perfect match for the TightMetal’s blistering onslaught.
Even with the Gate off, the pedal was
tight in the low end, which worked great
for some Slayer-inspired, palm-muted riffs.
The Tone control, meanwhile, has a huge
range, but I had to keep it below the 12
o’clock position to ensure that the treble
didn’t become completely overpowering. Of
course, if death by high end is your thing,
the TightMetal has more than enough cut
in the treble frequencies to do the job. But
most players will get by with the Tone knob
set anywhere below 1 o’clock.
The amount of distortion that can be
dialed with the TightMetal should probably be measured in tons. With the Gain
control at 10 o’clock, there was enough
distortion to handle ’80s glam metal and
bluesier hard rock. And as I brought up the
gain, the sound got spongier in the mids,
taking me into grungier and eventually,
doomier territory. This is where the Tight
control is most effective—enabling me to
square off the rounded ends of the tone
and transform it from a wide wall of devilish sound to a focused punch in the jaw.
Kicking in the gate only made the
TightMetal angrier. And I tip my hat to
Amptweaker for developing and implementing one of the most natural-sounding gates
I’ve ever heard in a pedal. As I played with
varying amounts of attack, the gate closed
quickly on the end of each note but without
any of the unnatural decay or ragged edges
that are typically a byproduct of aggressive
gating.
The verdict
If you’re a metalhead in the market for a pedal
that handles tight-fisted metal riffage, it’s hard
to top the TightMetal. There’s more than
enough gain for the most savage metal and a
noise gate that reins in the background noise
that goes with extreme distortion and enables
extremely percussive palm muting and stops.
If you play with a brighter-sounding
amp and guitar, you’ll need to keep your
treble in check and tweak the pedal’s Tone
control to make sure that the top end
doesn’t take your head off. But if you long
for tones from just a little south of heaven,
the TightMetal just might be the chalice
that can quench your thirst.
Rating:
Buy If...
you’re an insatiable thrash fiend in
need of supremely tight and gated
distortion.
Skip If...
the battle-din of metal isn’t your
calling.
Amptweaker
Street $180 direct
amptweaker.com
or use a mobile device to watch a
video review of the pedal at
CLICKHere…
premierguitar.com/oct2011
