Pirate Effects The Plank is a hand-made preamp and boost pedal from the US-based maker Pirate Effects, launched in July 2016. It puts two circuits in one box: the Klon Centaur overdrive and the Echoplex EP3 preamp, two of what gearnews.com called the most coveted guitar pedal boost circuits of the last 40 years. At launch it carried an RRP of USD $19912.
What it does
The Plank stacks a Klon Centaur-style overdrive with an EP3-style preamp in a single enclosure. gearnews.com's Jef wrote that "Combined, the two effects conceivably would allow you a lot of boost/drive options in one pedal"1. For a player, that means one pedal can cover everything from a touch of clean preamp lift to a fuller overdrive push, depending on how the two sides are set.
The same reviewer put the pedal's role plainly: a pedal like this is not about changing a rig's character but adding to it. "But a dash of boost here will complement a good guitar tone and make it something far more than the sum of its parts," he wrote, adding that it works best with a decent valve amp and is best used sparingly1.
Context and reception
The Plank arrived in a crowded field. Players comparing boost and drive pedals can read the wider categories on the site's Boost Pedals, Overdrive Pedals and Preamp Pedals pages, or see how a mainstream drive pedal compares in the Boss SD-1 vs Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer comparison.
On price, the gearnews.com reviewer's verdict was cautious but positive: "I will say it seems keenly priced for a hand-made overdrive/boost"1. He had not tried the pedal himself at the time of writing, and pointed readers to a demo video and the company's own site for the full specification, pricing and an overall judgement1.
The Plank was newly launched when covered in July 2016, and the reviewer had not tried it at that point. Details such as controls, power requirements and bypass type were not covered in that coverage.
Videos
Pirate Guitar FX
gearmanndude
Sources (2)
- Pirate Effects' The Plank, gearnews.com, 2016-07-27
- Bill Finnegan, gearnews.com, 2016-07-27
