Manual
Sovereign. Distortion.
Brian Wampler is famous for taking big sounds and making them t into
small boxes, capable of running through just about anything and sound-
ing so much like the inspiration that you'd have trouble telling the dier-
ence with your eyes closed.
What happens when you take all that razor-honed skill and let it loose
with a goal not of replicating an amp sound, but of just making the best
sounding distortion pedal possible?
The answer – and there can be only one – is Sovereign.
Capable of a range of sounds from juicy crunch to fat rhythm to leads
with diamond-edged cut, the Sovereign Distortion could redeem distor-
tion pedals in the eyes of even the most skeptical pedal-hater.
For all of us pedal-lovers, it's a magnicent beast which sacrices nothing
and brings it all to the table.
The question isn't whether Sovereign will give you the tone you seek, but
rather, are you prepared for that much power under your feet?
To get the most out of your new pedal, you'll want to become very
familiar with the controls. The Sovereign distortion pedal has a control
setup that combines a few distinct elements in easy-to-grasp ways,
making it straightforward to use but allowing for plenty of tonal exibility.
With the Sovereign, Wampler Pedals has introduced the "Advanced Gain Structure" control setup, which visibly
groups the adjustments most relevant to adding more or less distortion and making large changes to its character in
one area. Inside that area are the Gain knob, an Even/Bright Toggle Switch, and a Standard/Boost Toggle Switch.
The other controls which have less to do with shaping the distortion itself are outside the Advanced Gain Structure
box, and are Volume, Mid Behavior, and Tone. We recommend that you start with the Mid Behavior knob and Tone at
Noon, and dial in the Advanced Gain Structure controls rst! As with all Wampler Pedals products, the Sovereign
includes a high-quality true-bypass switch which takes it completely out of the signal path when bypassed. Experi-
ment and enjoy!
Bypass Switch – A true-bypass footswitch ensures solid, mechanical removal of the circuit when it isn't wanted,
meaning you don't lose any tone when the pedal is o.
Volume – This control adjusts the output level of the Sovereign. There's plenty of volume on tap, so whether you
want to go farther than your input level or just make sure it can do unity volume (the same level of signal going out
as you feed it, when active), you're covered. The output volume, Advanced Gain Structure controls and tonal adjust-
ments all have an impact on the total volume, so you're probably better o waiting to adjust the Volume until you've
dialed in the other controls. Re-adjustment might be necessary if you get it to the desired level and still need to tweak
the sound.
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