Tech 21 Screaming Blonde

The Tech 21 Screaming Blonde is an amp-in-a-box pedal plus overdrive in one box: it pairs a Fender-style amp emulation with a Tube Screamer-style overdrive circuit next to it¹. It is part of Tech 21's SansAmp Character Plus Series, a line of multi-function pedals in which each unit combines one of the company's amp emulations with a classic effect, and each can be used with the amp emulation on its own, the effect on its own, or both together¹.

The Fender-style side is built from the circuit of Tech 21's own Blonde drive pedal, replicating the sound of a Fender Deluxe Reverb amp, including its three-band EQ¹. The overdrive side brings the midrange-focused, symmetrical-clipping character associated with the Tube Screamer family². MusicRadar described it as "a Fender-style amp emulator with a switchable Tube Screamer-style overdrive section"³.

Channel A: the Blonde amp emulation

Channel A is the Fender-style amp side, and it recycles the circuit of the company's Blonde drive pedal to replicate the sound of a Fender Deluxe Reverb, including the three-band EQ¹. Alongside the EQ it carries a volume control and a gain knob to adjust the level of overdrive¹.

The heart of the channel is the Char A knob, which expands the sonic range of the circuit depending on its setting¹:

Tech 21's own description of the Character control matches that sweep: below 12 o'clock sits in the Black and Silver Face family, around noon is Blonde territory, above noon is the Tweed era, and full up gives lead boosted tones⁵.

The Scream (B) side controls

The Scream section is the Tube Screamer-style overdrive. MusicRadar describes it as offering "a single Tone control to adjust the highs and mids, and an overdrive for dialling in how much TS-style gain you want"³. Delicious Audio's rundown of the TS (B) side lists a Tone knob, three gain/volume knobs and a Character knob¹.

The two controls Tech 21 documents in detail are:

• TONE: specialized voicing for adjusting the high-end and mid-range⁵
• OVERDRIVE: adjusts the overall amount of drive, and is highly interactive with the level of your guitar⁵

The two circuits can be used stacked on top of each other or in parallel through the Ch A/B switch¹. That switch is what makes the pedal a multi-function unit rather than a fixed signal chain: you can run the Fender-style amp emulation alone, the Tube Screamer-style overdrive alone, or both together¹.

Analog circuitry and direct recording

The Character Plus Series pedals feature Tech 21's proprietary, 100% analog SansAmp technology¹, so there is no digital modeling inside the Screaming Blonde. For output, the pedal has a regular output plus a balanced output, the latter featuring a cab simulation and intended to facilitate direct recording¹. That balanced out means you can go straight into a recording setup without an amp, while the regular output feeds an amp or the front of a pedalboard chain.

Where it came from

The Screaming Blonde is made by Tech 21, an NYC-based company¹. Its Character control is voiced to move through eras of Fender-style amp tone: below 12 o'clock it sits in the Black and Silver Face family, clean with a soft midrange and a nice top-end sparkle, and driven with a warmer low-end breakup¹. Around 12 o'clock it enters Blonde territory with more lows, mids and highs, and above 12 o'clock it moves into the Tweed era with a pronounced midrange bark¹.

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