Strymon, at last, seems to have gotten the distortion bug – and overcome their aversion for the color red!
The Californian stompbox manufacturer just unveiled their second distortion pedal ever, after 2016’s Riverside Overdrive (since their birth in 2008, they had only released non-distortion pedals, developing a reputation for luscious clean sounds, although the OB.1 compressor and the Deco tape emulator featured respectively a Boost and a Saturation circuit).
The new pedal is called Sunset Dual Overdrive, it’s a hybrid digital/analog effect and sports an unexpectedly bright red case – we likey! Also, those who will be in Austin next week will be able to try it at our Stompbox Exhibit on March 17-18!
The literature that comes with it promises classic overdrive sound times two, with optimized stacking:
“Sunset is really two customizable overdrive pedals, independently selectable and flexibly routable, designed and voiced for complementary tones when stacked.”
As often the case with Strymon stompboxes, this baby features the company’s take on several classic effects, in this circumstance six of them, three per channel:
“Six distinct circuits each feel and react differently in your hands, two at once, […] from transparent “more amp” to heavy saturated fuzz…”
Its layout is similar to the one of the Riverside, but with six knobs in total, three per channel: Level Drive and Tone. Two toggle switches give access to the six circuits, two overdrive and one boost per channel:
The picture of the pedal’s rear reveals some nifty extra functions: The A/B Config Switch allows control over signal flow when two drive circuits are stacked (series, reverse series, or parallel). The three-position Bright switch is custom voiced to perfectly complement any amp or ear.
Finally the FAV (favorite) input allows you to save and recall presets by connecting an optional MiniSwitch or other external latching footswitch.
Check out the scond demo video below!
