PRODUCT REVIEW
DDYNA MUSIC CO
Thinman OD
BY ADAM MOORE
Likewise, the Thinman’s
controls are initially a
little foreign, but after
some total immersion,
you’ll settle right in and
find it to be a tonally
complex alternative to
those other Volume-Tone-Drive boxes. This
is because the Thinman
is based around two
distinct signal-limited
types: a medium-hard
signal limiter, adjusted
by the Limit knob; and
a bias limiter, controlled
by the Bias control.
These controls work in
concert to set the pedal’s limiter thresholds,
and each one affects
the signal in distinct
ways. I found the Limit
knob to be the most
responsive alone, producing a rounder sound
at lower settings and an edgier, electric wire
sound at its highest point. But they’re at their
best when both knobs are adjusted in concert, creating some delicious textures—think
of it as Vietnamese food after a life of fast-food Chinese.
Adventurous players and pedal geeks will
also be happy to hear that the Thinman is a
true team player, acting as the perfect starting point for a stacked overdrive chain (the
company also highly recommends this, which
is something you don’t always see publicized). I spent hours putting every fuzz and
overdrive I had behind the Thinman, and they
all sounded better than I ever remembered
them. Next time you want to create a wall of
thick but distinct chords, start with this pedal.
The Final Mojo
It probably goes without saying that anyone
still questing for a single transparent OD will
want to stay away from this one—it doesn’t
hijack your tone, but it has no problem adding some heft and low-end either—but guitarists jonesing for a rock-oriented OD that
does things a little differently should definitely log some time with the Thinman.
Overdrives seem to be a dime a dozen these
days, which is precisely why it’s nice to see a
company approaching it in a different way.
DDyna Music Company’s Thinman OD looks at
first glance like your standard three-knob affair,
but introduces some novel concepts to the mix.
Buy If...
you’re looking for classic rock
in a box, or you dig stacking
overdrives.
Skip If...
you need a box that keeps its
mitts off your tone completely.
It’s the Same... Only Different
Interestingly enough, the Thinman manages to
be simultaneously unique and unremarkable.
The unit as a whole is well-constructed, featuring 2-layer thru-hole PCBs, Neutrik connectors,
true bypass circuitry and a die-cast aluminum
enclosure, but the flat gray paint job and
simple black graphics give the Thinman a plain-Jane face. The naked pot shafts give the pedal
a raw, unfinished vibe—I honestly thought the
knobs had been lost in transit upon first opening the box—but once you plug in, radiation
green LEDs shine from underneath, lighting up
the controls brilliantly. It’s likely one of those
love-hate things, but once you get used to
twirling the pot shafts sans knobs, it really helps
the Thinman stand out next to your other
boutique ODs.
But it Sounds... So... Fat
It should be said that however you set
these knobs, the Thinman for the most part
stays the same at heart. Described as a
“light-medium overdrive,” the pedal probably falls more towards the medium side
of the scale. With the help of the Volume
knob it can cover a lot of ground, from
semi-clean boost to full-on bite, but at its
core is a circuit designed for the thickest
rock sounds. The Thinman truly excels at
creating fat, luscious chords without losing definition—with all the knobs sitting at
noon, this pedal became my secret weapon
for beefy rhythm tracks. Anyone looking for
a straightforward classic rock companion
will love this box, and it’ll fit right in on the
next Kings of Leon single, too.
Rating...
4. 5
ONTHEWeb
Click here to download sound clips of the
Thinman in action
DDyna Music Co
MSRP $159
ddynamusic.com
