PRODUCT REVIEW
PIGTRONIX
POLYSATURATOR
BY OSCAR JORDAN
Reading guitar magazines and hearing all
about a new piece of gear from an admired
guitarist can be dangerous. In an attempt to
satisfy our curiosity and nail that elusive tone
we hear in our heads, we run the risk of falling
victim to Gear Acquisition Syndrome, or GAS.
In the category of distortion pedals, the subjective nature of the sounds they produce can
lead to Empty Wallet Syndrome, or EWS. One
player’s smooth distortion is another player’s
sonic nightmare, and it ain’t cheap.
The Pigtronix PolySaturator is a multi-stage
distortion pedal with a wide gain control and
adjustable low, mid and high band graphic EQ.
The Pigtronix catalog states that it’s based on
the overdrive tones found in their Disnortion
pedal, but it takes the idea further by adding
four vintage JRC4558D chips, a Class A J-FET
booster stage and a secret “special little chip”
to the front-end. The gain structure has also
been re-voiced to get everything from a clean
volume boost to over the top fuzz. As if that
wasn’t enough, it’s also true bypass.
ward, with plenty of room for tweaking.
I was surprised to discover that the
PolySaturator sounds more like a cousin to
the fuzz family than you might expect, at least
by judging from its name. Instead of a wall of
saturated distortion, I was getting gritty, old
school, organic rock tones with freakish low-end. This pedal loves single coil pickups and
was begging me to play “Foxey Lady” the
entire time it was plugged in. As I switched
between a Marshall JCM800, a Fender Pro
Reverb and a Fender Deluxe Reverb, I was
particularly impressed with its articulation and
definition. Even with the gain maxed, I could
hear the clarity beneath its monstrous growl.
The adjustable, active EQ provides 12dB of
cut or boost at the 180Hz, 420Hz and 1KHz
frequncies, giving this little unit a lot of tonal
possibilities. I could dial in tones capable of
slicing through a heavy mix or beef up the
mids for a sweeter sound. With the gain set
at noon, I was getting classic Marshall-esque
breakup for rhythm parts and cutting lead
tones for traditional blues soloing.
tive to your garden-variety fuzz and distortion
pedals, the Pigtronix PolySaturator offers up
cool, dirty sounds and vibe for days. Its small
size will open up valuable real estate on your
pedalboard and add sumptuous grit and ballsy
low-end to your sound.
Buy If...
you have a hankering for old
school fuzz tones with tonal flexibility and killer low-end
Skip If...
you prefer modern distorted tones
Rating...
4.0
When I took the PolySaturator out of the
box I couldn’t believe how small it was. It is
smaller than a Boss pedal and fit perfectly on
my pedalboard. The first edition of the pedals
have been handpainted by Jason Myrold, of
Zvex fame, and are perfect for adding some
eye candy to your floor setup. While some
might question the placement of the Input and
Output jacks – both situated on the right side
of the unit – it wasn’t a problem in the vertical
position. It comes with a 15VDC adapter and
the layout of the controls are very straightfor-
A fair word of warning: the PolySaturator bites
and has some hair on it. It’s more suited to
players who prefer fuzz over a saturated distortion sound. It’s great for dialing in your favorite fuzz tone or the sweet sound of an amp
breaking up during chunky rhythms. Shredders
should look elsewhere.
The Final Mojo
For the guitarist looking for a flexible alterna-
Pigtronix
MSRP $209
pigtronix.com
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