unsurprisingly) several filter circuits,
much like one might find in one of
its legendary synths. Through
manipulation of these filters, the pedal
can astutely mimic classic British and
American amp tones, in addition to
generating neutral, dynamic drive and
boost sounds that just give you more
from your amp, without any undue
coloration. The gain range covers a lot of
territory, from subtle breakup to bigbodied crunch, and the tone controls are
unprecedented in their flexibility. The
novel design approach of this stompbox
and the inspiring tones that result from it
are impressive enough, but plug in an
expression pedal and the MF Drive will
absolutely warp your earholes with its
sweepable filter. Depending on how it’s
set up, the expression pedal control can
do all manner of dirty wah sounds,
massive, otherworldly swells, and all
sorts of puking alien tones (if you’re into
that). The Moog MF Drive can be as
subtle or as radical as you want it to be,
and it definitely ain’t no Tube Screamer.
TC ELECTRONIC VPD1 VINTAGE
PRE-DRIVE:
Denmark’s TC Electronic is not known
for analog overdrive and distortion
effects, so much as it is for its brilliant
digital delays and modulation
processors, but the company has made
some excellent dirt boxes over the years.
One of the most criminally overlooked of
these is the now-discontinued VPD1
Vintage Pre-Drive, which has been
around in various forms since the
eighties. The VPD1 was created (as with
all overdrives) to achieve cranked-amp
tone and sustain at modest volumes. It
does this quite well, and rumors abound
that its circuit was inspired by the
preamp section of a Vox AC series
amplifier. This theory may or may not be
true, but it would explain some of the
chiming drive tones the pedal has to
offer, as well as the upper setting of its
three-way resonance switch, which is
labeled “Top-Boost.” The VPD1’s palette
of sounds is not limited to these Voxesque tones, though, as the middle
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