pedal runs the gamut from straight-up
vintage overdrive through to faux treble
booster-style tones, without the need
for a cranked amp, and fixed wah-style
tones. It definitely has its own character.
Transparent it is not.
CHRISTIAN LIVINGSTONE
he Sonic Tailor is a pet project
inspired by a Swedish friend’s love
of all things midrange.
T
A couple of years ago my friend had a
sound in his head and kept chasing it by
asking me to build him various pedals:
treble boosters, fixed wahs, fuzz pedals
with bass cuts and modded overdrives.
All came and went while chasing this
elusive sound. One day, I sat down with
my breadboard determined to nail the
sound my friend heard in his head. After
a few days of on-and-off tinkering, I hit
upon something that oozed crunchy
midrange goodness. The Sonic Tailor
was born.
Initially, I intended to build one for my
friend and one for myself, but then a
friend of a friend heard the pedal in
action and wanted one. A friend of that
friend heard it and wanted one, and so
on. I ended up periodically building the
first version of the Sonic Tailor under
a slew of different names. As the first
version was built ‘60s style on strip
board this was quite time consuming.
Eventually, I decided to get some circuit
boards made up and while doing so took
the opportunity to develop the design
with the addition of the Bass control and
a few tweaks to the EQ. This led to the
latest version of which I am building a
limited run.
It has been a long process but totally
worth it. I dig the pedal.
-Christian Livingstone
My friend loved it.
The sound of the Sonic Tailor exists
in a musical land where it is still the
1970s and midrange is king. Tonally, the
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