These compact pedal amps are packed with boutique amp artistry yet provide ultra-portable and recording-friendly solutions
(Image credit: Laney)
If you're a gigging guitarist who dreams of condensing a rig's worth of lush valve tones into something pedalboard-friendly, Laney has the answer with their new LOUDPEDAL amps.
These compact pedal amps are packed with boutique amp artistry yet provide ultra-portable and recording-friendly solutions. Handcrafted in Laney’s UK workshop, Black Country Customs.
Created in collaboration with two of the finest guitar players in the world – fusion legato legend Tom Quayle and virtuoso turned YouTube star Martin Miller – the LIONHEART and IRONHEART LOUDPEDALs capture the sound of Laney's acclaimed valve-amp ranges in two supremely versatile 60-watt pedal formats.
But don't let the diminutive size fool you – these are far more than just amp modellers or preamp pedals.
Both amps have a shared feature set:
60 watts
Two channels
USB-C audio out
XLR out
Footswitchable BOOST
Footswitchable Reverb
Laney’s Advanced Impulse Response (LAIR) Tech
But the LOUDPEDAL is far more than just an impeccable tube tone emulator. It's an entire rig solution packed into one portable pedal, as Martin points out.
“The way I use the LOUDPEDAL varies greatly depending on the types of gigs I play and the types of sessions that come up, etc. So there’s many uses, which is probably one of my favourite things about it.
“The DI out is fantastic for recording direct, whether that’s in a hotel room, on the road, in my studio or on a recording session. It also sounds really good just going straight DI out or straight into a loudspeaker with no bells and whistles. It sounds fantastic doing just that.”
At its core, each LOUDPEDAL provides two footswitchable channels with three different voicing options (Bright, Dark, Flat) for radically shaping the core amp tone from sparkling cleans to saturated overdrive.
An onboard boost captures the legendary Black Country Customs Steelpark circuit for boosting into searing lead tones. There's also authentic digital reverb based on theur acclaimed Secret Path spring algorithm.
“If you blind-A/B'd between the original amp and this, there's no way I could have told the difference,” says Tom Quayle about the LIONHEART version he collaborated on. “It sounds like hyperbole, but genuinely, it's almost impossible to tell.”
(Image credit: Laney)
What makes the LOUDPEDALs shine is their range of pro-routing options. In addition to a high-quality FX loop, they offer USB-C recording output, balanced XLR DI out, and even MIDI capabilities for integrating with modern rigs.
But the real game-changer is Laney's new Advanced Impulse Response (LAIR) technology, only previously seen in their flagship FRFR powered 4x12 cab (the LFR-412).
“The USB-C out provides latency-free audio to your preferred DAW, additionally providing access to LAIR, our LOUDPEDAL app,” says Laney product manager and chief tone-wizard, Simon Fraser-Clark. “This app allows ultimate control over the impulse responses in the amp, allowing you to switch out the pre-loaded IRs and tweak them with the powerful EQ-shaping capability.”
Storing your impulse response inside the pedal itself opens up tonal possibilities previously only dreamed of. You can quickly swap out IR files to perfectly emulate any cabinet on a song-by-song basis while recording, instead of being chained to one microphone/cabinet setup.
The LAIR app even allows you to apply parametric EQ to the individual IRs to fine-tune the response.
“The independent EQ thing is really cool because that's not something you see very often,” remarks Tom. “It's very powerful.”
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(Image credit: Laney)
(Image credit: Laney)
Despite being packed with high-end amp voicings and features, the LOUDPEDALs maintain an easy-to-use workflow with logically laid out controls on their compact enclosures. Their true appeal, though, is portability and convenience – especially when paired with their quiet headphone jack for silent practice.
Martin Miller says of the IRONHEART he collaborated on: “If you've never experienced a LOUDPEDAL, I urge you to check one out, plug it in and have your mind blown.”
Indeed, these may represent the ideal all-in-one amp solutions for the modern guitarist.
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