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Wampler Low Blow – Bass Overdrive / Distortion

Wampler hits below the belt with the new dual-voiced Low Blow overdrive/distortion pedal for electric bass guitars.

Wampler Low Blow

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Portable Bass Amps

This pedal is designed to be a versatile distortion effect for bassists, featuring two clipping modes that result in distinct voicings that start with subtle overdrive and crosses over to jagged distortion.

Wampler designed the Low Blow pedal with the help of actual bassists, based on a circuit that Brian Wampler himself has been working on for years. It is meant to be a straightforward solution for bassists who are looking for a distortion pedal that’s versatile enough to handle a wider variety of musical styles.

The story goes:, “Several years ago Brian Wampler started on tweaking a bass circuit, it’s been out to more players than we can remember, with each one making a suggestion about how it can be improved. After this, they all started saying, “That’s it, it’s perfect”. That was the point Brian started to really refine it. Working with Wampler engineer (and bass player) Jake Steffes, Brian tuned the gain stages to perfection and the Low Blow was born.”

For a multipurpose distortion pedal, the Low Blow is designed to be straightforward and easy to use. Instead of separating the two sounds into two separate channels, this pedal combines them seamlessly into one unit and with a single set of controls that cover both. It compromises some tweakability to make the pedal easy to use and implement, although it should be noted that even without the separate independent foot switch and controls, the simplified controls provide enough tone shaping muscle.

Here is how Wampler describes the two modes, “Each of the two clipping modes – Smooth and Jagged – react just the way you would expect them too. Smooth giving you more of an overdrive with the jagged being more distorted.

Supporting the modes are tone shaping 3 band EQ knobs that let you adjust the Bass, Mids, and Treble frequencies. You can use this to make subtle adjustments for amp and pickup matching, and it works together with the Notch Filter switch so you can reduce the unwanted cabinet “woof” without having to lessen your volume or gain.

Notable Features of the new Wampler Low Blow Pedal:

  • Hand built in the U.S.A.
  • High grade film capacitors and resistors picked for their superior sound and response
  • Completely true bypass
  • Battery connection and 9v power jack (barrel plug like Boss)
  • Power draw: 35mA
  • Active 3 band EQ
  • 2 clipping modes, smooth and jagged
  • Switchable notch filter

The new Wampler Low Blow pedal has an MSRP of $209.96. You can head over to Wampler Pedals for further details.

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