Man, the little guys have just been KILLING it lately! Today’s fantastic piece of gear represents how the smaller companies around the world are creating amazing effects, not just the ones here in the States. The Narwhal Distortion Fuzz from PLBR Effects comes to us all the way from Croatia, and apparently, there’s something in the water there, because this pedal is just incredible.
Distortion and Fuzz are not usually combined into one pedal, but after rocking the Narwhal for a bit, it’s difficult to see why. These two seemingly different effects genres actually play really nicely together, and are able to coincide and overlap with the greatest of ease. Volume, Tone and Fuzz make up the top row of parameters, each with a good spectrum of sonic choices to explore, the Fuzz especially, as it will really broaden your musical palette.
The Tone control has a couple of different uses, especially regarding the Shape toggle – #1 Mode gives you a punchy mid-range tone, while #2 Mode produces a scooped mids type of tone. A “TB” switch bypasses the Tone and Shape controls, leaving you with an open, more distorted sound that will really crush your amp. Finally, two separate gain toggles adjust the varying clipping stages, with Silicon (compressed) Diode, No Diode (less compressed and loud) and LED (open, with more distortion) Diode selections, which vastly open up what the Narwhal is capable of doing.
Plug it in, twist a couple knobs and you’re good to go. Sit down with it, coax out a plethora of sounds over the course of a couple hours, and you’ve got a true “lifer” pedal. It runs great through either a clean or slightly dirty amp, and plays well with both guitar AND bass, instantly doubling the field it can cover. The big “horn” that is present on a real Narwhal is actually a tooth (fun fact!), and if you’re looking for a biting distortion with some fuzz and a whole lot of teeth, you’ve come to the right place with this rad beast. Cheers to PLBR Effects for a wicked dirt pedal creation – stay tuned for more reviews of their gear right here at Pedal of the Day, head over to their website to see their full lineup and don’t forget to check out the demo below!
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