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The Hype's Hype Ain't Just Hype

The Hype's Hype Ain't Just Hype

No knobs? No Problem! This boost delivers scads of gain, color, and dynamic control. The PG Daredevil Pedals Hype review.

 
 

Ratings

Pros:
Delicious gain tones that never obscure amp and guitar voices. Responsive to guitar volume attenuation.

Cons:
No external gain knob.

Street:
$89

Daredevil Hype
daredevilpedals.com


Tones:


Ease of Use:


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I love stacking stompbox sounds to the point of chaos. But I have just as many days where the muse nudges me toward the elemental. And pedals don’t get much more elemental than the Hype boost.

Though it has an internal trim pot, the face of the Hype features exactly one footswitch, which activates the simple but fierce JFET boost within. That Daredevil didn’t put the trim pot on the exterior is my only beef with the Hype, because adjustments to the factory setting yield very cool, different, and potent gain colors. It would be nice to be able to tap into the extra horsepower and textures fast and adaptively in a performance situation.

The Hype is all sweet spot.

Yet the way the Hype guides you in a specific artistic direction is enormously inspirational. At its factory default setting, it’s brash, fat, and gritty. And while switching it on gives you a major shift in attitude, pedal tones dovetail beautifully and effortlessly with guitar and amplifier. In many ways the Hype is all sweet spot. And when you discover how responsive it is to guitar volume attenuation—even at the highest trim-pot settings—you may even decide you don’t need that top-mounted gain knob after all.

Test Gear: Fender Stratocaster, ’68 Fender Bassman