Since its inception in 2010, Manchester, UK based Stone Deaf FX has been able to stand out from the pack of new stompbox manufacturers by offering effects at once quirky looking, edgy sounding and overall inspiring.
That this company belongs to the “forward-thinking” segment of the pedal manufacturing field is clearly stated in their website’s “Our Story” page:
“As a group of people here at Stone Deaf we don’t design stuff that follows a trend…we set the trend because the trend doesn’t fit with our needs or many of our customers.’
On that same page, they also admit to be particularly interested in “active circuitry,” because…
“…[it] give(s) the guitarist a very wide range of tone and something that those involved in Stone Deaf also craved.”
Here’s their current roster of stompboxes (the thumbnails link to each pedal’s most popular video).
Stone Deaf’s main innovation is a new EQ concept called “Paracentric EQ,” which is featured in their most recent distortion pedals, that also share fun, comics inspired graphics.
The Warp Drive is one of the pedals that hosts this feature, which consists in a parametric EQ similar to what you may find on a high end mixing console’s mids section, but with extended frequency range going from a low end of 35Hz to as high as 6kHz, and a six-position “Q” control that gives you a frequency boost/cut “bell” from narrow to wide.
The Q feature allows for a more refined control of your tone, and it can be very useful, with a narrow setting, to cut out unwanted frequencies and, with a wider one, to bring out ear pleasing ones. As an added bonus, crazy things can also be done with it, in particular if controlled through the optional Stone Deaf’s EP-1 expression pedal.
However the core of this pedal is the Warp knob, a high gain drive boosting a noteworthy range of gain.
Check out the recent videos of the Stone Deaf FX Warp Drive, below.
Too much gain for one planet to handle. With all the bells and whistles to make it musical instead of maddening. From full parametric EQ control to a built-in noise gate, the Warp Drive doesn’t just open the door to new tones. It kicks the door in.
Like the rest of the Stone Deaf family of drive pedals, the Warp Drive is designed to give you functionality and flexibility without becoming a pain to operate. Classic high-gain tones are always a stomp away, but if you take the time to delve into the Warp Drive’s box of tricks, you’ll discover a sound and feel that’s all your own.
Key to this is the same parametric EQ control that we’ve made our signature on pedals like the PDF-1X. When paired with the Warp Drive’s limitless reservoir of gain, this precise tone control makes it quick and easy to scoop the mids for a classic industrial sound, focus them for modern metal chugging, or explore something completely different.
The Warp Drive can also act as a high-gain noise gate pedal, thanks to a second, gated channel. By toggling between that and the ungated channel, you can instantly switch between holding down a thunderous riff and shredding over the top of one.
Last but not least, the Warp Drive has the EP-1 Expression Pedal compatibility that our distortions, overdrives, and fuzzes are famous for – delivering phaser and wah sounds with a distinctly modern edge.
- Suitable for use with guitars and basses.
- Power requirements: 9VDC center negative (55mA minimum).
- Switching: True bypass.
- Frequency sweep can be controlled with the Stone Deaf EP-1 Expression Pedal. We use the best components to get the best results, so other expression pedals won’t work.
