Strymon Sunset Dual Overdrive

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110

Guitarist june 2017

BRAND NAME OR ROuNDuP TYPE

t’s not long since Strymon released its first dirt

pedal in the form of the Riverside multistage drive.

Now, hard on its heels is the second: the Sunset.

Strymon’s intention here is to provide “the best of the

best classic overdrive circuits” and the company tells

us that it’s studied six distinctive circuit types found

in many overdrive and boost pedals and put its own

versions of all six of them into the Sunset.

This is a two-channel pedal with independent

footswitches for each channel (A and B). The channels

can be used separately or simultaneously and there are

three options, selected by a rear panel switch, if you

want to use them together: you can have channel A

feeding into channel B, channel B feeding into channel

A, or both channels in a parallel signal configuration.

The Sunset’s signal starts with an analogue JFET gain

stage then passes into DSP where the circuit topologies

are recreated. A pair of top -surface toggle switches

select one of three circuit types each for channel A

and channel B. Separate Level, Drive and Tone knobs

are available for each channel and there’s a rear-panel

three-way Bright switch to best match the top-end to

suit your amp. There is a facility to store settings as a

single preset in the pedal, but you need to connect an

external switch to the Sunset’s Favorite socket to switch

between that and the current knob settings. A second

socket allows connection of an expression pedal,

which by default controls output volume, but can be

configured to control any combination of knobs.

Sounds

Running through the individual circuits, all are

sufficiently different to warrant inclusion, eminently

playable in terms of dynamics and guitar volume

clean up, and with excellent sonic character. The Ge

setting – a germanium diode circuit with a dry parallel

path – offers nicely transparent overdrive in the vein

of The Klon and its klones. Texas is Strymon’s take on

the Tube Screamer and other single-stage soft clipping

pedals, with clarity and that upper-mid boost that

ABOVE The Strymon

Sunset opens up a

realm of drive ﬂexibility

previously unseen in

the pedalboard market

Strymon works its digital magic on a dual drive pedal, with six

classic overdrives and boosts to be used singly or combined

Words Trevor Curwen Photography Joby Sessions

STRYMON SunSet

Dual OverDrive

£299

GIT420.peds_strymon.indd 110 19/04/2017 15:51

Summary of content (2 pages)

PAGE 1
BRAND NAME Or RouNDUP TYPE Strymon Sunset Dual Overdrive £299 Strymon works its digital magic on a dual drive pedal, with six classic overdrives and boosts to be used singly or combined Words Trevor Curwen Photography Joby Sessions I t’s not long since Strymon released its first dirt pedal in the form of the Riverside multistage drive. Now, hard on its heels is the second: the Sunset.
PAGE 2
VIDEO DEMO http://bit.ly/guitaristextra StrYMOn TOP The Favorite and expression pedal outputs give you further options in switching presets and conﬁguring knob control BOTTOM The tonal possibilities here are immense – using channels A and B together in parallel opens up an array of combinations with which to experiment hits your amp just right. The Treble setting offers a clean boost that’s full range with its tone knob at one extreme, but allows you to roll off bottom-end.