The Pettyjohn Tilt is a preamp, EQ and clean boost pedal from Pettyjohn Electronics, announced in January 2022 as part of the company's CORE Series. It offers up to 20dB of distortion-free gain and a four-knob EQ section built around a tilt filter, a single control that boosts one side of the audio spectrum while cutting the other. The maker positions it as filling a hole in the CORE lineup, serving as both an EQ and a boost1.
The preamp is not meant to be a blank slate. As the maker describes it, "the preamp color of the TILT is not exactly neutral, its designed to have a balance of clean and musical sonic signature"1. In other words, it shapes tone even before you touch the EQ, and the RANGE knob lets you choose which flavor of shaping you start from.
What it does to your sound
The Tilt is a tone-shaping tool rather than a dirt pedal. Its clean boost delivers up to 20dB of gain without distortion, and its EQ works as a tilt filter: flat at noon, with turns of the TILT knob boosting one side of the spectrum while cutting the opposite side1. That makes it useful for the kind of broad rebalancing players often want, darkening a bright guitar or adding clarity to a muddy one, without the narrow peaks of a graphic EQ.
Two design points matter for how it behaves on a board:
- Headroom: The CORE Series uses a dual rail doubling power supply, achieving up to four times the headroom over standard 9V pedals1.
- Buffers: High quality input and output buffers allow seamless placement anywhere in the pedal chain1.
Because it was designed for guitars, bass and keys, it is not limited to electric guitar. The LOW FOCUS voicing in particular is aimed at baritone and bass instruments1, so bass players comparing EQ pedals can consider it alongside dedicated bass units.
The controls: Level, Range, Lows and Tilt
The CORE Series uses a streamlined control set of four knobs: Level, RANGE, LOWS and TILT1. Each has a distinct job:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Level | Sets the output level, up to 20dB of distortion-free gain1 |
| RANGE | Four-position rotary that selects the preamp's sonic signature, choosing one of four EQ curve voicings and setting what the TILT knob acts on1 |
| LOWS | Passive low cut rolling off lows at 6dB per octave, sweepable from 20Hz to 1kHz, placed before the TILT EQ stage1 |
| TILT | Tilt EQ: flat at noon, boosting one side of the audio spectrum while cutting the opposite side1 |
The LOWS control is the same passive low cut Pettyjohn used in its Foundry series, and because it sits before the tilt stage it trims unwanted low end before the tilt curve does its work1. A sweep to 1kHz is deep for a low cut, which makes the control usable for tightening up flubby low end or thinning a bass-heavy signal before it hits the rest of the chain.
Where the voicings come from
The four RANGE positions are not new circuits invented for this pedal. Each traces back to an existing Pettyjohn design, which is where the voicings get their character1:
| Position | Voicing | Character |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | LOW FOCUS | Highlights the bottom end of the frequency spectrum; useful for baritone and bass guitars and fatter guitar tones, electric or acoustic1 |
| 2 | MODERN MIDS | Replicates the modern voiced tilt curve from the CRUSH compressor, using modern WIMA capacitors for a clean, modern-sounding tone; middle frequency shifted lower than the CHIME1 |
| 3 | VINTAGE MIDS | Recreates the CHIME overdrive's tilt curve exactly, with the same vintage style Orange Drop capacitors, for a sweet tone with a touch of vintage vibe1 |
| 4 | HIGH FOCUS | A treble booster mode that still keeps the tone's warmth; cutting in this mode gives a warming, thickening effect, useful for taming anything with too much bite or zip1 |
That lineage is the practical difference between the positions: VINTAGE MIDS is the CHIME's curve with its original capacitor type, MODERN MIDS is the same idea rebuilt with modern parts and a lower middle frequency, and the outer positions push the tilt action toward the lows or the highs1.
The internal preamp color can be configured in Pettyjohn's custom shop, with either a Vintage Mod or a Modern mod, for players who want the pedal's baseline character pushed in one direction1.
Power and placement
The CORE Series power design is a dual rail doubling supply that scales from +/-7V to +/-18V, mirroring the input voltage. Running the pedal at 18V is required for maximum spec performance, and the maker credits this design with up to four times the headroom over standard 9V pedals1. Current draw is under 100mA, so it fits comfortably on most isolated power supplies1.
The switching is true bypass with a relay based system chosen for minimum pop when engaging the effect, and the buffered input and output mean the pedal can sit anywhere in a chain, including in front of fuzz or after long cable runs, without the signal losses an unbuffered true bypass pedal can introduce1.
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Aaron J Livecchi
Questions
Is the Pettyjohn Tilt true bypass?
Yes. It uses a true bypass, relay based switching system designed for minimum pop when you engage the effect. It also has high quality input and output buffers, so it can sit anywhere in a pedal chain without loading down the signal.
Does the Pettyjohn Tilt work with bass?
Yes. The Tilt was designed for guitars, bass and keys. Its LOW FOCUS voicing highlights the bottom end of the frequency spectrum, which the maker describes as useful for baritone and bass guitars as well as fatter guitar tones, electric or acoustic.
How much clean boost does the Pettyjohn Tilt give?
Up to 20dB of distortion-free gain. The preamp is not exactly neutral by design: Pettyjohn built it to have a balance of clean and musical character rather than to act as a purely transparent volume increase.
What is the Tilt knob on the Pettyjohn Tilt?
A tilt EQ control. The curve is flat at noon, and turning the knob boosts one side of the audio spectrum while cutting the opposite side. Which frequencies it acts on depends on the RANGE knob, a four-position rotary that selects the preamp's voicing.
Is the Pettyjohn Tilt analog?
Yes. It is built with premium analog parts and is described as low noise. Its voicings borrow circuits from other Pettyjohn pedals, including the tilt curve from the CHIME overdrive and the modern voiced curve from the CRUSH compressor.
Sources (1)
- New Pedal: Pettyjohn Tilt EQ, Delicious Audio, 2022-01-10
