The Tone City Dry Martini is a mini overdrive pedal from Tone City Audio, built to be used as a low-gain boost or as a potent medium-gain drive. It has two modes of operation, and Tone City describes it as a solid boost to push the front end of your amp while keeping the character of your guitar's sound1. It sits in the maker's mini pedal range, alongside pedals like the Tone City Big Rumble and Tone City All Spark.
What it does
Tone City positions the Dry Martini as a flexible front-end pedal: a low-gain boost that pushes an amp's input without changing the guitar's character, or a medium-gain drive with enough output of its own. The maker says it works brilliantly into the clean channel of your amp, which is where a boost-style pedal has the most room to shape the amp's breakup1.
The pedal also carries a single switch that, when engaged, increases the low-end definition. Tone City describes this as useful when you need a bit more chunk for riffs or solos1.
Power and connections
The Dry Martini runs from a DC 9V power supply. Tone City names its own TONECITY TPS SERIES independent pedal power supplies as an example, and the pedal draws 8 mA, a small load that any standard 9V pedal supply output can handle1.
Tone City specifies a DC 9V adapter as the power supply and does not list battery operation. The 8 mA current draw is low enough for a daisy-chain supply, but an isolated output is the usual choice for a drive pedal.
Size and weight
As a mini pedal, the Dry Martini is built to save board space. Tone City lists it at 9.4 cm long, 4.5 cm wide and 4.8 cm high, with a net weight of 0.26 kg1.
Videos
Andertons Music Co
Tone City Audio
intheblues
Questions
Is the Tone City Dry Martini true bypass?
Yes. Tone City lists the Dry Martini as a true bypass pedal, so when it is switched off your guitar's signal passes through without the pedal's circuit loading it. That matters on a pedalboard where several pedals sit in front of the amp, because each non-true-bypass stage can dull the top end slightly.
Can the Dry Martini run on a battery?
Tone City's product page specifies a DC 9V adapter as the power supply and does not list battery operation. The pedal draws only 8 mA, so almost any 9V center-negative supply or isolated output can run it, but plan on using an adapter rather than expecting a battery option.
What is the input impedance of the Tone City Dry Martini?
Tone City gives the input impedance as 500K and the output impedance as 10K. A high input impedance like that keeps the pedal from loading down a guitar's pickups, which is one reason it works as a transparent-feeling boost into an amp's front end.
Does the Dry Martini work best into a clean channel?
Tone City says the pedal works brilliantly into the clean channel of your amp. The maker also describes it as a solid boost to push the front end of your amp while keeping the character of your guitar's sound, which suits players who want the amp to do the final voicing.
How big is the Tone City Dry Martini?
Tone City lists the Dry Martini at 9.4 cm long, 4.5 cm wide and 4.8 cm high, weighing 0.26 kg. It is part of the maker's mini pedal range, so it takes up little room on a board.
