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What is it?
The Super Black Mini, as the name suggests, is an ‘amp in a box’ pedal modelled on a black panel Fender.
As a result it’s got a punchy, vintage voicing and can be used as a preamp as well as a standalone boost, pre or drive pedal.
It’s a stripped-down version of their original Super Black, which also contained Mad Professor’s Sweet Honey drive on its own footswitch.
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Specs
- Launch price: $219 | £174 | €219
- Type: Preamp/drive
- Controls: Cut/Comp, Presence, Volume, Gain, Bass, Middle, Treble
- Connectivity: In/Out, Power
- Bypass: True
- Power: 9V Battery or 9VDC Centre-negative 27mA
- Dimensions: 58 x 36 x 110 mm
- Contact: Mad Professor
Build quality
Build quality rating: ★★★★½
The Super Black build quality is what you’d expect from such an established and long-running boutique pedal outfit. The pedal is rock-solid and the six rotary controls are well laid out with two mini switches above them.
The black hammered metal casing with an off-white typeface color scheme is simple and classic – reflecting the influence of the Fender amps it takes influence from.
Usability and features
Usability and features rating: ★★★★☆
To help with headroom, the pedal can be run at up to 18V if needed
The Super Black is a true ‘amp in a box’, which recreates the signal path of a black panel Fender amp.
It’s designed this way so that it can be used either as a standalone preamp, or into the power stage of an amp (or a sim) to replicate the tone of that amp in a compact package. To help with headroom, the pedal can be run at up to 18V if needed.
Though this functionality isn’t as complex as it initially sounds, I’m pretty certain using it that way rather than just into the front of an amp is more of a power user feature. Besides, for the average bedroom player, there’s enough ways to emulate a Fender amp using DAW plug-ins, modelling pedals and amp sims.
Sounds
Sounds rating: ★★★★½
It’s easy to get a voicing that’s akin to a black panel combo
Luckily for the Super Black, it sounds the business. I’m primarily a pedals in-front-of-amp kind of player, leaning on a trio of tube amps in the studio; a 100-watt JCM900, 50-watt Mesa DC-5 and a DIY EL84 5-watt mini amp. Each amp reacts differently, with the Super Black more than capable of pushing the lower-wattage crates into power tube saturation even at moderate volume levels.
True to its inspiration, it’s easy to get a voicing that’s akin to a black panel combo, but naturally it’s closest on the Mesa clean channel. Like a black panel amp, across all three it’s quite brittle on bridge pickups, but easy to pull back from the edge with the presence control. I found myself with Les Paul in hand, writing punchy, edge-of-breakup lead parts in no time.
My favourite setting was with the low-cut on and more compression, to get greater saturation out of it when pushed
My favourite setting was with the low-cut on and more compression, to get greater saturation out of it when pushed. As an ‘amp in a box,’ it comes into its own when stacking gain stages.
With a discrete op-amp boost in front and the gain pushed up a little, there was a lot of sustain on tap. Into the real amps, it functioned as a great full-range mid-weight drive with 3-band EQ.
Elsewhere, its punchy and tight saturation meant I had to track some lead lines with it to experiment with DAW amp sims and NAM A2 captures. Like with the real amps, it works well as a pre, but I found myself mainly running it into either a full Mesa stack emulation, or even a 5150-style amp.
As it stacks so well, the greater harmonic content resulted in more characterful recorded tones. For lead parts, this unlikely pairing resulted in tight, compressed, dirty alternative rock leads.
Verdict
Amp-in-a-box pedals are strange in a way; the truer they are to their mission, the less flexibility they offer. That’s true of the Super Black Mini
Amp-in-a-box pedals are strange in a way; the truer they are to their mission, the less flexibility they offer. That’s true of the Super Black. It sounds like a black panel, and even into the front of another amp, it gives a little of that black panel flavour.
Naturally, if that isn’t for you, you’re probably better off with a more straightforward drive or boost.
Guitar World verdict: As far as non-tube Fender emulations go, the Super Black is a good effort, and the Mini brings that to a tiny form factor. As a bonus, it’s affordable compared to larger or digital emulations. It sounds good, it’s inspiring, and it gets the riffs flowing. What more could you ask for?
|
Test |
Results |
Score |
|---|---|---|
|
Build quality |
Well-built and well designed, as you would expect from Mad Professor. |
★★★★½ |
|
Usability and features |
Amp-like controls make it easy to dial in but maybe bedroom players might find a plugin more user-friendly. |
★★★★☆ |
|
Sounds |
Superlative black panel Fender sounds |
★★★★½ |
|
Overall |
If you love the sound of Fender tube amps, the Super Black Mini will give you that black panel magic. |
★★★★½ |
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