Empress

Empress
Phaser
PRICE: £299
ORIGIN: Canada
TYPE: Phaser pedal
FEATURES: True-bypass,
tap tempo, MIDI control
CONTROLS: See wesbite
for full details
FOOTSWITCHES:
Tap, bypass
CONNECTIONS:
Standard input, standard
output, control port, blend/
exp socket
POWER: 9V battery or
9-18V DC adaptor (120mA)
DIMENSIONS: 114 (w) x 89
(d) x 57mm (h)
I
f you are used to a phaser with one
sound and a single knob to change
the speed, it’s time to be amazed by
this pedal. The Empress Phaser has five
knobs and five three-way switches, as
well as tap tempo, MIDI control and the
possibility of using an expression pedal
to control parameters. There’s a choice
of two- and three-stage phasing besides
the more standard four-stage, and you
also get a choice of eight different
waveforms that offer more angular
options than the normal rounded sweep.
There are plenty of phaser flavours here,
from really subtle to the more obvious,
with a defined ‘wow’ switched in with
a resonance switch that offers ‘little’ or
‘lots’. You also get an Auto mode with
eight different options for changing
parameters in response to picking
strength and volume, that’s capable of
funky auto wah among other things.
Verdict
Possibly the most comprehensively
adjustable pedal delivering a single
modulation effect we’ve seen.
GUITARIST RATING
Guitarist says: All phases of phasing in
one impressive pedal
Empress
MultiDrive
PRICE: £259
ORIGIN: Canada
TYPE: Fuzz/overdrive/
distortion pedal
FEATURES: True-bypass
CONTROLS: Gain volume,
3x filter switch, hi, low, mid,
output, mid freq. switch,
distortion type switch,
internal DIP switches
FOOTSWITCHES:
Select, bypass
CONNECTIONS: Standard
input, standard output
POWER: 9V battery or
9-18V DC adaptor (180mA)
DIMENSIONS: 114 (w) x 89
(d) x 57mm (h)
T
he MultiDrive is designed to
create a sound from a blend of up
to three elements: fuzz, overdrive
and distortion circuits running
simultaneously in parallel through
a master output section that features
a three-band EQ. Each section has a gain
knob to set how distorted it sounds and
a volume knob to control how much of
the effect appears at the output. Each
also has selectable high-pass and low-
pass filters so you can have just high or
low frequencies from any section. The
distortion section lets you choose from
crunch, mild and lead sounds. The select
footswitch toggles between two unique
fuzz/overdrive/distortion combinations
set by internal DIP switches. Each of the
effects types sounds really good, but it’s
the creation of blends that’s the
MultiDrive’s unique feature, with a huge
range of layered tones available.
Verdict
Some unique tone combinations and
practical switching options.
An excellent, versatile pedal.
GUITARIST RATING
Guitarist says: Three-in-one dirt blender
that saves pedalboard space
February 2015 Guitarist 115
EMPRESS EFFECTS PEDALS £215-£389
PEDAL ROUND-UP
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VIDEO DEMO
GIT390.rev_peds1.indd 115 16/12/2014 18:01