Chase Bliss and Analog Man Brothers AM

The Brothers AM is an overdrive pedal from Chase Bliss, made in collaboration with Analog Man, the maker of the long-running King of Tone overdrive. Chase Bliss describes it as "a tribute to the legendary King of Tone overdrive," built with Mike Piera of Analog Man as an expanded take on that circuit, and it adds a bonus treble booster inspired by Analog Man's Beano Boost¹. The result is a dual-channel drive pedal with a 100% analog signal path and the digital control layer Chase Bliss pedals are known for, including presets¹.

Where the King of Tone is the pedal it pays tribute to, the Brothers AM packs a King of Tone and a two-voice treble booster into what That Pedal Show calls "the 'standard' Chase Bliss pedal format," with advanced switching and control options on top². Chase Bliss describes it as a tribute to the King of Tone overdrive, made in collaboration with Analog Man³¹.

A King of Tone overdrive with a Beano-style booster

The core of the pedal is the King of Tone circuit, arranged as two channels, each with Gain, Volume and Tone controls and a choice of boost, overdrive, or distortion modes¹⁶. On top of that sits the bonus circuit: a treble booster inspired by Analog Man's Beano Boost, which Guitar Pedal X reports offers Full, Off and Lite settings¹⁶. Chase Bliss frames the channel controls simply: "Choose between boost, overdrive, or distortion, set the gain, set the tone"¹.

The two halves interact the way a King of Tone's channels do, with the treble booster adding another layer. Guitar Pedal X's Stefan Karlsson found that the Beano Treble Boost "can deliver a degree of fuzzy tones," which combine with the drive channels to produce what he called a potent range of tones and textures⁶. Pedal of the Day classifies the whole pedal as a dual overdrive, distortion and boost⁵.

From the King of Tone to a Chase Bliss collaboration

The Brothers AM is a variant of Chase Bliss's original Brothers pedal, itself a dual-channel analog drive developed together with Resonant Electronics and shown at the winter NAMM Show in February 2017⁷. The AM version swaps in the King of Tone and Beano Boost circuits, and it came out of a close working relationship between Chase Bliss founder Joel Korte and Mike Piera, aka Analog Man²³. Chase Bliss says the two "worked closely with Mike to create an expanded take on the King of Tone"³.

Chase Bliss also documented the project on film. In the Brothers AM documentary, Joel Korte said "the most special part of filming, I'd say, was traveling with Mike back to the Akihabara markets in Japan," a trip that also took in Connecticut⁸.

For players who already know the King of Tone family, the appeal is partly practical. On his demo, Rhett Shull said "I think it actually makes some improvements on the original King of Tone one in form factor. This is more pedal board friendly," while still being usable⁹.

Control: presets, expression and MIDI

The analog audio circuit sits under a digital control layer, which is where the Brothers AM differs most from a standard King of Tone. MusicRadar's Trevor Curwen describes "its 100 per cent analogue signal path," comprising two independent channels, with a digital control side handling the extras¹⁰. Those extras include presets, which Chase Bliss lists among "all the handy digital control you expect from our pedals"³.

• Presets: Saved settings, part of the digital control layer³
• Expression: An expression pedal can be assigned to any of the knobs, with minimum and maximum levels set via a bank of dip switches on top⁴¹¹
• MIDI: Full MIDI control of the pedal's parameters⁵
• CV: Control voltage input for external control⁵
• Dip switches: A bank on top of the pedal configures expression routing and other options¹¹⁴

On That Pedal Show, Dan and Mick also noted a practical switching trick: "The MIDI jack can also be used to bypass channel two external pedal"⁴. Guitar.com's Jason Mays confirms the expression side, describing "expression pedal control over any of the parameters (again determined via the other bank of dip switches on top)"¹¹.

What reviewers said

Reviews across the press were positive, with a few consistent threads. One reviewer found it "by some distance the easiest Chase Bliss pedal I've ever used," intuitive despite its depth¹¹. Another verdict was blunt: "In every mode, and every setting, it just sounds good"⁵.

That Pedal Show's comparison against the King of Tone, Prince of Tone, MXR Duke of Tone and Marshall Blues Breaker found the family resemblance held up. Dan found "the response that the King of Tone has that's really special" present in the Brothers AM as well, including the pick attack response, though not identical⁴. Mick went further, preferring the Brothers AM for its range of sounds and the way it is EQed, particularly where the mids hit⁴.

On value, one reviewer acknowledged the price but argued the package justified it: "Yes it's pricey - but Chase Bliss always deliver so much more!"⁶. The pedal was also named Silver runner-up in a roundup of the year's new pedals, described as "an excellent collaboration which tackles the King of Tone with slightly more available components, and adds in the Beano"¹².

On That Pedal Show, Dan and Mick put the Brothers AM head to head with the King of Tone family and asked whether the King of Tone could be de-throned, walking through the pedal's channels, the treble booster and the control options²⁴:

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Rhett Shull, with Josh Scott, demoed the pedal ahead of its release, covering the form factor, the externalized controls and the treble boost circuit⁹:

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Videos

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Questions