Winter Storm Guitar Pedal

Description

 

 

 

Winter Storm Explanation and History:

The Winter Storm is a guitar pedal that adds as much or as little coloration to your guitar tone as you desire. It can be used as a clean boost, a light overdrive, a medium gain distortion, or anywhere in between. It features volume and gain controls (Volume and Intensity), and also features bass and treble (Depth and Visibility) controls which boost or cut frequencies depending on where you place them, with the middle position on the dial being completely flat.

As for the three modes, the boost mode is entirely clean which works well if you just want more volume for leads or to push the front your amp. The overdrive mode adds some grit and texture to your overall sound while still retaining much of your original sound. The distortion mode picks up where the overdrive mode leaves off. It has a different tonal characteristic than the overdrive mode and adds more clipping to the signal. The Winter Storm also interacts well with other guitar pedals. Because it allows you to fully control the amount of change to your guitar tone, it works as a great companion for the pedals you already own, particularly if you’re stacking overdrives or gain pedals.

The Winter Storm was created as a result of learning about guitar effects pedals, researching different designs and schematics, and building numerous prototypes which eventually led to the product I have for sale today. It all started when I decided to order and build a guitar pedal from a kit. It was a clone of the MXR Micro Amp, which is a simple one knob clean boost. It served as a good jumping off point and once I realized how that pedal worked, I decided to draw my own circuit from scratch and add the features that appealed to me.

I wanted to be able to switch between a clean boost and an overdrive, and once I figured out how, I decided that it made sense to me to add distortion as well. This would allow for three very common types of guitar tones. From there it made sense to add a tone stack, and I was very particular about how I wanted it to work. I wanted something that wouldn’t alter my original guitar sound unless I wanted it to. Often times when I would use commercial guitar pedals, I felt like I was forced into sounds even with the settings at minimum. I wanted to create a guitar pedal where I could add as much or as little change to my guitar tone as possible. If you’re interested in a perspective on the Winter Storm guitar pedal other than my own, feel free to check out this article by Christopher Horton at Electrik Jam.

In total, this process took me about two years from having an idea in my head for a guitar pedal to a finished product. I should also mention that it was around the same time that I began experimenting with what would later become the Spellbook guitar pedal, which is a self-oscillating distortion and fuzz that can also be used as a standalone synthesizer. I learned a lot during this time about not only circuit design, but about what it means to bring a product to market. There are so many things to consider and I knew that I wouldn’t release a product unless I was fully satisfied. I wanted to create the best multi effects pedal possible and today, I am proud to offer the Winter Storm as the first release in what I hope to be a full line of guitar pedals. Whether you’re a hobbyist, someone who plays live music on the weekends, or a seasoned professional, I hope that you’ll consider checking one out!