Imagine this : overpowering bass, treble as pleasant as a swarm of bees. Your fantastic new overdrive pedal, so eagerly anticipated, delivering a sound that's... well, not quite what you hoped for. Sounds familiar ? We've all been there, endlessly tweaking knobs but never quite hitting the mark. Luckily, this shouldn’t happen anymore. Enter the RIDGE, with its PRE TONE and a plethora of adjustments !
The magic of the PRE TONE
Today, we'll delve into the PRE TONE knob of your RIDGE overdrive pedal. I can already hear some of you saying "It's just another tone knob, turn it and you're good to go." Well, not quite. This knob has its own specifics and has a great impact on your tone.
The drive (sorry for this pun) to innovate, to offer an analog pedal capable of producing your dream sound, is at the heart of Kernom's philosophy. When we look at the technical aspect of the PRE TONE, this becomes clear. The PRE TONE is an active EQ circuit, variable and controllable by the musician. This circuit is placed before the saturation stage of your pedal. Turning the knob to the left boosts low frequencies with a shelving EQ. In simple terms, this type of EQ will boost the bass frequencies of your signal from a certain frequency. On the other hand, turning the knob to the right allows you to remove low frequencies with a high-pass filter. When the PRE TONE is in the center position, this EQ section is inactive.
The action frequencies of the PRE TONE also depend on the position of the MOOD knob. You won't get the same result if you adjust the PRE TONE with a MOOD zone 1, or with a MOOD zone 4. The frequency boost of the PRE TONE is up to +15dB and the high-pass filter can go up to 1kHz. For the user, this technical facts mean an enormous range of settings available. This will provide you enough room to try and fine-tune the tone of your RIDGE overdrive pedal !
Hear the PRE TONE effects on your tone
Essentially, there's no wrong setting for the PRE TONE. You can adjust it to your liking, depending on the type of guitar used, the desired sound, and your musical style. A mellow sound, without too many treble ? A sound with rich and present bass ? An aggressive sound with biting highs ? Everything is possible ! To better understand its effect, we recorded some examples with humbuckers and single coils. In each of these examples, the PRE TONE is first in the center. Then it is engaged from the extreme left for more bass, to the extreme right for more treble, and including intermediate settings.
In my case, I usually use the PRE TONE to balance my sound when I change guitars. It allows me to compensate for the difference in bass/treble between my two guitars, without necessarily needing to adjust the entire EQ of my RIDGE. It's a fairly simple way to adjust your sound when you're not in a situation where you can take the time to review all the settings of your pedal. Take the time to try it out, to adjust the PRE TONE on your overdrive pedal. The RIDGE has been designed for the musician, the perfect sound is never far away ! ;)
Explore the potential of your RIDGE overdrive
Do you remember our previous episode on the expression pedal ? (If not, you can find it here) Well, you can control the PRE TONE with an expression pedal and the MIDI functionalities of the RIDGE overdrive. You can assign it to this parameter and control it at will, according to your inspiration. You can boost your bass to take up more space, or cut them to cut through the mix during a solo. It's you and your ideas that will make the difference !
Experiment with the PRE TONE of your RIDGE overdrive
In conclusion, the PRE TONE is a powerful tool for sculpting your sound. From powerful bass to prominent highs, this parameter should not be overlooked. It will help you find the sound, YOUR sound. Take the time to turn the knob and experiment. You never know what new inspiring, stimulating sound could come out of it !
I hope this post has inspired you to plug in your instrument and play with your RIDGE ! Subscribe to our newsletter for more tips about your RIDGE overdrive and MOHO fuzz. Next time, we’ll talk about the POST TONE feature of the RIDGE. See you soon!
by Anthony Barbier
Anthony is the person behind Kernom social media. If you’re searching for him, he will probably with a guitar in his hands, trying to find new sounds or behind his keyboard writing posts about our pedals.