Sunday, July 2, 2017

OVERDRIVE- VERTEX Steel String Clean Drive...does this pedal have a $125,000.00 USD sound???

   VERTEX STEEL STRING CLEAN DRIVE                                  

                                                            

$200.00 USD

Ok who doesn't know about the mysterious Dumble amplifier?
Well I thought I did. Hell I thought the guy was dead!
Well Dumble makes what is arguably the best amp in the world. There are 3 basic models but not a single amp made is basic. Lol
The amp is tweaked and hot rodded so it suits the buyer's preference down to the last detail.
He only makes 3 amps a year.. and he is eccentrically fussy who he decides to make one for. lol
The amp not the buyer is guaranteed for life.
Not just guaranteed to work but guaranteed to suit the current owner. If your preferences change he will re-hotrod the amp until you love it again. Or if you bought it used he will rebuild it to suit you..lol  
That is how Carlos Santana got in thru the back door. LOL
He tried to buy one new but got turned down??? So he brought in the used one.



Blue..well this one is ...they are covered in any colour you like
or you could get one in a solid hardwood etc.

 Note the yellow FET GAIN knob...so making a transistor pedal and  expecting it to 
 be very close to the original is not such  a crazy idea!!!.
 Ok so a 'NEW' ...Basic model the SSS or Steel String Singer is a simple single channel amp and it goes for $60,000.00 USD 

A used one goes for $125,000.00 USD NUTS!!!




So like most of Dumble's amps they start off with a Fender design. The Fender amps with that classic clean late 50's early 60's Fender sound. Amps like the Deluxe right thru to the Twin reverb. They feature solid low end a bit of a scoop in the mids and bright highs many have the bright switch which kicks in that just right presence.

NOW LETS GET BACK TO THE PEDAL

So Vertex had this idea. Borrow an SSS amp see what makes it tick ...then make a pedal that enhances a standard Fender Tube amp so it becomes voiced like a Dumble.
So Steel String OD plus Fender amp equals ONE Dumble.
YES ONE INSTANT DUMBLE!!!

Crazy as it sounds it works.The pedal has a volume control and a gain and a third knob is a filter to 'voice' whatever Fender you own to match the real Dumble. Again crazy but it too works.

It will work on any amp to varying degrees. If the amp is a good tube amp made by anyone ...you should be able to get a half decent clean sound out of the SS OD.  It may not get you a Dumble sound but you will probably get a very damn good substitute.

I think a lot of guys will not push it hard ...just leave it with a moderate gain and it will be their always on clean amp sound. The Dumble  amp with all it's purity of tone is never too far from a clean Fender tone ....but with BALZ BIG TIME!!!!

If you are into pedals for all but your clean sound this could move your clean sound to the head of the class!. .




Check out the 3rd video to see all the Vortex pedals
and check out the history and function of the Steel String.

                                                                                                                                                                                                             


 



I think a lot of players will just get this and use in place of a Tube Sceamer or Klon etc. It will probably work well stacked in front of medium or high gain pedal to add some heavy bite to the sound.



ONE FINAL AND AMUSING NOTE

Well this pedal will definitely take a Fender Twin and with it's volume set on 4 can easily give the illusion it is on 7.
So??? Bill Finnegan  who designed the Klon started his quest for a pedal that took years to build and turned him and his Klon into Stars!
Well the Steel String pedal is exactly the pedal he wanted before he started his journey to the Klon.
He liked his Fender Twin amp on 7 for the sound.. but it was too loud on anything over 4.

The Klon DOES NOT sound a bit like a beefed up Fender amp, In fact it does not sound like any amp, LOL
A cool pedal for it's own sake. BUT at the start it was never meant to be what it became. LOL


SO I GOT ONE


So how does it really sound? If you are looking for the best transparent light drive on the planet I am not sure?
If you wish you had a stunning clean sound then ...this has a WOW factor that can not be beat.
The only words that best describe it are something more suitable to video. The sound is literally 
3 dimensional in high definition.When you push another OD into it ..it too suddenly sounds twice as clear...not a trace of mud and even your lowest notes are beautifully defined on all my OD's 

Vertex  set out to clone the Dumble SSS ...they may have or not achieved it...but this pedal  is certainly giving my amp a "$60,000.00 "sound!! So the icing on the cake is this pedal is dead quiet...zero noise...not a hiss out of it. I have it at the end of my chain an 'always on" preamp booster. It replaces my Wampler Db+ booster.

Final Verdict
Stunning! I am a guy with 14 OD's and I can't stop wanting to play clean!!! Before this pedal a clean sound was for tuning. LOL


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