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MI Effects Now Shipping Super Crunch Box

MI Effects are pleased to announce the Super Crunch Box distortion pedal is now shipping.

Sydney, Australia (April 17, 2013) -- MI Effects are pleased to announce the Super Crunch Box distortion pedal is now shipping to all MI Audio retailers. The latest incarnation of the classic Crunch Box now has a whole new feature set whilst still staying true to the original, making this pedal one of the most anticipated effects pedal releases of the year.

There is no guitar tone more classic than the British, stack-of-amps distortion. It has shaped the sound of rock and roll for generations, and inspired guitarists from bedrooms to arenas. However, we do not all have the luxury of a full-stack at our disposal and we have had to obtain that tone by other means. The original MI Effects Crunch Box distortion was launched in 2005 and immediately transformed the smallest of rigs into a JCM800 on steroids, giving every six stringer the amount of gain that would make Eddie Van Halen erupt.

The MI Effects Crunch Box has seen three versions in its lifetime – each one firmly cementing the Crunch Box as “the” pedal for the amp-stack tone. But with the new Super Crunch Box we wanted to give all of the crunch-lovers something more – to give them a pedal so flexible, it can nail any British sound from any era from the psychedelic 60’s, to the glam-rock 80’s and beyond!

So what’s new in the latest Super Crunch Box?

  • 18V Internal Voltage Supply
  • External PRESENCE Control
  • LO/HI Gain Modes
  • Three COMPRESSION Modes

This expanded feature set and circuit redesign delivers more than any other British-inspired drive pedal. Experience it all from the touch-sensitivity, feel, response and extended top-end of the classic “Plexi” amps, to the super-saturated, harmonically-rich soaring lead tones one would get from a “José” modded JCM.

All previous MI Effects pedals had been designed to take up to 24V DC. This extra voltage, as opposed to the standard 9V, supplied the pedal with more headroom, giving more clarity in the top-end and a tighter bottom end. However, the Super Crunch Box has an internal voltage doubling circuit that takes 9V only (via battery or DC supply) and provides the circuit with 18V giving a bigger, tighter and more responsive amplification that not only sounds great cranked, but also excels at combining with your favourite overdrives and fuzzes for an even bigger sound!

The internal PRESENCE control in the original Crunch Box design was implemented to integrate the pedal with every user’s amp setup. By placing the PRESENCE as an external control, some great sounds can be pulled that sit well in a mix, and also provides more control with a wide range of guitars, pickups, speakers and amps. The balance with the TONE control is vital as dialling in more treble can cut through really well, but the lows won’t feel as powerful, so use it with that in mind. Want to rock it old school? Just leave the presence at 50% and proceed as normal.

The new LO GAIN mode adds a great amount of versatility that will suit many different playing styles and eras of rock. The Super Crunch Box really cleans up well with the guitar volume knob and pickup selection whilst retaining a thick, glassy, “Plexi” tone with no treble loss. Hit the strings hard and you get that crunch growl, or pick softly for that well-defined clean tone. It still has a lot of gain (it is a Crunch Box after all!) but with a faster attack, more string definition and bite than the classic HI GAIN mode. All of the control is now in your hands and not at your feet.

Like the LO GAIN mode, the three COMPRESSION modes aim to tap in to the both ends of the gain spectrum. The switch selects between three different clipping structures; Mode 1 provides the same clipping as the original whereas Mode 2 provides an even more saturated and compressed drive sound with a volume dip reminiscent of the popular “José” mods. Mode 0 provides a softer clipping of the signal, but with a higher output giving one of the fastest note attacks you’ll find in pedal format – a perfect combination with the LO GAIN mode for stacking with other drive pedals, or pushing an already distorted overdrive channel.

The Super Crunch Box is the next step in the Crunch Box evolution, and truly delivers beyond what we could have hoped for. This pedal covers the full range of the British, wall-of-amps tone spectrum like no other, providing an overdrive or distorted sound that you will just keep coming back to.

Street Price: $149.95

For more information:
MI Effects