Wampler Pedals

Brian Wampler has commanded quite a reputation in recent years for his overdrive effects pedals. The result of tireless prototyping, tweaking, and more tweaking, Wampler pedals are setting new standards for excellence in an area where excellence had been lacking for many years. The struggle has been to produce pedals that faithfully reproduced or enhance tube amp tones without sounding like what they are... a solid state clipping circuit. Not the least of these struggles has been that to faithfully reproduce the infamous Marshall roar in a small, stompable package. Enter the Plexi-Drive. UTILIZATION The Plexi-Drive is built into a heavy-duty creme-colored Hammond enclosure, and is set up basically like any other overdrive pedal. It has Volume, Tone, and Drive controls. However, it does have one extra that is the switchable Bass Boost. The footswitch itself is a heavy duty Carling 3PDT switch that facilitates true bypass switching as well as switching power to the LED indicator. SOUND QUALITY With all the controls set at noon, it's obvious right out of the box that this is no ordinary assembly-line overdrive. Even through something so uncharacteristic as a Twin Reverb, the Plexi-Drive bleeds woody, mid-heavy Marshall tones. And therein lies a caveat. This is not a pedal for those looking for transparency. It is designed to produce a sound, and it does that.. in many cases all over whatever setup you're using. So let me be clear that this pedal is not a catch-all overdrive. It's designed to produce a specific sound, and that's what it does. The Plexi-Drive is powerful overdrive, and judicious use of the volume control is encouraged, lest you encounter a scary volume jump when engaging the pedal. There is plenty of gain on tap, and you can actually push it nearly into distortion territory. The tone control is not overly bright, but sufficiently evokes the bright qualities of a stock Marshall circuit with the preamp bright cap. The bass boost is like adding a resonance switch to a Marshall amp, throwing slabs of clean lowend punch under your tone. OVERALL OPINION Getting to know the Plex-Drive was a real pleasure. It's dynamic, loud, smooth, shimmery, and versatile all at once. It's just a powerhouse of a pedal, and that , coupled with it's durable design make it well worth the $200 price tag. They can go on Craigslist and Ebay for somewhat less, but purchasing straight from Wampler will give you the lastest revision and tweaks to the circuit. So if you're a Marshall head looking for a Marshally pedal, check it out. I think you'll be as surprised as I was.

I'll preface this review saying that I'll never get rid of this pedal. It sounds so good, and is so useful, that it will never leave my possession, or even my pedalboard! This Hot Wired pedal from Wampler Pedals is the signature pedal for Nashville legend Brent Mason. He is a studio guitarist that has played on about everything you've ever heard coming out of Nashville since the early 90s, and he is required to get a huge variety of great tones in his sessions. This pedal, true to its necessity as a versatility machine, is a two-channel overdrive box, and each channel can be set to provide different tones. Either channel can be run separately, or both can be run at the same time. The tonal options are absolutely vast! I find it particularly useful to run the right side as a signal boost, with a touch of overdrive, and the left side as a distortion, for pure liquid lead tones. Each side has its own volume, gain, and tone controls, as well as low frequency boost switches. The manual provided with the pedal explains the functionality very well, and gives a good starter-tone setup to allow the user a base for springboarding into experimentation. The boost is invaluable - it can add that "extra" that one needs to let a solo cut right through. I feel like the boost channel is so nice that Wampler should make a less expensive version of the pedal that's just a one-channel unit, as I'm sure it would sell incredibly well! And the left side distortion is fantastically responsive, and adds a ton of sustain to the signal without getting too hairy. Overall, this pedal is a great addition to any pedal setup. I feel like I could take this pedal to any fill-in gig or jam night, and plug into an amp that isn't my own and still get "my" sound - that's how much I like this pedal.

• High grade film capacitors and resistors picked for their superior sound and response • Completely true bypass • Battery connection and 9v power jack (barrel plug like Boss) • Boost switch alters gain structure to take it from overdrive to distortion. • High gain, crunchy and dynamic pedal • Extremely tweakable EQ • Can do scooped mids to 'honky' mids to lo-fi • High boost switch for using with amps that are not very bright and sparkly clean • Ultra-bright LED's for ease of use • 2.5" x 4.5" • Powder coated durable finish • Designed to get the best EVH "brown sound" possible within a pedal design This is supposed to be an EVH in a box distortion pedal. To which, feature wise is great! Lots of knobs and the controls are all quite sensitive. Controls: Tone, Volume, Contour, Gain, and a vintage/modern switch. UTILIZATION Pretty easy to use, just like any other distortion pedal, just plug it in and tweak the knobs till you find something that sounds good. SOUND QUALITY This is where it fell short for me. I know a lot of people will flame me but I don't think anybody truly knows what the brown sound is, and neither do I. But I definitely think this pedal sounds like a pedal. The distortion does not sound like EVH to me whatsoever. I played this through a few amps just to make sure I wasn't crazy, and then I got the chance to A/B this to a 5150 III side by side and I can definitely say with complete confidence that this is nothing compared to the 5150 III. Yes of course it's a huge difference. An Amp vs a pedal, unfair right? I know. So why do some players keep claiming this is EVH in a box? Isn't that unfair too? On the plus side, yes it's a dynamic distortion pedal, very pick sensitive. It also cleans up OK, not so great but alright. And the distortion itself is not ice picky it's very smooth and vintage-esque sounding so it's great. I think it's a decent distortion pedal, but to my ears it still sounds like a pedal and doesn't sound like amp distortion, nor does it sound like the brown sound, but more like vintage distortion. OVERALL OPINION The build quality is good, the fact that it runs on a standard 9v operation is convenient. The distortion is smooth and not ice picky, it's also very tweakable and dynamic. Good stuff. Does it sound like EVH and the brown sound? No. Does it sound like natural amp distortion? No. It still sounds like a pedal to me.

