Soar high or dive deep with a reverse delay and reverb that deals in boundless mystery.
Octave-down reverbs! Dizzying reverse textures.
Control function shifts can be confusing.
$299
Walrus Audio Lore
walrusaudio.com
Reverse reverb and delay are fantastic audio magic tricks. Neither effect produces echoes as much as they warp time. It’s an amazing bit of trickery, and one that Walrus Audio’s Lore does very well. But it’s not the only way Lore warps time. Lore also routes reverse delay through reverse reverb, stuffs reverse reverb through regular reverb, and sends pitch-delay reverb into a second pitch-delay reverb. Best of all, it has a reverse-delay-into-octave-down setting that activates tectonic-scale rumblings—particularly when you pair it with a nasty fuzz. If you’re after massive and mysterious sounds, Lore is a powerful enabler of that quest.
Echo Infinitum
Lore achieves the huge scale of its reverb and delay sounds by running two DSP chips in series with two analog feedback paths. It’s a simple idea, but it makes it possible to achieve the effect of stacking time-manipulation pedals with the benefit of extra clarity and cohesiveness. The five programs are based on the routings described above with an additional program that sends a reverse reverb through an octave-up reverb. And they are modified by a flexible, if sometimes complex-feeling, control set that can home in on very specific sounds. There are no presets on Lore, which at first seems a curious omission for a pedal of this complexity and sonic range. This means extracting the most from the unit takes some study. Thankfully, it’s the kind of study you can very happily lose yourself in for days.
Save for the X knob, which controls decay in three of the five programs, the controls will be familiar to anyone who has tinkered with basic delay and reverb. The feedback and regen controls may shift in feel and, to some degree, function, depending on the program. But generally, they behave as feedback and regen controls would work on any delay or reverb. The same goes for the time, tone, mix, and modulation controls. Walrus may require practice, but the path to mastering the controls is intuitive.
The tension between Lore’s tendency to soar and the massive weight behind these sounds is very exciting stuff.
The Endless, Twisting Helix
Though Lore is clearly built for generating very big spaces, the complexity of the textures you can build creates very nice washes that work in the slipstream of low-effect mixes. Even octave-up settings, which can often dominate a reverb sound in not-so-pleasant ways, can be fashioned into pretty cool variations on tight, reflective room sounds at lower mix levels.
The big sounds are the main attraction here. And there are many that are easy to imagine as the bedrock of songs and riffs. Program 5—which routes one pitch delay into another and introduces fourth, fifth, and octave intervals—does, as Walrus suggests, often behave like both harmonizer and sequencer at times, depending on the feedback settings. You have to work to tame high-octave artifacts (as with other programs, I often kept the tone controls at minimum). But doing so yields ghostly percolations in the wake of your dry signal.
For me, though, the stars of Lore’s programs are the octave-down modes in programs 3 and 4. In both settings—which run reverse delay into an octave-down reverb and reverse reverb into standard reverb, respectively—the presence of octave-down content and the ability to isolate and enhance it with the tone, X, feedback, and regen controls create an oceanic pull and weight to many styles of playing. With fuzz in front, these tones burrow even deeper. Sound seems to fracture under the weight of the low-end content at times. And the tension between Lore’s tendency to soar and the massive weight behind these sounds is very exciting stuff. Anyone who has either chased the tone of Neil Young’s octave-divider-meets-blown-out-Deluxe or spent time working in dark ambient zones will find a wealth of heavy and vaguely sinister textures here.
The Verdict
It’s easy to imagine plugging in the Lore on a rainy Saturday morning and not emerging from the practice space until night falls again. These are time manipulations you can get lost in and converse with. And they can be huge in scope and sonically weird without obscuring musicality. The appeal of some tones here will be highly subjective. Players who find octave-up reverb cloying may want to round down the tones score in the ratings box. But even my chilly feelings toward octave-up reverb didn’t dim my enthusiasm for the potential in the octave-down reverb, particularly when paired with gain devices. Lore did find me longing for a few extra sounds—I wish there were more of the tight, whooshing backward-reverb textures that mark the work of My Bloody Valentine and Jimmy Page. Even without these colors, I found a lot of room to roam in Lore, and I suspect most players will too.
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Kick off the holiday season by shopping for the guitar player in your life at Guitar Center! Now through December 24th 2022, save on exclusive instruments, accessories, apparel, and more with hundreds of items at their lowest prices of the year.
We’ve compiled this year’s best deals in the 2022 Holiday Gift Guide presented by Guitar Center.
Les Paul Desert Burst Satin
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Recreating the preamp in Silvertone’ssignature ’60s amp results in a surprisingly multifaceted overdrive.
Great drive sounds, ranging from characterful boost to low-gain overdrive. Unique personality. Powerful, flexible EQ.
Arguably a bit expensive for what it does.
$249
Jackson Audio Silvertone 1484 Twin Twelve
jackson.audio
Once harvested for peanuts at garage sales and pawn shops—or free for lucky dumpster divers—the Silvertone Model 1484 Twin Twelve amplifier of 1963-’67 graduated to legend status over the past couple decades. Like a lot of ’60s gear with department store catalog origins, Silvertone amps and guitars provided great bang for the buck when they were new. But perhaps no Silvertone product—apart from the company’s Danelectro-built guitars—is as revered as the Twin Twelve. Mudhoney’s Mark Arm and Steve Turner discovered their charms early in their career, and Twin Twelves and their siblings remained backline fixtures for punks, garage rockers, and indie kids. But once the likes of Jack White and Dan Auerbach got on board, the market heated up considerably.
Now a collaboration between the revived Silvertone Guitars and Jackson Audio brings us the Twin Twelve pedal, an overdrive/EQ/booster designed to replicate the tone of the original 1484 piggyback tube amp. To accomplish this, Jackson essentially recreated the topology of the 1484’s preamp, effectively replacing vacuum tubes with JFETs. This method is common for many amp-in-a-box-style pedals. But the result here is a drive of many personalities.
Listen to the demo: https://soundcloud.com/premierguitar/sets/twin-twelve-review
’Round Midnight
The 1484 pedal does a beautiful job of evoking the look of the original 1484 amplifier, including the silver control panel, simple and elegant black lettering, black knobs with silver insets and red indicator lines, red amp-style jewel light, and even the humorous “Foot Switch” legend over the footswitch. What’s more, this pedal seems built to fend off home invaders and stage divers. It’s notably hefty in its heavy-duty folded-steel chassis, which measures 5" x 4" x 2".
Controls include treble, bass, volume, and gain—the latter of which never appeared on the original amp. A look inside the enclosure reveals a lot of space and few components. Juice comes from 9V DC that hits an internal voltage-doubler to improve headroom.
Double Trouble
I tested the Twin Twelve pedal with a Fender Princeton combo and a 65amps London head and 2x12 cab as well as a Gibson Les Paul with humbuckers and a ’50s-style Fender Telecaster, and the first impressions were surprising. Expecting a characterfully sludgy mud machine and grungy pawnshop sonics, I experienced instead a toothsome and impressively versatile overdrive that works in a broad range of genres and playing styles. Fundamentally speaking, the Twin Twelve adds lots of character via a combination of thickness and edgy harmonic content. There’s a barky midrange bite that calls to mind the voice of many catalog amps. But it also has a lot in common with low-gain overdrives, like the Klon and Tube Screamer. Those similarities aside, it has a flavor and sound all its own.
Expecting a characterfully sludgy mud machine and grungy pawnshop sonics, I experienced instead a toothsome and impressively versatile overdrive that works in a broad range of genres and playing styles.
Silvertone may talk a lot about the 1484 as an exact recreation of the Twin Twelve circuit. But in some ways that might sell this pedal short. It’s a great-sounding overdrive by any measure. And, interestingly, it is better at generating American-toned twang, bite, crunch, and lead tones than just about any pedal I’ve played in a while. Clarity and articulation are good, and it makes a great clean boost at lower drive settings while retaining amp-like personality and sensitivity. The pedal is made even more flexible thanks to the 2-band EQ, which provides a lot of room for cutting and boosting the low- and high-frequency bands to taste. It means you have a very flexible boost before you even push your amp into overdrive. It pays similar dividends in overdriven settings, enabling players to explore both the dirtier, thicker side of the American amp tone spectrum or more sparkling variations.
