Nowadays, as amp simulators increasingly make finding a great guitar tone a pretty simple process, it seems as though there is a trend among independent pedal manufacturers to create more “boutique” or specialized effects, with myriad controls and settings to make their products stand out against the move towards all-in-one digital tone simulator technology.
Earthquaker Devices definitely make a lot of products that fall into that cateogry, but that is not the case with the new Acapulco Gold pedal. This “ain’t your daddy’s fuzz face” pedal is more like a power amp distortion than a traditional fuzz or distortion, but what’s great about it is how ingeniously simple the design is. One knob, one stomp, that’s it. But what makes this pedal stand out against some other power amp distortions is how reactive it is to the settings on your guitar – by rolling off your tone or volume pedal, you can drastically effect what the pedal does to your sound. That’s a gentle, expressive touch that I don’t see too often among pedalmakers who want their pedals to make a defiant, assertive sonic statement.
Our pals at Pro Guitar Shop recently took the Acapulco Gold for a test drive, which should give you a pretty good idea of the tonal varieties of this thing. Check it out below:
