Vertex

The company is best known for its volume pedals, clean boosts and the Dumble-inspired Ultraphonix overdrive, alongside a full line of pedalboards, risers and power modules. It is also known for a controversy in which its owner was found to have rebranded inexpensive Chinese-built wah pedals as a Vertex product²³⁴.

The story of Vertex Effects

Vertex builds its products in Lancaster, California, where its craftsmen hand assemble and black powder coat its metalwork². The company's range spans effects pedals and pedalboard hardware in equal measure: on the pedal side sit the Ultraphonix and Steel String overdrives, the Boost, the T Drive, the Dynamic Distortion and the volume pedals; on the hardware side sit pedalboards, risers, pedal lifts and buffer and power modules²¹.

The overdrive line became a big part of the Vertex story. The T Drive, a "Wreck-in-a-box" overdrive, was painstakingly designed and engineered alongside an actual Trainwreck Express amp to capture that amp's tone⁹. The Tone Secret followed, introduced by Vertex as the newest member of its pedal range¹⁰, and the company's overdrive lineup grew to include the Ultraphonix MKI, T Drive, Ultra-Phonix HRM and Tone Secret OD.

Volume pedals, boosts and the Ultraphonix overdrive

Vertex's volume pedals are passive designs. The company calls the Stereo Volume Pedal "the most transparent passive volume pedal available," and both the stereo and mono versions carry the lifetime warranty and are modified in California³¹¹.

The Boost MKII is a boost pedal with +16dB of ultra-transparent level over unity gain¹². The MKII is a significantly slimmer version of one of the company's most popular pedals, reducing its footprint by more than a third while maintaining tone and functionality¹³. It can also serve as a VOL/EXP pedal controller, dual-buffer interface and FX Loop buffer, in addition to an ultra-linear clean boost pedal¹⁴.

The Ultraphonix Overdrive is designed to re-create the overdrive produced by a Dumble Overdrive Special amplifier⁴. Vertex says it can be used in tandem with another overdrive pedal, in front of a broken-up amp, or in front of any clean amp platform⁴.

What changed in the Ultraphonix MKII

The Ultraphonix Special Overdrive MKII is one-third smaller than the original, with even more features and more control over the overdrive¹⁵. The most noticeable differences from the MkI are the smaller footprint and the new Level knob¹⁶. The Master control adjusts overall output after all signal and distortion processing in the pedal, while the Ratio control works as a typical gain control, and all top-mounted jacks make it pedalboard friendly¹⁷. Reviewer Tim Marco found that, unlike a Tube Screamer style pedal where the bass is gone, the low E still has a lot of body and low end¹⁷.

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Pedalboards, risers and power modules

Vertex's hardware line covers the full pedalboard ecosystem. Its Hinged Risers come in a wide range of size choices, with two to three compatible models for every pedalboard type: Travel Lite, Travel Plus, Tour Compact and Tour Elite². The TE1 and TL2 Hinged Risers MKII are billed as "an innovative, durable, and ultra-convenient solution for maximizing the efficiency of your pedalboard"⁶².

• Pedal Lifts: individual risers for elevating a few effects on an already-configured board, with a lifetime warranty and 30-day money back guarantee¹⁸
• Power Module: an AC power module for the MKII pedalboards that fits with all MKII pedalboard risers¹⁹
• Buffer Modules: buffer interfaces and buffer modules for pedalboards²⁰

The rebranded wah controversy

The Axis Wah is the subject of the company's best-known controversy. In an open letter published on the Vertex site, guitarist Robben Ford wrote that "Mason was exposed last year for having put his label on some cheap, Chinese-built, Wah-Wah pedals"²¹. The letter also states that Marangella "has been making good on his promise to refund, rebate, credit and/or exchange anyone who had purchased one of his fake pedals"²¹.

Vertex's own Axis Wah page directs owners who were unaware of their restitution options to email info@vertexeffects.com, and lists YouTube and The Gear Page as resources for learning more²². The company later released the NOS Axis Wah, which it calls "the finest representation of the classic Vox and CryBaby style Wahs from the 1960's"²³. For background on the wah itself, VOX introduced the Wah-Wah pedal in 1967, stemming from the Midrange Boost feature of a VOX amp design²⁴.

The people: Mason Marangella

Vertex Effects is owned and run by Mason Marangella, who co-designed the Ultraphonix and appears in the company's product demos¹⁵¹⁷. He is also the company's customer service voice, answering buyer questions personally via chat and phone²⁵.

Support: lifetime warranty and returns

Vertex lists a lifetime warranty across essentially its whole range, including the volume pedals, T Drive, Axis Wah, NOS Axis Wah, Dynamic Distortion, buffer modules, pedal lifts and power modules^6322232026. The company also offers a 30-day money back guarantee return policy¹⁸.

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