Effect: Boost and Compression
Expect To Pay: $159
Distributor: Pro Music Australia
Recommended For:
Tone fiends who need a bit more than just a standard boost function.
Versatility:
If you’re looking for an extremely tweakable pedal to buffer up your tone, the NUX Masamune Booster & Kompressor is one to keep your eye out for. With its name originating from one of Japan’s most famous medieval swordsmiths, it comes as no surprise that the Masamune bears razor sharp tones and dynamic range, offering everything from squashed compression to snarling gritty overdrive at the flick of a switch.
Usability:
It’s fair to say that compression is a pretty confusing effect to wrap your head around – you can hear what it does, but it’s hard to explain exactly what it sounds like. However, when coupled with the boost function, the NUX Masamune opens a whole world of sonic possibilities, offering a wide assortment of controls such as blend, hi-cut and clip to totally juice up your guitar signal. You can even choose to run both effects in parallel or independently, which is a nice little trick to have up your sleeve.
Construction:
With five knobs, four rocker switches and two footswitches in total, the NUX Masamune is a tone tweaker’s dream, and it’s built like a tank. Although I feel NUX could have spiced the Masamune up with a gnarly graphic to suit its incredibly cool name, I’m sure most players aren’t as picky as I am and should be satisfied with its killer tone alone.
Overall:
The NUX Masamune Booster & Kompressor definitely gets a tick from me. Both sides of the pedal faithfully complement the characteristics of your clean signal, and the wide assortment of tonal possibilities provided by the myriad of controls onboard should prove to be a hit.
