12/10/2020 6 'Stack-in-a-Box' Pedals You Need to Check Out | Sweetwater

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6 ‘Stack-in-a-Box’ Pedals You Need to Check Out

By Nick Bowcott on Aug 31, 2018, 8:00 AM
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Thankfully, this article has nothing to do with greasy fast food. Instead, it has to do with the
relatively new and fast-growing amp-in-a-box guitar pedal category — namely, stompboxes
that emulate the tone of specific amps. As I’m an unashamed metalhead, I’m going to zone in on
the heavier, high-gain members of this fiendish family.

“What separates an alleged ‘amp-in-a-box’ from an overdrive or distortion pedal with some tone
controls?” I hear you understandably ask. Well, in a nutshell, there are two essential prerequisites
that have to both be satisfied for a pedal to be a part of the amp-in-a-box category — one or
t’other is not good enough. These two criteria are:

1. Convincingly capturing the right distortion/overdrive characteristic for the amp being “boxed.”
2. Nailing the sound and behavior of said amp’s all-important tone network: a vital and unique sonic
fingerprint of any and all great amps.
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and are well worth checking out This stated please do NOT misinterpret my enthusiastic
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and are well worth checking out. This stated, please do NOT misinterpret my enthusiastic
endorsement as me saying that, for example, a Friedman BE-OD or a Diezel VH4 are (way more
affordable!) replacements for the actual BE-100 and VH4 amp heads, respectively! Always
remember: we’re talking about tubes (preamp and power amp), transformers, brilliant designs,
plus incredible feel and tone, in the aforementioned pair of highly revered, air-pummeling amps,
folks. So, while the BE-OD and VH4 pedals both kick major butt and will impart a cool BE-100
and VH4 (the sacred Channel 3!) essence to any decent pedal-platform amp, please always
remember this truth: there is a major difference between emulation and duplication.

Now in a perfect world, we’d all have a vast collection of killer amps in our possession. But sadly,
few of us have the space, let alone the cash, to make this wonderful dream a reality! So, until
you win the lottery, the six amp-in-a-box pedals about to be discussed are all wonderful options
that will get you in the desired tonal ballpark without breaking the bank. For example: if you own
a Marshall DSL40CR combo and would love to get a Mesa Rectifier tone for a tune or two, then
plugging a Wampler Triple Wreck pedal into the clean channel of your Marshall will definitely
prove close enough for rock ‘n’ roll.

Here are some particulars of my six amp-in-a-box pedal picks, in no specific order:

MXR EVH 5150 Overdrive Pedal

IMHO, the simple fact that this one has the royal approval
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relevant. After all, when it comes to righteous rock-guitar
tone, Mr. Van Halen is a globally revered authority. That
said, here’s the skinny on this black, stealth-striped
beauty’s features:

Controls: Output, Bass, Mid, Treble, and Gain plus

adjustable (noise) Gate and fixed Boost switch.

Power: 9 volts via battery or optional power supply (not included).

Bottom Line: The fixed Boost is a nice feature that adds flexibility, as you can back off the Gain
control and use the Boost button to front-end the pedal, which gives the resulting overdrive a
subtle but noticeably different feel (compression) and sound. The built-in, adjustable Gate mini
control (which lights up yellow when the gate is active) is a definite bonus too — especially at
high-gain settings. Add to that EVH’s sonic seal of approval, and it’s easy to see why the 5150
Overdrive is so popular.

Other Stuff: At 2018’s Winter NAMM, I was asked to guest on three songs by Fender Custom
Shop guru John Cruz, as his band was opening for Gary Hoey. As it was literally a throw-and-go
affair, I asked for a “decent clean” and then ran my EVH 5150 Overdrive and MXR Analog
Chorus. All were blown away by the tone — despite my dodgy playing!

Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra

The manufacturers boldly claim that this compact, eye-
catching, made-in-the-USA stompbox is “early Sabbath in
a box.” I plugged in, played my favorite riffs from the
Master of Reality album on a detuned SG sporting really
light strings (an oft overlooked but essential factor in Tony
Iommi’s tonal recipe, as his light strings have a very
different sound and feel to heavier ones) and concurred!

To be more precise, the Sabbra Cadabra emulates the

unique sound of Mr. Iommi’s early rig: namely, a modified
Rangemaster Treble Booster pedal front-ending a Laney
Supergroup amp (see TTT below). The Sabbra Cadabra
has four controls to help further shape your sound.

Controls: Presence, Gain, Vol 4 (great name — none more

apt!), and Range. The first three of these are pretty self-
explanatory; the Range now does the following: to add
further flexibility, it goes from treble boost only
(anticlockwise) to a full-range boost (as you turn it clockwise).

Power: 9-volt Thistowebsite

18-voltuses
power supply
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Tonal Note: To my (admittedly damaged) ears and fingers, while 18-volt power increases the
h d f h d l i l i h
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headroom of the pedal, nine volts is the way to go, as it adds desirable “squash” to the sound.

Bottom Line: By using light strings and a 9-volt power supply, with a little tweaking, you can get
pretty darned close to the tone Tony coaxed from his “rig of doom” that made the first four
Sabbath albums. “Into the Void,” anyone?!

TTT (Tony Tonal Trivia): as revealed to Brad Tolinski in an amazing interview in the January 2018
issue of Guitar World.

1. Because “there was no such thing as a preamp when we started Sabbath,” Tony’s inventive mind decided
to “overload” the front of his amp with a Dallas Rangemaster that had been modified by a friend of his “to
add even more gain.”
2. What was the exact nature of the mod Tony’s friend did? Sadly, we’ll never know, as a guy the guitarist
“hired to modify some Marshalls threw the thing away,” Iommi revealed. “Truth is, I’ve never been able to
replicate that exact sound since.”

JHS Sweet Tea V3 2-in-1 Dual Overdrive Pedal

As its rather lengthy title reveals, this handbuilt bad boy is actually two JHS pedals in one: an
Angry Charlie V3 and a Moonshine V2.

Just in case you aren’t aware, the Angry Charlie* is a rightfully renowned emulation of a hot-
rodded Marshall, and — thanks to its convincing capture of a JCM800’s signature, tight, “punch
in the chest” mid-range thump — this metal monster can Marshall-ize a good clean channel
with a single, deft stomp.

Note: What’s in a name? And why is the Angry Charlie called that? Well, here’s my simple
theory: the “JCM” in JCM800 are the initials of the late, great James Charles (Jim) Marshall –
the man behind those legendary British Marshall amps. So “Charlie” comes from that, and
“Angry” comes from the fact that the pedal’s tone emulates a hot-rodded, fire-breathing
JCM800.

As for the Moonshine, well, that’s inspired by the highly desirable, mid-bump overdrive created
by a very famous green OD pedal. And, as many know, a sizeable chunk (bad pun intended) of
overdriven Marshall tones considered classic were created by pushing the front end of a
Marshall stack with the aforementioned legendary green OD pedal.

So, for the reasons just mentioned, the Angry Charlie/Moonshine combination is a pretty
powerful combo.

Controls: The Angry Charlie side (left) has Volume,

Drive, Bass, Middle, and Treble — all self-
explanatory, but it should be pointed out that, like a
lot of amps-in-a-box, the tone controls are active
(namely: they cut and boost), while the same
controls
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12/10/2020
switch that goes between high and low gain.
6 'Stack-in-a-Box' Pedals You Need to Check Out | Sweetwater
The Moonshine side (right) has Volume, Drive,
Tone, and Clean. The Clean allows you to
determine how much of your unaffected signal is
blended in. There’s also a 2-position proof toggle

There’s also an order toggle switch between the two pedals that allows you to decide the order
of the Angry Charlie and Moonshine in your signal path — more about that in a minute, as this is
a super-cool feature.

Power: 9-volt power supply (not included) — no battery option.

Bottom Line: In addition to being able to echo the much lauded and sought-after tone of a
Marshall JCM800 being front-ended with a Tube Screamer, the order toggle also allows you to
place the Moonshine after the Angry Charlie. Why is this cool? Because this order allows you to
use the Moonshine as a second master volume to make your solos louder — plus add a little
more grit too. How? Because cranking the volume of the Moonshine (or any boost pedal for that
matter) going into an already heavily overdriven pedal or amp will only serve to increase the
distortion, NOT the volume, because there’s no headroom left to play with. But, by doing it after
the overdrive, you can.

Consequently, the Sweet Tea is not only a 2-in-1 in terms of pedals, but also in terms of valid,
usable options. Plus, as already mentioned, it nails that classic Marshall punch. Nice.

Diezel VH4 Distortion Pedal

In the world of high-gain, all-tube amps, the German-made
Diezel VH4 Distortion/Overdrive pedal is indeed a force to be
reckoned with. This monstrous beast has been used by many
metal heavyweights, including Metallica, Korn, and Tool. And,
of its four channels, the third (a.k.a. “Mega”) channel is the one
that made it an instant high-gain icon. So when Mr. Peter
Diezel, the creator of the VH4, builds a pedal that emulates said
channel, you know said stompbox will be a force to be
reckoned with.

