Source Audio Multiwave Distortion Unit

Well first off ??? Disclaimer ??? I have written numerous blogs for the Source Audio website after meeting Roger and the gang at the SoCal NAMM show a few years ago, where I was very impressed by them and their adventurous spirit.

Extremely easy to use. Love the led's.

This is a pedal that really inspires me to new discoveries.
Let???s go over it and look at the features.
Here???s what is listed on the Source Audio website ??? I will go over these and give my impressions.
Description of Effects in the Multiwave Distortion Product
MULTI BAND ??? NORMAL 1-3
??? Description: These three settings are best for maximum clarity of the individual notes in a chord. These distortion curves are similar to standard distortions.
Very clear with chords ??? very amp-like with single notes and chords. Can get noisy in extreme settings of Drive ??? but that???s the nature of the beast. Nice vocal ???wah??? quality to the tone. Slight octave ???edge??? which makes it cut through really well. ???Sustain??? controls this; for less of the effect roll it back to 9 o???clock.
MULTI BAND - FOLDBACK 4-9
??? Description: The foldback of the distortion curve greatly increases the distortion components for these settings. The higher numbered effects have more foldback creating even more distortion. Big chords may not work well.
These sounds remind me of Brian May ??? especially on the lower strings with Drive on 3 o???clock ??? where the ???layers??? of each individual notes can be differentiated by ear. Great clarity ??? sounds like clean tones are mixed with the distorted notes. Makes riffs stand out on the lower strings. Nice feedback harmonics. Turning Drive down to noon gives a more wah-filter quality. I love these Michael Schenker flavored tones. Finally I can get them!
MULTI BAND ??? OCTAVE 10-14
??? Description: Settings 10 and 11 give the purest octave effect. Settings 12 through 14 also have foldback and can get pretty strange.
Unlike classic octave effects, chords can produce some useful results.
Settings sound best on the highest 4 strings ??? great ???vocal??? eq to the individual notes. Again ??? important to go through Sustain and Drive settings for each Effect variation ??? there???s a huge amount of difference between noon and 4 o???clock on the dial settings ??? this unit has so many useful sounds ??? I find new sounds each time I plug in.
SINGLE BAND ??? NORMAL 15-16
??? Description: These two settings are fairly conventional distortion sounds.
Although ???conventional???, these will get a lot of use ??? very rich and creamy for intervals and chords, with an amp-like edge. This must be the setting that Chuck of moe used in those YouTube clips that sounded so great. Into a clean amp, crank Sustain and Drive all the way for ???Bug Muff??? type sounds, or bring them down to 1 o???clock for a nice ???brown??? sound. This tone is even fuller, edgier and richer into an amp with a slight gain to it. Very nice natural amp eq to the pedal ??? you won???t waste time trying to dial out harshness or too much treble. Great ???all purpose??? overdrive tone. And, to give you an idea on how much gain is available, Drive at 1 o???clock has as much distortion as my Mesa Boogie Mark III with gain on ???7??? in the lead channel.
SINGLE BAND ??? FOLDBACK 17-19
??? Description: With the entire guitar signal processed through a single foldback distortion curve, there will be much more intermodulation-type distortion produced.
These tones worked better into a clean amp ??? 4ths especially bring a very nice growl of intermodulation on the decay. With Drive on 4 o???clock and Sustain at noon, sustained single notes on the high strings have a dark ring which morph into a blizzard of controlled feedback and higher edged eq. ??? which mix into one another when playing a line of 8th notes. Bringing the Drive down to noon lessens the initial dark flavor of the note ??? and brings in the modulation effect in upon the attack of the note.
SINGLE BAND ??? OCTAVE 20, 21
??? Description: 20 is the purest single band octave effect, and 21 includes some foldback.
Full chords have a nice decay full of harmonics and sweeping chorus-type tones (even had some Moog Taurus bass pedal sounds happeni

Yes I depend on it - but at a gig anything can happen. You've got to backup everything.

The guys at Source Audio (www.sourceaudio.net) are cool guys totally devoted to great sounding and innovative guitar gear.

Thumbs up all around. Most of the pedals that I see coming out are copies of the Tube Screamer, or utilize the double sound function (boost and overdrive) of the Fulldrive. I like these ???vintage??? voiced pedals, as we all need them to beef up a drive channel or add some thickness and sustain to a clean channel ??? but I also really like the craziness and individuality of the Muff and Fuzz face pedals. I found that these ???off the wall??? pedals influenced my music in very unexpected and refreshing ways ??? and to get vintage overdrive and crazy fuzz from the same pedal is really having a party.
Would the vintage and futuristic aspects of distortion (with some new original twists, also) ever be combined into something new?????? Well that???s what I found with the Multiwave.