Rivera Sustain Shaman

The Rivera Sustain Shaman is a two-channel compressor pedal with independent channels A and B, each with its own controls. Its distinguishing feature is the Super Sustain switch, which works on channel B only and, as Premier Guitar put it, "essentially places a second effect onboard."¹

Controls

The pedal's controls follow the familiar layout of a compressor. The attack control adjusts the speed at which the compressor turns down signals hotter than the threshold, which Premier Guitar called the subject of particular attention when dialing in the sound.¹

The Super Sustain switch is a small toggle rather than a footswitch, and it works only for channel B. When activated, it significantly changes the voice, function, and nature of that channel.¹

Vintage Guitar magazine described what it does to the sound: "the Super Sustain switch in the B channel, which increases sustain to almost unbelievable levels, stretching notes far beyond their natural duration."²

Build and design

The knobs sit in a recessed area to prevent accidental activation, and the potentiometers have a taut resistance, so settings stay where you put them.¹

What reviewers said

Premier Guitar's review summed the pedal up as "Impressively versatile and effective compression."¹ On the Super Sustain sound in particular, the reviewer found that cranking the sustain and turning on the Super Sustain toggle gives individual notes "the droning, sonorous sustain of a church bell," and called it glorious for arpeggios on a Telecaster, an SG bridge pickup, or a Rickenbacker 12-string.¹

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