Carr Super Bee Demo - First Look
Crave big black-panel Fender feel in an amp that doesn’t bust eardrums? Carr's little brute delivers the substance and the sting.
Read More
Show less
Tube power and impressive cab sims make up a versatile do-it-all drive that’s a sweet value, too.
A variety of great drive tones packed into a versatile and well-designed pedal.
No option to stack channels in series. No independent headphone level control.
$299
Blackstar Dept. 10 Dual Drive
blackstaramps.com
4
4.5
4.5
5
Though they can still seem like a novelty, tube-loaded drive pedals have been with us for decades. The B.K. Butler Tube Driver arrived in the late ’70s. The Mesa/Boogie V-Twin, the Electro-Harmonix English Muff’n, and others popped up in the decades that followed. Now, a new push toward tube-driven pedals is afoot—fueled largely by the modeling boom, pedal preamps with impulse response and speaker-simulation capabilities, and the urge to lend tube color to both modes of amplification.
Blackstar’s new Dept. 10 Dual Drive, which is built to work at the front and back ends of a signal chain, has the potential to thrive in these environments. It’s one of three sibling pedals in a new line that includes a booster and a distortion.
From Dual to Quad
Before looking at the Dual Drive, it’s important to note that a single dual-triode preamp tube can’t drive all the gain-stage and EQ functions in a pedal of this complexity. So solid-state components play a big part in the Dual Drive circuit.
All recorded using a Gibson Les Paul with PAF-style humbuckers, via the Dept. 10 Dual Drive on Cab Rig setting #3, direct into a Universal Audio Apollo Twin Duo. A touch of room reverb added in Pro Tools. All knobs at noon, except Gain at 11 o’clock in Clip 1 and Clip 3.
- (PG Blackstar Dual Drive Ch1CL): Les Paul neck pickup
- (PG Blackstar Dual Drive Ch1CR): Les Paul middle position
- (PG Blackstar Dual Drive Ch2CR): Les Paul bridge pickup
- (PG Blackstar Dual Drive Ch2OD): Les Paul bridge pickup
The “Dept. 10” part of the product name comes from Blackstar’s R&D division, and it’s clear they weren’t content to make this tube-driven pedal a mere marketing exercise. Where other ostensibly tube-loaded pedals are let down by inadequate voltage, the single ECC83/12AX7 preamp tube in the Dual Drive is fed with more than 200 volts, ramped up internally from a traditional 9VDC external supply. And while the 2-channel design makes the Dual Drive impressively versatile, the interface is not cluttered or confusing.
Although the Dept. 10 Dual Drive is billed as a 2-channel overdrive pedal with independent footswitches for the two channels, it actually delivers four distinct boost-to-overdrive voices, thanks to the cl/cr switch on channel 1 and the cr/od switch on channel 2, which move between clean and crunch, and crunch and overdrive, respectively. (Yes, channel 1’s and channel 2’s crunch settings are subtly different.) Each channel has its own gain and level control, but they share an EQ stage with bass, middle, treble, and an ISF knob—a control that moves from American to British voicing as you twist it clockwise.
The two channels also share three speaker-and-cab emulation presets in the cab rig, which is selectable via a 3-way toggle. Blackstar tells us their IRs are generated via proprietary simulation technology, which facilitates deep editing of the cab rig sims via the company’s free downloadable Architect software. It’s easy to manage and connects via USB, enabling access to more than 250 virtual cabs and mics, variable mic positions, and room mic blends.
Connectivity options are streamlined but offer considerable utility. Using the input jack and standard output on the pedal effectively makes the Dual Drive an overdrive pedal and bypasses the cab rig, the XLR DI on the rear panel, and the TRS stereo cab rig output (which will also drive stereo headphones).The USB jack can be used for both editing and connecting to your DAW. There’s also a send and return for the effects loop so you can integrate reverb, delay, and modulation pedals into the rig. There are a few missed opportunities here. You can’t stack the channels, for instance. Still, the Dual Drive clearly offers a lot of fly-rig and pedalboard-based amplification options as is.
Rig simulations often outshined the conventional drive-pedal-into-amp sounds.
Drivin’ and Wailin’
I tested the Dept. 10 Dual Drive with a Les Paul and a Stratocaster—first using it as a traditional dirt pedal into the clean channel of a Tone King Sky King combo, and then working with its cab sims via studio monitors and the headphone output. Long story short: There are a lot of sounds to like here—most notably the amp rig simulations that often outshined the conventional drive’s pedal-into-amp sounds.
That doesn’t mean the Dual Drive falls short as an overdrive. On the contrary, the Dual Drive sounds righteous at many settings when driving the front of a clean tube amp. From subtle boost to easy crunch, to all-out high-gain strafing, the Dual Drive is instant access to many variations of chunky-to-sizzling dirt tones. And it’s easy to completely reshape these tones via the powerful 3-band EQ and ISF control. I was able to dial up plenty of bright, cutting voices that definitively put the “tubes are warm, transistors are bright” myth to rest. But it’s also easy to dial in rich, darker tones by staying in the first 30 percent of the treble control’s range.
