The Alexander Pedals RIFF Instant Tone Sanitizer is a limited edition Class A boost/preamp pedal, released in March 2020. It is a discrete Class A preamp circuit designed, in the words of the write-up that accompanied its release, to "crank smiles and boost spirits"1. It sits in the same family as other boost pedals and preamp pedals, placed before the amp to push the front end or add a touch of shaping.
What it does
As a boost and preamp, the RIFF is built to drive an amp harder or lift a signal, with a voicing control that lets the player lean the tone mellow or saturated. Alexander Pedals released it as a limited edition in March 20201.
The pedal carries a joke in its name, and the maker's press material made the point plainly: "Attention, the germs this pedal kills are imaginary, it does NOT work as hand sanitizer!"1. The name plays on the sanitizing theme of the period rather than on any cleaning function.
Controls
The RIFF keeps things simple with three knobs, each with a single job1:
| Control | Function |
|---|---|
| Kills | Output level |
| Most | Highs |
| Germs | Voicing |
The Germs knob is the tonal one: turned to the left it gives a more mellow tone, and turned to the right a fatter, saturated one1. That makes it the control to reach for when deciding whether the RIFF acts as a clean lift or pushes into a warmer, more driven character, in the territory where overdrive pedals and distortion pedals also live.
Videos
R.J. Ronquillo
Demos In The Dark
MAS Distro
Sources (1)
- Alexander Pedals RIFF Instant Tone Sanitizer Preamp/Boost, Delicious Audio, 2020-03-26
