Strymon has introduced the La Brea, an all-analog saturation pedal inspired by the company’s Deco. Designed to recreate the character of tape saturation, the La Brea covers everything from subtle warmth and compression to aggressive drive and fuzz, all without a digital signal path.
The pedal’s multi-stage saturation circuit is controlled by a Tape Saturation knob, with a Gain switch offering Normal and High settings to change the available gain range. The Normal setting covers lighter saturation and boost tones, while High pushes things toward thicker, more aggressive distortion.
A Shift switch adds high-frequency content to help your tone cut through, with options for additional midrange when you want a fuller sound. There’s also a fully variable Dry control that blends in the unprocessed signal, helping preserve note definition, pick attack, and low-end weight even when the saturation is cranked.
The La Brea runs its circuit at 24V internally, providing additional headroom and a low noise floor across its gain range. The dry signal also stays in phase with the pedal’s output at every setting.
The La Brea is part of Strymon’s Series A lineup, which focuses on analog pedal design. According to the company, the circuit grew out of years of studying tape behavior and adapting the saturation character of the Deco into a dedicated analog pedal.
Whether you’re after a little tape-style warmth or enough saturation to turn your guitar into a wall of fuzz, the La Brea is designed to cover both ends of that spectrum without relying on digital processing.
Get the Strymon La Brea Analog Tape Drive here for $199.
