Origin Effects puts the holy grail tone mojo of a UA 610 console preamp into a pair of drive/tone shaper pedals for guitar and bass

Origin Effects has unveiled a pair of drive and tone shaper pedals that are inspired by the analogue vintage magic of the UA 610 recording preamp. The DCX Boost, voiced for electric guitar, and DCX Bass, voiced for bass, can serve players as a drive section, an EQ, or simply a tone-sweetening boost. And they might just be one of those pedals that makes everything better.

That looks to be whole idea behind this endeavour. With its nigh-on gourmet lineup of compressor pedals and high-end drives, Origin Effects has always positioned itself as the the brand for guitar tone connoisseurs, drawing inspiration from outboard studio gear such as the Urei 1176 studio compressor and vintage Pultec studio EQ as well as such iconic stompboxes as the Ibanez Tube Screamer.

Well, the prospect of having that analogue tube tone mojo in a compact effects pedal certainly has our attention. Besides its capability for adding “analogue, vintage colour” to any signal that passes through it, Origin Effects says the UA 610’s precise EQ and level control makes it a formidable tool in your rig.

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Both the DCX Boost and DCX Bass share similar designs and control setups to Origin Effects pedals such as the M-EQ Driver, with dials for Level and Drive, with another two for Low Frequencies and High Frequencies, each calibrated for guitar or bass guitar. 

There is a mini-toggle to switch between EQ and OD (overdrive) modes, and another Voice mini-toggle for fine-tune the response of the treble roll-off with three different settings, Dark, Flat, Medium. 

Both pedals offer a wide range of gain. You can dial both in as a clean boost. There are “direct-to-console” sounds, add break-up or low-gain drive and warm heat for blues guitar, or go super saturated with quasi-fuzz pedal tones that sound like you are cranking the input gain on the preamp.

Origin Effects has endowed both with its proprietary Adaptive Circuitry to enhance the pedals’ dynamic performance. 

In EQ mode, this keeps the pedal’s top-end response flat with clean tones, and as you dial up the drive the treble rolls off gradually, allowing you to keep cleans all sparkly and glassy and your drive warm. In OD mode, the treble roll-off feature is ever-present. Simply set the Voice switch to your preferred setting.

The DCX Boost and DCX Bass are designed and built in England. They take a 9V DC from a pedalboard power supply and draw 90mA. 

They feature top-mounted jacks, ultra-high input impedance and have a high-quality buffered bypass. And they are available now, priced £259 / $319. For more details, head over to Origin Effects.