This ain’t your father’s green overdrive pedal
Plumes is green. It’s an overdrive. But it’s not another direct clone of the oft-duplicated pedal guitarists far and wide are familiar with — for many reasons. First of all, Plumes eschews the typical JRC4558 circuit and bipolar transistor buffers for JFET op-amps. It also raises the input impedance to nearly 10 megaohms. Plumes is powered by internally converting its 9-volt input to +/- 9 volts. All in all, Plumes offers lower noise and improved signal integrity over its predecessor, along with increased headroom, extra dimensionality, and added clarity. It also imparts a healthy dose of compression with truckloads of sustain.
One of the most versatile overdrives out there
Many overdrives are a one-trick pony, but not Plumes — its three clipping modes make it one of the most versatile OD stompboxes out there. Mode 1 offers symmetrical LED clipping, supplying you with loads of crunch and compression. This is a great setting for down-and-dirty rock ‘n’ roll tones. Mode 2 is a wide-open op-amp clean boost. This setting dispenses with the soft-clipping diodes altogether, leaving you with a straight op-amp drive that’s perfect for pushing your clean amp into restrained breakup. Mode 3 is an asymmetrical silicon diode arrangement that produces a familiar-sounding drive, but with more clarity and transparency. Plumes covers a lot of ground in a lot of situations.
A Tone knob that sounds great at any setting
On many overdrive pedals, only about 25% of the Tone knob’s range is useable. The rest produces either mud or ear-piercing high mids. Plumes takes this into account. Its fine-tuned Tone control is useful throughout its entire range. It’s like EarthQuaker Devices took the useable portion of the Tone knob on a typical overdrive and spread it over Plumes’ entire range. All the way counterclockwise, Plumes’ Tone control delivers clear, punchy lows without becoming boomy or muddy. All the way clockwise, the Tone knob adds brightness and clarity without shredding your ears.