Nouveau Riche
Nouveau Riche (Newly Rich)
My (your?) new favourite overdrive/distortion pedal.
The idea started as an exploration of the classic RAT circuit to see if I could expand and improve upon the lower gain sounds and the overall dynamic response.
Although it started as a RAT style drive, the circuit has moved way beyond that now. I added every trick in my playbook to improve the tonal flexibility, increase the headroom and decrease the clipping threshold to keep it dynamic, lively, and smooth while still retaining a bit of that classic RAT DNA we all love. From dirty boost to sparkly overdrive and distortion with slightly fuzzy overtones, this is the perfect workhorse drive pedal that covers a lot of ground.
- FREQ is a post-gain EQ similar to the RAT's filter control
- VOICE is similar to the voice control on the Zendrive. It is a pre-gain EQ that shifts the mids
- + and - switch is a bass boost or cut. I love the bass boost for playing without a band and the bass cut for cutting through in a band situation
- Internal voltage booster doubles your 9V input to run it at 18V (never plug more than 9V in!)
- LED clipping keeps things dynamic and amp-like (all the buzzwords!)
- Combination of two secret op-amps chosen for their sonic characteristics in this application
- I utilized a Klon-style buffered bypass on this one to prevent "tone suck" from long cable runs
- Soft touch relay footswitch for quiet and reliable operation
- Matte black enclosure
- Pink LED!
