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Take one look at the swarm of extra switches and knobs on the new TightDrive Pro and it becomes clear—Amptweaker was not content enhancing their signature overdrive with a few incremental improvements. With a boost circuit, the ability to place the boost before and after the overdrive, and super-tweakable EQ and drive functions, this is an exponentially more capable and flexible TightDrive that delivers everything from light OD to heavy distortion from its bombproof enclosure.
There’s a Switch for That
In the addition to the three-knob EQ, Amptweaker includes an onboard noise gate, high-gain mode, a “plexi”-inspired voicing switch, high-end cut, and two fat switches. On top of all that, the Pro also has three effects loops. The universal loop activates when you turn the unit on and the boost loop activates when the boost footswitch is engaged. You can situate the loops in your chain before or after the Pro’s gain stage using internal switches. The third SideTrak loop is activated when you turn off the TightDrive Pro. This loop may also be used like an A/B box by connecting the send to another amplifier.
The Pro can be powered at either 9 or 18V, and will accept batteries or a barrel adaptor. There are two 9V connectors under the magnetic door, so you can run this box at 18V with batteries for more headroom. There’s also a black switch at the crown of the box to cut battery connectivity to increase longevity.
I hooked the TightDrive Pro into an Orange OR50 head with a 4x12” cab loaded with Celestion Vintage 30s. A Stratocaster and a zero-gain setting turned the Amptweaker into a very transparent boost. Single-coils make light overdrive sounds shine too—especially with the gain right around the 9 o’clock position. Twisting the gain up into the 3 o’clock region yields a medium-hot overdrive that sacrifices none of the musical chime and clarity of the Stratocaster. This is a great setting for rowdy rock rhythm, arpeggios, and leads. Higher gain settings can become a little noisy with single-coils, but the noise gate clears the air pretty effectively and can be adjusted with an internal pot.
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