The Verdict
The 1484 Twin Twelve is a great overdrive pedal. And the fact that it doesn’t simply clone one of the already popular drive circuits is a major bonus. The EQ is a great asset, too. But while the 1484 excels at capturing the spirit of the amp that inspired it, I’d argue that with most decent tube amps it sounds better than many real Twin Twelves I’ve played. Certainly, it’s more versatile. And that combination of tone and flexibility make it a very appealing overdrive alternative.
Mystery Stocking is coming soon! Sign up for PG Perks below so you don't miss it.
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About Mystery Stocking
Each year, Premier Guitar likes to put out these mystery boxes as a part of bringing some fun to the holiday season. Remember, this is supposed to be a fun holiday treat! If the contents of this box will ruin your holiday, deplete the last of your bank account, or end your ability to see the good in humanity, it may not be for you.
- This year's Mystery Stocking will cost $44.95. ($39.95 + $5 Flat shipping)
- Each box will be guaranteed to contain $40 or more in value.
- US only. (Sorry World.)
- Make sure your shipping address is correct.
- Have your credit card ready to go before you refresh the page. Paypal is not available. Autofill may not fill in your information.
- There will be NO REFUNDS given.
- There has been a huge demand for these in the past. We really did sell out in less than 4 minutes last year. When they are gone, they are gone.
- One per household, one per person.
Q: What's in the Mystery Stocking?
A: It wouldn't be much of a surprise if we told you, now would it?
Q: Will I definitely get my money worth?
A: Yep.
Q: Can I return it if I don't like it?
A: Nope. All sales final.
Q: What if I live outside the US?
A: Sorry, US only.
Q. How much is it?
A. $39.95 Plus $5 shipping
Q. When will it ship?
A. On or before December 10, 2022.
Q. What form of payment do you accept?
A. Credit cards only. Sorry, no Paypal for this.
Q. Can I ship to a different location than my billing address?
A. Yes
Q. I tried last year and didn't get one. Will I get one this year?
A. There is an overwhelming demand for Mystery Stocking. Be sure you have a fast internet connection and be ready when they go on sale. Last year we sold out in 3 min 33 seconds.
Q. I want to buy 5. How can I buy 5?
A. You can't. This year, we're limiting to one per household, so more people can get in on the fun!
Featuring the Adaptive Circuitry recently introduced on their Halcyon Green Overdrive, Origin Effects have brought us a pedal with a character all of its own and a new flavor of drive.
Origin Effects introduce the new M-EQ DRIVER mid booster & drive pedal. Based on a vintage Pultec studio EQ, this unique pedal offers a range of mid-focused tones, from a subtle mid boost to thick, resonant overdrive. Featuring the Adaptive Circuitry recently introduced on their Halcyon Green Overdrive, Origin Effects have brought us a pedal with a character all of its own and a new flavor of drive.
A choice of three mid-range frequencies ensures that you can boost just the right part of your guitar signal and, when pushed harder, can elicit a range of saturation from a classic “mid-hump” overdrive to fierce “cocked wah” distortion. Thanks to the Adaptive Circuitry, the high-end roll-off of the Cut control is reduced as the pedal cleans up. This allows for a smooth transition from warm overdrive to bright clean tones in response to playing dynamics or guitar volume knob changes.
Introducing... M-EQ DRIVER || Mid Booster & Drive
Built-in the UK to the highest standards, the M-EQ DRIVER continues the Origin Effects tradition of vintage, studio-inspired tones in modern guitar pedals. The Origin Effects M-EQ DRIVER is available now from Origin Effects dealers worldwide.
RRP: 259 GBP (Inc VAT) / 319 USD (Ex TAX)
For more information, please visit origineffects.com.