“The most sounds we've ever shoved in a single pedal enclosure”: With its upgraded Herculean Deluxe dual overdrive, has Mythos cracked the code for packaging Dumble and BluesBreaker tones in a pedal?
Previewed at NAMM 2024, the two-for-one overdrive pedal combines updated versions of the Nashville firm’s Herculean and Runestone overdrives inside a single unit
(Image credit: Mythos Pedals)
Mythos Pedals has updated two of its most beloved overdrive pedals and crammed them into a single unit with the fully fledged Herculean Deluxe.
Featuring revamped versions of its Herculean and Runestone overdrive pedals, it marks the duo’s return to the market in the form of a handy dual overdrive pedal.
The Nashville pedal producers are calling it “the most useful dirt box we’ve ever created” in its 14-year history, promising that the new stompbox delivers flexibility – from clean boosts to thick, amp-emulating gain.
The two-for-one overdrive is split into two halves. Mythos says the two updated overdrives consist of “heavily-tweaked BluesBreaker” circuits.
(Image credit: Mythos Pedals)
Both halves also feature internal adjustment controls for level and drive, whilst an order switche on the face of the pedal helps players sculpt more personalized tones.
On the left-hand side is Mythos’ Herculean circuitry. It’s designed with clean boosts in mind and offers additional controls beyond level and drive via very tiny dials to cut or boost its low end and adjust its treble by way of a clarity dial. On paper, cranking its dials should put the Herculean’s offering into a Dumble-like territory.
Things are a little different on the Runestone side. Its additional controls come via a presence trim pot and a voice dial for shaping its top end output.
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The aforementioned order switch is included so that players can dictate which of the pedal’s dual drives comes first in the signal chain. In the right-hand position, it delivers a Runestone-first kick, whilst when positioned on the left, the Herculean leads from the front.
(Image credit: Mythos Pedals)
Finally, there’s a four-way dip switch for players to sift through its clipping options. The Runestone side features soft and hard clipping options, whilst the Herculean side goes for a “classic silicon soft clipping” feel thanks to its MOSFET / NOS germanium diodes.
Combining the order and clipping features of the pedal, Mythos says, “nets you the most sounds we've ever shoved in a single pedal enclosure”.
Mythos has had some wonderfully mad ideas in the past, with its Ghostbusters-inspired fuzz springing quickly to mind. It has also worked with RJ Ronquillo (Ricky Martin, Santana, Stone Sour) for a signature three-in-one boost/drive/echo pedal. The release of the Herculean Deluxe, however, arguably represents its biggest slice of news in years.
With its Runestone and Herculean heritage, though, Mythos could have the edge, and may just have cracked the code for harnessing BluesBreaker and Dumble tones in a single pedal.
Launching February 21 via Mythos dealers, it's priced at £243 (approx $305).
For more information and to be notified via email when the pedal becomes available, head to Mythos Pedals.
A freelance writer with a penchant for music that gets weird, Phil is a regular contributor to Prog, Guitar World, and Total Guitar magazines and is especially keen on shining a light on unknown artists. Outside of the journalism realm, you can find him writing angular riffs in progressive metal band, Prognosis, in which he slings an 8-string Strandberg Boden Original, churning that low string through a variety of tunings. He's also a published author and is currently penning his debut novel which chucks fantasy, mythology and humanity into a great big melting pot.
