The quest for the perfect
complimentary overdrive
that blends into a favored
tube amp without coloring
over its tonal character can
be nearly endless. A few
transistor circuits have come
valiantly close (the Hot Cake
and Timmy come to mind),
but I am here to say that the
Dickinson D1 is the be-all
end-all in this application.
With a quick twist of the
top control and some gain
and output adjustment,
the D1 will melt into the
signal path like a cube of
sugar dropped into a hot
drink…delicious. The builtin adjustable boost control
provides extra sweetness,
turning even the cleanest
single channel amp into a
tri-tiered tone machine.
Now, don’t think that the
D1 is only about chameleon
capabilities. It has plenty of
character when used on its
own as a tube preamp. Out
of curiosity, I patched the
D1 into the effects return
of my solid state Orange
Crush Pro 120. Bypassing
the CP120 preamp section
turned my good sounding
transistored practice amp
into a great sounding, touch
sensitive tube monster. The
resulting tone to my ears
sounded like a JTM 45 and
a 6V6 Tweed Champ had
a baby and weaned it on
steroid milk.
WHAT WE LIKE
The gorgeous stainless
steel enclosure, custommilled aluminum antenna
knobs, track-line tube
protectors and bright white
LEDs exude pure class. The
craftsmanship on display
here harkens back to the
days when ex-military
engineers were the ones
building British audio gear.
This latest evolution of
the D1 utilizes both circuit
board mounted and hand
wired top-shelf components
for a tonally pure signal
path that leads to real tube
tone Nirvana.
CONCERNS
This isn’t a small investment
by any means, but if one
considers how much is
invested in the development
and construction of a piece
like this, it all makes sense.
This isn’t a mere overdrive
pedal. The D1 is an overall
signal sweetening modular
expansion of not only
amplifiers, but also musical
inspiration itself.
Investing in the D1 is like
having an insurance policy
against unpredictable gig
backlines, one-dimensional
amplifiers and even sterile
DAW plug-ins. Did I mention
you can get fantastic results
by recording direct to a
cab simulator?
ToneReport.com
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