SLOstortion - American High Gain Distortion
Taking big sounds and putting them in small boxes is a specialty of Brian's, but
trying to recreate the well-loved and unique, responsive, chewy-chunky tone of
the Soldano® SLO-100® was a special challenge.
Brian has always been impressed by the sounds guitarists using that classic
amplifier have been able to get over the years, and some of his favorite rock
bands feature sounds provided in whole or part by the SLO-100® drive channel.
Getting this one right was a personal goal, paying homage to a sound that
redefined American high-gain.
The SLOstortion adds some major power to the amp-in-a-box style pedal series
and brings with it tones that instantly recall the "guitar gods" of the '80s through
to today.
On top of that, it's a 2-in-1 pedal, with a separately activated and adjusted clean
boost (coming after the distortion side of the pedal) that has a certain special
character, great for use with the SLOstortion to crank up the volume with your
foot, but well-matched to any other pedals, and of course great to slam your amp
with.
It's a very strong package, we think you'll love it!
To get the most out of your new pedal, you'll want to become very familiar with the controls. The SLOstortion's distortion side has
a full complement of controls: 3-band EQ with controls for Treble, Middle and Bass, as well as Gain, a Crunch/Overdrive toggle,
and Volume. The Boost side of the pedal has its own control, labeled Boost, and a footswitch that acts separately from the
SLOstortion's distortion side. As with all Wampler Pedals products, the SLOstortion includes high-quality true-bypass switching
which takes either side completely out of the signal path when bypassed. Experiment and enjoy!
Bypass Switches–
Two true-bypass footswitches ensures solid, mechanical removal of the circuits when they aren't wanted,
meaning you don't lose any tone when the pedal is off. Each side has its own LED, so you'll know when one or the other (or both)
are engaged/bypassed.
Volume –
This control adjusts the output level of the SLOstortion. There's plenty of volume on tap in either Crunch/Overdrive
mode, so whether you want to go farther than your input level or just make sure it can do unity volume (the same level of signal
going out as you feed it, when active), you're covered. The Gain, 3-band EQ (especially Middle!) knobs, and the mode that its in all
have an impact on total output volume level, so you're probably better off waiting to adjust the Volume until you've dialed in the
other controls. Re-adjustment might be necessary if you get it to the desired level and still need to tweak the sound.
Gain –
This control, in conjunction with the Crunch/Overdrive Toggle, lets you dial in anything from a light overdrive that's nearly
clean to a fully saturated, heavy distortion, without losing responsiveness to your playing and input.
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