There Are Classics, and Then There’s the Rumble Seat
Guitarists often have great dilemmas with the plethora of analog guitar pedals. Whether from the legendary tones of an Ibanez Tube Screamer to the versatile charm of a Boss DS-1, there’s a cornucopia of options for any playing style. Today, though, we’re throwing a huge wild card into the mix: the Analog Alien Rumble Seat. To be honest, this pedal does not just hold its own; in many respects, it probably outdoes the competition at things you wouldn’t expect.
Let’s look at some classics and learn why the Rumble Seat may become your best friend on the pedalboard.
The Heavyweights of Analog Pedals
Ibanez Tube Screamer
- Classic Overdrive Sound: Smooth, mid-boosted overdrive to help natural tones shine.
- Flexibility: Ideal for blues, rock, metal, and jazz.
- Ease-of-use: Simple controls (Drive, Tone, Level).
- Boosting Capability: Can be used to double as a clean boost or to drive an overdriven amp harder.
- Known Users: Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Johnson.
BOSS DS-1 Distortion
- Affordability: Great tone on a budget.
- The Unique Distortion: Worshiped by legends like Kurt Cobain and Steve Vai.
Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi
- Fuzz Power: Classic fuzz tones used by David Gilmour and J Mascis.
MXR Phase 90
- Interesting Modulation: Developed with the phase effect by Eddie Van Halen.
So, what makes the Analog Alien Rumble Seat stand out in this crowded field of contenders? Three killer effects combine: overdrive, delay, and reverb in one pedal.
And it does so, saving you precious real estate on your pedalboard while delivering classic, vintage tones that’ll make your guitar sing. Let’s talk about why the Rumble Seat deserves a spot on your board.
Enter the Analog Alien Rumble Seat
Smooth Overdrive
- Rich Harmonics: This overdrive circuit ranges from highly light harmonic enhancement to total in-your-face overdrive while retaining clarity and definition, even with very high gain.
- Tone Enhancer: Backs up the overdrive to become a soft-tone enhancer or switchable volume boost.
Alive Delay
- Broad Range: From 25ms to 650ms in delay times—from slapback echoes to long, ambient trails.
- Rich Sound: While others tend to make the tone thin, the Rumble Seat delay keeps your signal intact and rich.
Three-In-One Powerhouse
- Space Saver: A Rumble Seat is like having three pedals in one: Overdrive/Delay/Reverb. This frees up a large part of the valuable real estate on your pedalboard for other goodies or to keep things less cluttered.
- Versatility: You can run one, two, or all three of these effects at once. From surf rock to hard rock, this pedal has you covered.
Reverb That
- Vintage Vibes: Fender’s vintage reverb feature is designed to replicate the lush, shimmering reverb from those classic blackface amps—it gives that perfect ‘spring’ feel, minus all the bad stuff.
A Better Investment: With the Rumble Seat, you don’t have to buy three pedals, which can cost you quite a bit because of overdrives, delays, and reverbs.
- True Bypass, Analog Circuitry: Rumble Seat has been detailed and oriented to ensure it sounds and performs first-class.
- Vintage Amp Reverb: The reverb circuit is designed to sound like the holy grail of spring reverbs, found in vintage Fender Blackface amps, that are dark, rich, and shimmering.
Why the Rumble Seat? While the Ibanez Tube Screamer, Boss DS-1, Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi, and MXR Phase 90 have honorable places in the annals of guitar pedal history, the Analog Alien Rumble Seat brings new tricks to the party. However, it is still a worthy contender to find a way into any guitarist’s pedalboard because it houses three different essential effects in one unit without sacrificing the quality of sound produced. If you’re looking to streamline your setup without sacrificing tone, the Rumble Seat may just be the perfect addition to your rig.
Ready to Rumble? Head to Analog Alien and get yourself a Rumble Seat that will take your tone to the next level!