IndyGuitarist Plextortion

I bought mine new and it came with pretty good instructions, not only for suggested settings but also for how to approach finding the best setting for your own equipment.

Thanks to all the help you get in the documentation, it's pretty easy to get a good sound from this pedal, providing you take the reccommended approach and don't simply point everything to 12 o' clock.

This is version 2 of the pedal, which besides being purple also seems to have more dials than the older orange box. However, it's pretty clear what each one does providing you're familiar with marshall amps.

I use this pedal with a Fender Strat, going into the clean channel of either a Fender or Marshall valve amp.

This pedal needs tubes, and it needs VOLUME. If you want to get optimum results from the plextortion you have to run it into a valve amp on a clean (or just slightly breaking up) setting with speakers that do it justice (can't beat a 4x12'' cab - unless you have two of them!) afterall the sound it claims to emulate is of a Marshall JCM800 - it sure aint going to sound like a Marshall stack if it's coming out of a 1x8'' speaker.

Don't even consider this pedal if you're hoping to make your bedroom practice amp sound like a JCM800 - solid state amps will just turn "fizzy" as will anything else that doesn't carry enough weight of its own. For my own bedroom use I get a better low volume/recording Marshall tone out of my PODXT's Plexi patches.

Even out of a very respectable 1x12'' JVM combo, the plextortion doesn't quite sound comfortable unless the volume is at a sufficient level.

Now there's a reason I want to make all of the above absolutely clear, because nobody who takes all of this information on board can possibly fail to find an absolutely astounding range of musical overdrive and distortion tones from this box... It's quieter than my tubescreamer (but sounds great when boosted by the TS) - warmer and richer than FullTone overdrive pedals AND will give you more drive.

If you have any doubts about this pedal, check out the videos on Wampler's website - the Plextortion will cover all your Marshally inspired sound requirements and enable you to take them with you, anywhere you can find a clean valve amp with a good bit of oomph.

Have only gigged with it once, can't really comment on its long-term reliability.

Brian Wampler (who makes these pedals) has a legendary reputation. He frequently does modifications to vintage amps and effects pedals by post. I haven't dealt with customer support myself but don't let that put you off this company!

I play a real variety of stuff at a variety of venues around a city with about 10 million people and about 10 parking spaces (which is just as well because I can't drive!). As such I can't really cart my choice of amplifier everywhere I go, therefore I rely on good pedals to keep my tone the way I want it. This one delivers in buckets.

Just buy it, it's ridiculously cheap! But seriously, I've got used to seeing price tags of ??170 - ??250 for "boutique" effects pedals of this quality and this is the best constructed, best sounding and the only genuinely "hand made" pedal I own - and the only thing cheaper on my pedalboard is my tuner! This pedal is nothing short of fantastic value and I'm looking forward to my next purchase from this company.

I just picked this pedal up about a week ago. I must say it is one of the best distortion pedals I have ever owned I sold a Fulltone Gt-500 to get this pedal and the plextortion in my honest
opinion sounds much better than the Fulltone. I recieved the plextortion hooked it up on my effects board and was very happy with the tone I was able to get out of it right from the start.
The version I got was the newer plextortion that has a boost on it. The boost is not as pronounced as the fulltone gt-500 but it does inhance the overall tone of the plextortion in a very pleasing way. Its doesn't over ride the distortion on the pedal it just inhances it. Unfortunately it didn't come with a manuel or any settings suggestions. However it was very easy to get fat warm distortion tones just by dialing them in with the tone controls.

The tones you can get from this pedal are very Marshall like in a JCM800 type of way.
I basically got this pedal to drive my Marshall Vintage Modern amps, the high dynamic range on the Vintage Modern amps give you a fat old school 60's 70's rock distortion.
I use the plextortion for the more modern tones and longer sustain, for leads, and
distorted rythms. This pedal is just what I needed to inhance my overall tone.
It is a little noisy at high gain settings but most distortion pedals are. I found that the tone and contour knobs kind of interact with each other as far as the tone shaping go's with this pedal kind of like the treble and mids on an amp depending on how you set these two controls on the plextortion you can get some really awesome fat distortion or nice scooped tones as well. This pedal straight up rocks! Awesome overall tone. My effects rig is Fender custom shop Jimi Hendrix Voodoo Stratocaster -plextortion-Lovepedal COT50-ZVex-FuzzFactory-Boss Digital Tuner-Moogerfooger Low Pass Filter 101 with mf2 expression pedal-Mooger fooger analog delay1040z- - Marshall Vintage Modern 50watt head and half stack or 50 watt combo. These effects all sound great together in this order
I aslo have a Mojo Vibe on order and I have to wait and see were I am going to place it in my effects order more than likely I will put it first in line from the amp.

It seems very well made It looks like it's well put together on the inside.
I would be able to use it without a back up
I still have options with the fuzz factory and the church of tone
I really don't see any potential problems with this pedal
It seems to me to be pretty solid.

