Rodrigo from Fender shows us the new range of effects pedals at Winter NAMM 2019
Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC) recently announced the expansion of their successful effect pedals line as part of the brand’s ongoing commitment to the category. Debuting at Winter NAMM 2019 in Anaheim, Calif., Fender is taking its pedal offerings to the next level with the introduction of six all-new models featuring original designed circuits including: Bubbler Chorus, Lost Highway Phaser, MTG Tube Distortion, Downtown Express, Tre-Verb, and The Pinwheel. Priced from A$299 to $469, these additions provide players looking to enhance their sound and expand their tone a wide variety of expressive options.
Designed in Southern California, these new Fender pedals were engineered with insight from professional gigging and studio musicians, artists and some of the industry’s best minds. At the helm is in-house expert Stan Cotey, who spent 25 years in professional audio, as well as 13 years designing and engineering many of Fender’s digital and tube guitar amplifiers; he leads a team of engineers that are behind some of Fender’s most innovative modern pedals and amplifiers.
“The initial launch of our effects pedals line in 2018 was very successful. Our first wave of pedals featured a lot of distortion and overdrive effects, knowing that this year we would be able to focus on modulation effects to help further broaden a player’s palette,” said Richard Bussey, Director of Product Development – Accessories. “These new additions to our effects pedals play well into Fender’s rich history with amplifiers and amplifier effects, while also catering to the bass community with our first official bass effects pedal – The Downtown Express.”
These effects pedals are engineered for artists who are looking for stage-ready features and Fender’s signature sound and aesthetics, including sleek and modern exteriors crafted from lightweight, durable anodized aluminum. The enclosures are engineered for heavy-duty use, while switchable LED-backlit knobs show control settings at a glance, perfect for every performance environment. These six all-original circuits all have enhanced feature sets that provide players with maximum tonal possibilities, including:
• Bubbler Chorus (A$299) is a great way to add some dimension to your guitar tone—thick, wide and rolling, it’s been the foundation of many classic guitar sounds. It breathes new life into this classic analog effect, offering new ways to shape your tone. Switchable Slow and Fast speeds with independent Rate and Depth controls let players dial in the perfect sound for your music, while the Wave toggle switch lets you select between traditional Sine and Triangle waveforms. The Sensitivity control allows modulation rate changes based on your playing dynamics.
• Lost Highway Phaser (A$299) brings powerful, flexible analog phasing to your rig. Foot-switchable Fast and Slow speeds— each with their own independent Rate and Depth controls—let you easily alternate between slow, moody phase shifting all the way to rapid and warped modulation. The Wave toggle switch selects between Sine and Triangle waveforms while switchable 4- and 8-stage phasing makes it easy to add extra resonance on the fly. The Sensitivity control allows modulation rate changes based on your playing dynamics.
• MTG Tube Distortion (A$399) is co-designed with Bruce Egnater and is an all-original Fender circuit. Instead of trying to emulate the sound of tube breakup; we decided to use actual vacuum tubes and give players the real deal in a compact pedal. The heart of the MTG’s design is a NOS (New Old Stock) American made 6205 preamp tube. 3-Band EQ with Tight control and switchable boost—with its own Level and Boost controls—makes it easy to dial-in just the right sound.
• Downtown Express (A$449) is a one-stop shop for bass tone-shaping by putting everything a player would need for killer bass tone right at their feet. All the bass essentials are there— compressor, 3-band EQ and overdrive—each switchable on its own, or kill the signal for silent tuning. The Direct Output makes it easy to integrate this pedal into any performance situation—stage or studio. This pedal also includes a switch that lets players reorder the compressor and overdrive circuits to taste.
• Tre-Verb (A$469) brings players the sound of genuine Fender amplifier Tremolo and Reverb effects. These lush, dynamic amp effects inspired entire genres of music. Included in the Tre-Verb are classic reverb voicings based on Fender’s renowned spring reverb units from 1963 and 1965 and multiple tremolo modes to make sure players can get the exact sound they need for their music. A full suite of tone-shaping controls, including tap tempo for the tremolo effect, make this pedal sonically flexible, while the stereo inputs and outputs ensure it’s easy to connect to any pedalboard or amp.
• The Pinwheel (A$469) gives a classic sound achieved with an organ speaker and amplifier. Featuring three different rotary speaker voices, including Fender’s very own Vibratone effect. Switchable Slow and Fast speeds let players spin up the perfect sound for their music, while the onboard Overdrive adds some texture to the tone. The Sensitivity control allows modulation rate changes based on playing dynamics
Fender’s new effect pedals will be available in 2019 at local dealers.