Mad Professor Simble Overdrive Mk2, a highly anticipated pedal promising to unlock that elusive “Holy Grail” Dumble tone. This revised iteration of the acclaimed Simble series aims directly at players seeking the legendary transparent, dynamic, and touch-sensitive overdrive character associated with boutique Dumble amplifiers, but at an accessible price point.
Mad Professor Simble Overdrive Mk2
The original Simble quickly gained a reputation for its authentic tonal character. The Mk2, however, builds upon this legacy with significant enhancements.
Mad Professor has focused on delivering improved headroom and greater clarity, ensuring the pedal remains incredibly transparent, allowing the natural voice of your guitar and amplifier to shine through.
Chasing the Dumble Dream: Accessible Tone for the Modern Guitarist
The Mad Professor Simble Overdrive Mk2 joins a growing segment of boutique overdrive pedals inspired by the iconic Dumble sound.
While Mad Professor wisely refrains from hyperbolic claims of instantly transforming any setup into an Overdrive Special, the Simble Mk2 genuinely offers a significant taste of that coveted tonal character.
This makes it an essential tool for tone chasers and anyone passionate about highly dynamic and transparent overdrive.
Intuitive Controls for Ultimate Tonal Sculpting
One of the Mk2’s strengths lies in its intuitive and highly interactive control set: Level, Contour, Attack, and Sensitivity.
These controls provide guitarists with a wealth of options to precisely sculpt their guitar tone. The pedal excels at delivering expanded dynamics and drive without compromising the core integrity of the guitar’s signal – it’s designed to enhance your amplifier, not overshadow it.
The Attack dial allows players to shape the overall tonal response of the overdrive, offering nuanced control over the pick attack and note articulation. The Contour knob, neutral at noon, provides flexible brightening or darkening of the output. Crucially, this control has been notably cleaned up from the original Simble, addressing feedback from players who found it a bit muddy with certain guitar setups.
This improvement ensures greater versatility and clarity across a wider range of instruments.
The Sensitivity knob is where players will discover increased overdrive and compression.
This control particularly showcases the impact of Mad Professor’s Lassi Ukkonen’s new circuit design, which has been meticulously tweaked to significantly improve string clarity, even when the drive is maxed out.
This level of articulation, even under heavy gain, is a hallmark of truly exceptional transparent overdrive pedals.
Versatility for Every Guitarist
The Simble Overdrive Mk2 proves remarkably versatile, complementing a wide array of guitars, whether equipped with single-coils, humbuckers, or P-90s.
It can be effectively dialed in as a clean boost, leveraging its extra decibels to push the front end of an amplifier into natural overdrive.
The Verdict: An Unbeatable Value for Premium Tone
The Simble Mk2 undeniably builds upon and significantly improves its predecessor. Priced at an excellent €199, it represents outstanding value for a high-quality boutique drive pedal.
When considering the cost of a genuine Dumble amplifier, the Mad Professor Simble Overdrive Mk2 offers an incredibly accessible pathway to that fabled “Holy Grail” tone, making it a must-try for any serious guitarist.
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