The Nordvang Custom Mid Air is an overdrive pedal with a separate boost circuit from the Danish maker Nordvang Custom. The overdrive side follows the Tube Screamer architecture, and its internal dip switch includes an open clipping setting that removes the clipping diodes from the circuit for the most dynamics and least compression1. On top of that sits a second footswitch for an independent boost, whose Air knob runs from unity gain at minimum to an 18 dB boost at maximum1.
Controls
The face of the pedal carries the standard Tube Screamer layout plus the boost side21:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Drive | Standard drive knob for the overdrive side1 |
| Tone | Standard tone knob for the overdrive side1 |
| Level | Standard level knob for the overdrive side1 |
| Air (Boost) | Controls the gain of the boost circuit, from unity with the gain at minimum to an 18 dB boost with the gain knob at max1 |
| Lows toggle | Gives you two additional levels of low-end boost1 |
| EQ toggle | Three voicings: full frequency, low-mids and high-mids1 |
| Footswitches | One for the overdrive, one for the separate boost circuit1 |
The internal dip switches
Unscrew the lid and you will find a 4-way dipswitch for further tweaking the tone of the overdrive side1. This is where most of the pedal's flexibility lives:
- Dipswitch 1: Clean output boost, aimed at players who primarily use the overdrive at a lower gain setting and always wished they had a tad extra output1
- Dipswitch 2: Clip on/off, per Guitar Pedal X's control rundown2
- Dipswitches 3 and 4: Clipping diode settings. Choose between symmetrical clipping using either 2 or 4 diodes, or two different options for a 3-diode asymmetrical clipping structure, with the higher clipping threshold on either the positive or negative half cycle1
- Open clipping setting: Removes the clipping diodes from the circuit entirely. Nordvang recommends it "if you seek the most dynamics and least compression"1
Guitar Pedal X, profiling the pedal in June 2024 as part of Nordvang's 1590B3 overdrive and boost trio alongside the Altitude and Skyline V2, summed up why those internal options matter2:
"The ability to ameliorate the Mid Boost and adjust the Compression Character via the clipping options - is what really makes this pedal."2
Bypass and buffering
The Mid Air's buffered bypass mode is a deliberate design: an NPN transistor input buffer with an input impedance of 510K Ohm, like a TS, followed by an op-amp output buffer stage with an output impedance of 100 Ohm1. Because some players prefer pedals out of the signal path entirely, Nordvang made the buffer switchable via a dip switch found on the inside, so you can run true bypass instead1.
The Mid Air cannot run on a battery. Nordvang Custom states "No battery operation" on the product page, and the pedal draws a supply current of 100 mA, so plan your power supply accordingly1.
Where it sits
As a mid-pushed overdrive with an independent boost, the Mid Air covers ground familiar from overdrive pedals and boost pedals in one enclosure, with the internal dip switch's open clipping setting, which removes the clipping diodes from the circuit for the most dynamics and least compression, doing the work players often look for in modded Tube Screamers1.
Videos
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Sources (2)
- MID AIR - Nordvang Custom, Nordvang Custom
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2024-06-11