For an analog pedal this thing is fantastic. Let me first start by saying I don't like distortion pedals but I am a fan of Wampler's stuff and I like fuzz boxes. This unit has a unique take on the Mesa Boogie Rectifier amp and combine that with a fuzz box similar to a Pete Cornish distortion box. The box will sound like a pedal but it gets very close to a cranked tube amp. • High grade film capacitors and resistors picked for their superior sound and response • Completely true bypass • 3.75" x 5.75" (2.75" tall) • Battery connection and 9v power jack (barrel plug like Boss) • Volume, Crunch, treble, Mids, Bass, Gain, Vintage/ Modern Switch, • On/Off and Boost footswitch UTILIZATION This unit is very easy to use and get a good setup right out of the box. There a few more knobs than other Wampler pedals put this is kind of two pedals in one. One side is a Recto sound and the other which is engaged when you click the boost sounds more like a fuzz unit. Actually when you turn the gain down it gets more of a british flavored amp. Clicking the VIntage/ Modern switch really changes the voicing of the amp. When you crank the mids you'll get a good british flavor with the switch pointed to Vintage. It can be a little noisy since there is so much gain on the tap. This isn't a tame pedal by any means. SOUND QUALITY Again you can feel the pedal when engaging it where you would feel the air being pushed from an overdriven amp. So there is going to be a noticeable feel in the guitar and amp when playing this versus gain in pre and power tubes. The thing sounds cool and has a recto sound to it, but it still sounds like a pedal. The boost side is cool with single coil guitars such a Strat. You can get those David Gilmore type tones that will sustain for days. Try this with a clean amp. This will not work with a high gain amp. It will be way too much gain and be more noisy than you can handle. OVERALL OPINION This is a cool pedal if you own a clean amp such as a Fender or Vox and you would like to get a Mesa Boogie sound without buying a Triple Recto. This pedal will get you a similar sound. It will be pretty cool for the person who wants to use this pedal because they don't want to wait for a Pete Cornish pedal. This pedal comes in at around $270, which is a little higher than Wampler's other pedals but it is two pedals in one unit. I would recommend this pedal to any clean amp owner. If you have a high gain amp then you would need a clean boost of a Tube Screamer. This pedal will be too much for any high gain amp. If you want a real sounding Recto sound then you'll have to go out and buy a real Mesa.

- Level knob - Repeats knob - Tone knob - Delay knob - Depth knob - Modulation switch - Power LED UTILIZATION This is, for the most part, a straight forward delay pedal. All of the the knobs do what you would probably expect them to do. The only wrench is the Modulation switch and Depth knob. This pedal allows you to emulate the warble of a tape echo with the Modulation switch up. The Depth knob allows you to control the intensity of the modulation. It can go from slightly out of tune flutter to a large saggy dip. SOUND QUALITY This is one of the better sounding delay pedals that I have come across. The sound is rich and full, but not muddy. With the tone knob, you are assured that you will never get lost in the mix of a band. I'm not sure why more delay pedals don't include a tone knob. Seems like a no brainer. My only complaint is that slight delay sounds are a little unnatural sounding. I wish they trailed off a little smoother. OVERALL OPINION I bought this to replace the awful sounding Way Huge Aqua Puss MKII. I was surprised at how great this pedal sounds, especially for the price. Delay pedals can get really expensive and this one is priced in the lower side of the spectrum but can outshine some of the more pricy options. Honestly, I could not care less about the modulation function, but for the price I found it for used, I could not complain. If I were buying it new I would probably opt for the slightly less expensive Wampler Faux Analog Echo to save a few bucks. I believe they are the same circuit sans modulation. I am sure there are plenty of people who like the feature, I am just not one of them. Wampler is making some of the best pedals out there right now but for some reason his delay pedals tend to get overlooked. You should not make that same mistake.

