Reuss Subsonic Why Jakob Jørgensen signature pedal

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Signature pedal for local Copenhagen artist Jakob ‘Yabaz’ Jørgensen of Psyched Up Janis and Ring Them Bells

Reuss Subsonic Why is a bass player’s dream-come-true pedal. It’s basically a three channel ultra-flexible dirt pedal, allowing you to mix any amount of fuzz, overdrive and clean sound.

The fuzz and overdrive circuits run in parallel, so the instrument signal enters both at the input, and their outputs are balanced via the “DIRT MIX” control. This makes any mix of drive and fuzz sounds possible. The distorted signal can then be mixed with any amount of strong clean sound via the “CLEAN MIX” control. Mixing in clean sound helps preserving low-end punch and tightness, which is extremely important for a bass pedal. These features gives the Subsonic Why an unparalleled level of flexibility. It is capable of everything from subtle, amp-like overdrive to full-on, crazy fuzz mayhem.

The two circuits that forms the basis of the Subsonic Why is picked from Jakob Jørgensen’s old favourites, the overdrive being based on the Boss OD-3 and the fuzz on a big muff.

The overdrive is based on the guitar version of the yellow Boss pedal, which is a very natural, ‘amp-like’ kind of overdrive with slightly scooped mids (think Fender amp). We have modified the circuit for bass by lowering the frequency response one octave. This feature is switchable inside the pedal, so that you can also use the pedal with a guitar. The clipping diodes are vintage new old stock 1S2473s which has a softer ‘knee’ than modern silicon diodes, giving the pedal a smoother sounding overdrive.

The muff fuzz is based on the old ‘Triangle’ version, and we have customized it for bass by lowering the ‘notch’ of the tone control to suit bass frequencies better. Like the bass modification of the overdrive circuit, this is also switchable inside the pedal, so that you can set it for guitar too (standard BM tone control). We have also equipped the fuzz circuit with a ‘Big Bender’ modification which omits one clipping stage from the circuit, making it tighter and very much like an old Jumbo Tonebender – and the new Reuss Big Bender. The fuzz circuit is made with BC184 transistors which are the same as found in many of the best sounding vintage BM pedals.

The CLEAN MIX signal of the Subsonic Why can pre pre-set inside the pedal for +12, 18 and 20 dB, depending on how much clean sound you need at tap for your mix. +20 db makes the pedal very loud and useful even as a clean boost too.

The Subsonic Why is based on the Reuss Epic Overdrive, with the TS circuit replaced by a BM fuzz. The Epic Overdrive can also be preset for bass via internal switches, so if you'd rather have a super flexible, dedicated bass overdrive pedal, that pedal might be the one for you.

Demo video by Jakob Jørgensen himself

Demo of the pedal in guitar mode

Subsonic Why features and specifications

Classic overdrive and fuzz circuits in parallel to mix freely
The ability to mix the combined drive/fuzz sound with clean sound
Custom settings for clean boost level via DIP switches inside
Both overdrive and fuzz circuit can be pre-set individually for bass or guitar via DIP switches inside the pedal
User defineable range of the DRIVE control via trimmer pot inside the pedal
Vintage new old stock 'yellow band' 1S2473 dclipping diodes
Extremely high build quality. Completely handmade in the European Union
Powder coated enclosure in metallic teal blue with real silk screen printed graphics
Runs on a standard ‘Boss-type’ guitar pedal 9V power supply or 9V battery (not included). The pedal handles up to 18V from an external power supply for increased headroom.
High quality Neutrik jacks
Upgrade quality 'Alpha' brand footswitch (good for at least 30000 stomps)
Runs on a standard ’Boss-style’ 9V DC guitar pedal power supply or a 9V battery
24 months warranty against manufacturing faults
Packed in a cardboard box and linen draw-string bag
Worldwide shipping from Denmark. Orders posted before 2:00 PM Central European Time on weekdays ships same day