The TLDR
An update and improvement on the DOD 250, with killer sounds from "barely there" low gain grit to high gain cutting distortion.
Full Review
When Jonni Lightfoot’s video about @Tom Von Kramm's Yellow Spiral pedal came through my Youtube feed a couple weeks ago, the killer sound and Jonni’s enthusiasm for it got my attention. But I (mistakenly) thought it wasn’t much more than a glorified gain knob at first, because I’d never had any experience with the DOD 250, which is what the Yellow is based on. (And now looking back, I should probably check out the DOD 250 as well, but admittedly I’m a little late to the dirt pedal party… I’ve always been much more of an envelope filter junkie).
Lightfoot’s demo video is quite cool, but all he does is turn the gain knob… It wasn’t until I saw Tom’s video about the Girth and N2 switches that I realized there’s a lot more coolness going on under the hood, so I decided to check one out.
After having a couple weeks with it now, I can say I'm pretty enamored with it.
Presentation
Presentation has never really been something I've thought about with a pedal, but the Yellow Spiral definitely gets a mention in here, because it was easy to tell that Tom and family put some real love into the Spiral Electric FX as soon as I opened the USPS box. I’ve been fortunate to have some nice pedals along the way, but none have had this level of cool.
Mine came packaged in a really nice wooden box that smells like a smokey campfire, with an etched plexi top and even has a section of a Utah map in the bottom, as Spiral is based in Utah. Along with instructions, they included some really thoughtful touches, like a card explaining Nanolog Devices, a little packet of whiskey oak chips (probably part of the smell of the box), knob locks and a Spiral Electric sticker.
The finish on mine reminds me of flying through clouds, but all of Tom’s pedals have a unique finish, which looks to be some kind of acid washing process. I think even the boxes that Spiral makes are unique, as Tom posted a couple videos on Instagram with wood tops vs. the etched clear plexi.
Build
The enclosure is the aluminum style cases seen elsewhere, but Tom builds them “upside down”... the case screws are actually on the top. Another cool touch that doesn’t seem that common. Everything seems solid like one would expect. The pots turn smoothly with nice resistance, the stomp switch... well, stomps. lol No reservations about reliability and putting this one on a board, but as with any other pedal, time will tell. (I'm OCD with my gear and my board is always in a hard case, so I'm not worried.)
The original yellow knobs are quite eye catching and this pedal is the first I’ve seen with a yellow LED… VERY cool.
I did see one that Tom posted on his Instagram with gold knobs that I really liked the look of, and I couldn't resist...
Sound
So far I’ve tried it with my passive MIA Fender P Bass V (the one in the recording) and my active Kiesel Icon with a Pope preamp and Aguilar Super Doubles. Both sound VERY good. Totally usable at both ends of the gain knob, I was able to get everything from a really warm, low-gain “just barely overdriven” sound (Gain @ 9:00, Girth #6, N2 centered) to a fully dimed, cutting, high gain distortion (Gain @ 5:00, Girth #1, N2 up), and there wasn’t a bad sound in between. The combination of the Girth and N2 switches allows for a wide range of sounds without being overkill or difficult to dial in, and it doesn’t matter where I had the knobs set… The Yellow Spiral simply sounds killer. This pedal could easily find itself at home on a board as an always on preamp, or a fantastic dirt pedal by itself or in combo with other pedals.
I’ve got a couple audio samples… The first one is just horsing around with controls. Signal path is Fender P Bass V > Yellow Spiral > PC. N2 toggle switch was in the center (which was my favorite sound), with various settings on the Gain and Girth controls.
0:00-0:10 - Fender P Bass V clean tone
0:11 - Gain at 10:30, Girth #1-#6
1:24 - Gain at 1:00, Girth #1-#6
2:43 - Gain at 3:00, Girth #1-#6
3:50 - Gain at 5:00, Girth #1-#6
5:08 - Gain at 9:00 (Favorite warm low-gain always on type sound)
I also experimented with combining the Yellow with other effects, and it sounds great with everything... envelope filter, octave, reverb, you name it. Here's one of the Yellow with some Ping Pong Delay.
Final Verdict
The Yellow Spiral is probably the best overdrive/distortion I've tried. Like Goldilocks' porridge, it's just right... it fits perfectly with my personal tastes and play style. (Your mileage may vary, of course.) Everything from “tone sweetening preamp” sounds to high gain, cutting distortion and entirely usable. If you’re a dirt box fan, Tom’s Yellow Spiral should be high on your list to check out. I’m glad I took a chance and snagged one.
