Manuscript SC 1 

Simply put, this is “Dumble in a box”.  Built around the rock-solid Scenario PCB from PedalPCB, which is based on the Cornerstone Gladio SC. You end up with the single-channel version of the Gladio Dual Preamp pedal. 

Whilst the volume, tone and gain controls will be familiar to many, the inclusion of one new control labelled “Clean” is central to the Manuscript SC 1’s impressive versatility.  The Clean control mixes in your clean signal (which is taken at the pedal’s input and mixed back in with the overdriven signal at the output) with the overdrive, giving the impression of a multi-amp setup.

Although technically not a “preamp, “ playing through a Manuscript SC 1 makes your clean amp feel like you’re playing through a completely different amp. When choosing a 50/50 clean/over-driven spilt, your Robben Ford tone suddenly morphs into SRV.  You can’t nail the SRV drive tone if you don’t put the clean sound into the equation. Start your Texas blues journey here!

Experimenting with the Clean control allows easier integration into your existing setup in a subtler way if desired, vastly increasing the pedal’s usefulness and versatility with a range of differing guitar and amp setups.  The comp switch adds some very subtle compression and amp-like squishiness to the tone. Inside the pedal there is a small bass control trim pot to fine-tune the low-end response and balance the output of the other 4 knobs.

Pedalboard friendly with top-mounted jacks in a 125B-sized aluminium enclosure.  Powder-coated metallic candy red paintwork with UV-printed labelling.  A standard 9v centre negative power supply is required, there is no internal battery connection. The bright green LED mounted in a metal bezel let you know when the pedal is engaged.