BLAST FROM THE PAST
The rugged casing and purple shine of the redesigned Purple Plexi now comes in an MXR-sized unit. The previously translucent knobs have been replaced with ones that are solid white, improving the overall aesthetic appeal of the pedal. Lovepedal aren’t the first manufacturer to take on the meteoric challenge of capturing that all-time classic Plexi tone in a stompbox. But with the Purple Plexi they’re one of the first to have some success. Volume, Tone and Drive controls make up the pedal’s three-prong attack. The Volume knob boasts over 25db above unity gain. This ticks off a major Plexi-requirement – it’s got to be loud and have a huge output.
The Tone knob is responsible for articulating presence. With a Plexi, it’s all about those prominent mids, which the Tone knob does a great job at making happen. Last but not least we have the all-important Drive knob. It’s your one stop shop for saturation. It will take your tone from the rounder, bluesy warmness of a JTM45 to the lively boom and low-end punch of a JCM800. Though, like on an actual Plexi, the volume control on your guitar plays just as big a factor as the Drive control.
FLEXING ITS MUSCLE
With the Gain swivelling between 6 and 9 o’clock, the Tone at 10 o’clock and below 9, we get a little colouration in what is a really clear, level headed crunch. I’ve got my guitar volume set at 8, and when I roll it back the clipping dissipates, as promised. Move the Gain up to 10 o’clock and the Tone up to 12 for greater bite. It’s beefier, chunkier, but not sludgy. A binding characteristic across the board is a level of clarity and definition. Push the Drive up to as high as 2 o’clock with the Tone sitting at 3 for a pulsing distortion. By letting a full chord ring out you can grasp the extended level of sustain and that heightened presence. Licks are literally jumping off the guitar at this point. But, of course, it can go bigger. Dialling up the Gain to full bore results in monstrous overdrive. Yet typical to the pedal’s entire tonal range, it’s crisp and substantial.
SURE TO BE A CROWD PLEASER
While not an actual Marshall Plexi head, the Purple Plexi goes pretty close to emulating decades of Marshall tone. And this is in a stompbox – a pretty incredible feat.
For more details, head to guitarfactory.net.au.
