IK MULTIMEDIA AMPLITUBE X-GEAR X-DRIVE
Dig the dirt
Overdrive, Distortion or Fuzz, whatever your favoured flavour of dirt this pedal is designed to deliver it, and with three presets instantly available by footswitch you can have three favourites ready to go – albeit only one at a time. The pedal has mono input and output but there’s a separate output with cab simulation for sending signal direct to a PA or for recording while you use the other output to feed your amp. There’s also a headphones output for a bit of silent practice. Basically what is modelled here is a bunch of classic stompboxes (Tube Screamer, Fuzz Face, Big Muff, RAT etc) with a few of IK’S generic algorithms thrown in for good measure like ‘Modern’, a valve-like overdrive, ‘Blue’aimed at jazz and blues players and ‘Crush’ that messes with the sample rate for some aggressive in-yer-face distortion. The models of the classic pedals offer the essence of what the originals are about but there’s an extended range of parameters available for each that goes far beyond what a simple three-knob (or similar) interface would provide; With each algorithm having extensive adjustment to EQ, compression and a noise gate, plus specific parameters like bias adjustment for the Fuzz Face emulation, there’s plenty of scope for creating some bespoke sounds, making the X-drive a massive distortion construction kit. A single effect at a time means that you can’t stack them to make a composite sound but that’s mitigated in part by all of the algorithms having an output boost available via the X-MODE feature. The amount of boost is fixed but it seems like a practical amount for onstage use, unfortunately there’s an appreciable lag when kicking it in so you’d have to be careful with your timing to avoid an obvious volume jump in an inappropriate place.