Mad Professor has unveiled its eagerly anticipated Simble MKII, with the revised overdrive pedal offering improved headroom, more clarity, and that same transparent sound that made it so popular in the first place.
The Simble MKII is one of a growing number of drive pedals to be inspired by Dumble guitar amplifiers. Of course it is not marketed as such. There is no promise that you buy this and it’s like adding an own Overdrive Special. The professor might be made but not foolish. Who would believe such claims?
Indeed, Dumble owners such as Kenny Wayne Shepherd will tell you that even the Dumble clone amps are not quite like the real thing. There’s no like for like (which is why people are willing to pay six figures for an amp designed by the late Alexander “Howard” Dumble, who passed away in 2022).
But that said, with its interactive controls for Level, Contour, Attack and Sensitivity, the Simble MKII offers players a plethora of ways to shape their electric guitar sound with expanded dynamics and drive, without it losing its sense of itself. Sometimes we just need a little red box to sprinkle the magic dust on our tone.
Forget about this pedal outshining your amp; the Simble MKII is the kind of pedal to get the most out of it. You could dial it in as a boost, using the extra dBs to hit the front end of your amp. It has something to suit all kinds of guitars two; guitars with single-coils, humbuckers, P-90s, whatever.
The Attack dial shapes the tonal response of the overdrive, while the Contour dial that is neutral at 12 o’clock you can brighten or darken your output to taste.
Sensitivity is the knob you want to turn if you want more overdrive and compression. Here is where you will hear the effects of Lassi Ukkonen’s new circuit design, which was tweaked to improve string clarity – particularly when drive is maxed out.
That Contour dial has been cleaned up a bit too. Some players found it a little muddy with some guitars. The enclosure has been redesigned, with Mad Professor retiring the faux wood panelling effect of the original in favour of a cleaner, meaner deep red with cream text and black dials.
At the risk of expounding the case for a pedal we haven’t tried – yet – this Simble MKII looks like a lot of fun, and at €199 it is an eminently affordable option for the Dumble-curious to put some of that Holy Grail sound on your pedalboard.
The Simble MKII runs on 9V DC, drawing 10mA, from a pedalboard power supply. It is available now. For more details, head on over to Mad Professor.
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