“Far more than just an impeccable tube tone emulator. It's an entire rig solution packed into one portable pedal”: Laney’s new IR-loaded Loudpedals might just be the all-in-one pedal amps you’ve been waiting for
Two channels, 60 watts and Laney's LAIR tech headline the well-equipped stompboxes, which were designed in collaboration with Tom Quayle and Martin Miller
Laney Black Country Customs LOUDPEDALS feat Tom Quayle and Martin Miller - YouTube
Laney has expanded its acclaimed Ironheart and Lionheart guitar amp ranges with the unveiling of two flagship Black Country Custom Loudpedals.
As the name would suggest, the Loudpedals package the British amp specialist’s Ironheart and Lionheart tube amp tones into pedalboard-friendly stompboxes, and have been described not just as “impeccable tube tone emulators”, but an “entire rig solution packed into one portable pedal”.
In other words, these could be an ideal solution for those looking to condense a rig’s worth of tube tones into something conveniently sized.
The pedals, which were designed in collaboration with fusion virtuosos Tom Quayle and Martin Miller, arrive in two formats, but they both share some standard features.
They include 60 watts of power, two separate channels with three different voicing options each, and footswitchable boost and reverb effects based on Laney’s Steel Park circuit and Secret Path algorithm, respectively.
(Image credit: Laney)
Each pedal also has a channel selector footswitch, a Boost parameter, and a universal three-band EQ. For the Lionheart, two Bright, Dark and Flat voice toggles can be found. For the Ironheart, one is replaced with a Symmetrical, Clean and Asymmetrical switch for other tonal options.
Perhaps the most notable appointment, though, is the Laney Advanced Impulse Response (LAIR) technology. In both cases, LAIR can be used alongside a dedicated Loudpedal app to browse, fine-tune and upload IRs for state-of-the-art cab emulation.
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Notably, the LAIR tech has only previously been deployed by Laney for its flagship FRFR LFR-412 powered cab, so the fact it’s been repurposed for these pedals is rather telling of Laney’s intentions here.
Now, the pedal amp arms race has been heating up over the past few years, and so the Laney Loudpedals have a few established examples to compete with, such as Blackstar’s Amped range, the Friedman IR-X and IR-D, and a number of Victory stompboxes.
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(Image credit: Laney)
(Image credit: Laney)
(Image credit: Laney)
(Image credit: Laney)
So, what makes the Loudpedals shine? Well, the boost and reverb functions – the latter of which has never been used on a Lionheart before – are nice.
The LAIR tech helps, too, and while IR-compatible pedal amps aren’t exactly new, they aren’t always a given, and so such functionality will certainly give the Loudpedals an edge over some of its nearest competitors.
That’s especially the case when you remember LAIR has been paired with Laney’s revered amp tones, which, according to Quayle, sound near-identical to their tube amp counterparts.
“If you'd blind A/B'd me between the original amp and this, there's literally no way I could have told the difference,” he notes of the Lionheart model. “It sounds like hyperbole, but genuinely, it's almost impossible to tell the difference.”
There are also some flexible connectivity options, which include a balanced XLR DI out, MIDI I/Os and a USB-C for smart app and latency-free audio recording performance. There’s also a headphone jack for silent practice.
The Loudpedals look like the complete package, and an ideal platform for downsized pedalboard-based rigs. They're competitively priced, too, and are available for $499.99.
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.
