Brothers Analog Gainstage

A pedal described as having a digital brain and analogue heart delivers myriad ways to utilise two channels of dirt

- Trevor Curwen

Chase Bliss states that their goal is to “give unprecedented digital control to original and creative analog designs” across its range of handmade-in-the-USA pedals, including this, a twin-channel dirtbox.

Its 100 per cent analogue signal path comprises two independent channels: ‘A’ based on JFET circuitry and ‘B’ which is IC-based. Each of these can be set to deliver Boost, Drive or Fuzz. The digital side of it determines how those two channels can be combined: there are 33 different ways, all of which can be saved (along with knob positions) as presets. Besides choosing which of the three effects each channel delivers, you have the routing options of channel A driving channel B, channel B driving channel A or both channels mixed in parallel.

Two presets can be accessed directly from the pedal via the left and right positions of a three-way toggle switch between the two footswitches, which, when set centrally, allows the pedal to be used conventionally with knob and switch positions as you see them. You can also save and recall presets using MIDI – six via the mini pedal-sized Chase Bliss Faves MIDI controller and 122 accessed through MIDI Program Change messages.