LARRY ALAN
GUITARS
THE HARLOT
REVIEW BY SAM HILL
STREET PRICE $120.00
It’s not every day that you
receive a Harlot in the mail.
When that day comes, be
ready. The Larry Alan Harlot,
born in Lansing, Michigan, is
a saucy little drive pedal that
can turn any guitar playing
session into a torrid affair.
Featuring pinup graphics,
high quality polyfilm
capacitors and metal film
resistors, and two knobs,
there’s only one thing she
wants to do, and that is
get down and dirty.
Like you, I have heard, seen,
and played many dirt pedals,
and I must admit, when I
removed the Harlot from its
box, I was prepared to be
underwhelmed, due my broad
50
GEAR REVIEW
//
dirt experience. Sure, it looks
fancy, but what can this Harlot
do for me? All of my concerns
were immediately laid to rest
upon plugging in.
Like a transaction with
a lady of the night, this
pedal operates in a very
straightforward manner. You
turn it on and adjust the Level
and Gain knobs to taste. It
produces everything from
clean-ish boosts to thick,
saturated drive. And while the
boost capabilities are pleasing
and will certainly get the job
done, you’re going to want
to use the dirt this gal gives
up. With the Gain at noon,
there is already a generous
amount of drive. Turning it up
Larry Alan Guitars The Harlot
yields thick sustain that melds
well with other dirt boxes. A
clean boost into the Harlot
produces an outstanding
raunchy solo tone that will
sound great in any mix.
It would be wrong to call the
Harlot a one-trick pony, but
the trick she does best is
giving a generous amount of
gain and boost to your signal.
With single coils, I found
myself playing power-punkstyle riffage in the vein of The
Stooges. With humbuckers,
I conjured up burly rhythm
tones that chugged along like
Thomas the Train’s badass
older brother that skipped
college because he didn’t
care.