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ThorpyFX has unveiled the Scarlet Tunic, a pedal that should speak to vintage electric guitar tone enthusiasts and budding psychonauts alike – an analogue amp emulator that captures the feel and sound of Syd Barrett’s Selmer Treble And Bass 50.
The project started out quite explicitly to find a pedal that could help Lee Harris, guitar player in Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets, journey through the psychedelic wormhole and nail the late Pink Floyd guitarist’s sounds.
As ever, these projects can get a little out of hand, and Adrian Thorpe’s design ultimately captures some vintage Vox and Hiwatt DR103 sounds, too.
The Scarlet Tunic is typical Thorpy, with its distinctive engraved-metal enclosure housing high-quality components, and it is designed to be used like any other pedal going straight into the front end of your guitar amp.
This, however, has a transformer under the hood to reproduce the sort of sag and response you would get from a the original amp, and there is internal voltage pump to increase headroom
Its complement of controls is amp-like, with dials for Master, Presence and Gain, Bass and Treble, plus a trio of three-way toggle switches for Deep, Bright and Sens (sensitivity). The latter offers three gain stages, while the other two allow you to change the voicing of the pedal.
ThorpyFX is the latest in a series of guitar effects pedal specialists to get in on the amp emulator game. In recent weeks, Two Notes released its ReVolt guitar and bass amp simulator pedals, while Universal Audio added a trio of vintage tube amp emulators to its high-end UAFX series.
The Scarlet Tunic is available now, priced £265. Head over to ThorpyFX for more details.
