Sunnaudio's Nucleus NU-1 is dual boost preamp with two flavours of drive on tap
The NU-1's Hi-Gain channel offers up to 60dB of gain
The NU-1 Nucleus from Sunnaudio is a two-channel preamp and drive pedal that offers low- and high-gain modes and ample scope shaping your electric guitar or bass tone.
Described as a "Dual Boost Preamp Distortion," the Nucleus has two footswitches – one to engage or bypass the pedal, the other to toggle between Lo-Gain and Hi-Gain modes, with an LED to let you know which channel you have running. The channels share gain and EQ controls.
The compact enclosure is dominated by a large gain dial, which is apt when you consider the Hi-Gain channel has a whopping 60dB of gain to juice your signal, with volume controls for each channel, Tone control for boosting/cutting mids and a Focus control for tweaking sub-harmonics in your bass tone or contouring midrange on electric guitar.
When in Lo-Gain, use the Nucleus as a clean boost or a subtle drive. In Hi-Gain, it'll really heat up, with an abundance of saturated distortion revealing itself as you crank the gain dial.
The Nucleus has an analogue circuit and takes 9V battery or 7.5v-12v volt DC to power it. The harmonic character of the pedal changes depending on which voltage you run it at.
It is priced from $265, with options including coloured footswitch covers.
See Sunnaudio for more details
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Jonathan Horsley has been writing about guitars and guitar culture since 2005, playing them since 1990, and regularly contributes to MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitar World. He uses Jazz III nylon picks, 10s during the week, 9s at the weekend, and shamefully still struggles with rhythm figure one of Van Halen’s Panama.