Fender Upgrades Pugilist Distortion, Marine Layer Reverb

July 9, 2021 · 4 sources

Fender announced doubled-up versions of two of its effects pedals, taking its Pugilist Distortion and Marine Layer Reverb and building each into a dual-format stompbox with two independent, footswitchable channels¹. The new pedals are the Duel Pugilist Distortion and the Dual Marine Layer Reverb.

The Duel Pugilist Distortion is a punchy double distortion pedal housing two independent distortion circuits, Distortion A and B, each with its own Level, Tone and Gain controls and its own footswitch². A Mode switch offers three routing options: Series stacks the two distortions as you would with two separate pedals, Mute has Distortion A take the reins with Distortion B operating as a top layer, and Parallel (Bypass) mixes the two distortions together via a blend knob². The pedal listed for $229.99².

The Dual Marine Layer Reverb keeps the same Fender-designed reverb circuit as the original and offers two classic reverb types, Hall and Room, plus a third, more modern Shimmer mode³. Its two channels can be toggled through an A/B switch in the middle of the pedal, letting a player set up two customized reverb settings and shift between them on stage³. Pre-delay and damping controls are inherited from the original unit, and a Mod knob adds subtle modulation to the wet signal³.

New to the dual version is a Sustain knob and footswitch that prolongs the reverb through a momentary effect, holding on to the reverb tails³. Delicious Audio described the pedal as a Sweetwater Exclusive³.

Both pedals duplicate the original pedals' control sets, combined with unique options and special features, for two independent settings or voicings footswitchable in a single dual-format stompbox⁴. Each comes in a lightweight anodized aluminum housing with LED-backlit knobs that illuminate brightly⁴.