I talked to Brain Wampler on the phone and he is one of the humblest
guy's in the business very friendly and informative about his products.
I highly recommend Indy Guitarist's as far as their products and customer service
go's they are a class act.

I play rock blues funk & Gospel I like a variety of sounds and tone's and I have been through so much gear I almost committed myself to gear rehab! It is frustrating when you get a pedal that you think is going to deliver and you get it and it turns out to be not what you thought it was going to be then you end up selling it on e-bay. Well not the case with this pedal.
I have yet to see one of these babies on e-bay and now I know why! I have been playing for
32 years and I am still learning. I compared this pedal to the Zvex box of rock and the Fulltone Gt-500 The box of rock would have been my next choice over the three. I am happy I got a hold of the plextortion. www.myspace.com/fazeblaze

This pedal is really easy to use. Gain, bass, mid, treble, and volume controls are very interactive, flexible and effective. The eq section is designed after the classic Marshall "tonestack" and the pedal is tuned to sound like a JCM 800. It features the standard 9v power plug (boss style) and on the inside there is a connection for a battery. Also inside the pedal (accessed by unscrewing four screws on the back of the pedal) is a trimpot that adjusts the overall treble content of the pedal. Very effective.

An extremely bright blue LED lights up when you engage the pedal making it very easy to tell if the unit is "on" or "off". The pedal itself is about the size of the Voodoo Lab pedals, so it will fit easily on your pedal board. Input/Output jacks are located on the right/left sides of the pedal.

Also true bypass, very high quality construction and components, attractive "fire orange" color with black knobs.

My only two "negatives" are that the knobs move fairly easily and you have to turn up the volume level quite a bit (3-4 o'clock) to equalize it with your amp. Other than those minor details, I was able to get a great tone with this pedal in a matter of minutes.

This pedal flat out rocks. I cannot say enough about the sheer power that this pedal offers. If you like the sound of a Marshall JCM 800, but prefer the clean tone of fender, keep your fender and buy this pedal. The gain, bass response, and clarity are all there, along with that classic Marshall crunch (edge).

While playing with the pedal for the first time, I was listening to the Collective Soul's Blue album and the sound was dead on - both for rhythm and lead. Amazing!

My set-up is as follows: Fender American Deluxe Fat Strat w/ Seymour Duncan pickups - Boss Tuner - G2D Cream Tone (amazing pedal!!) - Plextortion - Line6 DL4 - BBE Sonic Stomp - Fender Hot Rod Deluxe (fitted w/ 6V6's and a Celestion Vintage 30). I also use a Fulltone Choralflange from time to time, but I like to keep my set-up as simple and versatile as possible. The Cream Tone is similar to the Fulltone Fulldrive, but darker and more amp-like (highly recommended - John Mayer just bought one and I'm 99% positive I heard him using it at his last concert in Chicago). It covers the blues/rhythm/overdrive sounds. The Plextortion is 100% Marshall and covers a WIDE range of overdrive/distortion tones. I use it as a high-gain distortion and the sound out of my deluxe is HUGE. Coupled with the BBE Sonic Stomp, my deluxe sounds like a stack (I know, not really, but the bass response and Marshall tone are all there).

This pedal is a little noisy on higher gain settings, but not unreasonable. The sustain and feedback are awesome though, even at low volumes. It interacts very well with my amp and all my pedals.

Some previous overdrive/distortion pedals that I have owned/used include: the Visual Sound Jekyll & Hyde, TS-9 (808 mod), Boss Blues Driver, Fulltone Fulldrive 2, and others. For the last 2 years I was using the VS Jekyll & Hyde and the Plextortion really blows it out of the water.

So far this pedal seems dependable. Very solid construction and high quality parts.

Brian Wampler of Indyguitarist has been a joy to work with. I am a no-name guitar player who lives in Chicago and Brian has returned all my e-mails and answered all my questions. He does outstanding work for many popular session players, including Brent Mason, and yet he is kind and helpful with everybody. And the pedal arrived at my door about 5 days earlier than expected. Great work!

I play many styles, including rock, blues, "Christian" rock and worship, and a little bit of country/heavy metal. I have been playing guitar for about 11 years. I am a very meticulous player and was very close to breaking into the Nashville scene before God called me into ministry. Now I play for various Christian worship bands, and am always complimented on my tone. I love to listen to and play music from Stevie Ray Vaughan, Rush, Jimmie Hendrix, ACDC, Eric Johnson, Collective Soul, Coldplay, Dire Straits (sultains!), Maroon 5, U2, and anything else that inspires me.

I listened to many other pedals online before deciding on this one. You can listen to this pedal at www.indyguitarist.com. The samples are very good and the pedal sounds even better in person. The one sample on youtube is mediocre at best, don't base your opinion of this pedal off that clip! Honestly, this pedal is a steal at only $159. Get them while they're hot!

If this pedal were lost or stolen, I would not hesitate to buy it again. I love the sound of my guitar now and I have never had more fun playing in my life (ok, maybe that was going a little too far). Thanks Brian!