PRODUCT REVIEW
channels are engaged. Channel 1 offers Volume
and Gain knobs on top of the pedal, as well as
a treble roll-off on the side. Channel 2 features
Volume, Tone and Gain controls, all on the top
face of the unit. An easy-access battery compartment adorns the right side.
Plugging the Fernandes Strat into Channel 1
and the GS3 into the Tiny Terror set clean, I was
immediately blown away by how well that channel emulates the give of a tube amp on the
edge of breakup—a sound that eludes most
pedals. With the treble roll-off set at full treble,
backing off the gain gave a clean boost that
was virtually indistinguishable from the original British sound of the Orange head. Rolling
the treble off a bit turned it into a lush, more
American, clean tone.
Cranking Channel 1’s gain up full provided
excellent dynamic breakup that responded to
every variation of guitar volume knob or pick
pressure like a $3000 boutique amp. My tiny
ZT Lunchbox sounds very warm—for a digital
amp. Putting the GS3 in front of it removed
the last traces of solid-state sterility, and
turned it more tube-like.
Moving over to Channel 2, I found a wide range
of gain and tone available from the three simple
controls. The voicing is more aggressive than
Channel 1, and the amount of gain available is
considerably more substantial, though not into
serious metal territory. Combining the two channels offers an almost infinite variety of distortion
sounds from Dumble to Plexi. At every stage of
gain from the slightest boost to near the highest
grind, the GS3 remains dynamic.
Most distortions color your sound, but the GS3
offers a choice of transparency or many colors,
and is one of the most versatile, natural, and
flat-out terrific sounding overdrive devices I
have ever heard.
you’re looking for two incredibly
dynamic overdrive pedals in one box.
Buy If...
Skip If...
your distortion tastes tend toward
scooped metal.
Rating...
5.0
ONTHEWeb
Click here to hear sound samples of
the pedal in action at
premierguitar.com
Jetter GS3 Dual Overdrive
Street $289
jettergear.com
Gear Vibe
The original Uni-Vibe was devised to provide guitarists with the sound of a rotating
speaker in a small box, replacing the massive
Leslie cabinet used by organists. While much
smaller, in pedal terms the Uni-Vibe and
most subsequent emulations remain fairly
large. Jetter’s Gear Vibe offers this sound in
the smallest package currently available.
Jeter has not reduced the size by skimping
on anything that might affect the sound.
Present is the classic four-stage, light-driven circuit that is essential for accurate
tone. High input impedance ensures that it
will not load down your guitar signal, and
unity gain output negates the need for a
volume control. This true-bypass unit operates on any high-quality 9V power supply.
In a pinch it will work with a battery for up
to an hour. The cryptically labeled knobs
are for speed and depth, while a single
pulsing status LED glows brighter for
intensity and faster for rate.
The tone of the Gear Vibe is, in a word,
vibe-o-licious. Most of the Hendrix and
Trower sounds we associate with the Uni-Vibe fall within a rather narrow range of
speed and depth and those tones are
amply covered here. As with the original, a
little grit post-Vibe helped to bring out the
sound, which was lush and warm.
Of course, something has got to give in
such a small package. What you won’t get
is stereo, and there are no real-time ramping or speed control options. Still, given
