GEAR SPOTLIGHT
WAMPLER
PEDALS
DRACARYS
DISTORTION
REVIEW BY SAM HILL
STREET PRICE $199.97
Gear nerds who are
also Game of Thrones
fans will recognize the
word “Dracarys,” the
command spoken to
dragons in High Valyrian
to breathe fire. Wampler
took that as inspiration
and has created a
high gain pedal that
breathes some fire of
its own. Wampler has
an excellent reputation
for building high quality
pedals, especially in the
realm of dirt. Is this the
high gain beast you’ve
been looking for?
Just because you love
high gain doesn’t
mean you should have
to sacrifice depth
48
and clarity, and Mr.
Wampler himself set
out to develop a high-
gain demon that had
fantastic articulation
as well as awesome
shredding power. Having
spent some time with
it, I must say: “Mission
accomplished.” This
has a lot to do with the
powerful EQ section, as
well as the Open-Tight
toggle switch. The Bass,
Mid, and Treble controls
accentuate or attenuate
each frequency, and
this allows you to match
your gain sounds with
any amplifier setting
or pedal setup. The
Open/Tight switch is as
How To
//
Wampler
Master Pedals
Your Jazzmaster
Darcarys Distortion
TONE SPOTLIGHT
GEAR
TALK //
advertised, giving you
options of more open
and loose sounding
gain or super tight for
articulate shredding
when you need to be
clean, so to speak.
The Dracarys delivers
a wide range of high
gain tones, spanning
decades of music. It is
designed for modern
players and modern
music, but it can be as
versatile as you want it
to be. If you’re looking
for a stompbox that
can cover everything
from Black Sabbath to
modern, hyper-technical
shred, it can all be
found within the fire-