Curiously, some of the Dual Drive’s most natural sounds came via the cab sims, headphones, and studio monitor. Admittedly, that might be because we’re all becoming more familiar and at ease with the playback-in-the-control-room sound generated by many cab-sim-loaded preamps and modelers. But the cab rig function sounded and felt great, which underscores its viability as a direct-to-PA solution for live use or direct-to-DAW recording.
The Verdict
Versatile, well-designed, and compact, the Dept. 10 Dual Drive brings a lot to the table for $299. It’s a powerful and flexible dual-channel overdrive. But it’s even more impressive as the centerpiece of a DI, pedalboard-based live rig, or a quick route to laying down solid studio tracks. The Dual Drive’s ability to excel in either application makes it a value worth playing and investigating.
Blackstar Dept. 10 Dual Drive Demo | First Look
Read More
Show less
overdrive
pedals
reviews
videos
blackstar amps
blackstar amplification
overdrive pedal
overdrive pedal review
overdrive review
review
pedal review
pedal reviews
gear review
gear
guitar pedal
guitar pedal review
guitar pedals
guitar overdrive
effects
effects pedals
effects pedal
blackstar
The foremost pedal for Nordic metal nastiness returns, more potent than ever.
A clever re-working of a classic metal-toned distortion, with enhanced versatility.
Arguably less versatile than Boss would like us to think.
$179
Boss HM-2W Waza Craft Heavy Metal
boss.info
4
5
4.5
4.5
It's comforting that Boss pedals haven't changed their basic look and format since the late '70s. For all the boutique marvels that have come and gone, opening a Boss box still instills a sense of reliability. Boss pedals aren't just comfortingly familiar and bulletproof, though. Many Boss circuits are groundbreaking, timeless classics that deliver distinctive sonic results. And there's a strong sense of classicism about the HM-2w Waza Craft Heavy Metal pedal, a revamped reissue of the popular distortion originally manufactured from 1983 to 1991.
The original HM-2 accidentally came to define the aggressive chainsaw grind of Swedish death metal. It also offered more traditional cranked-stack-in-a-box tones suitable for mellower metal (yeah, "mellow" is relative) and heavy rock. The new HM-2w Waza Craft excels at both, and is more potent, to boot.
Boss HM-2W Waza Craft Heavy Metal Review by premierguitar
Gibson Les Paul with humbuckers into Friedman Mini Dirty Shirley set for low gain/clean.
Clip 1 Standard Mode: Bridge pickup – Dist 3 o'clock, Hi 1 o'clock, Lo 2 o'clock, Level 1 o'clock; Standard mode.
Clip 2 Custom Mode: Bridge pickup – Dist 3 o'clock, Hi 1 o'clock, Lo 2 o'clock, Level 1 o'clock; Custom mode.
Waza Up
On the HM-2w, the classic Boss recessed control panel is home to four knobs for distortion, a "color mix" EQ section with high and low knobs, and a master output level. Waza Craft updates enter the picture in the form of a small slide switch on the crown that selects between original voicing (S, for standard) and a custom tuning (C) that's tighter and more aggressive. The pedal has a lower noise floor and 3 dB more output than the original, as well as an improved buffer when bypassed. Like the original, it also looks just plain mean.
Pedal to the Metal
The original HM-2 Heavy Metal was among the first pedals to wear the amp-in-a-box mantle. Don't let that loose classification fool you, though. The HM-2w Waza Craft is a full-blooded distortion pedal. You wouldn't exactly call it "tube-y." But scooped sizzle and doomy buzz saw harmonic saturation? It has loads of that on tap. The reduced noise helps explore those textures with a lot more confidence, too.
The "C" mode adds some gain, saturation, and punch, with just a little more push in the mids and some added upper-mid/treble bite.
While Boss claims the HM-2w Waza Craft is capable of lower-gain tones—a little classic rock or vintage metal, perhaps—the pedal's priorities are clearly more metal-aligned. Crank all four knobs and you'll feel your amp blazing and sounding joyously evil in the process. To say the HM-2w pushes a front end is an understatement. Generally, the pedal's voice is predisposed toward a scooped EQ profile, but the color mix knobs, while not super rangy, are effective at dialing in some variations.
The "S" mode does a great job of copping the original tones. The "C" mode, meanwhile, adds gain, saturation, and punch, with just a little more push in the mids and some added upper-mid/treble bite. I'd call it contemporary rather than more aggressive. But it proved to be my favorite mode in a pedal that offers many cool, super-fun paths to metal mayhem.
The Verdict
Built like a Boss and packed with distortion power, the HM-2w Waza Craft does a great job re-creating the original Heavy Metal's chainsaw grind and, somehow, adds muscle and headroom for extended modern metal hijinks. The HM-2w has a strong personality, and some shoppers might want to gauge how retro and transformed they want their amp distortion and associated dynamics to be. But if you're on board, the HM-2w delivers a breed of proto-metal distortion that's in a league of its own.
Read More
Show less
review
reviews
+pedal-reviews
hm-2
heavy metal pedal
heavy metal boss
boss pedals
swedish death metal
chainsaw
buzzsaw
guitar pedal
pedals
pedal review
pedal reviews
effects
effects pedal
high gain
distortion
overdrive
distortion pedal
distortion review
distortion pedal review
waza craft
grind
boss
