The Harley Benton MiniStomp Troubadour is an acoustic guitar simulation pedal: plug an electric guitar into it and it produces acoustic-style voices, in the same family as other speaker simulation pedals. Harley Benton markets it with the line "Turn your electric guitar into an acoustic with Troubador!"1 It is part of the maker's MiniStomp range of compact pedals, alongside the Harley Benton MiniStomp MicroCAB.
The pedal simulates three different acoustic guitar sounds: piezo, standard and jumbo. A toggle switch selects between the three modes, and a single footswitch with a status LED turns the effect on and off.1
The controls
The Troubadour keeps things simple with three knobs and a mode switch:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Body | Shapes the body of the acoustic voice |
| Top | Shapes the top end of the acoustic voice |
| Volume | Sets the overall output level |
| Toggle switch | Selects between the three modes: piezo, standard, jumbo |
Harley Benton lists the knob set as "Controls : Body, Volume, Top".1 The Body and Top knobs give you a basic two-band tone shaping of the simulated acoustic sound, and Volume matches the level against your bypassed signal.
Power and connections
The Troubadour runs from a 9 V mains adapter with a center-negative plug, the standard arrangement for most pedals, and draws 20 mA. The adapter is not included. Connections are a single 6.3 mm jack input and a single 6.3 mm jack output, so it is a mono pedal that sits anywhere in a normal guitar chain.1
There is no battery compartment in the Troubadour. Harley Benton states: "Of course there is no battery compartment".1 You will need a 9 V center-negative supply, either a dedicated adapter or an output from a pedalboard power unit.
When switched off, the pedal is true bypass. Harley Benton describes this as "True Bypass to eliminate signal interference when switched off", meaning your guitar's signal passes straight through without loading or coloring.1
Size and build
The MiniStomp format is built for tight pedalboards: the Troubadour measures 92 x 38 x 32 mm and weighs 133 g, with a solid metal housing.1 That is the footprint of a typical mini pedal, so it can share a board with other compact effects without crowding them.
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Questions
Does the Harley Benton Troubadour take a battery?
No. Harley Benton states plainly that there is no battery compartment in the Troubadour. It runs from a 9 V centre-negative mains adapter, which is not included with the pedal, so you will need a supply or a pedalboard power output rated for its 20 mA power consumption.
Is the Harley Benton Troubadour true bypass?
Yes. Harley Benton describes the Troubadour as true bypass, which the maker says eliminates signal interference when the pedal is switched off. When it is off, your guitar's signal passes to the output without going through the acoustic simulation circuit.
What is the piezo mode on the Troubadour?
The Troubadour simulates three different acoustic guitar sounds, and piezo is one of them, alongside standard and jumbo. A toggle switch selects between the three modes. Piezo refers to the bright, immediate sound of an acoustic guitar with an under-saddle pickup, as opposed to the fuller standard and jumbo body voices.
What size is the Harley Benton MiniStomp Troubadour?
Harley Benton gives the Troubadour's dimensions as 92 x 38 x 32 mm and its weight as 133 g. That puts it in the mini-pedal class, small enough to fit alongside other compact pedals on a crowded board.
Is the Troubadour mono or stereo?
The Troubadour is a mono pedal. It has a single 6.3 mm jack input and a single 6.3 mm jack output, so it takes one guitar signal in and sends one signal out to an amp, audio interface or the next pedal in the chain.
Sources (1)
- MiniStomp Troubadour, Harley Benton
