Photos provided by: Driftwood Amp
Driftwood is a Germany manufacturer of Hi Gain Amplifiers and it caught my attention since I saw it in a video by Keith Merrow a few years ago, possibly because of its unmistakable front cover of Flamed Maple tinted purple and a deep monster hi gain tone, it’s undeniable that the image is a very important part of the personality of a product, and it is not easy to settle in the memory of consumers with so many products on the market, I think a good example of this is what Mesa Boogie achieved with the classic industrial floor type metal top on their Rectifier in the 90s and I think, Driftwood achieved something similar, at least that's how it was with me.
But what we have in our hands today is not the Amp Head Purple Nightmare, this is the Preamp only in a pedal version, but with a couple of extras that make it very interesting.
Pro:
Cons:
It is difficult to read the gray labels on the black background
Construction:
Spartan and solid metal chassis with a matte black finish featuring a glass window that reveals a pair of 12AX7 valves illuminated with a purple LED. Both the 10 potentiometers and the switches seem to be of good quality and ready to withstand the use and abuse of live shows. I think the simplicity of the finish contrasts with the elegance of the brand's Heads. I expected a little more love in the aesthetic design of the pedal, but functionally I think the design is very good.
The controls are the same as those found on the HiGain Channel of the Amplifier, (Gain, Mid, treble, bass and volume) and a Hi/Low Gain switch and the Sizzle with three positions. Then we have the TubeScreamer section with its classic 3 controls (Gain, Tone and Volume) and activated with the 2nd pedal switch. Finally we have Rumble and Sharp controls which would be the same as Deep and Presence (that is, global treble and bass of the power section).
There are two Switches, the left one to activate or Bypass the PreAmp and the right one to activate the Tube Screamer. That is! it is a single channel Preamp, we do not have Clean and Crunch, we have Crunch or nothing, although we can activate only the TS, without the Preamp, yes! It's a little confusing at first, but it works!
On the rear panel we have the 12 volt input (transformer included) and 6 Jack connectors, in addition to the Input and Output, include an amplified output of 2 Watts to connect directly to a Cab and an output with modified impedance to connect to the Input of another Amp (for the 4 cables method), and remember that the main Output is designed to connect to a Power Amp or the Return of a Head loop.
Then we have Send/Return to add effects pedals and be able to use this pedal as an additional channel of the Amp. And finally on the left side where we find a jack connection for an external Switch, very useful if we want to mount the unit in a rack and control it from a pedalboard.
The weight is contained, I think less than 1 kilo, and this because the power transform is external, and the size (23x15x5 cm.) allows us to mount it on a pedalboard without many problems.
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Sound:
Coming to the most important point, I think it is also the strong point, because in short, it sounds magnificent!
I tried it plugged in to the Return of a Victory V30 Head and I liked it as much or almost more than the Preamp from Victory itself, but where I spent more time testing various configurations was by connecting the pedal to my Sound Card and using several Power Amps emulators, mainly the Torpedo Wall Of Sounds from Two Notes because there I have my favorite Virtual Cabs and I have to say that the result was above my expectations.
It sounds really valvey, with lots of harmonics and natural sustain, if I had to compare it to something we know, it would be halfway between a Rectifier and a 5150.
Although we have only one channel, the Gain and equalization options give us many options to manipulate the tone until we get what we are looking for, first we have the input Gain but we also have a High/Low Switch to expand the reach of the Gain and finally the TubeScreamer section where we can play with the Gain and Volume, 3 tools to shape the character of the Gain, and there I stayed for several minutes playing with the endless mixes that can be made with these 3 variables.
In the equalization section it’s the same, because we have the 3-way Eq, then we have the Sizzle Switch that acts in the Low End and the Rumble and Sharp controls that, although they are a little extreme, can help us with the general tone and finally the TubeScreamer Tone that affects the color of the distortion.
Here the problem we may have is more of a confusion due to an excess of options, but starting with everything in the middle, I think it’s easy to quickly reach a sound that we like, from a classic Hard Rock sound to Extreme Metal, I think that the Purple Nightmare Tube Preamp Pedal can always offer us something that leaves us satisfied (as long as we are not looking for clean sounds).
Usability:
The first thing that sets the Purple Nightmare apart is the inclusion of the TubeScreamer, this is almost a religious act for most modern Metal guitarists and including it in the Preamp itself makes things much easier, I suppose TS purists are thinking about; how similar the internal TS is compare with a real Tube Screamer? Is it based on a TS808 or a TS9? I'm not going to dive into those waters because they are very murky! But I can assure you that the integrated TS fulfills the same function as an external one, but if you are one of those who want to know if the TS has the RC4558P Chip instead of the Japanese JRC4558 chip, perhaps this Preamp is not for you.
The important thing is to know that this Add in expands the range of color and character of the distortion and prevents us from having to add another pedal to the setup.
The only thing this unit is missing and is in the original head is a built-in Noise Gate, at these Gain levels the noise becomes a little complicated to manage, with an adjustable Noise Gate circuit I think this Preamp would be much more useful.
Another interesting feature is the 2 Watt amplified output that we can connect directly to a Guitar Cab. I tried it with a PRS 112 Cab and the truth is that it sounds. It could be used to practice alone at home or play on some Backingtrack, but the power quickly falls short. It would be difficult to play with another 10 or 15 Watt guitar amp and practically impossible accompanied by a drum kit or other instruments. I don't know the technical complications of increasing the Power Amp from 2 to 5 Watts on a Mosfet, but I think it is something that would give this unit much more versatility.
Operating the controls is easy once we understand the architecture of the pedal, but we must learn the use of the potentiometers by memory because the matte black background and gray lettering make it difficult to read the labels in a low-light condition (as stages generally are).
Conclusion:
If you are looking for an all-in-one solution, like the Victory V4, this is not your pedal, but if you have a Valve Amp (with effects loop) with a clean that you like but you think the overdriven channel lacks strength, this preamp could be ideal for you, it can also be very useful for recording guitars in the studio, you can connect it directly to the soundcard and record with real valve Gain and then use the IRs of your preference, it is difficult for me to imagine that someone falls short with the Gain or not Find a tone you like with the Purple Nightmare Tube PreAmp from Driftwood.
A RECAP OF WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED
