Aria TD-1 Platinum Drive

For someone navigating the effects world and looking for a great sounding distortion overdrive pedals it can get quite confusing. There's so many distortion and overdrive and fuzz pedals to choose from so how do you really choose the right one? Many times it's going on forums or looking at reviews on certain online retailers to finding out which effects processor or some of your favorite artists or people you respect use. Many times there are pedals that really don't find their awareness in the market. And some of these nice little gems can be found on certain websites and forms with solid reviews.

UTILIZATION

specs
Effect: Tube Distortion
Tube: 12A x 7A x 1
Controls: Drive, Lo, Hi, Level
Power Source: AC
Size: L163 x W100 x H74mm
Weight: 1.1 kg

SOUND QUALITY

Aria platinum Drive is a tube driven overdrive distortion pedal that has basically four control knobs. You have a drive control knob, a low and high tone control knobs which basically bring in the frequencies of the low and high tone EQ. Then you have a overall level knob and that's pretty much about it. This pedal uses a 12ax7 preamp tube which gives a nice pre-distortion tone similar to a all tube amplifier. So what you get is a nice tube distortion tone. It really sets it's voicing within the tube gain structure. This is good for boosting a nice overdriven amp or even a clean amplifier. This is a pretty good OD pedal because it's the simple features but effective features that make it effective.


OVERALL OPINION

These pedals are very expensive and they're not very well known yet. You can find them for right around $80 or so and they have a great sound and tone for someone who needs the solo boost or even all out gainy overdrive pedal. This is a cool pedal for the money and it doesn't get much better than this.

TD-1 PLATINUM DRIVE

Effect: Tube Distortion
Tube: 1 x 12AX7A
Controls: Drive, Lo, Hi, Level
Power Source: AC
Size: 163 (L) x 100 (W) x 74 (H) mm
Weight: 1.1Kg

You read! More than a kilo! Dimensions are in millimeters (inch and not as I said the first time) ... it gives you an idea of ​​the beast: a real tank. Massive, very strong (I would not afraid to stand up on it, frankly)
Outlet included (and not a little flat, but the big thing squarely with the earth).
We forget the batteries that are emptied by themselves if you forget a jack and the adapter (included / not included, what voltage siouplaît mister? There's enough amps on that I already have? J ' have a boss, it is compatible with one or ibanez or Behring ... Forget all these questions!)
One branch, and shoo ... Finally, no, not quite zou, there's a more on / off switch. So you press gently on a large button, and you can leave without eating pedal connected current. Aaaaah, it's good!
Diodes, can not miss. You can not forget that it is on!
In short, really, what a pleasure! Only "default" (for those affected), given the size, not easy to put in a suitcase rack effect j'm'en crazy But, I am not using it.

UTILIZATION

With that, the four knobs of our pretty tank are slightly serrated. It's great! The notches are quite close (I would say less than a minute apart) and sufficiently precise.

So watch out, it may well be called Platinum "drive", it is indeed a tube distortion! Nothing to do with the crunch or overdrive. In fact, I was looking for an overdrive, but I fell in love with something that I did not expect at all! (See below)

I really appreciate the two tone knobs (lo and hi), often on the pedals of the genre, you are entitled to a single knob. And it plays differently in the settings. Great precision, yet!

SOUND QUALITY

The big sound! A little too much for what I expected ... However, for the metal, my distortion still remains, how can I say? clear? no, it's not the right word for distortion, but say precisely. Beware, the sound is really hot, the lamp's color really here. The settings allow you to find a big sound heavy, but still hot .... J'adoore.

In fact, to take it as an overdrive, it does so by putting just a little volume knob and the "drive" to zero! We then have a crunch / drive after that can move beautifully ... to the full tube distortion.

Only thing in "distortion in depth", provide a noise gate: it is not luxury. Personally, I have no use for my preferences.

The bypass is real. Is pressed, a large sofa bed good mechanics, and then ... nothing!

Understand me, I'm in love! I think my style of play will change with this pedal. Now, I did that this morning ... see later. I just have to say that reverb quickly becomes redundant when the branch (we lose precision in the distortion) and the pedal wha wha needs to be set to operate optimally with (when possible, but to me c is possible Ibanez WD7, no problem)

What is nice is that this pedal really brings something. Connected between the guitar and an amplifier transistor (an old roland 60w 80s, orange, for those who see), she rebuilt a new sound, warm, heavy and accurate anyway.

OVERALL OPINION

1 day of use
Delighted in every way (to do with time)
I am especially happy that I made a deal: in a "pan balances," in one of my usual shops of Brussels, I got it for 40 euros! The seller told me that this model is very rare, Aria is not known at all for this kind of pedal, no success because people do not know .... hence my opinion here. Really, it does! I would have put more than one hundred euros if he had, knowingly ...
To my ear, here, we play in the category Electro Harmonix.