Digitech
DIGITECH MOSAIC £109
The 12-string emulator that’s a work of art
MXR IL TORINO
OVERDRIVE CSP033
£102
Custom Shop drive with a license to IL
ONE
of the most diffi cult
aspects to pin down
on your ’board is dirt pedals: they
have to work with the rest of your
rig to make the cut. MXR’s Custom
Shop bods have been turning out
stompboxes that fi t the bill for a
few years, and with the Il Torino
Overdrive they reckon they’ve
cracked the secret of overdrive that
blends with your amp’s natural
break-up. The company drafted in
Carlo Sorasio, Italy’s top boutique
amp and pedal builder, who
designed the circuit and equipped
the pedal with a three-band EQ,
plus switchable OD and boost
modes.
The pedal’s MOSFET transistor-
based design provides a tight,
glassy, almost hi-fi crunch, but
IF
you want to make your
six-string sound like a
12-string without faffi ng around
with MIDI, your best bet until now
has been to set
a pitch-shifter to double your
playing an octave up. The advent
of polyphonic tracking has made
this much more achievable, but
no pedal has properly emulated
a 12-string.
The Mosaic aims to accurately
recreate the 12-string effect by
adding an octave up to the low E,
A, D and G as normal, but doubles
the B and high E at the same pitch,
just like on a real 12-string. This
intelligent doubling results in a less
synthetic sound than, say, a
DigiTech Whammy, which adds a
high octave on top of the E and B
as well. And while the controls are
basic – just level and tone – they’re
all you need to subtly blend the
keeps your core tone uncoloured
and intact. That also makes it less
forgiving of mistakes than
compressed Marshall-style drive.
Punching in the boost mode and a
low gain level adds an earthy
break-up that’s hugely responsive
to playing dynamics, and makes
for a great ‘always-on’ overdrive,
especially with an already-cooking
valve amp. This is where the Il
Torino shines: delivering valve-
aping shimmer, rather than grittier
higher gains, nearing fuzzier
RAT-like sounds.
If you have a craving for
high-fi delity dirt, the Il Torino
could be what you need; it’s a
different, boutique-y overdrive
that deserves a play.
Michael Brown
shifted sound with your six-
string playing.
After testing the Mosaic with
both electric and acoustic guitars,
we’re convinced: this is the closest
pedals have come to emulating
12-strings. Open chords from
12-string staples such as Hotel
California, Wish You Were Here
and, yes, Stairway… ring true with
a halo of overtones, and while
there’s a touch of digital fl utter
when tracking extended chords,
adding some overdrive after the
effect makes it infi nitely more
convincing when using an electric.
The Mosaic may be a pricey
one-trick pony – you can get a fully
functional pitch-shifter for this
price – but what a convincing trick
it is. Anyone serious about
12-string emulation will be
champing at the bit to plug one in.
Michael Brown
FEATURES
SOUND QUALITY
VALUE FOR MONEY
BUILD QUALITY
USABILITY
OVERALL RATING
SUMMARY
FEATURES
SOUND QUALITY
VALUE FOR MONEY
BUILD QUALITY
USABILITY
OVERALL RATING
SUMMARY
86 APRIL 2015
MXR/DIGITECH
REVIEW
TYPE: 12-string emulator pedal
CONTROLS: Level, tone
SOCKETS: Input, output, power
BYPASS: True-bypass
POWER: 9V power supply only (included)
CONTACT: Sound Technology
01462 480000 www.digitech.com
TYPE: Overdrive pedal
CONTROLS: Treble, mid, bass,
master, gain, OD/boost button
SOCKETS: Input, output, power
BYPASS: Buffered
POWER: 9V battery, 9V power supply
(not included)
CONTACT: Westside Distribution
0844 326 2000 www.jimdunlop.com
TGR265.gear_halves.indd 86 27/02/2015 10:05