The majority of metal axemen gravitate towards the VH4’s third

channel, not only because of its immense high-gain capability,
but also because of its articulate musical tone and incredibly
wide, low-end girth that you can quite literally feel as well as
hear. To that end, the VH4 pedal’s Presence control allows you
to dial in musical bite while the Deep knob delivers the VH4 amp’s trademark, low-end might,
lurking around 80Hz–90Hz.

Controls: Gain, Treble, uses

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Power: 12-volt DC power supply with international adapters (supplied) — no battery option.
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Bottom Line: The simple fact that this particular amp-in-a-box was designed and manufactured
by the very same man who designed and manufactured the monster amp it emulates — the
lauded Diezel VH4 — literally speaks volumes. Just like said amp’s third channel, it is musical and
articulate with a brutal, tight, low-end girth.

Friedman BE-OD Overdrive Pedal

In recent times, one of the most respected newcomers to the
world of high-gain, all-tube guitar amp design is Friedman
amplification. Highly lauded, hard-rocking players such as
Jerry Cantrell, Steve Stevens, and Bill Kelliher of Mastodon all
have signature Friedman heads, and the company’s 2-channel,
100-watt, all-tube BE-100 head is deservedly hailed as a
modern-day, high-gain classic with a decidedly “British” EL34-
powered tone.

So, as is the case with the Diezel VH4 pedal, when the man
behind Friedman, Dave Friedman himself, creates a compact
amp-in-a-box device that puts the much sought-after tone of
the BE-100 head on your pedalboard, you immediately take it
seriously — very seriously.

Made in the good ol’ US of A, the roadworthy BE-OD also

offers true bypass when not engaged. And armed with many of the same exact controls as the
BE-100 head it emulates, the BE-OD does not disappoint.

Controls: Bass, Treble, Pres, Vol, Gain, and Tight

Power: 9-volt to 18-volt DC power supply (not included) — no battery option.

Bottom Line: Even with the Gain control “off” (i.e., fully counterclockwise), the BE-OD offers up a
great fat, rock overdrive sound — low-gain it is not! Fret not, though. If you do want a lower-
gain option, then there’s an internal trimpot you can adjust to do exactly that. IMHO, though, the
pedal is perfect right out of the box. When you turn the Gain control higher, it just gets gnarlier
and gnarlier — in a wonderful, musical, high-gain way! The Bass, Treble, and Presence controls
give you more than enough flexibility to fine-tune the exact tone you’re looking for via the amp
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you’re driving. As for the Tight control — well, it does exactly what it suggests. When it is turned
counterclockwise, the lows are kinda loose, wide, and “saggy.” Then, as you turn it up 11
Searchyour
for music gear MENU
(clockwise), bottom gets, wait for it … yep, tighter! Case closed.

Wampler Triple Wreck High-gain Distortion Pedal

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when it comes to making great-sounding amps-in-a-box,
you know the desired tone will emanate from it. In
addition to the modern rectified distortion it offers, the
Triple Wreck also boasts a Boost switch that is controlled
by one Boost Contour knob. What this added feature does
is enable you to add some more flavor options to your
sound — from merely boosting the gain (Boost Contour
turned anticlockwise) to adding a gloriously flubby, fuzzy
vibe to it (now clockwise) in varying degrees.

Controls: Volume, Gain, Treble, Mid, Bass, and Boost

Contour (activated by footswitchable Boost), plus a Hard/Brutal 2-way toggle switch (read on).

Power: 9-volt to 18-volt* DC power supply (not included) or 9-volt battery.

*Important Tonal Note: according to the manual, the Triple Wreck is “intended to sound its best
at 9V.”

Bottom Line: Just like the amp it emulates, the USA-built Triple Wreck is a high-gain monster
with a distinctively deep and wide low-end thump. The Hard/Brutal voicing switch does exactly
what it suggests — the Hard setting is warm and wide, Brutal is brighter, more in-your-face and
much more, er, brutal! The footswitchable Boost Contour is a nice touch, as it enables you to go
from a crushing, scooped rhythm crunch to a warmer, fatter lead tone (with said control set
higher).

Conclusion
The pedals featured are a mere surface scratch on a fast-growing family of tonally viable amp-
in-a-box pedals. As stated at the very onset, while none of them will ever replace the amps
they’re inspired by, all six do their job incredibly well.

So check some of these bad boys out. They might well satisfy your hunger for new, inspiring,
high-gain metal tones without breaking the bank!

About Nick Bowcott

British-born, Nick Bowcott was the founder, leader and riff writer for the mid '80s
NWOBHM cult band, Grim Reaper...but please don't hold that against him. He has
since worked at Marshall amps (for over 2 decades) & Jackson/Charvel/EVH. He
now works for Sweetwater as a writer & video-maker.
Read more articles by Nick »

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