The Free The Tone String Slinger SS-1V is an overdrive pedal from the Japanese maker's Integrated Series, announced from Kanagawa, Japan in April 2018 and available for purchase after June 10, 2018. It carries a suggested retail price of $350.00 USD as of the April 23, 2018 announcement12. It was unveiled alongside the Free The Tone Fire Mist FM-1V, and the two were described in the announcement as the first two overdrive pedals in the Integrated Series1.
What it does
Free The Tone describes the String Slinger as reviving "that ideal American Blues sound symbolized by the classic \"blackface\" period. Its viscous, clean-to-crunch tone with moderate compression feel is aimed at blues players"1. In other words, it is built to push an amp from clean into light crunch in the manner of a blackface-era Fender, rather than to deliver high-gain distortion.
Pedal of the Day's reviewers added that the pedal responds well to the guitar's own controls: "You can manipulate your guitar's volume knob to clean things up to taste as well, giving you a large array of American B[lues tones]"4. That makes it a pedal for players who set a crunch level and ride the volume control for cleaner passages.
Controls and circuit
The pedal keeps its control layout to three knobs3:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Level | Output level |
| Tone | Tone shaping |
| Drive | Amount of overdrive |
Two design points set it apart from a straightforward three-knob overdrive. First, it implements Free The Tone's HTS (Holistic Tonal Solution) Circuit, which the company says provides impedance conversion, an ideal sound and low noise while bringing out the guitar and amplifier's individual sound characteristics1. Second, each control uses a Free The Tone custom turned brass knob. The maker says these reduce vibrations in the shaft and wiper of the semi-fixed resistor used for each control and suppress harmonic components that adversely affect sound, with the knob diameter and weight decided through repeated sound tests31.
Where it sits in the range
The String Slinger is the blues-leaning voice of Free The Tone's overdrive line, introduced at the same time as the Fire Mist1. Players comparing it with the rest of the maker's range can look at the Free The Tone RED JASPER RJ-1V, the Free The Tone SOV-2 or the Free The Tone OVERDRIVELAND ODL-1, or see the wider field on the Overdrive Pedals page.
Videos
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Questions
What is the Free The Tone String Slinger good for?
Free The Tone positions the String Slinger as a blues-oriented overdrive. The company describes its tone as reviving the ideal American Blues sound associated with the classic blackface amplifier period, with a viscous, clean-to-crunch character and a moderate compression feel. Reviewers at Pedal of the Day also noted that the guitar's volume knob can be used to clean the sound up, widening the range of tones available from the pedal.
Sources (4)
- Free the Tone Unveils the String Slinger and Fire Mist, Premier Guitar, 2018-04-23
- STRING SLINGER / SS-1V｜Products 商品紹介｜Free The Tone, Free The Tone
- STRING SLINGER / SS-1V｜Products 商品紹介｜Free The Tone, Free The Tone
- Free The Tone String Slinger SS-1V Overdrive, Pedal of the Day, 2018-07-11
Rich Robinson
