The White Rabbit is a gain pedal from Terry Audio, described by its maker as a "vintage line amplifier." Premier Guitar characterizes it as a relatively subtle gain circuit: at modest settings it adds clarity and brightness that make up for signal loss between guitar and amp, and higher settings yield crunch tones1. The street price was $235 at the time of the review1.
How it works and how it is built
The White Rabbit has two footswitches: one activates the effect, while the other toggles between the blue and red channels. The two channels cannot be stacked, so you play one at a time1.
The blue channel knob behaves unusually. As you advance it, tone changes are subtle until you reach the last 10 percent of the pot's range, where the circuit turns very dirty1. That layout means most of the pedal's usable range lives in the gentle zone, with a sharp step into heavier grit at the top of the dial.
Construction is where the pedal sets itself apart:
- No circuit board: the 12 components are point-to-point wired through grommets inserted in heavy tagboard1
- Two silicon transistors, whose part numbers have been obscured1
- All wires are cloth-coated, as in the control cavities of vintage guitars1
There is no battery compartment. The pedal runs on conventional 9V power supplies, so plan on a standard external supply rather than a battery1.
What reviewers said
Premier Guitar's review summed up the effect this way:
"subtle but perceptible clarity"
The same review described the pedal as adding "a sheen of treble presence and a sense of headroom"1. The picture that emerges is of a pedal that works quietly: it does not reshape the core tone so much as restore presence and openness that long cable runs and pedalboard chains can take away, with the red channel and the top of the blue knob's range available when more grit is wanted.
On That Pedal Show, the hosts looked at the related White Rabbit Deluxe and felt it deserved more attention, saying "The Terry White Rabbit Deluxe deserves more attention," and expected it would likely reappear when they were recording music2.
Videos
Austin Guitar House
Questions
Does the Terry Audio White Rabbit take a battery?
No. Premier Guitar's review notes there is no battery compartment, so the pedal must be powered from an external supply. It runs on conventional 9V power supplies, so a standard pedalboard supply works, but a battery is not an option.
Can you stack the two channels on the White Rabbit?
No. One footswitch activates the effect and the other toggles between the blue and red channels, but the two cannot be stacked or used together. You choose one channel at a time.
What power supply does the White Rabbit need?
Premier Guitar reports that the White Rabbit feeds on conventional 9V power supplies, so a standard center-negative pedalboard supply is what it expects. There is no battery compartment, so an external supply is required.
Is the Terry Audio White Rabbit an overdrive or a boost?
Terry Audio describes it as a vintage line amplifier, and Premier Guitar characterizes it as a relatively subtle gain circuit. At modest settings it adds clarity and brightness, compensating for signal loss between guitar and amp, while higher settings yield crunch tones. It sits in the territory between a light overdrive and a treble boost.
Sources (2)
- Terry Audio White Rabbit Review, Premier Guitar, 2018-09-02
- Six Cool Overdrives From Terry, Keeley, Free The Tone, Greuter & Greer, That Pedal Show, 2018-07-06