Life sometimes presents us with two options , only one of which we can choose . Well . . . almost . Totally Wycked Audio wants us to have it both ways , and the company seems to have succeeded . Its Hot Saké pedal blends distortion and overdrive into one unit . That ’ s correct , it ’ s a pedal with distortion that responds like overdrive . And it ’ s flexible , too . Whether it ’ s just a little dirt or soul-crushing distortion , the Hot Saké will deliver .
As some readers might recall , distortion differs from overdrive in that the former is less responsive to playing dynamics or input volume . Once the distortion pedal ’ s clicked on , no matter how loud the instrument volume is , the output will be distorted rather evenly . Overdrive , on the other hand , tends to be more dynamic . Roll back the volume for cleaner tones , and roll it up for a dirtier , louder tone .
For cleaner tones , you ’ ll have to roll back the volume on the instrument . In this way , the Hot Saké behaves just like any other overdrive pedal . The clean tones were warm and only
hinted at the ferocity of the pedal ’ s distortion at higher levels . TWA isn ’ t kidding around in the literature : The Hot Sake delivers a steaming hot serving of distortion even at the noon position of the Drive knob . I was really surprised by this .
The Hot Saké features a low boost toggle for adding in a hefty amount of low end . I ’ d say that the pedal ’ s default “ no boost ” is pretty even and transparent . But where ’ s the fun in that ? To kick things up a notch , TWA ’ s low boost will add super-saturated low end for a contemporary sound . The
GEAR SPOTLIGHT
TOTALLY WYCKED AUDIO
HOT SAKÉ
REVIEW BY DAVID A . EVANS STREET PRICE $ 189.00
Life sometimes presents us with two options , only one of which we can choose . Well . . . almost . Totally Wycked Audio wants us to have it both ways , and the company seems to have succeeded . Its Hot Saké pedal blends distortion and overdrive into one unit . That ’ s correct , it ’ s a pedal with distortion that responds like overdrive . And it ’ s flexible , too . Whether it ’ s just a little dirt or soul-crushing distortion , the Hot Saké will deliver .
As some readers might recall , distortion differs from overdrive in that the former is less responsive to playing dynamics or input volume . Once the distortion pedal ’ s clicked on , no matter how loud the instrument volume is , the output will be distorted rather evenly . Overdrive , on the other hand , tends to be more dynamic . Roll back the volume for cleaner tones , and roll it up for a dirtier , louder tone .
For cleaner tones , you ’ ll have to roll back the volume on the instrument . In this way , the Hot Saké behaves just like any other overdrive pedal . The clean tones were warm and only
hinted at the ferocity of the pedal ’ s distortion at higher levels . TWA isn ’ t kidding around in the literature : The Hot Sake delivers a steaming hot serving of distortion even at the noon position of the Drive knob . I was really surprised by this .
The Hot Saké features a low boost toggle for adding in a hefty amount of low end . I ’ d say that the pedal ’ s default “ no boost ” is pretty even and transparent . But where ’ s the fun in that ? To kick things up a notch , TWA ’ s low boost will add super-saturated low end for a contemporary sound . The
50 GEAR SPOTLIGHT // Totally Wycked Audio Hot Saké