Why do my different pedal designs exist?
Why do these different Pedals exist?
In the past, I have been less than stellar at explaining WHY
we release a pedal… this is entirely my fault but usually it’s because I got too excited about getting the pedal into people’s hands. With every release there is method to the madness, a solid reason for the pedal to exist and improve
your tone. Our pedals typically exist to solve a perceived issue and/or ensure that in the segment of the pedal world they fit, they excel at what they are supposed to do. So, to that end I will try over the next few months to choose a pedal in our range and explain WHY it exists. Short answer at bottom :)
Leading from the front, the Peacekeeper:
The Peacekeeper is my take on a versatile low gain pedal. I
have long admired the versatility of pedals like the Tubescreamer, Klon, Bluesbreaker, Timmy etc. All of them have qualities that suit the usage they are designed for. What I wanted to do is make a pedal that gives you all the strengths of other low gain pedals but with more ability to mould them to your needs and enhance the amp and pedals you already have.
First off, I chose the gain levels to fall into a very wide
range, from crystal clear with a touch of hair through to a low/mid gain level. This gain range covers most uses including stacking with amplifiers that are on the edge or with other pedals.
Onto the tone controls, despite the awesome simplicity of a
standard tone control, I wanted to offer more flexibility and decided to offer a nonconventional EQ. The Bass and the Treble control are both active and placed "post drive" in the circuit. This allows you to scoop or peak each frequency after the drive level has been set, which means that the Peacekeeper can be
tailored to the amp or drive pedal you have. This design choice is important because rather than awkwardly fitting in with your requirements the Peacekeeper can be tailored to fit and enhance no matter what amp you use.
However, the Peacekeeper's secret sauce is the presence
control. Strictly speaking this is a control over the mids within the pedal, but it’s been placed before drive. The reason for the location move is so that the presence can do more than just affect the mids, it affects the character of the drive available. From a scooped fender sound to a mid-focussed overdrive
like a marshal.
The way the presence works is exactly how a treble booster
affects an amplifier, acting as a frequency focussed boost. Exciting the front end but over a specific range. Again, this has a massive effect on the character of the pedal and really sets it up to be whatever you want or need it to be.
TLDR: So why Peacekeeper? Because it adapts to your needs, it works with loads of rigs, can improve your core amplifier drive or stack and enhance your overdrives or fuzz pedals.
Also Check out this awesome video by the Studio Rats