Rothwell Switchblade

[sam_m]

It looks like this, and you really want one.



On very kind loan from Nik, following my mentioning it in another thread last week, and I must say it's absolutely awesome.

It's not really my intention to do a short review right now, but no doubt I will add more detailed comments later when I've had chance to play some more with it (and have got some work done!), but I thought it worth mentioning for the pedal buffs on the forum.

What I found most impressive was the tightness of the low end and the clarity of the notes when playing chords, which it does very well even when wound right the way up. It also has to be the quietest pedal I've (n)ever heard when in operation - there's nothing, nada, silence.

The most pleasing results were with my Bulldog-equipped Kramer (Vintage PAFs), and my preferred use was to have the pedal instead of the lead channel, rather than as a boost or to kick an already semi-hot channel. It strikes me as effectively a relatively modern crunch/lead-channel-in-a-box so well worth checking out for those of you who favour a vintagey bluesy sort of amp but like to Bring The RAWK! once in a while. The 'Hellbender' is a lower-gain sort of affair, if that's more your bag.

Anyway, I thought it worth mentioning as we don't tend to hype up English builders as much as the American booteek makers - BlackStar being the exception, of course - and it's not as garish as many of those offerings, so is probably relatively easy to overlook. Don't. Bit out of my price-range sadly, but competitively priced given what it is.

Manufacturer's website is HERE, but the soundclips aren't great. I know SoundsGreat stock these too.

[Vision]

One of the best Overdrive / Distortion pedals on the market in my opinion, im a Rothwell Audio dealer myself and always recommend this little gem of a pedal!

Mark