The Draugr is a distortion pedal from Rougarou Pedals, a small builder based in Hammond, Louisiana, announced in October 2017. It clips with Germanium diodes, the approach Rougarou describes as "Germanium diode-based distortion," and the company pitches it as "a versatile drive pedal with massive amounts of headroom and gain on tap while maintaining clarity."1
What it does
The Draugr sits in the distortion camp rather than overdrive or fuzz: Germanium diode clipping shapes the dirt, and the maker's claim is that the pedal keeps a clean signal path's clarity even at high gain. Rougarou sums up the intended result as "All the dirt you want without any of the mud."1
The control set is deliberately simple, a "Simple three-knob layout" in the maker's words. The interesting part is how those knobs behave together: Rougarou says "The drive and tone controls interact with each other in a way that makes an already wide range of distortion tones even" wider, so the two controls are meant to be voiced as a pair rather than set independently.1
Background
The circuit was designed by Nathan Heck, and Rougarou Pedals describes the pedal as "Designed and built by hand with love in Hammond, LA."1 The maker also builds the Umibōzu Fuzz, a fuzz/distortion design in its range.1
The $135 price and the announcement date both come from the October 2017 press release. As a small-builder pedal, its current availability and price are best taken from the maker directly.
Videos
Rougarou Pedals
Rougarou Pedals
MrExcane
Questions
What kind of pedal is The Draugr?
The Draugr is a distortion pedal built around Germanium diode clipping. Rougarou Pedals describes it as a versatile drive with massive amounts of headroom and gain on tap while maintaining clarity, and says it delivers all the dirt you want without any of the mud. It uses a simple three-knob layout, and the drive and tone controls interact with each other to widen the range of distortion tones available.
Who makes The Draugr and where is it built?
The Draugr is made by Rougarou Pedals, a small pedal builder based in Hammond, Louisiana. The company says the pedal is designed and built by hand there. The circuit was designed by Nathan Heck, and the pedal was announced in October 2017 at a list price of $135.
How much does The Draugr cost?
When Rougarou Pedals announced The Draugr in October 2017, the pedal carried a list price of $135. That figure dates from the announcement, so a current price would have to come from the maker or a dealer.
Sources (1)
- Rougarou Pedals Unveils the Draugr, Premier Guitar, 2017-10-11
