Spun Loud Effects has introduced the Litigator—a transistor-based overdrive that yields a fuzz-esque voice without reaching high-gain territory.
Per Spun Loud Effects, the Litigator draws inspiration from the British blues-rock sounds of the early 1960s, leveraging a dual-stage gain structure based around transistors. But the brand clarified that “this is not a clone of Marshall’s famous and often replicated Bluesbreaker pedal.” Transistors are usually available in fuzz stompboxes, while distortions and overdrives often employ operational amps. Meaning, the Litigator’s distortion character contains a fuzzy edge sans needing to get to the “wall-of-fuzz” squarewave sound by adding a massive amount of gain.
“Keep the gain low for just a hint of crunch, or crank it up for a lead-worthy overdriven tone that gets plenty dirty while maintaining note clarity when you strum chords,” Spun Loud Effects wrote.
Control-wise, the Litigator consists of self-explanatory Tone, Gain, and Volume dials. Its EQ curve is a full-frequency boost, instead of the upper-midrange hump of overdrives that resembles the iconic Tube Screamer.
Sporting a compact chassis with top-mounted jacks and all-analog circuitry, the Litigator Overdrive retails for $135. Shipping starts on February 11. Head over to the Spun Loud Effects website for more details.
