You could WIN 4 Pedals from Empress Effects during this exclusive giveaway! Enter by Dec. 26 2023.
Empress Effects Buffer+ I/O Interface Pedal
The Empress buffer+ was designed to be the complete I/O interface for the pedal board, while maintaining the highest fidelity to your guitar's signal.
Signal loss due to long, un-buffered cable runs is an issue that has plagued guitar players for decades. The primary goal of the buffer+ is to eliminate this signal loss, ensuring that your tone is unchanged by your cables.
Additionally, all the connectivity of your pedal board is consolidated to make set up quick and easy. The buffer+ also has a very handy set of features that make life just a little better. Noise filters, input pads, switchable clean boost and input loading are all powerful tools available on the buffer+
Empress Effects Guitar Compressor Mk II - Silver
When we released our original Compressor back in 2011, it quickly became a favourite among guitar and bass players alike who were searching for something more than the typical oversimplified controls found on most compressor pedals. Now, based on our users’ valuable feedback, we’ve taken everything great about our original Compressor and made it even better.
On top of the full range of features and controls normally only seen in high end studio equipment, such as input and gain reduction metering, independent attack and release controls, a mix knob for parallel compression, and an external sidechain insert, we’ve now added a ‘tilt’ tone eq control, and a selectable sidechain high pass filter built into the Compressor’s detection circuit. Oh, and the whole package is now half the size and available in two snazzy colours!
Empress Effects ParaEq MKII Deluxe Equalizer and Boost Pedal
The ParaEq MKII and ParaEq MKII Deluxe are successors to Empress Effects' original parametric EQ pedal. Both offer 3 parametric bands of EQ, a boost function with up to 30 dB of gain, and true or buffered bypass modes. The Deluxe version adds fully variable bandwidth controls, low-pass and high-pass filters, and Baxandall low- and high-shelf filters for exceptional control and fidelity.
Empress Effects Heavy Menace Distortion Pedal
The Heavy Menace is the most versatile distortion pedal we’ve ever created. It’s an evolution of our original Heavy with new features and a compact enclosure.
In addition to the original Heavy and Heavier modes, the Heavy Menace adds a new Lite(ish) mode, covering any high-gain sound from classic hard rock to searing modern metal.
Power to do damage, headroom for days, and class A/AB switching that transforms tone.
An understated, utilitarian buffer/boost/preamp that can profoundly reshape your tones.
RatingsPros:Intuitive and transformative impedance control. Excellent transparent boost. Includes AmpliTube 4. Cons: Feature set might be overkill for some. Street: $149 IK Multimedia Z-Tone Buffer Boost ikmultimedia.com | Tones: Ease of Use: Build/Design: Value: |
In its relatively nondescript matte-black aluminum enclosure, the Italy-made Z-Tone Buffer Boost isn’t likely to stoke longing at a glance. But plug one in and you may find its pure utility hard to live without.
But calling the Z-Tone Buffer Boost merely a buffer/boost sells it short. Yes, it offers up to 10 dB of relatively transparent boost and +/- 8 dB of output gain. But it also offers the flexible impedance control from IK’s AXE I/O interface, a feature that can dramatically change the way pickups interact with the rest of your rig. Engineers can write volumes on these esoteric electronic relationships, but the impedance control makes it easy to feel your way to the best match between your guitar and pedalboard—or for that matter, a less ideal match that coaxes unusual but useful tones.
There are switches for accommodating active or passive pickups, as well as for moving between transparent “pure” boost and a more colorful and midrange-y JFET boost. And useful routing options include a balanced XLR output and a link output that mirrors the input so you can route to multiple sources. Add in a full, downloadable version of the AmpliTube 4 modeling application, and the Z-Tone Buffer Boost might be the most flexible pedal value you didn’t know you needed.
Test Gear: Fender Telecaster Deluxe, black-panel Fender Vibrolux