The control scheme may be daunting, but you can get any sound you want with enough tweaking. It also has a Boost controlled by a separate footswitch, and a cab sim out. It features two separate channels of D-Style goodness with their own EQ section – both can be set as Clean or Overdrive through a toggle switch. Jazz is cleaner and more subtle, while Rock features more midrange and increased gain.Įthos makes highly versatile preamps that are insanely pedalboard-friendly, and the Ethos Overdrive Amp is by far the most versatile option on this entire list. A switch toggles between modes for Jazz and Rock. Drive and Volume control set your level, Accent acts as a presence/high-end EQ, and Tone handles the midrange. We’ve divided the offerings by price range into categories for Super High End, High End, Middle and Low End.Ĭonsidering the variety of options, to facilitate navigation we decided to organize the D-Style pedals in these categories:Įven at an insane price tag, the Dumbloid is a total bargain compared to what it would cost to nab an actual Dumble.
Some are simple stompboxes that excel at one particular thing, while others are fully featured preamps with almost infinite tonal options. What’s more, some of these effects take the sound and features a step further and in interesting directions. There is a great variety of pedals that can get you close to that sacred Dumble Overdrive tone at a much more affordable price – and some cheaper options that do a decent job as well. The Steel String Singer is renowned for producing subtle feedback, something that’s unusual for clean amps.īEST D-STYLE PEDALS (Voiced after the Dumble Overdrive) The Steel String Singer is a clean, single-channel amp with reverb and several tone-sculpting features, including three-channel EQ, Low and High filters, three tone switches (Bright, Deep and Rock/Jazz), Reverb with Send and Return controls and Volume and Master controls No two models are alike, but common characteristics include 6L6 or E元4 tubes (associated with Fender and Marshall style sounds, respectively) and a large amount of tube distortion in the Overdrive channel. amp head with cabinet, while other are just amps with no cabinet. The latter “cascades” from the clean channel, adding a tube saturation circuit that causes the signal to become overdriven. The Overdrive Special is a tube amp with Clean and Overdrive channels. The Harley Benton Ultimate Drive * has a simple Gain, Level and Tone knob layout with a switch that is labelled High/Low and it is true-bypass.Dumble built a few amp models over the years, but the two most popular by far are, in order, the Overdrive Special and the Steel String Singer.
It costs a measly £27 and has some very organic, highly useable overdrive tones and I love it. This is the one pedal that everyone should either own, or have tried out at some point in their life. And I own all of these, so I’m giving you my honest and personal opinion. Some are clones of classic vintage effects, but there are a few modern circuits in there as well. Here are some of my favourite pedals costing around £60 or under. I’ve owned a lot of pedals over the years. Many of them have better noise floors and can be used on modern day power supplies, unlike the original pedals they are based on. The ones I have chosen get very close, to my ears at least. Most of the pedals below try to emulate vintage pedals. Now factor in mass production techniques like flow soldering and automation and you have a product that’s good quality, reliable and cheap. Even cheap modern day switches are true-bypass. Today, components are smaller, readily available and probably have far better tolerances than those used in old effects from half a century ago. It’s also unlikely they had buffers or true-bypass switching.
You’d be lucky if they would run from an external power supply. Pedals from the 60s or 70s often had poor enclosures. Many were built using lower quality components. But hang on, isn’t vintage gear always best? In fact, those old pedals can have serious drawbacks.