Square Amps is a company based around pushing the envelope on misconception . Where most people would say “ It can ’ t be done ,” Matt Richards says “ Why the hell not ?” We are in an industry that thrives on tradition ; many of us have a preset idea in our minds of what sounds and looks like good gear , and we run with it . We all more or less drool over the same ’ 59 Les Pauls and ’ 54 Strats , the same ’ 59 Bassmans and ’ 64 JTM-45s . Where many builders would go the safe route and create a painstaking recreation both sonically and aesthetically of this hallowed gear , Matt
Richards says , “ Let ’ s build a guitar amp in a waffle maker .” ( Before you ask , yes , it sounds glorious .)
Today on the bench is the Scenic Drive from the mind that brought you The Farm ( reviewed in Issue 128 of Tone Report Weekly ) comes a pedal with a basic premise to deliver tones that range from sweet and mild to thick and crunchy . Let ’ s take the scenic route and dive right into this plastic pedal of doom .
The Scenic Drive is fairly simple , both inside and out . The enclosure is made of an impact-resistant ABS plastic , which as a gear nerd , is something I didn ’ t
realize I liked until I held it in my hand . I could see all the little inner workings and components of the pedal , while being lightweight and pretty damn tough to boot . Try as you might , you would have a hard time trying to break this thing unless you had an industrial clamp or hydraulic press on hand . There are two simple controls for Volume and Gain , which react quite nicely to each other in a variety of different ways . Cranking the gain up reveals a nasty , primitive fuzz that still maintains its high end clarity . It ’ s not an incredibly complex sound , but it ’ s got just the right amount of air
SQUARE AMPS
SCENIC DRIVE
REVIEW BY YOEL KREISLER STREET PRICE $ 100.00
Square Amps is a company based around pushing the envelope on misconception . Where most people would say “ It can ’ t be done ,” Matt Richards says “ Why the hell not ?” We are in an industry that thrives on tradition ; many of us have a preset idea in our minds of what sounds and looks like good gear , and we run with it . We all more or less drool over the same ’ 59 Les Pauls and ’ 54 Strats , the same ’ 59 Bassmans and ’ 64 JTM-45s . Where many builders would go the safe route and create a painstaking recreation both sonically and aesthetically of this hallowed gear , Matt
Richards says , “ Let ’ s build a guitar amp in a waffle maker .” ( Before you ask , yes , it sounds glorious .)
Today on the bench is the Scenic Drive from the mind that brought you The Farm ( reviewed in Issue 128 of Tone Report Weekly ) comes a pedal with a basic premise to deliver tones that range from sweet and mild to thick and crunchy . Let ’ s take the scenic route and dive right into this plastic pedal of doom .
The Scenic Drive is fairly simple , both inside and out . The enclosure is made of an impact-resistant ABS plastic , which as a gear nerd , is something I didn ’ t
realize I liked until I held it in my hand . I could see all the little inner workings and components of the pedal , while being lightweight and pretty damn tough to boot . Try as you might , you would have a hard time trying to break this thing unless you had an industrial clamp or hydraulic press on hand . There are two simple controls for Volume and Gain , which react quite nicely to each other in a variety of different ways . Cranking the gain up reveals a nasty , primitive fuzz that still maintains its high end clarity . It ’ s not an incredibly complex sound , but it ’ s got just the right amount of air
50 GEAR REVIEW // Square Amps Scenic Drive