Dr Green Life Support review

Will this pedal sustain you?

  • £119
By Trevor Curwen
( Guitarist )
published
The Life Support is capable of dialling in a varied range of compression

MusicRadar Verdict

This pedal might be called Life Support, but the sustain that's on offer is to die for.

Pros

  • +

    Solid build. Long sustain.

Cons

  • -

    Controls could be more intuitive.

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Hayden Amp's UK-made Dr Green pedal range arrived earlier this year. Here we take a look at the Life Support compressor/sustainer.

"Kick this in, and you can really eke notes out and coax them into harmonic feedback"

This pedal is based on a tried-and-tested compressor circuit originally found in Ashdown bass amps, and features knobs to set the input and output levels and turn up the sustain.

The input knob goes to zero, so the pedal can be used as a muting device if you don't need the compression.

Sounds

With three knobs to adjust, the Life Support is capable of dialling in a varied range of compression to suit your needs. What stands out, though, is the amount of sustain it is capable of - kick this in, and you can really eke notes out and coax them into harmonic feedback.

Trevor Curwen

Trevor Curwen has played guitar for several decades – he's also mimed it on the UK's Top of the Pops. Much of his working life, though, has been spent behind the mixing desk, during which time he has built up a solid collection of the guitars, amps and pedals needed to cover just about any studio session. He writes pedal reviews for Guitarist and has contributed to Total Guitar, MusicRadar and Future Music among others.