Victory V4 Preamp pedals

The amp maker’s new stompboxes offer all-valve tone at your feet

British amp builder Victory is well known for its modern rock designs, which have become weapons of choice for a wide and varied artist list, including James Bay, Graham Coxon, Richie Kotzen and the incredible Guthrie Govan. Many amp manufacturers diversify into pedals at some point and Victory has just taken this step with the introduction of three preamp pedals that emulate the frontends of its Sheriff, Countess and Kraken amplifiers. Here we’re looking at the all-new V4 Sheriff and Countess models.

Both pedals have smart looks and solid construction, with tough steel boxes and a protection bar to safeguard the controls. Inside, five high-quality boards hold the electronics, with first-class layout and wiring. The V4s run off an external 12-volt DC supply, and need at least 800ma of current – internal power is stepped up to around 300 volts DC, so keep out of beer-spilling range. There are four valves: a miniature EC900 triode and three NOS (new old stock) Mullard CV4014 pentodes – high-grade military spec versions of the EF91, a popular small valve in the 1950s. The CV4014s date to 1981 and Victory is so confident in them that the warranty on these valves is extended to two years.

The controls and connections are identical and familiar. Bass, mid and treble knobs and a three-position bright switch take care of the EQ, with separate gain and volume controls for the channels and channel-active LEDs. Two footswitches select bypass and channel, while around the back a row of jack sockets take care of all the connections.

These V4s are best described as preamps and pedals. They can plug into the front-end like regular drive pedals, but if your amp has an effects loop they can add two extra footswitchable channels as well as your amp’s existing sounds thanks to clever design and trick relay switching.