MXR NOISE CLAMP

ManualsBrandsMXR ManualsGuitar & Bass EffectsEffect Loop / Noise Clamp Combination Pedal

Need funk? Try a little Sense-u-wah healing

MXR says ‘hiss o !’ to noise

MXR NOISE

CLAMP

£119

T-REX SENSEWAH £145

MANY

seasoned

players own a

battered old pedal they can’t bring

themselves to chuck out, despite

the fact it hisses like a lispy python

having a strop and generally

makes a nuisance of itself. Noise

gates are the answer to this

problem and MXR’s Noise Clamp

is the latest addition to the ranks of

no-nonsense noise-eliminators.

As with all MXR pedals we’ve

seen, The Noise Clamp is a sturdy

brute that looks like it’ll take years

of repeated pounding onstage. The

sockets, Trigger control and switch

are all of a similar quality, and it’s

black, which is proverbial for never

going out of fashion.

It’s a straightforward piece of

kit to get to grips with, featuring a

single Trigger knob for setting the

threshold at which the noise gate

AUTO-WAH

isn’t the first effect you’d add to a

pedalboard, but whether you’re a

dyed-in-the-wool funk renegade,

or are simply looking to add

something extra to your sonic

palette, this effect could just be for

you. The Sensewah, part of T-Rex’s

more affordable ToneBug range,

takes the auto-wah template and

gives it an extra twist.

Smartly dressed in a claret

casing, the Sensewah looks classy

and functional. Speaking of the

latter, it reacts to how hard or soft

you hit the strings and there are a

trio of controls. Sense dictates how

sensitive the wah is to your picking

dynamics, Range controls the

extent of the wah’s frequency

sweep, and there’s a Wah Wah/Yoy

Yoy switch, which we’ll discuss in a

MXR NOISE CLAMP/TREX SENSEWAH

REVIEWS

activates, a standard input and

output, and a send and return for

its own effects loop. Your effects

chain is placed into the Noise

Clamp’s send/return loop, then

you set the Trigger to kill noise,

but retain note definition. After

that, you can start getting used to

playing in a hiss-free soundscape.

The Noise Clamp gets the job done

with little fuss, reduces noise by up

to 26dB and – this is important –

does so without messing with tone

or overcomplicating things.

Yes, it’s £120, but the Noise

Clamp is an unobtrusive

and effective noise gate that

mercilessly jumps on unwanted

pedal noise without sapping all

the life out of your tone. Switch

it off and you’ll wonder how you

managed without it.

Rob Power

moment. It’s a simple set of

controls for what is an extremely

flexible pedal. The range of sounds

that can be accessed after a few

minutes’ acclimatisation is vast:

you can eke out a retro and

understated sound, a narrow

‘fixed’ wah, or a more intense

wide-ranging sweep, akin to the

classic auto-wah sounds of the 70s.

Played clean, things are

pleasant, if a little restrained. With

a hint of overdrive, though, the

Sensewah has character by the

bucketful. Switching from Wah

Wah to Yoy Yoy offers up a whole

new set of sounds, adding an extra

zing with a more vowely, robotic

resonance to it. The Sensewah has

loads of tonal possibilities; it’s an

excellent option for adding a bit of

funky flavour into your sound.

Rob Power

AT A GLANCE

TYPE: Noise gate

CONTROLS: Trigger

SOCKETS: Input, output, send,

return, power

POWER: Battery, PSU (optional)

CONTACT: JHS 01132 865 381

jimdunlop.com

AT A GLANCE

TYPE: Auto-wah

CONTROLS: Sense, Range,

Wah Wah/Yoy Yoy

SOCKETS: Input, output, power

POWER: Battery or PSU (optional)

CONTACT: Westside Distribution

0141 248 4812 t-rex-effects.com

FEATURES

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VALUE FOR MONEY

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