Designed and built by Greek effects company Crazy Tube Circuits to Gus G's spec, the Speed Demon is a boutique overdrive that’s sure to be a hit with Firewind and Ozzy superfans, but also anyone who is has been searching for a drive boost that has heaps of gain on-tap and a little versatility too.
It features a saturation circuit that has been tuned for “clarity, punch and rich harmonics” and will compress frequencies in your guitar’s signal – presumably just as an all-valve amp might do when driven hard.
The design is simple: a metal chassis with gain, volume and tone rotary dials and a footswitch to turn the effect on and off.
The gain control can serve as a clean boost or an extra gain stage to add a little hot sauce to your solos. The tone lets you dial in the high end with its active high frequency circuit affording “limitless tonal tweaking options to enhance your rig. From smooth and warm to aggressive and raw with extra bite.” Volume sets the pedal’s output. Easy.
The pedal is true-bypass and Gus G promises “premium audio-grade components for superior sound quality and performance.”
We would expect nothing less from Crazy Tube Circuits, whose fans include ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, Testament’s Alex Skolnick and ex-Sonic Youth guitarist Lee Ranaldo. Peter Frampton digs them, too.
