An Overdrive to Build Your Rig Around
Strymon's Riverside multi-stage drive effects pedal goes from crystal-clear clean boost to thick, modern high gain without sacrificing sound quality throughout the range, and that's just the beginning. Utilizing analog and digital circuitry, the Riverside's variable circuit tuning ensures you're tone will always be in the sweet spot, no matter how much gain you pile on. An intuitive yet comprehensive set of controls allows the Riverside to work with any amplifier and guitar combination. And Strymon loaded the Riverside with plenty of secondary functions that are sure to make it the centerpiece of your rig.
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Touch-responsive overdrive
No matter what amplifier you're plugging into, the Strymon Riverside delivers the feel and harmonic richness that used to only come from a great tube amp. Much of that is thanks to the Class A JFET input gain stage that responds beautifully to your playing. The four separate gain stages are a mixture of analog and DSP. This design utilizes Strymon's variable circuit tuning to make sure every stop along the gain control is a sweet spot. And the onboard Gain switch quickly changes the character from vintage lower gain to tight, aggressive higher-gain sounds.
Powerful voicing options
The Riverside is such a versatile pedal, a single unit can easily replace multiple dirt boxes on your board. Whether you lean more toward gritty blues or searing metal tones, you'll find that the easy-to-use controls give you what you're after. The Gain and Push switches are a great place to start for deciding if you're looking for classic midrange punch or cutting distortion tones. And the active 3-band EQ is placed after the gain stages for maximum impact. The Riverside sounds as good doling out midrange-heavy rock tones as it does with scooped out sustain.
Favorite switch
Most guitarists need multiple drive pedals on their board to cover the demands of today's playing styles. The Riverside multi-stage drive's Favorite footswitch gives you that same versatility in a single pedal. Just save your preset, and next time you step on the Favorite switch, you'll conjure it on demand. This offers you access to two different gain levels and tones on the fly. The Favorite switch can also control parameters on your other Strymon effects. This feature alone will ensure the Riverside finds its way onto many Sweetwater guitarists' boards.
Strymon's famous secondary functions
Much like the rest of Strymon's revolutionary line of electric guitar effects pedals, the Riverside multi-stage drive pedal boasts a bevy of features that hide under the hood. Around back you'll find a 3-position Presence switch. This determines the pedal's overall high-end detail and also prepares it to be used as a standalone guitar preamp. A variable clean boost is accessed with an optional footswitch for up to 6dB of gain. And the onboard noise reduction circuit tames the extraneous hiss that can accompany high-gain tones.
Unlimited control
As if all of the onboard functionality isn't enough, Strymon prepared the Riverside to accept both expression pedals and external footswitches. By utilizing the expression pedal input, you'll gain on-the-fly access to any of the pedal's variable controls. This also includes usage as a volume pedal. The external footswitch activates the onboard clean boost. And the Strymon Riverside multi-stage drive effects pedal is a true-bypass design, which ensures you'll retain your signal's full integrity when the pedal is disengaged.
Strymon Riverside Overdrive Effects Pedal Features:
- Powerful overdrive pedal with a wide range of tones and control
- Variable circuit tuning ensures a sweet spot throughout the gain range
- 3-band EQ is after the gain structure for maximum impact
- Favorite switch recalls your preset
- Favorite switch can also control presets on other Strymon pedals
- Class A JFET input reacts much like a great tube amp
- Gain and Push switches determine the overdrive's main character
- Up to 6dB of boost available with optional footswitch
- Noise reduction available with variable threshold
- Expression pedal input can control any parameter or overall volume
- True-bypass switching
