OVERDRIVE- WILL THIS PEDAL CHANGE EVERYTHING???

SEYMOUR DUNCAN

PALLADIUM CHANNEL OD

Regular readers will know that I have been nattering on about Channel OD's for months. The trend is towards players getting a nice single channel all tube combo amp that is 30 to 50 watts and only getting a clean sound from the amp and using pedals for distortion and overdrive.
It seems logical that having a larger pedal that takes care of crunch and distortion would eventual be a normal starting point.

 

 Oh my...and it come in 2 colours.

CURRENT PRICE $300.00 USD

Straight off...when I heard it I did not like it.

Quite simply it was plain vanila...when I have been eating double chocolate deluxe. LOL

The layout and functions  are the basic functions that are a natural part of the amp/speaker combination that we have all been using. In short...why build in a Marshall JTM 800 with a 4x12 cab if you have the functions to 'dial up' that sound right on the pedal.

So....what are these functions?

EQ

... you have the standard treble and bass...fine...and it really is all you need in those 2 bands.
... the mids are both cut and boost
... but more important are sweepable........... (check the EQ Post I explain all that)
...the presence is very important...it pulls out the harmonics brightens the sound and...
    tightens the top end.

GAIN AND CABINET THUMP

The last row gives you the mandatory level control ....the volume...or quite simply how loud you wish to play.
There is a Gain control to overdrive and saturate the tone. There is  also has a very critical...
Resonance Control ....this gives you control over the sound of the speaker cabinet...easily creating everything from stacked 4x12 cabs to an open back combo.
 ( getting a  4x12 sound... is done by boosting the low end under 600kzh)

Finally a boost..for that extra distortion saturation and volume boost.

It is not overloaded with bells and whistles...but every function it has gives you control over the very critical elements to shape a guitar sound.

Things like Resonance...and sweepable mids were in the past 'fixed' into the circuit by the makers. 

These things are very critical...It is usually why you would buy one pedal over another...it is also the reason why you would either tire of the sound or be frustrated by it...simply because you can not tweak these 2 critical functions.

I picked this video out of dozens. Why just it?
Well it still has the emotional content thanks to some great playing.
BUT MORE IMPORTANT
IT SHOWS YOU WHAT EACH FUNCTION DOES
AND BETTER STILL...
HOW YOU ARE LIKELY TO USE THAT FUNCTION IN PRACTICE.

SUMMARY

I believe that there will be thousands of players that will love this pedal.

I only have one complaint. In order to create and mold a perfect sound Duncan has voiced the pedal to be as neutral as possible.

It is like a bowl of vanilla ice cream...with dozens of toppings to add.

My Amptweaker Big Rock Pro...has a switch to turn it into a recognizable Marshall JMC 800...

this is not the purist way to create 'my sound'. BUT...my sound is a JMC 800 that I wish only to tweak until it is set up for both the response of my playing and the sound I get from my technique.

So...it is like a bowl of chocolate ice cream...with dozens of toppings to add.

Ideally...a switch that was labeled ....Brit/American (Marshall or Fender) would have made this a
 better pedal. 

The best thing about the pedal is that the layout is simple and outside of giving you just  a neutral voicing....instead of a choice of voicing  [Off  /Brit /American] ...it sets a excellent standard to use as a layout for all to follow.

You could alter the functions to get very close to an American or Brit voice (the Brit is much harder I would want the mids to have 3 mid frequencies to boost,cut and sweep)

NO MORE A ROOKIE

For Duncan...this pedal is not just a breakthrough...but a break in. He is now shoulder to shoulder with EH, MXR and Boss...and others who control the pedal displays at your local music store.

I am expecting a lot of new pedals from Duncan.
It will very soon be Seymour Duncan Pedals
and oh yes...we also make accessories like pick-ups and T shirts..