Distributor: EGM Distribution | RRP: $229
The Double Durple is a collaborative effort between Tone City and Pete Honoré – a session guitarist who has played with the likes of Lionel Richie and Tom Jones, and for the past decade has worked for English music shop Andertons as their YouTube Manager alongside running his own YouTube channel. Building upon their original collaboration, the Durple Overdrive, Pete was using Tone City’s Blues Man as a low gain boost into the Durple and cited it as one of the best tones he had ever gotten. The Double Durple was born from that discovery, combining the original Durple Overdrive circuit with a modded version of the Blues Man that adds a bright/smooth EQ control.
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I’m going to address this straight away: what are these overdrive circuits based on?
Durple is inspired by Tone City’s Mandragora, which is based off Lovepedal’s Kalamazoo. The Double side is a modded version of Tone City’s Blues Man overdrive, with added improvements to volume and tonal options.
Durple
This side is a low to mid-gain overdrive that feels like a non-master volume amp with how the gain and volume controls interact with each other. Starting with all controls at twelve o’clock, there is a slight volume boost with a little grit to it. The gain control has quite the range of overdrive to it when the volume is low – though for best results, keep the volume up past a quarter where the Durple really opens up.
The relationship between the gain and volume cannot be overstated on the Durple, as each adjustment affects the other in what could be considered more akin to a boost with an addable drive than an overdrive. So much so that the amount of volume on offer can start to feel considerable past twelve o’clock. The tone control sounds like a low pass filter, though its effect is subtle across its range.
Mid-control allows the user to dial in either a low mid-rumble or a high mid-snarl – though don’t expect cocked wah style sounds as the shape of the Q is broad. The Durple side works beautifully as an always-on pedal, especially for adding low-mid snarl or high-mid bite to your sound.
Double
The Double side is a very low gain yet muscly overdrive thanks to the sheer amount of volume it has to offer. The first three quarters of the gain control delivers a restrained, touch-sensitive response, with the gain ramping up more noticeably in the last quarter. Even so, the Double stays in clean-to-edge-of-breakup territory, which is precisely where it thrives. Like the Durple side, the volume control is where the Double shines – it will seriously kick your amp hard, and anything above a quarter will boost your amp considerably. Set the gain anywhere in the last quarter and adjust volume to taste. The smooth/bright toggle switch adds a subtle top end brilliance when set to bright. The tone control is more of a standard dark to bright EQ control similar to what can be found on most electric guitars.
How do both sides sound together?
This feels like walking a tightrope when both sides are engaged, and the pedal rewards a measured approach. Gain and tonal-wise they pair beautifully, but the Double Durple is at its best when settings are kept modest – both gains all the way up becomes too mushy, and players with lower wattage amps will want to be mindful of how hard they’re pushing the volume on each side simultaneously.
The pedal enclosure feels sturdy and measures 12cm long, 10cm wide and 5.2cm tall. The pedal has top mounted jacks and 9-volt centre negative power with a combined current draw of 25mA with both sides active. The foot switches have a nice click to them and have a fair amount of space between them for individual engagement but not so much that they cannot be engaged simultaneously. The mid-control uses a mini potentiometer – a practical necessity given the symmetrical layout opposite the smooth/bright toggle switch – and while the feel is less substantial than the full-sized pots, the tactility leaves something to be desired. The normal-sized potentiometers are smooth in action and feature silver witch hat knobs with black plastic grip around the centre.
This is an exceptional low-to-mid gain overdrive for the price point, especially when you’re getting two flavours of overdrive that have managed to address the common lack of volume boost problem that many classic overdrives suffer from. I encourage anyone just beginning to enter the world of overdrive pedals to try one, as well as overdrive pedal aficionados, as the Double Durple has plenty of edge of breakup and boosted tones to offer.
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