Yet another two-for-one stompbox inspired by classic sounds has hit the market. Does this one do enough to stand out from the rest?
(Image credit: Finding That Tone)
Spanish stompbox specialist Finding That Tone has launched the Ámbar Dual Overdrive – yet another pedal that arrives promising to deliver the tones of not one, but two iconic pieces of gear in a single box.
Also joining the above is the Wampler Triumph – a much-talked-about, $99 pedal inspired by both the DigiTech Bad Monkey and Boss SD-1.
As such, the Ámbar arrives in an already busy corner of the pedal market, during a period when that particular corner has seen some fairly hefty expansion – so has it done enough to stand out from the above?
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(Image credit: Finding That Tone)
(Image credit: Finding That Tone)
(Image credit: Finding That Tone)
(Image credit: Finding That Tone)
Well, it too has gone for Klon Centaur tones, though it's paired them instead with a circuit inspired by the classic Ibanez TS10 Tube Screamer. Arguably a pretty astute combination, given the number of players – John Mayer included – who have both units on their pedalboard.
Not only that, the Tube Screamer circuit in question is the hard-to-come-by TS10, as opposed to the more common TS9. In comparison to the $110 TS9, the TS10 commands prices of up to $1,000 on the second hand market, making the Ámbar even more alluring.
The "green" side of the pedal is concerned with those TS10 tones, offering faithful controls for Volume, Drive, and Tone, as well as an extra Presence knob to boost or attenuate clipped high frequencies.
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A toggle switch to move between Open and Stock positions also features, with the former mode channeling a bass and treble cut for a more... well, open sound. The latter, as you’d expect, is standard TS territory.
The Klon Centaur-inspired circuit is controlled on the "amber" side, which, again, boasts the flagship unit’s control set, with an additional Bass parameter.
Under the hood, Germanium diodes, a charge pump chip that raises the internal voltage, and a dual gain pot all make the cut in an effort to deliver a faithful Centaur sound.
As well as the noteworthy tones on display, the Ámbar also comes in a suite of eye-catching colorways – Vintage White, Matte Black, Roxy Pink, and Sonic Blue – and features handy top-mounted jacks for rig assimilation, and a central switch to determine the signal path.
The Ámbar – and, indeed, the Colosseum, Triumph, and Unobtanium – seems to be evidence of a building trend of twofer drive pedals that package popular tones into a single unit. Now, dual drive pedals are nothing new, but the uptake in new releases geared towards such objectives is notable.
Will other brands follow suit, or is this just a fleeting phenomenon that will come and go? Only time will tell.
Head over to Finding That Tone to find out more about the Ámbar, which is available now for €210 (approx. $230).
Matt is a Senior Staff Writer, writing for Guitar World, Guitarist and Total Guitar. He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 16 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt records for a number of UK-based bands and songwriters as a session musician.