5sg.
An update and improvement on the DOD 250, with killer sounds from "barely there" low gain grit to high gain cutting distortion.
Full Review
When Jonni Lightfoot’s video about @Tom Von Kramm's Yellow Spiral pedal came through my Youtube feed a couple weeks ago, the killer sound and Jonni’s enthusiasm for it got my attention. But I (mistakenly) thought it wasn’t much more than a glorified gain knob at first, because I’d never had any experience with the DOD 250, which is what the Yellow is based on. (And now looking back, I should probably check out the DOD 250 as well, but admittedly I’m a little late to the dirt pedal party… I’ve always been much more of an envelope filter junkie).
Lightfoot’s demo video is quite cool, but all he does is turn the gain knob… It wasn’t until I saw Tom’s video about the Girth and N2 switches that I realized there’s a lot more coolness going on under the hood, so I decided to check one out.
After having a couple weeks with it now, I can say I'm pretty enamored with it.
Presentation
Presentation has never really been something I've thought about with a pedal, but the Yellow Spiral definitely gets a mention in here, because it was easy to tell that Tom and family put some real love into the Spiral Electric FX as soon as I opened the USPS box. I’ve been fortunate to have some nice pedals along the way, but none have had this level of cool.
Mine came packaged in a really nice wooden box that smells like a smokey campfire, with an etched plexi top and even has a section of a Utah map in the bottom, as Spiral is based in Utah. Along with instructions, they included some really thoughtful touches, like a card explaining Nanolog Devices, a little packet of whiskey oak chips (probably part of the smell of the box), knob locks and a Spiral Electric sticker.
The finish on mine reminds me of flying through clouds, but all of Tom’s pedals have a unique finish, which looks to be some kind of acid washing process. I think even the boxes that Spiral makes are unique, as Tom posted a couple videos on Instagram with wood tops vs. the etched clear plexi.
Build
The enclosure is the aluminum style cases seen elsewhere, but Tom builds them “upside down”... the case screws are actually on the top. Another cool touch that doesn’t seem that common. Everything seems solid like one would expect. The pots turn smoothly with nice resistance, the stomp switch... well, stomps. lol No reservations about reliability and putting this one on a board, but as with any other pedal, time will tell. (I'm OCD with my gear and my board is always in a hard case, so I'm not worried.)
The original yellow knobs are quite eye catching and this pedal is the first I’ve seen with a yellow LED… VERY cool.
I did see one that Tom posted on his Instagram with gold knobs that I really liked the look of, and I couldn't resist...
Sound
So far I’ve tried it with my passive MIA Fender P Bass V (the one in the recording) and my active Kiesel Icon with a Pope preamp and Aguilar Super Doubles. Both sound VERY good. Totally usable at both ends of the gain knob, I was able to get everything from a really warm, low-gain “just barely overdriven” sound (Gain @ 9:00, Girth #6, N2 centered) to a fully dimed, cutting, high gain distortion (Gain @ 5:00, Girth #1, N2 up), and there wasn’t a bad sound in between. The combination of the Girth and N2 switches allows for a wide range of sounds without being overkill or difficult to dial in, and it doesn’t matter where I had the knobs set… The Yellow Spiral simply sounds killer. This pedal could easily find itself at home on a board as an always on preamp, or a fantastic dirt pedal by itself or in combo with other pedals.
I’ve got a couple audio samples… The first one is just horsing around with controls. Signal path is Fender P Bass V > Yellow Spiral > PC. N2 toggle switch was in the center (which was my favorite sound), with various settings on the Gain and Girth controls.
0:00-0:10 - Fender P Bass V clean tone
0:11 - Gain at 10:30, Girth #1-#6
1:24 - Gain at 1:00, Girth #1-#6
2:43 - Gain at 3:00, Girth #1-#6
3:50 - Gain at 5:00, Girth #1-#6
5:08 - Gain at 9:00 (Favorite warm low-gain always on type sound)
I also experimented with combining the Yellow with other effects, and it sounds great with everything... envelope filter, octave, reverb, you name it. Here's one of the Yellow with some Ping Pong Delay.
Final Verdict
The Yellow Spiral is probably the best overdrive/distortion I've tried. Like Goldilocks' porridge, it's just right... it fits perfectly with my personal tastes and play style. (Your mileage may vary, of course.) Everything from “tone sweetening preamp” sounds to high gain, cutting distortion and entirely usable. If you’re a dirt box fan, Tom’s Yellow Spiral should be high on your list to check out. I’m glad I took a chance and snagged one.
5sg.
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