Sonic Edge may be fairly new news to
guitar players, but the man behind Sonic
Edge, Ben Fargen, has been something of
a fixture on the scene over the last decade.
His Fargen amps—which range from plexi-inspired
half-stacks to smaller-wattage combos—
have garnered the favor of players of
every style. But the restlessly creative Fargen
generates ideas fast, and one of his latest
has taken shape in the form of the new
Tumbleweed boost and compressor.
As the name suggests, the Tumbleweed was
configured, at least in part, with country
pickers in mind—it’s even advertised as “an
innovative country pedal” on the company’s
website. But to call the Tumbleweed a
strictly Nashville-oriented box is to sell this
pedal very short. And we found its combination
boost and compressor configuration,
as well as its switchable voicing capabilities,
to be exceptionally versatile for shaping
aggressive rock tones, increasing sustain and
presence, and fattening up clean tones in
crowded band mixes.
Mellow Yellow
Though we’ve enjoyed the whimsical-to-wild graphics that boutique builders
have unleashed over the last decade,
there’s something refreshing about the
Tumbleweed’s minimalist look. However, it’s
a bit too stark—the three knobs across the
top for boost level on the boost channel
and level and sensitivity on the compressor
channel are cryptically labeled “B,” “G,” and
“S,” respectively, while the 3-way switch that
moves between “Brit,” “Cali,” and “Jazz”
voicings isn’t labeled at all.
Otherwise, the Tumbleweed is built burly,
tough, and ready for the rigors of stage use.
The pots have a flawless, smooth action that
prevents incidental changes to the control
settings in the event you give the pedal a
little knock. And, in general, everything on
the Tumbleweed feels screwed down tight
and ready for the long haul.
Function Over Form
If the message of the Tumbleweed is “Listen
to what I say, not how I look,” even a quick
turn with the pedal illustrates the worth of that
design and engineering strategy. It’s intuitive
and reactive, and even though compression
can be a subtle effect at low volume, you really
can dial this thing in with your eyes closed.
My first evaluation came in a low-wattage,
low-gain environment—a Fender Telecaster
and Danelectro Hodad 12-string through a
Fender Blues Jr. I’ve always loved the effect
a compressor can have in lower-volume environments
with single-coils. I’ve typically used
an MXR Dyna Comp to get a little more sustain
and bite without cranking the amp, and
when I get things set up right I get just about
one of my favorite snappy and singing tones.
Using the Tumbleweed, I was able to achieve
numerous and many-flavored versions of this
affect. The pedal has a lot of range within the
realm of perceptibly compressed tones. Even
with the level and sensitivity close to or right
at wide-open settings, the Tumbleweed neither
squealed nor sucked tone.
With the tone and volume controls rolled off
a hair on the Telecaster, I got some beautiful
and round—but succinct and singing—lead
tones. There was a little less immediate pick
attack and bite, of course, but the guitar was
beautifully responsive to string vibrato and
bends, and it sustained a lot more readily
when I held a full-step bend. The Telecaster
and Blues Jr. also demonstrated the just-as-advertised
Nashville-session worthiness of the
Tumbleweed. And when I kicked up the treble
on the amp, opened up the tone and volume
on the Tele, and backed down on the level and
sensitivity, I couldn’t help chicken-pickin’ like a
low-rent Don Rich. Both the reactivity to picking
dynamics and the manner in which each
note remained fat, defined, and singing—even
when palm-muted—illustrated how much
more touch-sensitive this pedal can make a
low-power amp at less-than-raging levels.