The latest addition to the popular Strymon family of pedals is the Riverside Multistage Drive. Riverside is the result of intense research into and analysis of many analog and tube overdrive and distortion circuits and devices. Riverside uses cascading gain stages to create harmonically rich drive tones — originating from an analog JFET first stage — that feel and sound natural, no matter the gain level. From “clean” overdrive to intense, massive distortion, Riverside delivers awesome tonality and player touch-friendly response.
Riverside offers a ton of tone-shaping power, with gain and drive controls, post-drive three-band EQ, high- and low-gain settings, a post-analog mid-push option, three-position presence switch, and up to 6dB of boost, accessible via an optional footswitch. Riverside uses continuously variable circuit tuning to follow changes in gain with multiple parameter tweaks to optimize the “sweet spot” anywhere on the gain spectrum. An onboard “Favorite” switch allows you to save and select one preset, so you can have two completely different tones under your feet at all times. Onboard noise reduction keeps things quiet, even at extreme gain settings. You can even morph between settings using an expression pedal. Or, use an expression for volume control!
