The Skreddy Pedals Super 100 is a guitar preamp and overdrive pedal that puts a big British tube amp on your board. Skreddy, the company of builder Marc Ahlfs, says it is "based on the heavy and throaty sound of a mid-to-late-60's era 100 Watt British tube amp," and the press coverage is more specific: MusicRadar calls it a formidable amp-in-a-box drive pedal designed to emulate the cranked Plexi tones of a 1960s 100-watt Marshall12. Guitar.com described it at launch as putting "stadium rock tones" in a pedal3.
It was released in September 2020 as the third in Skreddy's series of amp emulators, priced at $2392. On Skreddy's product page it is currently listed as a preorder at $290 plus shipping, with a wait time of approximately 2 weeks to 1 month1.
What it does to your sound
The Super 100 is built around the sound of a cranked 100-watt British head, with the classic three-band tone stack an amp of that type would have1. Skreddy says the pedal "responds very much like a tube amp would to your pickup volumes and to the impact of running other effect pedals in front of it," which is the behavior players usually want from an amp-in-a-box: roll your guitar volume down and it cleans up, and it treats pedals placed ahead of it the way an amp input would1.
Skreddy's page describes how the gain range behaves with different pickups and settings1:
- High gain with humbuckers: high gain
- High gain with a Strat: plenty of saturation but not over-the-top gain
- Mid gain: a neutral platform that can be stacked with other drives or fuzzes
- Low gain: for dialing in the EQ and response without much dirt
MusicRadar's Jonathan Horsley characterized the drive as retaining "a little chime and detail, with a more open and wider sound" than the tighter JCM800-style gain tones, with an overdrive that is "open, gritty and responsive to your playing"2.
Controls
The control set mirrors a small amp head: Volume, Drive, a three-band EQ, and a Sag knob2.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Volume | Master volume for the pedal's output level32 |
| Drive | Sets the gain, from near-clean boost to medium-gain overdrive26 |
| Bass / Middle / Treble | Three-band EQ; Skreddy says it is flexible and creates a beefy, classic 70's rock voice12 |
| Sag | Controls the onboard optical compressor/limiter circuit12 |
The Sag knob is the unusual one. It drives an optical compressor/limiter inside the pedal: clockwise it tightens up the output, counter-clockwise it opens the tone for what Skreddy calls "full, punchy, wall-shaking dynamics"1. GuitarPlayer's Jackson Maxwell described the same behavior, noting the counter-clockwise direction opens the tone for fuller dynamics5. MusicRadar framed it in amp terms: "Just set the Sag dial where you like it and you can mimic the natural magic that happens when a tube amp is dimed"2.
Power, bypass and build
The Super 100 runs on a standard 9V adapter or a 9V battery, so it fits a normal pedalboard supply and does not rule out battery power24. It uses true bypass switching, so the signal passes around the circuit when the pedal is off24. The enclosure is a lightly brushed cast-aluminum box with a transparent gold powder-coated finish4.
Where it came from
The Super 100 is an amp-in-a-box drive pedal from Skreddy Pedals, designed by Marc Ahlfs, and it emulates the cranked Plexi tones of a 1960s 100-watt Marshall12. Like Ahlfs's previous amp emulators, it includes an onboard optical compressor2. Ahlfs says he worked on the sound "so that it would do justice to the cranked-amp live tones of Hendrix and Page"1. At launch the pedal carried a list price of $2392.
What reviewers said
Premier Guitar reviewed the Super 100 in September 2023 and was positive about both the build and the sound. The reviewer praised "the carefully assembled, sturdy, and thoughtfully laid-out circuit board," and found the drive control "ranges from near-clean boost tones to medium-gain overdrive, all very distinctly Marshall"6.
"I loved using the EQ, drive, and sag controls, and exploring the whole of their impressive ranges. I discovered a broad palette of edge-of-breakup tones."
Two practical observations from that review: the very present top end led the reviewer to keep the treble knob below noon, and the pedal "stacked beautifully with both a Tube Screamer and a JHS Angry Charlie"6. The review's demo clips were recorded with a Gibson Custom Shop 1958 Les Paul Reissue into a Friedman Mini Dirty Shirley head on a low-gain setting, recorded via a Mesa CabClone IR+ with a 4x12 Greenbacks impulse response6.
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Questions
Does the Skreddy Super 100 run on a 9V battery?
Yes. The Super 100 can be powered by a standard 9V adapter or a 9V battery, so it works on a pedalboard power supply or on its own. No special or higher-voltage supply is needed.
Is the Skreddy Pedals Super 100 true bypass?
Yes. The Super 100 uses true bypass switching, so when it is off the guitar signal passes through without the pedal's circuitry in the path.
What does the sag knob do on the Skreddy Super 100?
The Sag knob controls an onboard optical compressor/limiter circuit. Turned clockwise it tightens up the output; turned counter-clockwise it opens the tone for fuller, punchier dynamics. MusicRadar describes it as a way to mimic what happens naturally when a tube amp is dimed.
Does the Skreddy Super 100 stack well with a Tube Screamer?
Yes. Premier Guitar's reviewer found it stacked beautifully with both a Tube Screamer and a JHS Angry Charlie. Skreddy also describes the pedal's mid-gain setting as a neutral platform that can be stacked with other drives or fuzzes.
How much does the Skreddy Super 100 cost?
The current price on Skreddy Pedals' product page is $290 plus shipping, with the pedal sold on preorder and a wait time of roughly 2 weeks to 1 month. At launch in 2020 it was priced at $239.
Sources (6)
- Overdrive, Skreddy Pedals
- Skreddy Pedals' Super 100 is bringing Plexi back for vintage British drive tones, MusicRadar, 2020-09-14
- Skreddy Pedals puts “stadium rock tones” in a pedal with the Super 100, Guitar.com, 2020-09-07
- Skreddy Pedals Releases the Super 100, Premier Guitar, 2020-09-11
- Skreddy Pedals Unveils New Super 100 Preamp, GuitarPlayer, 2020-09-08
- An Expressway to "Super Lead" Sounds, Premier Guitar, 2021-04-12
