Shift Line

The story: a Saint Petersburg pedal maker

Shift Line emerged in 2008 and has since been joined, in its own words, by musicians aiming to build high-quality products for players who want a great sound in a compact enclosure¹. The company notes that it constantly perfects its products and reserves the right to alter their appearance and specifications with no prior notification⁵, so details on a given unit can change between production runs.

The lineup has grown across several families:

• Tube preamps: the Olympic bass preamp, the Twin guitar preamp, and the A+ Flex bass preamp⁵⁶²
• Cabinet simulators: the CabZone series of IR-based cabsims⁷
• Fuzz and drive: the Termofuzz MkII⁸
• Modulation and pitch: the Octaves pedal and the Prism II⁹¹⁰
• Impulse response packs: exclusive IR packs for its cabsims³

Known for tube preamps, cab sims and impulse packs

Shift Line's core reputation rests on its tube preamps and the cabinet simulation built around them. The Olympic MkIII is described by the maker as a tube bass preamplifier with IR-based cabinet simulation, and as the third revision of the company's tube bass preamp⁶. The MkIIIS version carries the same description¹¹. The Twin MkIIIS is the guitar counterpart, likewise a tube guitar preamplifier with IR-based cabinet simulation⁵. The A+ Flex is a tube bass preamplifier that Shift Line calls a "fully fledged tube preamp with high-voltage power"².

The CabZone pedals handle the cabinet side. Shift Line describes them as IR-based cabsims that can be used with the Twin and Olympic tube preamps (MkI and MkII), the Shift Line Beta preamp, or third-party preamps without a built-in cabsim⁷. That covers the whole CabZone range:

The company also sells impulse response packs. The Bass IR Pack's impulses are in 24bit 48kHz WAVE PCM1 non-compressed format, adapted to Shift Line's devices and compatible with the A+ CabZone LE cabsim, the Olympic MkIIIS tube preamp, and any device or software supporting that format⁴. The SUNN Beta Lead IR Pack follows the same format and works with the A+ CabZone LE and the Twin MkIIIS¹⁵.

Beyond preamps and cabsims, the Termofuzz MkII is described as a universal fuzz/drive pedal that goes from traditional fuzz tones to more experimental territory; the original Termofuzz was the most popular fuzz/drive pedal in the Shift Line lineup⁸. The Everest II is suited for use with any kind of instrument, including guitar, bass, synths and drums¹⁶, and the Prism II is a new version of the Prism-9 complex effect pedal¹⁰.

Design approach: compact, simple, usable

Two threads run through the whole range. The first is physical: nearly every pedal comes in a small, lightweight aluminum enclosure with top-mounted jacks to save pedalboard space. Shift Line uses that formula for the A+ Flex², the Stages¹⁷, the Octaves⁹, the Everest II¹⁶, the Prism II¹⁰ and its Black Edition²¹⁷⁹, and the CabZone pedals are sized and given recessed knobs so they can sit anywhere on a board²¹⁷⁹.

The second is operational. The company says most of its effects are focused on simplicity and usability, so dialing in a preferred sound is quick, and that it relies on reliable cutting-edge technologies and user feedback rather than chasing "mojo"¹. The Octaves pedal illustrates the control philosophy: it has an external parameter control input accepting MIDI, passive controllers, expression pedals and analog triggers⁹. For expression control, Shift Line recommends pedals with 10 to 25 kOhm resistance using a TS (mono) connection, noting that TRS connections may result in a non-linear response; the expression range is set by calibration in Setup Mode, with values in the 0 to 1023 range, and swapping the two values reverses the pedal's direction¹⁸.

Support and contact

Shift Line handles worldwide shipping requests at sales@shift-line.com⁴. Players who want permission to use the company's impulse responses commercially are asked to contact info@shift-line.com⁴. Product support material, such as the Octaves expression pedal calibration guide, is published on the company's site¹⁸.

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