Master Effects revises Vulgar pedal with Century-derived sustain and mid boost

November 1, 2022 · 1 sources

Master Effects has revised the Vulgar pedal, with the new version dated November 2022. The maker says the update responds to complaints about the original RG100 and Vulgar.

The Vulgar is based on the preamp of the Randall RG100 solid state amplifier, which the maker describes as made famous by Dimebag Darrell of Pantera. The revised pedal takes its sustain volume compensation from the Randall Century, which the maker calls "99% the same preamp as the RG100" but with added volume compensation to keep the volume constant when the sustain circuit is engaged. It also borrows the Century's mid boost switch: with the switch down the circuit is identical to the RG100, and with it up it shifts the treble capacitor in the tone stack to emphasize more frequencies.

Controls are Master, Presence, Gain, Bass, Middle and Treble, plus a sustain switch. The sustain switch adds extra diode clipping to increase saturation; the maker notes that enabling it affects output volume. The pedal runs on a standard Boss-style 9V power supply, with internal circuitry generating a 24V supply as the original amplifiers used. It has soft-touch relay true bypass and an FR4 PCB, and is assembled by hand in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The revised version moves to a 125B enclosure with top-mount jacks.

The price is $199US plus shipping. Shipping is $20US within Canada and the US, and approximately $60US to the UK, Western Europe, Australia and Japan. Each pedal carries a 1 year warranty on parts and labor, excluding damage from improper power supplies or other misuse. Orders typically ship within 2 to 4 weeks.