We first encountered KMA Machines way back in 2014, and we’ve really enjoyed watching them grow to be the powerhouse effects company they are today. They’ve been supportive of us as well, and we love every time they release a new pedal for us to check out. Today, we’ve got possibly the end-all be-all dirt pedal for you – the Guardian of the Wurm Distortion / Noise Gate. Combining on of KMA’s best pieces of gear with a superb noise suppressor and adding in a TON of options, this one is gonna burn down the house…
The original Wurm Distortion is KMA’s unabashed sonic love letter to the classic Boss HM-2 MIJ Heavy Metal, utilizing aspects of that pedal while developing a more flexible distortion at the same time. Keeping the HM-2’s dual band EQ section, they’ve added 2 more bands, for a total of 4 fully customizable sliders, each with their own dedicated center-frequency control. This provides exquisite fine-tuning of your sound, taming the distortion in any way you see fit. There’s also an EQ Style switch, letting you choose either the classic HM-2, or KMA Mode, which is more tonal balanced, less peaky and a bit wider in response.
The Master knob sets your overall output volume, while Gain controls the amount of distortion present. The always-welcome Blend knob lets you mix your clean signal in with the distortion, providing more low end and overall beef to your sound. This Distortion side is activated by the Terror footswitch, while the Noise Gate portion comes from the Tame switch. This noise suppressor is based on the high-performance Blackmer® VCA, providing lightning fast and precise performance. You can control the gate with an external trigger source as well (see our demo), for more on-the-fly experimentation and sound creation.
Want more?? you got it! The Guardian of the Wurm also comes equipped with a TRS FX-Loop that works between the Distortion and Noise Gate sections. This provides a way to insert whatever fun noise-making gear you wish in between the two, opening up more sonic possibilities than you could dream of. You can even use this jack to put the Noise Gate section in your amplifier’s FX Loop if you wish, ’cause why not?
Run these effects independently, or switch to “Synched Mode” for them to both turn on whenever the pedal is engaged – it’s all up to you how you want to destroy eardrums with this thing. Building on one of our seriously all-time favorite distortions (the original Wurm), the Guardian of the Wurm takes high gain into the stratosphere and beyond. Cheers as always to KMA Machines on a spectacular piece of gear – get more info and grab one for yourself over on their website, right after you hear it in action in our demo video below (don’t forget to subscribe while you’re there)…
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