Warm Audio brings some pedalboard favourites back to life with a new overdrive and phaser
Warm Audio is an American company founded on the principle of building sonically high-end recording products that are affordable to the everyday musician and recording engineer. It basically produces new versions of vintage classics and, while much of its output has been in the studio world, the brand has moved into pedals with its own takes on the Klon Centaur, Hermida Zendrive, Roland Jet Phaser and Foxx Tone Machine. Warm Audio’s latest duo is based on the recently discontinued Fulltone OCD and the Mu-Tron Phasor II, a rare 1970s-era phaser.
ODD Box V1
The Fulltone OCD is a hard-clipping op-amp-based overdrive that has graced the stages of a host of well-known players. And while it’s no longer being manufactured, demand still continues. The ODD Box aims to satiate that demand by providing a brand-new stompbox for less than the cost of a used OCD. What you get is a touch-sensitive pedal that offers rich valve-amp-style drive in two flavours; aUK/US switch provides gainier mid-forward Marshall sound or you can opt for the more scooped, tighter raunch of a Tweed-era Fender. Both sound great and the trio of knobs offers plenty of clean to filthy/ warm to bright versatility. Bargain!
Mutation Phasor II
The Mutation Phasor II is said to offer a true-to-spec recreation of the 70s electro-optical circuit using premium components, including RC4558P op-amps and vintage-style diodes. Warm Audio has also opted to stick to the vintage form factor with a solidly built enclosure that looks suitably retro, but that does mean it will take up a fair bit of pedalboard space. The pedal delivers airy and spacey six-stage phasing and there’s a massive range via the Rate knob –we loved this at its slowest, where it’ll take a languid 10 seconds get a full phaser sweep for a subtle otherworldly shift in your sound. Juxtaposition of Rate and Depth will give you a tour through some classic 70s phasing,
