Demedash Effects 112+ Overdrive

SOUND:
The 112+ can range from low gain to thick and heavy while producing varying tones, certainly with the help of having three different and unique ‘Voices.’ Obviously keeping the Drive low will produce only modest results, whereas pushing it to 1-o’clock (its sweet spot) or beyond (which produces more saturation) exposes the 112+ character best on a clean channel.



On a dirty channel, and with the 112+’s Drive low, the pedal works great as a tone shaper and Treble Booster. The Voice switch is what gives the 112+ balls – center position introduces light bass for a more vintage sound, left position has mid bass with a more modern sound and punch, and right has more bass for a fatter sound (less Drive tends to work best with that voicing, unless you like that heavy proto-metal quality). In all instances you get a very organic and grainy tone. All three EQ knobs (bass, mid, treble) have a very usable range and sound good, whether turned all the way up or all the way down (12-noon = flat). With plenty of headroom (the Level knob remains at 9-o’clock in the demo video), the best was to describe the 112+ in general terms is “a solid rock tone generating pedal.” There are plenty of tone options, but through a clean channel it is not high-gain; rather, anything from light rock, to classic rock, to psychedelic rock would find good use for the 112+. And, as stated, you could add the 112+ on low gain to a high-gain channel or amp and use it as an effective tone sculptor/treble booster. Other tone features include a built-in buffer along, an insanely loud volume output due to the built-in amplification stage, and high-quality op amps to keep noise reasonably low.

OVERALL IMPRESSION:
The designer of the 112+ came up with this pedals’ concept while rewiring a solid state combo amp, giving it a modified circuit for a ‘monstrous’ sound. Based on that circuit as a starting point, Demedash Effects created a pedal with three Voices, each of which introduces progressively more bass with unique clipping stages. The ‘light’ and ‘moderate’ voices range from classic to more modern Rock, whereas the third voice adds enough bass that it truly can be monstrous and heavy (fantastic for stoner rock). That third Voice has a particularly huge amount of headroom (although all three positions do), partly due to the added bass, but certainly as a result of the power input’s design, viz., “The 112+ takes a standard Boss-style 9.6v, center negative Power supply connector as used on most guitar pedals. Internally, however, an LT1054 charge pump is used to boost that up to 32v for an insane amount of headroom.” What’s more, within the pedal the signal enters a JFET preamp to create a clean boost; and so, even with the Drive turned down completely you still get a boost effect along with an active EQ. It’s after the JFET preamp that the circuit enters the Voicing circuit to allow for a wide array of tones and sounds, from light gain to fat and dirty. Of course, all this then is controlled by the Drive and then the EQ (to cut or boost) so that you can sculpt your tone accordingly. Overall, at $200 Canadian, the 112+ offers plenty of tonal possibilities, but also the ability to use the pedal as a boost or tone shaper when working with high-gain gear. Best of all, the 112+ is unique and sounds less ‘generic’ than other drive pedals.

GENERAL USE:
You can get some excellent results with the 112+ and without much tweaking. This is particularly true of the EQ, since boosting or keeping plat the Bottom, Mid or Top all sound pretty decent (nothing muddy or shrill). There is a lot of headroom with this pedal, and so begin with the Level completely down, or perhaps at 9-o’clock to start. Place all EQ knobs at 12-noon (which is flat); from there you can increase or decrease any of the frequencies up to 5dB. If you’re looking for nothing but a clean boost, then keep the Drive all the way down. With the Drive at 9-o’clock you get a modest effect in dirt, whereas the quality of dirt really shines around 12-noon to 2-o’clock (at least with the light and moderate Voices and on a clean channel). If using the heavy Voice I find the Drive should be around 9-o’clock to 12-noon, depending on your tastes and how defined (less saturated) you want it. Going beyond 12-noon is fine if you like that heavy proto-metal psychedelic massive sound. When using the 112+ with a higher-gain channel or amp, the Drive should be relatively low, about 8-10 o’clock (just enough to add some ‘edge’ to the high-gain tone). Tweaking the EQ then further sculpts the sound effectively for some added bite.

OTHER DETAILS:
The 112+ is a standard-sized pedal, measuring about 112 mm (L) x 65mm (W) x 60mm (H) with knobs (4.4 x 2.5 x 2.36 inches). The heavy-duty metal chassis has the unique Demedash graphics with white knobs (a mix of retro and modern in its vibe). The five knobs (Drive, Level, Bottom, Mid and Top) feel of heavy plastic and will withstand normal use and abuse. The toggle switch that controls the Voices has decent stiffness when clicked from one position and to the next. All knobs have exceptional quality pots (smooth and very solid when turned without any static or noise). The footswitch (on/off) produces a solid click when engaged or disengaged. The cable input/output and power supply all are located in the back, saving on pedalboard space and keeping any cable inserts away from a stomping foot. The 112+ does not run on batteries and requires a 9VDC power supply while requiring 40mA of power.