MODTONE
DIRTY DUO
REVIEW BY
FLETCHER STEWART
STREET PRICE
$119.99
THE TONE OF
THE BLUESOME
TWOSOME
How many overdrives
does it take to satisfy a
tone seeker? According
to supply and demand,
there is no number high
enough. There are so many
overdrives available now,
that those with enough time
and cash could spend the
rest of their lives stacking,
tweaking and sculpting
different gain structures.
While this pursuit is fun
and addictive, Modtone
asks a more productive and
immediate question—how
many overdrives does it
take to cover the needs of a
working, creative guitarist?
52
GEAR REVIEW
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The answer comes in the
form of a robust, sparkly
blue twin overdrive pedal.
Sound familiar? Those that
have been in the boutique
game long enough will
remember the classic
Fulltone Full-Drive and
its variant offspring. I am
here to tell you that the
Dirty Duo isn’t just a mere
boosted Screamer type of
job—it can do much more.
Instead of thinking about
the Dirty Duo as an
overdrive and boost in one
box, one can think off it as
two completely different
types of overdrive designed
to compliment each other.
Or, even an overdrive into
a high-headroom pedalModTone Dirty Duo
hungry amp when the Dirty
Duo is run into a clean,
flat platform. Overdrive 1
goes from boost to drive
to torrential saturation with
the extra gain switch in the
up position. This tone sings
with a juicy, yet cutting
voice that never sounds
choked or nasally—despite
its well-endowed midrange
content. Overdrive 2
employs a super low-noise
op-amp for an amp-like
dynamic that is far more
open and uncompressed.
Clever.
CASCADING
SHADES OF GAIN
To me, it seems the Dirty
Duo is best used in front of
a clean amp. Starting with