Cornerstone Music Gear unveils Colosseum dual-drive pedal
July 4, 2023 · 2 sources
Cornerstone Music Gear has unveiled the Colosseum, a boutique overdrive pedal that combines two classic overdrive circuits in one housing, each on its own channel1. The pedal was co-designed with input from the general public after the Italian maker asked its user community what they would like to see1. Gearnews reported that the Colosseum was the result of a series of polls among Cornerstone's followers and was "essentially voted into existence"2.
The two circuits are inspired by the Klon Centaur and the Marshall Blues Breaker, though MusicRadar notes that Cornerstone has put its own spin on each1. A genuine vintage Klon was used as a reference, and the Klon side uses 1N34A germanium diodes alongside a pair of selected silicon diodes, with a mini-dial blending between them1. The dial runs from 100 percent germanium fully counterclockwise to 100 percent silicon fully clockwise12. The Klon side has Tone, Gain and Volume controls1.
The Blues Breaker side has Tone, Gain and Volume controls, with a Clean control on a mini-dial on the front of the enclosure1. Cornerstone revised the tone control on that circuit and removed the clipping diodes, which it says can make it louder and brighter1. The Clean control is taken from the company's Gladio pedal and allows more clean signal to be mixed in12. A toggle switch swaps the order of the circuits, and each channel has its own connections for use with a looper pedal12.
"The Cornerstone Colosseum is the result of a series of polls taken among Cornerstone's followers and was essentially voted into existence."
Gearnews reports that each pedal is hand built in Italy2. The Colosseum is available now1.