Thinking outside the (stomp)box is a strategy that’s risky but may prove rewarding. It gave birth to classic pedals like the Wah and the Whammy, and it’s particularly exciting because it tends to to stimulate creativity in new ways.
South Carolina pedal manufacturer Classic Audio just came out with a drive called Stump House that allows control of the distortion amount through a gain roller wheel, placed smack where the footswitch normally sits (don’t worry, that’s there too, but on the top of the effect). Two satisfyingly chunky, metal knobs for volume and tone also exist in this unit, but, in order to leave space for the foot action, were kindly asked to move out of the way, to the right side of the pedal.
True, true… distortions with foot control have been done by other companies, most recently by none other than Ernie Ball! But, as far as we can tell, nobody has done it in a regular stompbox enclosure just yet, which is pretty convenient, and looks great too!
Here’s more info about the pedal directly from the manufacturer, and a video of you all!
The Stumphouse Drive is a medium gain overdrive that works perfectly as a primary overdrive. It utilizies 3 cascasading opamp stages and a symmetrical silicon clipping scheme which yields the perfect mix of clarity and grit. Tone and volume knobs on the side of the pedal compliment the gain roller on the top.
Give one a try, you wont be disappointed!
