Eye-catching innovative pedal boasts discrete distortion, phaser and echo circuits for “remarkable analog tones and versatility for musicians on the go”
Gearheads were greeted with some amazing news at the beginning of 2024, with Donner Music announcing a special collaboration was in the works with Jack White's Third Man Hardware on a new effect pedal. Now, we’re finally seeing the result of this unprecedented pairing, and not surprisingly, it’s pretty spectacular – an ultracompact and super-cool three-in-one multi-effect pedal named the Triple Threat.
The relationship between White and Donner dates back several years, to when the White Stripes leader and Third Man Hardware founder took an interest in Donner’s Alpha series pedals released in 2017. White felt that the quality, versatility, price point and value were perfect for any of Third Man Hardware’s beginner guitar players, and so the two brands partnered up, and the Triple Threat was born.
“This unusual collaboration is now a reality,” Guitar World Tech Editor Paul Riario says of the analog multi-effect pedal, designed by Third Man Hardware and manufactured by Donner. “And I’ve gotta say, I’m impressed.”
“First of all,” he continues, “what’s so striking is how small and compact this pedal is. You can actually tuck it in your gig bag and it has all the necessary effects to take on any stage and even to fly gigs.”
True to its name, the Triple Threat combines three analog circuits into one metal enclosure, delivering unique analog sounds and versatile utility for musicians on the go. Third Man Hardware designed the outside, adding the company’s signature patterns such as lightning bolts from the Tesla tower on the panel, three sharp stripes in front and the signature diagrams from Third Man Hardware’s logo on both sides of the pedal.
(Image credit: Donner)
As for its sound? Observe as Paul takes us through each of the circuits, beginning with the distortion, which features volume, gain and tone controls to help the user “achieve a fat, clean sound as well as a thick and heavy distortion.”
A classic phaser upgraded from Donner’s Pearl Tremor pedal is next, outfitted with level, rate and depth controls.
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Finally, we have an analog-voiced echo – originating from Donner’s first-ever pedal, the Yellow Fall Delay first released in 2013 – which boasts level, feedback and time controls for a warm analog tone and rich feedback.
“These individual effects actually sound better than a lot of standalone effects,” Paul remarks. “The distortion is really musical, the phaser is really thick and the echo sounds great.”
Paul’s verdict?
“The Donner Triple Threat marries great tone in an ultra-compact form factor for a three-in-one multi-effects pedal. With an upgraded circuit design that’s been fine-tuned to Jack White’s specifications, Donner combines three analog effects into one metal enclosure, delivering remarkable analog tones and versatility for musicians on the go.”
The Triple Threat will be launched in two versions: one of which will be a limited edition variant in yellow, exclusively available at Third Man’s Reverb store. The second variation will be the standard black.
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