The Revelation Effects Revenant Preamp & Boost is a moderately tweakable, high-headroom preamp and boost circuit with a separate boost footswitch and a 3-band EQ. It is the first pedal from Revelation Effects, a Canadian company best known for its cables, and the maker's tagline for it is "Bringing your tone back from the dead."1
A boost placed before the preamp
The Revenant's core idea is signal order. Since the boost is placed before the preamp, it can saturate internally and then also push the front end of your amp into breakup. Working internally at 18v, the pedal is designed to interact with your amp in order to expand your palette of dirty and clean sounds, rather than acting as a standalone tone shaper.1
For players comparing this layout, it sits between a straight boost pedal and a full preamp pedal: the preamp section shapes with a 3-band EQ, while the boost feeds it and the amp.1
Controls
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| 3-band EQ | Tone shaping in the preamp section1 |
| Gain and Boost knobs | Can be run near maximum while the pedal stays clean, thanks to its high headroom1 |
| Clip toggle | Facilitates clipping, useful because the pedal's high headroom lets it stay clean even with Gain and Boost near maximum1 |
| HPF toggle | Switches the boost between Full Range and Hi-Pass Filter modes1 |
| Bypass footswitch | Soft-touch relay bypass1 |
| Boost footswitch | Separate soft-touch relay switch for the boost section1 |
The two boost modes
The boost section has two modes, engaged by the HPF toggle:
- Full Range: a clean boost that keeps all the EQ but gives you more.1
- Hi-Pass Filter: trims the low end as it boosts. Delicious Audio notes this mode is great for guitarists who want to tighten things up by adding saturation and volume without getting muddy.1
Power and switching
The pedal runs from a 9v supply, which is internally charged to 18v for its internal operation. Both footswitches are soft-touch relay types, one for bypass and one for the boost.1
The Revenant carries a 2-Year Warranty on parts and labor.1
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Questions
What does the HPF toggle do on the Revelation Effects Revenant?
The HPF toggle switches the boost section between two modes. Full Range is a clean boost that keeps the whole frequency content of your signal and simply gives you more of it. Hi-Pass Filter trims the low end, which Delicious Audio notes is useful for tightening things up by adding saturation and volume without getting muddy, a common need when pushing an amp's front end into breakup.
Is the Revenant a bypass-switched or relay-switched pedal?
The Revenant uses soft-touch relay switching for both of its footswitches. One handles bypass and the other engages the boost section, so both functions switch with a relay rather than a mechanical bypass switch, according to Delicious Audio's coverage of the pedal.
What is the warranty on the Revelation Effects Revenant?
The Revenant carries a 2-Year Warranty on parts and labour, as stated in Delicious Audio's write-up of the pedal.
Is the Revenant Preamp & Boost the first pedal from Revelation Effects?
Yes. Delicious Audio describes the Revenant as the first pedal by Revelation Effects, a Canadian company best known for its cables.
Sources (1)
- Revelation Effects Revenant Preamp & Boost, Delicious Audio, 2023-11-16