I started my electric guitar playing career trying to emulate the Edge from U2. I think he is the master at using the delay to shape his sound and the direction of the band. So naturally I was scouting out all the possible delay pedals, rack units, or boxes I could find to help transfer me from the acoustic guitar. After I got tired of digital stuff over the years, I wanted to shift over to analog pedals. I had been using a POD XT Pro and a TC Electrincs G Major in the past with bands and I want to just use my guitar, amp, and one delay. With much research I found Wampler pedals. This Analog echo pedal got some great veviews and awards to which I thought I had to check it out. Wampler was giving discounts out to people who signed up for his newsletter and at $169 for a delay pedal wasn't bad. So I pick it up and it has been the best pedal purchase of my career. The layout as follows.... • High grade film capacitors and resistors picked for their superior sound and response • Completely true bypass • Battery connection and 9v power jack (barrel plug like Boss) • Sparkle Fire orange in color, white knobs/graphics • Ultra-bright LED for ease of use • 4 controls - echo level, repeats, tone, and delay time • Does NOT mess with your basic guitar tone like so many other delay pedals • Analog warmth/tape echo tones • About 600ms of delay time available • Powder coated durable finish • 2.5" x 4.5" in size UTILIZATION With just only four knobs it is pretty easy to get a good sound out of the box. When I first got pedal I ran the delay time around 3:00 for long repeats for solos and such. Since then I have reeled back the knob to around 10:30 and have kept it there for quite a while now. If fact I basically keep all four controls in the same area. This setup gives me a real nice addition to my tone that makes it sound a lot fuller. I generally keep this pedal on all the time unless I'm doing some start and stop riffing. So the little blue light is pretty much on at all throughout a gig. I didn't even use the manual so that is pretty much pointless to talk about. Just click it on and listen how it really compliments your tone. Other units have volume loss or over saturate with modulations that it clouds your tone. Well this pedal just give you a nice helping hand. It won't clog your tone or become unmanageable. SOUND QUALITY I can easily say this is the best sounding analog echo unit that I have ever played. The volume is absolute unity in your guitar chain. So when you click it on and off you won't hear a volume difference like you would a high end pedal like the Eventide Timefactor.....which I own as well. You juts get solid repeats that fill your guitar notes and compliment the music very nicely. I have used this pedal on many different amps and many different guitars. So I'll discuss what I have been recently using it with. I have a Les Paul going into this pedal with it being in the effects loop of a Splawn Quickrod. So this combo gets a lush and smooth gainy Marshall tone suitable for most rock and pop. I have it ending in a vintage Marshall 4x12 with black back speakers. OVERALL OPINION I cannot say anything bad about this pedal. I honestly think it is the most perfect delay pedal ever created. It just provides a clarity and 3D sound to your guitar rig. With the price now up to $200 I would still buy another one if it got lost or stolen. In fact I will be buying another one to have as a backup with my extra effects rig. I would recommend this pedal to every single guitar player in the world. Buy this pedal and you will never look back. I have played them all and I love the MXR Carbon Copy, but I give the lead to this box because it does everything I need to do and it never talks back....unless I tell it too.

This is a great pedal that can take you from Plexi tones, 800 tones to modded 800 tones. This pedal has those "Marshall" type tones in a little stomp box. It produces a very nice and extremely usable distortion sound into a clean amp. The pedal has volume, gain, treble, mid and bass controls (like an amp) along with a 3-way boost switch that you set down for Plexi, middle for 800, and up for a modded 800 tone. It can be powered with a 9 volt battery or adapter. UTILIZATION Extremely easy to figure out. You can probably find a sweet spot within minutes of use with this pedal. I generally keep the gain and volume maxed. I have the treb, mid and bass knobs all set around 12:30-1:00 positions and I vary the boost button for the type of music I want to play. My pedal did not come with a manual but it just takes a few minutes to get things set - it is straightforward. SOUND QUALITY I found the sound quality to be excellent. I run this pedal straight into a VHT/Fryette 2-90-2 power amp into a Mojotone 3x12 (yes, 3x12) cab with Celestion CL-80's. The "Plexi mode" gets all kinds of early to mid AC/DC tones - it is superb for that. I wish I had this during the time I was in my AC/DC tribute band. This setting just oozes old school rock. The "800" gets close to a Marshall JCM 800 tone. The "modded 800" tone gets you close to Zakk Wylde's tone on Ozzy's No Rest For the Wicked album. I boost the pedal with an SD-1 (like Zakk) and get even closer, although the pedal could have just a bit more grit and saturation in this setting to be a perfect 10. OVERALL OPINION This is a fantastic pedal! I foun one of the last NOS ones out there after searching extensively on the i-net. This has been discontinued but there are rumors that it will be re-released or updated? I like the variety of tones it can achieve. I like the price the least - but it is a quality unit, but I'd never complain if it was less expensive :) I would buy this again. I am planning on experimenting using it as a boost pedal into some of my other amp heads and I imagine it will do some cool things that way as well!