GEAR SPOTLIGHT
ANASOUNDS
SAVAGE MKII
REVIEW BY DAVID A. EVANS
STREET PRICE $199.00
The Savage (or sauvage
in French) is a new pedal
from Anasounds, and
is inspired by the Klon
Centaur overdrive. It
features the simple and
distinctive Anasounds
styling: laser-etched
wood atop an otherwise
unadorned aluminum
housing. Three knobs
control output, tone, and
gain levels. But readers
shouldn’t let the design’s
apparent simplicity mislead
them. The Savage also
features five internal
controls for maximum tone
sculpting power. The result
is a sound that is anything
but simple.
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GEAR SPOTLIGHT //
I compared the clean tone
to mild and moderate gain
settings and was impressed
by the transparency of the
unit. The distorted tone
lost only a slight amount
of higher end frequencies,
but it also seemed to bring
out more of the mid-range
frequencies. This gave
the distorted tone a fuller
sound, and a bit more
punchiness.
Lower Gain settings
produced a rather clean
sound. Indeed, at the
lower settings, I strained
to detect any coloration or
distortion that the pedal
might have imparted, but
heard none. For this reason,
Anasounds Savage MKII
the Savage would make an
excellent boost.
At moderate to high
Gain settings, the Savage
tended toward a warmer,
fuller sound than the
one I obtained from the
clean signal. I would
even describe the tone
as creamy and somewhat
smooth, particularly for
single-note passages that I
played on the lower, thicker
strings.
The Savage’s Tone knob
was particularly good. I
turned the knob to the
right to add in some higher
frequencies, and expected
a bit of stridency, as is so
often the case with EQ