The Old Ruin is a distortion pedal from Haunted Labs, a boutique pedal company based in North Carolina. It is the company's first distortion pedal, and it covers a wide range on one set of knobs: from low-gain overdrive, in the territory of overdrive pedals, up to what Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio described as "terrifying howling distortion"1.
The controls
The layout is deliberately simple: three knobs, Volume, Gain and Texture2. Gain and Volume do what they do on most pedals. The Texture knob is the pedal's distinguishing control, and it works as a tone shaper rather than a conventional tone knob.
"This is basically a Tone control with more pronounced effects, ranging from silky to searing."
In other words, Texture sweeps the pedal's whole character, not just a treble cut. At one end the tone is silky; at the other it turns stinging and searing. Haunted Labs' own description of the knob, quoted by Delicious Audio, is that it "summons sonic nuances from the great beyond"1.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Gain | Sets the amount of drive, from low-gain overdrive to full distortion1 |
| Volume | Sets the pedal's output level1 |
| Texture | Tone shaper that changes the pedal's character from silky to stinging and searing12 |
Power and practicalities
The Old Ruin runs on standard 9V DC, but a power supply is not included, and there is no battery compartment, so it will not run on a battery1. It uses true bypass switching, so the pedal is out of the signal path when off1. It is engineered and manufactured in the USA1.
With no battery compartment, the Old Ruin needs its own 9V DC supply. Budget for one if you do not already have a pedalboard power source.
What reviewers said
Gearnews.com's reviewer, writing when the pedal was announced in May 2021, found the character "quite aggressive in a good way" overall, and thought it would likely appeal to players wanting something different from the norm. The verdict: if you are looking for a distortion pedal that does things a bit differently and gives you tonal versatility, it is worth checking out2.
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Questions
Does the Haunted Labs Old Ruin take a battery?
No. The Old Ruin has no battery compartment, so it runs only from an external power supply. It operates on standard 9V DC, and a power supply is not included with the pedal, so you will need to provide your own.
Is the Haunted Labs Old Ruin true bypass?
Yes. The Old Ruin offers true bypass switching, so when the pedal is off, your guitar's signal passes through without the pedal's circuitry loading it down.
Where is the Haunted Labs Old Ruin made?
The Old Ruin is engineered and manufactured in the USA. Haunted Labs is a boutique pedal company based in North Carolina.
Does the Old Ruin come with a power supply?
No. The pedal runs on standard 9V DC operation, but a power supply is not included, so plan to use your own 9V DC supply.
Sources (2)
- Haunted Labs Old Ruin Distortion, Delicious Audio, 2022-06-10
- Haunted Labs Old Ruin: A distortion with a unique Texture control, gearnews.com, 2021-05-27