USER MANUAL
Riverside - Multistage Drive ® Front Panel • GAIN • PUSH Toggles between the low or high gain channel. Toggles between flat or enhanced midrange frequencies. • DRIVE • LEVEL Adjusts the amount of gain applied to the signal. Employs continuously variable circuit tuning to adjust many circuit parameters as you turn the knob. Controls the output volume level when the effect is ON. • TREBLE Wide-ranging high frequency active shelf control. • BASS Active shelving/parametric low frequency control.
Riverside - Multistage Drive ® Rear Panel • PRESENCE SWITCH • POWER Tailors the top end character of the output to match your amp. Try minus (-) or center in front of an amp. Try plus (+) when plugging straight into a power amp. Use an adapter with the following rating: 9VDC center negative. 250mA minimum. • IN Mono instrument input. • OUT Mono signal output. • BOOST • EXP Boost Switch Mode - Use an external Favorite switch to toggle up to +6dB of post boost on/off (See page 8 for setup).
Riverside - Multistage Drive ® Multistage Drive Topology Riverside achieves its sound by passing the signal through a cascade of individual gain stages. Dynamic complexity and additional harmonics are generated at each stage as the signal travels from one stage to the next. STAGE ONE: Class A Analog JFET Input Gain Stage Touch response and dynamic interaction with your guitar are optimized with the class A JFET input gain stage.
Riverside - Multistage Drive ® Controls PRESENCE SWITCH The minus (-) position provides clarity with a controlled top end that works well with many amps that have a brighter voice or extended top end character. The enhanced (center) position extends the top end to allow for more sizzle on high gain tones. This works well with amps that have a warmer voicing, or if you want enhanced detail in the uppermost frequencies.
Riverside - Multistage Drive ® Noise Reduction Threshold Riverside has a variable-threshold noise reduction feature to tame hum and buzz when you’re not playing. A downward expander with advanced signal detection techniques creates a seamless transition to noise reduced silence with all types of input signal dynamics, including staccato bursts and slowly sustained notes. 1 Press and hold the ON footswitch until the LED rapidly blinks. Release the ON footswitch.
Riverside - Multistage Drive ® Bypass Mode Selection Setting Riverside to Buffered Bypass mode preserves the high frequency response of your guitar signal through your pedal chain and long cable runs. 1 Press and hold the ON footswitch while powering up the pedal. 2 Turn the LEVEL knob to select True Bypass or Buffered Bypass GREEN (LEFT) - True Bypass (default) RED (RIGHT) - Buffered bypass. Using Buffered Bypass allows Volume Mode and Boost Switch Mode.
Riverside - Multistage Drive ® Power Up Mode - Boost Jack Options Selecting what the BOOST jack will do. Press and hold while powering up the pedal. 1 2 Turn the DRIVE knob to set the BOOST jack mode. • GREEN – Boost Switch Mode (See page 9 for more info) • RED – Favorite Out Mode (See page 10 for more info) 3 Press the ON or FAVORITE footswitch once again to store power up modes and begin using Riverside.
Riverside - Multistage Drive ® Power Up Mode - Boost Switch Mode Connect an external footswitch with a TRS cable to toggle the boost of up to +6dB on and off. 1 Press and hold the ON footswitch until the LED rapidly blinks. 2 Release the ON footswitch. or 3 Turn the LEVEL knob to set the amount of boost up to +6dB. As you turn the boost amount up, the color of the blinking LED changes from GREEN for low boost settings to RED for high boost settings.
Riverside - Multistage Drive ® Favorite Output Mode Connect another Strymon pedal set to External Favorite Switch. 1 Connect the BOOST jack of Riverside to the EXP input of another Strymon pedal with a TRS cable. Make sure the connected pedal is set to Favorite EXP mode. 2 Please refer to the favorite switch setup section of the connected pedal’s owner’s manual for details. All manuals available at strymon.net/support. INPUT 3 Save a Favorite setting on the connected Strymon pedal.
Riverside - Multistage Drive ® Power Up Mode - Expression Jack Options Selecting what the EXP jack will do. 1 Press and hold while powering up the pedal. 2 Turn the LEVEL knob to set the EXP jack mode. • GREEN (LEFT) - Expression Pedal Mode • AMBER (MIDDLE) - Volume Mode (Default) • RED (RIGHT) - Favorite IN Mode to toggle the Favorite preset on and off remotely. 3 Press the ON or FAVORITE footswitch once again to store power up modes and begin using Riverside.
Riverside - Multistage Drive ® Expression Mode Use a TRS Expression pedal to control the knobs of Riverside 1 Connect the Expression pedal to the EXP jack of Riverside using a TRS cable. 2 Press and hold both FAVORITE and ON footswitches for a few seconds until both LEDs begin blinking GREEN. 3 Rock the expression pedal back to the HEEL position and only the FAVORITE LED will blink GREEN. 4 Set the knobs the way you would like them to be in the HEEL position.
Riverside - Multistage Drive ® Volume Mode Use a TRS Expression pedal to control the output volume. 1 Connect the expression pedal to the EXP jack of Riverside. 2 Set the LEVEL knob to the setting you would like for the highest TOE down position of the expression pedal. 3 When the FAVORITE setting is engaged, the highest TOE down position of the expression pedal will correspond to the setting that the LEVEL knob was saved as for the favorite setting.
Riverside - Multistage Drive ® Favorite In Mode Connect a MiniSwitch with a TRS cable to toggle the Favorite preset on and off. 1 Connect a Switch with a TRS cable to the EXP jack of Riverside. 2 Dial in a setting on Riverside using the knobs and switches for your desired sound. or TRS ® 3 Press and hold Riverside’s on-board Favorite switch for 2 seconds to save this setting as a new Favorite sound.
Riverside - Multistage Drive ® Factory Reset 1 Press and hold the ON footswitch during power up. 2 Turn the DRIVE knob from 0-100% and back two (2) times (back and forth) to reset the pedal to factory power up modes and secondary functions. FACTORY SETTINGS • EXP Input Jack: Assigned to work in VOLUME PEDAL mode. • Expression Pedal Mode Assignment: Assigned to control DRIVE. • BOOST Input Jack: Assigned to work in BOOST SWITCH mode. • BOOST Amount: Set to 50%.
Riverside - Multistage Drive ® Features • Custom cascading multistage distortion topology provides a wide range of tube-inspired drive tones • Digitally controlled analog class A JFET input gain stage maximizes headroom while adding up to 20dB of pure analog gain • Precision crafted DSP gain stages provide detailed complexity and responsiveness • Low gain channel for smooth classic overdrive • Expression pedal input allows the connection an expression pedal for simultaneous morphing control over multiple
Riverside - Multistage Drive ® Strymon Non-Transferrable Limited Warranty Warranty Strymon warranties the product to be free from defects in material and workmanship for a period of two (2) years from the original date of purchase when bought new from an authorized dealer in the United States of America or Canada. If the product fails within the warranty period, Strymon will repair or, at our discretion, replace the product at no cost to the original purchaser.
