Ever since Night Owl Industries sent us their first pedal three years ago, we’ve had the pleasure of reviewing and demoing their entire lineup. That wonderful streak continues today with the Parabellum Preamp Drive Distortion, a collaboration between Night Owl and Dunwich Amps. A mix of three distinct voices, each being processed independently then mixed back together, this one creates a dense, complex distortion not attainable through traditional, in-series processing.
The Parabellum features an all-tube EF86 Preamp driving a 3-stage parallel germanium distortion with active and passive EQ’s, a tube boost switch, and a master volume switch. The distortion stage begins with a buffer that splits the signal into three, with each going to a different germanium distortion; one traditional, one higher gain, and one hybrid diode/germanium distortion.
The EQ section features the same musical interval spacing used in Q the EQ, but expands it to add Bright and Depth switches, which lay a perfect fourth in interval above and below the Bass and Treble controls, respectively. The Mid boost switch fills out the mids for a multitude of available tones. The Depth switch is tuned very low (43hz), adding a percussive effect to lower tuned instruments and synths.
The Parabellum continues the fantastic work and pedals put out by our friends at Night Owl Industries, who showcase unique amplifiers and pedals unlike any we’ve seen yet. The true mark of a great pedal company is finding your niche in a complex and oft-saturated market, and these guys have done precisely that. Be sure to check out their website for more info and gear, and if you want to hear and see the Parabellum Preamp Drive Distortion in action, just click on our demo video below…
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