The Devil's Triad Essentials is a boost and overdrive pedal from AllPedal, designed in collaboration with Jeff Loomis, the guitarist best known for his work with Nevermore and Arch Enemy1. It is built on the original Drive section of the larger Devil's Triad, and AllPedal positions it as a "Versatile Drive + Dual Boost with 3-Band EQ Precision"1. Where the original Devil's Triad packed distortion, boost, delay and reverb into one box, the Essentials keeps the drive and boost parts and upgrades the tone shaping to a full active 3-band EQ12.
AllPedal says the analog op-amp drive "provides depth and tightness to any amplifier while emphasizing your pick attack," and that the pedal can be used as a pedalboard preamp or as an overdrive and boost, with the EQ letting you "tone shape your amp to perfection for that nice modern metal chug"1. It is hand-built in the USA, carries a 3 year warranty upgradeable to a lifetime warranty, and has a regular price of £249.00 GBP1.
What it does to your sound
The pedal has two footswitchable sections. The Drive section is a soft-clipping op-amp overdrive with Gain and Fuel (output) knobs and its own footswitch2. AllPedal gives the drive a total output of 20db1. The Boost section is also an analog op-amp circuit, with a range from unity to 20db1.
The tone shaping is where the Essentials differs most from a simple overdrive. Instead of a single Tone knob, it has an active 3-band EQ, which Guitar Pedal X described as an upgrade from the original's 3-knob drive format to "a full 3-Band EQ format"2. Each band is active, meaning it cuts as well as boosts:
| EQ band | Range | Center frequency |
|---|---|---|
| High | Active 10db boost / 15db cut | 4kHz1 |
| Mid | Active 7.5db boost / 7.5db cut | 1kHz1 |
| Bass | Active band (Treb, Mid, Bass knobs)2 |
The EQ is a big part of why the pedal works as a preamp: with cut and boost on three bands, you can reshape the front end of an amp rather than just adding gain21.
The controls
The Essentials Edition's control layout, as covered by Guitar Pedal X, is:
| Section | Controls | Footswitch |
|---|---|---|
| Drive (soft-clipping op-amp) | Fuel (output), Gain | Drive footswitch2 |
| Active 3-band EQ | Treb, Mid, Bass | 2 |
| Boost | Post, Pre | Boost footswitch2 |
The two boost knobs do different jobs. AllPedal describes the Pre and Post boost knobs as giving "ultimate control on the front and back of the drive circuit": Pre boosts the gain feeding the drive circuit, Post boosts the output signal, and each has a small area of cut at its minimum setting1. That means you can hit the clipping harder, push the output harder, or both, and the boost is usable on its own as a clean-ish level raise thanks to its unity-to-20db range1.
Measured input impedances are around 400K at 1kHz for the drive section and 325K at 1kHz for the boost section, figures AllPedal publishes as measured values1.
From the Devil's Triad to the Essentials edition
The original Devil's Triad is a four-section pedal: distortion/boost/delay/reverb, created with Jeff Loomis3. Its drive section had Level, Tone and Gain knobs, its boost section a single Boost knob, its reverb Level, Tone and Decay, and its delay an analog signal path with digital repeats23. Its overdrive and distortion options, in AllPedal's words, "vary from expressive overdrive to powerful distortion"4.
The Essentials Edition, as Guitar Pedal X reported in May 2024, "strips out and improves the Boost and Drive sections from the original larger format Jeff Loomis Signature Devil's Triad Pedal," dropping the delay and reverb and moving the drive to the active 3-band EQ format2. The original runs on 9V DC at 160mA, where the Essentials draws 37mA, and both require a center-pin-negative fully regulated supply with no internal battery and no included adapter13.
"The Devil’s Triad Essentials has that really smart Boost section - over and above the Slamurai - which vastly increases the ’Essentials’ range and versatility."
Guitar Pedal X also noted the Boost section's Pre and Post arrangement as what sets the pedal apart from the Slamurai Bushido Drive in AllPedal's range, vastly increasing its range and versatility2. At the time of that coverage, UK availability was still pending, with major international dealers expected2.
What reviewers made of it
In Guitar Pedal X's 2024 round-up of the year's best new boost and overdrive pedals, Stefan Karlsson's verdict on the Jeff Loomis signature Devil's Triad Essentials Boost + Drive was52:
"Beautiful sounding versatile pedal - great for liquid distortion, but not as high gain as you might think it would be!"
That is a useful calibration for anyone expecting a Loomis-associated pedal to be a high-gain monster: the reviewer found it versatile and good for liquid distortion, but lower gain than its association might suggest5.
Power and practical notes
The Devil's Triad Essentials has no internal battery and ships without a power adapter. It requires a 9V DC center-pin-negative, fully regulated supply, and AllPedal specifies the supply should deliver at least 100mA, well above the pedal's own 37mA draw1.
The pedal carries a 3-year warranty, upgradeable to a lifetime warranty through AllPedal1. Its listed weight is 454 g1.
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Questions
Who designed the AllPedal Devil's Triad Essentials?
It was designed by AllPedal in collaboration with Jeff Loomis, the guitarist best known for his work with Nevermore and Arch Enemy. It is part of AllPedal's signature line built around his sound, and it carries over the Drive and Boost sections from the original larger Devil's Triad pedal he worked on with the company.
Does the AllPedal Devil's Triad Essentials take a battery?
No. AllPedal states there is no internal battery, so the pedal runs only on external power. It needs a 9V DC center-pin-negative, fully regulated supply, and AllPedal recommends a supply capable of at least 100mA even though the pedal itself draws 37mA.
Is the Devil's Triad Essentials a Jeff Loomis signature pedal?
Yes. AllPedal describes it as a pedal designed in collaboration with Jeff Loomis, and press coverage of the Essentials Edition called it AllPedal's Jeff Loomis Signature Devil's Triad Essentials Edition. It is a smaller-format version carrying the Boost and Drive sections of the original Jeff Loomis Signature Devil's Triad.
Does the Devil's Triad Essentials come with a power adapter?
No. AllPedal lists the pedal with the power adapter not included, so you need your own 9V DC center-pin-negative regulated supply. The company also specifies the supply should deliver at least 100mA of current.
Can the Devil's Triad Essentials be used as a preamp?
Yes. AllPedal says it can be used as a pedalboard preamp as well as an overdrive and boost, with the 3-band EQ letting you tone shape your amp, in the company's words, for that nice modern metal chug. The active EQ and up to 20db of output support that role.
Where is the AllPedal Devil's Triad Essentials built?
AllPedal states that the Devil's Triad Essentials is hand-built in the USA, at the company's own operation. The original Devil's Triad carries the same hand-built in the USA claim on its product page.
Sources (5)
- Versatile Drive Pedal, AllPedal
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2024-05-24
- Jeff Loomis Signature Guitar Pedal, AllPedal
- Artists - AllPedal, AllPedal
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2024-12-16
