound of one of the rarest and most sought-after amps ever made”, we’re sensing the ‘D’ word here. Dumble’s Overdrive Special is very much about touch sensitivity with versatility, and the Shin-Juku is intent on chasing it down. And that Dark switch can be pushed to cut high frequencies for a darker, smoother tone, too. www.jimdunlop.com
3 Way Huge Overrated Special £189
Who says tonehounds don’t have a sense of humour? The OS was designed for one-time Dumble owner Joe Bonamassa (he’s sold all three of his over the years to fund further gear purchases) when Jeorge Tripps took a Green Rhino OD, hot-rodded it for boosted mids, with a 500Hz control for low mid punch. It must be said that Joe himself says it’s not designed to sound like a Dumble clone, but tongue-in-cheek moniker aside, its qualities are serious. It entered Joe’s rig when he dramatically recalibrated it for the move to Fender Tweed Twins and Bassmans. And he sets his dials at noon with the tone setting very low to give him a boost while retaining the transparency of his Fenders. www.jimdunlop.com
4 Lovepedal Hermida Audio Zendrive £185
A pairing of designer Alfonso Hermida and Lovepedal resulted in something special here, because if Robben Ford – the very inspiration for the Overdrive Special in the first place – has been using it live for years, you know they’re on to something. Its smooth sustain, clarity and sensitivity have attracted those confident in unlocking the potential of their guitar’s volume control, especially in lower to medium gain ranges. www.lovepedal.com
5 Wampler Euphoria $199
The Euphoria has flexibility on tap, too, with three switchable modes: Smooth, Open and Crunch. The Open mode has the least amount of compression for a rounder tonality and more touch dynamic; Smooth adds compression for more of a traditional overdrive; and Crunch ups the compression further for a tighter sound. The unit’s Bass control is not the kind you just set at noon and forget, though – keep it dialled down for the Euphoria’s more neutral, crunchier territory, crank it up for fuzzier climes with less transparency. www.wamplerpedals.com
6 Hotone Grass £54.99
It’s tiny, affordable and surely has no place among the boutique offerings here. And yet, if you are on a budget the Grass is certainly greener on Hotone’s side. That colour suggests the company is looking to the Tube Screamer for inspiration, but it’s actually a Dumble flavour that’s said to be the aim. The Grass is a little hotter than we expected, and satisfyingly thickens with the gain up for classic rock, while its Voice control offers some very useful fine tuning, too, with a bright button allowing players to adjust for the darker tonality of some humbuckers. The Voice and Volume controls can then be used to dial in a more transparent boost with the gain down. www.hotoneaudio.com