Plumes Small Signal Shredder Overdrive Effects Pedal

The Plumes Small Signal Shredder Overdrive Effects Pedal from Earthquaker Devices is a low- to medium-gain overdrive based on the trusty lime-green overdrive that has been an industry staple since its inception. This is the kind of overdrive that works in conjunction with a good valve amp to create the warm saturation people like to call “transparent”. While this circuit has been the foundation of countless other overdrives available today, the Plumes has a few twists and turns to make it unique enough to stand out.

The Plumes does away with the trusted JRC4558 OpAmp and the BJT buffers and replaces them with low-noise JFET OpAmps for a more robust and precise signal with a significantly lower noise floor. The 9v power input is internally converted to +/- 9v for more headroom and a clarity that is almost three-dimensional. EarthQuaker raised the input impedance to a whopping 10 megaohms for a stronger signal with more clarity and chime. They also adjusted the cutoff of the tone control to deliver a more useful range of travel with more booming bass on the low end without sacrificing the cutting midrange and bright top end. The Plumes also offers three different clipping options to ensure that it will work with a wide variety of gear and playing styles. 

The Plumes features EarthQuaker Devices relay-based “soft touch” Flexi-Switch Technology for both momentary and latching footswitch operation as well as a very low 25mA current draw.