The GUPtech Pop Corner is an overdrive pedal from the Canadian builder GUPtech, offered in two versions: the original Pop Corner and the PPPC Pop Corner. GUPtech describes it as a character drive rather than a pedalboard's main overdrive, saying "The 'Pop Corner' won't be the all around main overdrive of your pedalboard"1. What it is built for is range: the maker describes it as versatile from light driven blues to modern rock, with hard funk and squashed grunge tones in between, and it cleans up perfectly as you turn down your guitar's volume pot1.
The controls: Size, Butter and Salt
The Pop Corner keeps its layout to three knobs and one switch, all named on the maker's product page1:
| Control | Function |
|---|---|
| Size | Volume |
| Butter | Gain |
| Salt | Tone |
| Toggle switch | Compression on/off, marked More Clipping |
The compression switch is the pedal's fourth control and its main hidden feature: flipping it on adds more clipping to the circuit, which is where the harder, more saturated end of the pedal's range comes from1. Between the Butter knob and that switch, the same pedal covers the light blues end and the heavy rock end GUPtech describes1.
Power and bypass
The Pop Corner runs from a DC output with a negative center connector, which GUPtech describes as compatible with a standard 9V adaptor2. That is the common center-negative pedal standard, so it fits a normal 9V DC output on a pedalboard power supply. The pedal is true bypass, on both the Pop Corner and the PPPC Pop Corner listings, so it stays out of your signal chain when it is off2. A 5 mm LED shows when the effect is engaged1.
Two versions, and the Jonny Rock Gear connection
The pedal exists as two listings on the maker's site: the Pop Corner and the PPPC Pop Corner. Both carry the same control set, the same true bypass design and the same power arrangement, so the difference between them is not in the circuit's features as GUPtech describes them12. The design goes back further than the GUPtech listings: Pedal of the Day reviewed the same circuit in 2014 as "The Pop Corner Overdrive from Jonny Rock Gear," the builder's earlier name3. Tonebox also keeps a page for the earlier Jonny Rock Gear Pop Corner Overdrive and the current GUPtech PPPC Pop Corner.
GUPtech attributes the pedal's character to its circuit, saying "Its unique sound is certainly due to its circuitry designed by ears"1. The Pop Corner sits in a small maker's range that also includes the CocoCast Preamp-Overdrive, the Queen of Crow Dual Overdrive and the Saguenay Drive, and it belongs to the broader family of overdrive pedals built around gain, tone and volume controls.
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Questions
Is the GUPtech Pop Corner true bypass?
Yes. GUPtech lists the Pop Corner with a true bypass design, on both the Pop Corner and the PPPC Pop Corner product pages. With true bypass, the pedal's circuit is removed from the signal path entirely when it is off, so it does not load or color your clean tone until you switch it on.
What do the Size, Butter and Salt knobs do?
Size is the volume control, Butter is the gain control, and Salt is the tone control. GUPtech gives all three knobs those names on both versions of the pedal, so the layout is the same whether you have an original Pop Corner or a PPPC Pop Corner.
What power supply does the GUPtech Pop Corner use?
The Pop Corner uses a DC output with a negative center connector, and GUPtech describes it as compatible with a standard 9V adaptor. That is the same center-negative standard used by most pedalboard power supplies, so a regular 9V DC pedal supply output will run it.
What does the compression switch do on the Pop Corner?
The Pop Corner has a toggle switch that turns compression on or off. GUPtech labels the on position as More Clipping, so flipping the switch in tightens and saturates the drive character, while the off position leaves you with the pedal's more open base overdrive sound.
Sources (3)
- Pop Corner, GUPtech (guptech.ca)
- PPPC Pop Corner, GUPtech (guptech.ca)
- Jonny Rock Gear Pop Corner Overdrive, Pedal of the Day, 2014-11-03
