Those familiar with Source Audio will know that the company belongs to the category of “envelop pushers,” i.e. a pedal maker interested in adopting new technology to open up new possibilities.
Unlike any other overdrive, their L.A. Lady is a digital pedal that give drive lovers a lot of options, in particular through a three way toggle switch (hosted in the center of the case) and internal tweakability through the Neuro Mobile App (a free download for iOS and Android). The latter gives access to a collection of additional overdrive and distortion tones with extended parametric EQ capabilities, stereo routing options, and internal stacking functionality.
The routing of both pedals is something that deserves a mention: thanks to the stereo ins and outs (a rarity in distortions), and with the help of the Neuro app, guitarists will be able split the signal and send a separate drive engine to each of the pedal’s outputs. Or have one stompbox affect two guitars with a different effect, and feed two separate amps!
Out of the box, the L.A. Lady delivers three overdrive tones: Classic emulates the popular “Marshall in a box” sound; the Smooth engine provides a more understated thump and mid-range bump appropriate for genres like Texas blues; Crunch is Source Audio’s own version of an overdriven tube amp, offering warm and chunky low gain tones with additional drive levels.
Check out the videos by Sweetwater and GearManDude, below.
