Tune Up: DMB Americana/Stellar Drive Pedal Reviews
posted in: Features • Reviews & Playlists
I know guitar players out there who own pedal boards that are worth more than their guitars or amps. Many players are constantly trolling through music stores looking for that next great used pedal, sometimes spending hundreds of dollars a pop. For this week’s tech article, I’m going to pick one of the many stomp box brands out there and review a couple of their products. While there are many pedal providers (some big, some small), I went with DMB Pedals this week for one simple reason: I’ve used their pedals and trust their construction.
While I myself am not an electric guitar player (I play bass in rock settings and acoustic guitar in singer/songwriter settings), I respect every bit of what DMB has done. This year they have revamped some of my favorite DMB pedals and have even come out with a couple brand new models. They’ve released The Bumble, Foxy Pirate, Lexi and Americana. Here, I’ll talk about the newly revamped Americana pedal as well as DMB’s staple, Stellar Drive.
Americana:
Lately, I’ve really been into the country/folk rock sound. There’s nothing more satisfying than a simple song with open-chord accompaniment. In today’s music industry, it’s important to have an American sound. For that, we have the aptly-named Americana pedal from DMB. They’ve had this pedal before but just recently released a four-knob version. The difference between the two versions is that the 4-knob contains a clean control in addition to the drive, level and tone controls. I personally find this fourth knob really handy because it allows you to have a great Americana juxtaposition between a dirty, heavily-driven sound and a clean, folk-like sound.
In general, this pedal has seemed a bit more raw than a standard overdrive pedal. Where it shines, though, is in the open chords (hence why I use it for more folk-rock songs). It seems to give me some more upper frequencies as well. While it may lack a little in fullness, it makes up for it in true American grit/flavor. Additionally, as mentioned above, you can add a touch of clean to your sound by using that fourth knob. Overall, it’s a great unit.
Stellar Drive:
This pedal seems to be, for lack of a better term, a more traditional overdrive pedal. Right off the bat, it is clearly a fuller option. The mids and lows come through extremely well. What I find most impressive about this though, though, is its versatility. With this unit, you can also get a fourth clean knob to add a bit of a third dimension to your sound (as noted by a DMB reviewer). The sound is somewhere between alt rock and blues rock, with solid overdrive grit for lead guitar riffs and full inner frequencies for rhythm guitar enforcement. In general I find this pedal effective, although at times it seems a little difficult to break up the sound beyond recognition. I sometimes like my overdrive pedals to have enough drive headroom to give me a fuzz-like sound; this pedal keeps the guitar’s tone fully intact all the way through. It’s a only minor setback though, and Stellar Drive will guarantee a full, reliable tone for any rock/funk guitarist.
Overall, DMB is a very solid manufacturer. There is often a waitlist for their products so I recommend heading to their website and ordering a product as soon as they announce it, before demand becomes too great. DMB do make and guarantee each one of their pedals. And while you sometimes have to wait for the product’s completion, the quality is worth it. These pedals are unique, versatile and rugged: a great addition to anyone’s board.