GTown Custom Amps is a Russian pedal builder that’s getting noticed for its Dumble-inspired, hand-built devices, including amps. The HolyGrail V2 is their “regular” D-Style pedal, as opposed to the company’s 335, which more specifically recreates the tone of Larry Carlton, a renowned Dumble amp user.
The HolyGrail, with its four knobs and two toggle switches, gives the player several tools to sculpt the sound to taste. The controls are fewer compared to the ones found on the Dumble Special Overdrive amps, but they mirror them, with 3 voicings (Round, Open and Sharp instead of Jazz/Rock), a Hi-Cut toggle (in place of the amp’s “Deep” switch), and Tone and Mids knobs to provide the EQing.
Pedals like the GTown Amps HolyGrail V2 are all about the tone, which you can hear in the demos below. We added it to our article about the best D-Style overdrive pedals.
HOLYGRAIL OVERDRIVE V2, BUILDER’S NOTES
This pedal mirrors the Dumble amplifiers in many ways. The Holygrail Overdrive is a simple, somewhat homely looking pedal, and its knobs and jacks appear to have been labeled with a garden variety label-maker. The controls are Drive, Accent, Tone, and Volume, and features a Round/Open/Sharp voicing switch. HiCut switch for using the pedal in front of bright sounding amps.
Absolutely next level when it comes to sweet, touch-sensitive overdrive and impeccably clean, transparent boost. The Dumble-like tones that come out of these little stompboxes is unreal! The controls are extremely responsive and allow for a massive spectrum of tonal options, all of which are completely usable.
There is quite a bit of headroom in this pedal it can be used as an organic boost to a full on Overdrive Special!
• Holygrail Overdrive V2 Specifications
• Handbuilt
• Aluminum control plate
• Full metal powder coated housing
• Controls: Drive, Tone, Mids, Volume
• Three way toggle switch: Hard/Open/Soft
• PCB construction
• Run off a 9V battery or external 9V DC power source
