58 Alma Vale Rd, Bristol, BS8 2HS 0117 3307607
Carl Martin pedals are produced by Eastern Sound Research, a company that began specialising in professional PA equipment and progressed onto custom designed audio products. The Carl Martin range started with the Hot Drive 'N Boost in 1993 and has gone from strength to strength building a reputation for quality second to none. The number of 5 star reviews that their products have received from Guitar and Bass, Guitarist and Guitar Buyer is testament to their continued release of relevant and high quality effects units. The newest range is the Vintage Series which offer classic Carl Martin sounds in cut down but cost effective packages.
All prices over £100 include UK delivery (anything under £100 add £5)
CRUNCH DRIVE £79
A very versatile little distortion box this able to take things from subtle break-up to more full on crunch tones. The EQ here is very effective giving you real control over the tone - there are no settings here that aren't usable despite the range on offer. The level control has sufficient range to drive your amp as well or give a lift for solos. This is a true bypass pedal that runs off batteries or 9V DC input. This is great for blues and rock tones where you want controllable drive that responds to your picking.
ROCK DRIVE £79
This takes up where the crunch drive leaves off, voiced more for higher gain settings, this pedal gives you plenty of classic rock tones. The Attack (Mid) and Edge (Treble) controls give access to a wide variety of usable sounds. The output level is sufficient to drive an amp's input stage so this pedal can also act as a boost as well. The pedal is true bypass and runs off batteries or 9V DC input. If you want classic rock tones with sufficient EQ to tailor things to your preference then this is your pedal.
HEAVY DRIVE £79
Details to come
HOT DRIVE'N BOOST £149
Guitarist magazine have just described this as one of the best overdrive pedals they have tried and we see no reason to argue with them. This gives a really 'valve' like distortion with plenty of response to the all important picking dynamics and plenty of useable sounds throughout the gain range. The pedal also packs a 20db clean boost which can be used to boost solos whether distorted or clean - this is a lot of boost! This is a versatile pedal that covers plenty of ground and combines two must-have effects in one roadworthy case. This is mains powered to give it the extra headroom and the low noise floor for which CM pedals are famous.
THE FUZZ £169
Details to come
CONTOUR & BOOST £149
Details to come
BOOST KICK £99
Details to come
CHORUS xII £169
For those of you who want a bit more versatility from your pedals we have a dual chorus unit. This features two identical circuits with individual depth and speed controls as well as individual tempo LEDs which indicate which circuit is on. There are two footswitches - one to engage the unit the other to switch between the two settings. The chorus effect here is fairly subtle, gently thickening the sound. It can be pushed with higher speeds to give those old favourite 'underwater' sounds as well. This pedal features stereo outputs but it can also be used in mono. The pedal is extremely quiet in operation probably due to the higher headroom available in a mains powered unit.
TWO FAZE £169
The Two Faze is a old fashioned style phaser with a great sound, and even better you get it twice! There are two separate circuits with individual speed controls and LEDS to indicate operation and speed. There are two footswitches - one to select the effect, one to select which circuit. This is a great warm rich analogue sound with a very usable range of speeds which is remarkably quiet in operation. The Phaser is perhaps not the trendiest effect these days but one listen to this will add it to your wish list.
TREMO'VIBE £169
Two for the price of one - tremolo and reverb in one unit. Both effects have a rich warm sound and plenty of variation from the individual depth and speed controls. As with all the Carl Martin effects this is very quiet and features true bypass switching. Not much more we can say about this one - it does exactly what you expect and does it well.
COMPRESSOR limiter £169
Becoming a bit of an industry standard this one - great smooth compression, low noise operation and plenty of control. This is simply a great addition to any pedalboard and will give years of service.
This has just come out top in Guitar and Bass magazine's July 2007 roundup of compressors!
DELAYLA £209
Now back in stock
Now back in stock
DELAYLA XL £249
The Delayla XL is designed to replicate the sound of a two head tape echo which we have to say it does well. The Echo time is set using the tap tempo switch (note on power up it is always on the shortest delay) and there is up 1000ms available. The slapback switch brings in the second 'head' and the slapback control mixes between the main delay and the slapback. The SB Trim controls the delay time of the slapback in relation to the main echo and this is where the unit comes into its own going from subtle effects to way off beat settings. The Delayla XL has a warm smooth sound which really complements the guitar and captures the sound of a well worn tape without the harshness of a digital delays.
AC-TONE £199
Not hard to see what sound CM are trying to achieve here - and they get pretty close in our opinion. Two channels of overdrive and 20db of clean boost in one pedal. In keeping with the overall vibe the overdrive is not high gain but a sweet, crisp sound like an old top boost amp working hard. As with all the CM pedals this is quiet and beautifully built. This pedal is mains powered.
PLEXI TONE £199
The name says it all really and this pedal really does deliver - just check out the reviews. This captures that classic Marshall tone - great distortion but with excellent clarity and note separation - no hint of mush here. The pedal has two channels in effect - crunch and high gain - both provide full, deep sounds with the high gain having the compression reminiscent of a valve power stage. There is also a clean boost available on a separate footswitch giving up to 20db of clean boost - this can be used with the drives activated. This pedal is mains powered.
QUATTRO £379
4 Great effects in one, value for money , unit - if you need good tone and simplicity, this will do it for you. There are no menus just a few obvious controls and a footswitch for each effect plus tempo for the echo. The unit features Analogue style Echo with tap tempo (up to 1000ms), a Vintage style Chorus, two selectable Overdrives (Crunch and High Gain) and a Compressor. All the effects are as good as their stand alone equivalents so there are no compromises here. The Quattro is mains powered and has a single input and two outputs. There is also a serial effects loop between the Overdrives and the Chorus for using other pedals. This is not a True Bypass unit but uses high quality output buffer circuitry and silent switching.
COMBINATOR 2 £379
Need to switch combinations of pedals but don't want a complicated MIDI system - this is the unit for you. The Combinator 2 features 8 loops (1 with stereo returns and 1 with stereo send and return) which can be assigned in any combination to one of 18 'programs'. The order of the loops remains fixed so you need to make sure you put your pedals in the order that you want. To program all you do is select the bank and the program you want - push the soft buttons for the loops you want in that program and then press store - job done! There are also 3 external jack outputs available for switching external devices and these are activated with loops 1-3. The Combinator 2 also provides power for 8 9V pedals and has an overall mute button and a tuner out. This is perfect for those of you that don't like tap dancing but if your pedals are still to hand by having one program set to everything on you can use your pedals like normal as well. One useful way to use a device like this is to have your pedals raised up so you can reach the controls on them and this also keeps them out of harms way. This is an incredibly useful too that avoids the need for an overcomplicated MIDI system and in true Carl Martin style is built like a tank! This is one of those devices you will wonder how you did with out it!
Details to come
Details to come
Details to come
7 9V DC outs with up to 600mA available. Two LEDS one for power and one as a check for shorts or overloading which can be handy for tracking down problems on your pedalboard. A nice neat design only 120x75x40mm.
Details to come
Details to come - but we can say it is as good as the other Vintage Series without doubt!
This has to be the best way to get good analogue style delays for this price. Simple, straight forward and red, this has 600ms of delay available with a great warm analogue sound which is tweakable using the tone control. It is easy to see why this pedal has come out on top in a number of side by side reviews - it sounds good! Takes 9V batteries but is probably best run off a power supply.
Details to come
Details to come
Check out the Carl Martin Website
The full range of Carl Martin effects are available from Jam Guitars.