When a stompbox has Jack White’s Third Man Hardware logo emblazoned on its front, you know you’re in for a treat. Ditto storied effect pedal brand MXR. Now, the two companies have teamed up to produce a truly novel effect – the Double Down.
The new pedal, explains Guitar World Tech Editor Paul Riario, is “an inspired take on the original MXR Micro Amp, which incidentally is an absolute favorite of White‘s and is also an essential part of his guitar rig.”
So what, exactly, is the Double Down?
Effectively, the pedal is two Micro Amp pedals in one unit, with two outputs allowing you to use it as a one-into-two signal splitter. And since the Double Down is loaded with a pair of Micro Amp circuits, you get two independent channels of “classic MXR preamp gain.”
The unit features two outputs to connect the pedal to two separate amps, as well as two individual controls that can be used to dial in amp-specific levels of gain. “You can balance the volumes of two amps or push up to 26dB of signal boosting power,” Paul points out. There’s also a Phase switch for a stereophonic effect and a Buffer switch to select between true and buffered bypass.
But how does the Double Down sound? To demonstrate, Paul runs the pedal through two Supro amps, one with a fuzz and a chorus and the other with a reverb, and lets the sparks fly. You can hear for yourself in the demo above.
Paul’s verdict? “If you’re a gigging guitar player who uses a dual amp setup, the Double Down does wonders as both a signal splitter and a dual boost pedal.”
What’s more, he adds, “Having two separate MXR Micro Amp circuits in a single box gives you twice the fire power to light up two separate signal chains with just the right amount of supercharged Micro Amp boost.”
You can order the limited-edition yellow edition of the Double Down exclusively on Third Man Hardware’s Reverb store. Order the standard edition black pedal on TMH’s Reverb store and at Third Man Records’ webstore.
