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Walrus Audio 385 MKI Overdrive Pedal

The early guitar amplifiers of the 50's were essentially general purpose tube amp schematics pressed into service to amplify the new wave of electric guitars (my first "real" guitar amp was a Bogen tube PA chassis...if I only knew). The 50's high schooler from the AV department setting up the film projector probably did not realize they were sitting on point-to-point tube gold. But the tone freaks of 21st century did, and these "projector amps" became the hot deal for getting raw, harmonic presence of a simple tube circuit path. The Walrus Audio 385 is their emulation of these simple tube circuits with enhanced tone shaping and gain capabilities. The 385 can cover "almost clean" to the harmonically rich and gritty overdrive of a max'd small tube amp. You can use the 385 as an overdrive pedal, be we also like it as a "cleanish" boost at the end of the signal chain. The ability of the 385 to give the your leads a little more volume, edge and spaciousness is not to be missed. Bravo.

In the words of Walrus Audio:

Dynamic, responsive, tube-like, and amp-like. Walrus Audio is extremely excited to announce the new 385 Overdrive that is boastfully responsible for all those adjectives. For decades now, guitarists in search of pure tone have been taking the tube-powered audio sections of vintage film projectors and using it as a guitar amp. Heads up – it sounds amazing.

After endless hours of research on vintage Bell and Howell 385 Filmosound projector, Walrus has created a fantastic new overdrive modeled after the projector’s tone. The Bell and Howell 385 gracefully lends itself to create an amazing guitar amp. Its simple, but effective controls, plus dual 6V6 output section make for a simple and extremely responsive amp that has an amazing compressed overdrive when cranked.

THIS was the sound and feel Walrus needed to shoot for in an amp-like pedal. The 385 was developed to have the same simple but effective tone control as it’s grandfather. The amp has this as well but bass and treble are stacked behind the single tone knob. With our design breaking them up, we allow for a much wider array of tones to be achieved. The user is able to boost and cut bass and treble, allowing them to be creative with mid-frequency scoops and bumps.

The pedal is internally running at 18v, which helps us nail the same dynamic feel of the amp in a stomp box. This means it is extremely sensitive to how hard you dig in – just like the amp. 

Specs

  • The 385 comes in a matte black finish with yellow ink featuring original artwork of a vintage Belle and Howell 385 projector ready to give you the dynamic tone you’ve been searching for.
  • The die cast enclosure’s exact size is 4.77" x 2.6" x 1.39”.
  • Power requirements are 9VDC (100mA minimum).
  • The use of an isolated power supply is recommended for powering all Walrus Audio Pedals.
  • Daisy chain power supplies are not recommended. Power supply not included.