Wampler Plextortion User Manual
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Plextortion. Distortion
Sitting in the good company of the Wampler Marshall®-in-a-Box type
pedal family, the Plextortion takes a medium-to-high gain approach to
getting that classic "roar" people associate with famous British amps of
the late '70s and early '80s.
Brian has carefully voiced this pedal to sound similar to a killer, cranked
JCM800® going into a loaded 4x12 cab with Greenback® speakers. In
other words, the sound that dened early '80s rock and roll, from neoclassical shredders to heavy metal and speed metal genre-starters to hair
metal guitar icons.
If the Pinnacle is intended to do the heavy lifting of getting an authentic,
precise, laser-accurate simulation of the "brown sound," the Plextortion is
a generalist, capable thanks to its three-band EQ of a huge range of rock
tones and with a gain range that covers classic rock to cranked up MIAB
mayhem. Because of its powerful three-band EQ and because of careful
design attention from Brian when creating and adjusting the pedal to be
"just right," the Plextortion can achieve its excellent sound through
virtually any amplier.
From the smallest practice amps to solid state or modeling amps to
high-quality tube ampliers, a little EQ adjustment and you'll be on your
way to classic roar.
This is one of the long-time favorites in the Wampler Pedals lineup, a pedal that helped establish Brian Wampler as
one of the premier designers of distortion pedals, and now that you own it, prepare to experience why!
To get the most out of your new pedal, you'll want to become very familiar with the controls. The Plextortion features
controls for Gain and Volume, as well as a full three-band EQ for versatile tone shaping and a Vint./Modern Toggle
switch to help determine the overall tonal push of the pedal.
I mentioned earlier that there are a vast range of distortion tones on tap with this particular pedal, and judicious
experimentation with the various options available will prove extremely useful in getting you the classic tone you're
after, or the modern sound in your head. As with all Wampler Pedals products, the Plextortion distortion pedal
includes a high-quality true-bypass switch which takes it out of the signal path when bypassed. Experiment and
enjoy!
Bypass Switch – A true-bypass footswitch ensures solid, mechanical removal of the circuit when it isn't wanted,
meaning you don't lose any tone when the pedal is o.
Volume – This control adjusts the output level of the Plextortion. There's plenty of
volume on tap, so whether you want to go farther than your input level or just make
sure it can do unity volume (the same level of signal going out as you feed it, when
active), you're covered. The Gain, three-band EQ knobs, and the Vint./Modern Toggle all
have an impact on total output volume level, so you're probably better o waiting to
adjust the Volume until you've dialed in the other controls. Re-adjustment might be
necessary if you get it to the desired level and still need to tweak the sound. The
Plextortion is capable of very high volume output. That means two things: rst, take
care not to overly boost small amps to avoid damage to their speakers. Second, very
low output guitars may have diculty with the great amount of volume available.
Please contact us directly if you have a very low output guitar and nd yourself unable
to go past about 9 o'clock on the volume knob without it heavily boosting your
volume.
Gain – This control lets you dial in anything from a classic, warm crunch with a tight
low end all the way to heavy '80s gain. The control is quite sensitive, and raising the
Gain does, to a certain point, raise the volume as well, so be careful of their interaction.
A piece of advice: classic shredders usually aren't using nearly as much distortion as it
might sound like on an album. Control and playing skill takes the place of distortion,
and what comes across is aggression, an intense and passionate playing style that hits
notes and chords accurately and with condence. Sometimes, adding more distortion
will just add more distortion. Try lower gain settings with a song you've practiced
extensively and know inside and out, and see if you don't agree that sometimes, when
it comes to distortion, less is more, and passionate, aggressive precision counts for a
great deal of the overall sound.
Alternating/Direct
Vint./Modern on VINT, Gain at Noon, Treble at 2 o'clock, Mids
at 2 o'clock, Bass at 11 o'clock-noon
Suggested Settings (volume to suit)
Treble – This adjusts the frequency emphasis on the highs. It's perhaps one of the more
conventional EQ adjustment setups in the Wampler Pedals lineup, but it is still
extremely eective. If you want more highs, raise the Treble. If you want less, lower the
Treble. This control is in some ways determined by the Vint./Modern switch – set to
The Rhoads Less Traveled
Vint./Modern on VINT, Gain at 2 o'clock, Treble at 3-4 o'clock,
Mids at 1 o'clock, Bass at Noon
Vint., you will have an inherently lower amount of treble, whereas Modern mode allows
you more high frequency room to expand.
Mids – This adjusts the "body" of the sound, the midrange frequencies where guitar's
fundamentals reside. Scooping this out can put you back farther in the band mix, while
pushing it up will put you more forward in the mix. Again, while this is a pretty
standard control, nonetheless it carries that Wampler versatility – some 3-band EQ
controls are pretty limited in their range of adjustment, but Brian has worked hard to
make sure that you can dial in your ideal sound with the Plextortion across a huge
variety of amps.
Bass – This control determines the amount of low end kick, and is great for dialing in
the pedal to meet the needs of your cabinet. The idea of the Plextortion is a tight,
powerful sound, and one of the ways in which it strongly distinguishes itself from the
Pinnacle Distortion is in its low frequency tightness. There's very little "spongy" quality
to the lows, it's more like playing o of a well-dened board. Think 4x12. When using
the Plextortion with a closed-back cabinet, you might want to dial the Bass knob back
Round and round and round and round
Vint./Modern on MODERN, Gain at 3-4 o'clock, Treble
Maxed, Mids at Noon, Bass at Noon
to keep things tight.
Vint./Modern Switch – This control essentially sets the overall voicing of the pedal's
frequencies, to be either darker with a classic tonality or brighter and more modern if
you'd prefer that. Setting this up rst will give you a good "starting point" for your tone,
but it's also useful if you've adjusted everything else and feel the overall tone needs to
shift in a larger direction.
Power Requirements
The pedal can be powered by a 9V battery. The battery terminal is located inside the pedal. If
using a power supply, power needed for the pedal is 9V DC, regulated, center pin negative, as
supplied by most standard Boss™/Ibanez™/Etc. supplies. The pedal can be safely powered with a
multi-supply, like the Visual Sound 1SPOT™. The pedal was designed explicitly around the usage
of a 9V DC power source, and is intended to sound its best at 9V. To avoid damage to the pedal,
do not exceed 18V DC, do not use center pin positive adapters, and do not use AC power. Using
an incorrect power adapter can lead to damage and will void the warranty on the pedal. This
pedal draws 12mA.
Please note: If you are using a battery, it will drain when the input cord is plugged in.
Return and Warranty Policy
For direct sales, there is a 7-day “no questions asked” period where you may return the pedal for any reason, provided that it is in its original condition. Please retain
all packaging within this period in case you decide to return it! We only require that you pay shipping back. The 7 days start when you receive the pedal. This does
not apply to dealer or retailer sales – see their individual return policies for specic information.
Rockken
Vint./Modern on MODERN, Gain at 2 o'clock, Treble at 3-4
o'clock, Mids at 1 o'clock, Bass at 1 o'clock
Any trademarks attributed that are not owned by Wampler Pedals, Inc. are for
demonstrative purposes only, and are property of their respective owners
All Wampler Pedals, Inc. pedals carry a 5-year, fully transferable warranty that covers defects due to parts and labor. The warranty begins at the point of purchase.
Please remember to register your pedal as soon as possible after purchase at the following web page to ensure quicker service if you should ever need to make a
warranty claim: www.wamplerpedals.com/warranty_registration
For warranty repairs or questions, please feel free to contact us at www.wamplerpedals.com/contact_us.html
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