Cornerstone has launched the Imperium V2, a revamped take on the original that is now – surely – the dictionary definition of a twofer overdrive pedal.
Like its predecessor, it offers two flavours of drive. One taken from Cornerstone’s Dumble amp-inspired Gladio drive pedal, the other from its Tube Screamer-inspired Antique.
But V2 sees Cornerstone double down on the 2-in-1 concept, doubling the number of 1/4” input/outputs on the pedal, allowing players to get creative with their routing, hooking them up with a pedal switcher and deploying each side of the pedal as its own separate overdrive pedal, or placing another pedal in the middle of the drive circuits.
You can of course swap the order of the drive circuits. Feed the Antique into the Gladio side or vice versa. There is a comprehensive array of controls – but ostensibly the Imperium V2 is two three-knob drive pedals mashed together in a new-look housing, each with their own footswitch.
Incidentally, this new look is pretty classy. You should expect that from Cornerstone – its Antique V3’s Vespa inspired enclosure is very easy on the eye.
The Gladio side is all about touch-sensitivity and dynamics. You will find Volume and Gain controls, plus a Clean control that allows you to blend your clean electric guitar signal with the overdriven, giving you an exacting control over the drive and its texture – what Cornerstone describes as a“touch-sensitive overdrive that feels like an extension of your fingers”.
Over on the Antique side of the Imperium we have Volume, Gain and Presence, the latter acting much like it as it does in a guitar amp, adjusting the high-end frequencies after the signal has gone through the clipping stage.
This makes it easy to dial in a bit of post-hoc bite for cutting through the mix, or rolling off some of that high-frequency information for a bit more warmth.
Both sides of the pedal are served by a mini-dial for Tone. Used individually, the Gladio and Antique drive voicing is low to medium gain. Think tube amp drive, blues guitar, rhythm, all that sort of thing. Stack them and you get a lot more action, more saturation, a more lead-friendly sound with an abundance of harmonic content, sustain, all of that good stuff.
Now, the Imperium V3 is not cheap. It will set you back £319/€349. But then Cornerstone is calling this the “ultimate dual overdrive pedal” and it sure sounds good in the demo videos. With the four I/O treatment, it could be in the conversation, although it might have some competition – not least from one of its siblings.
Let’s not forget, the Cornerstone Colosseum, with its similarly configured Blues Breaker and Klon-style drive circuits, is one heck of a pedal. The Imperium V2 is available now – see Cornerstone for more details.
