The Torino Audio Organic CREAM is an analog overdrive pedal from Torino Audio, a pedal company based in Italy. Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio describes it as an amp-in-a-box pedal mostly emulating a Marshall JTM amp, built on a MOSFET circuit with three gain stages. Thanks to its high output, it also works as a boost pedal, with over 20 dB of boost available, which De Gregorio calls "great to push an amp into natural overdrive for solos."1
The "Organic" in the name carries a specific meaning: De Gregorio writes that it "intends to convey that these pedals have no integrated circuits, no buffers nor digital processing."1 For a player, that places the CREAM among the fully analog overdrive pedals that aim to react to the guitar's volume control and the amp's input, rather than among digital amp modelers.
The three-way switch: Normal, Bright and Boost
The CREAM's most distinctive control is a three-way switch that mimics the input section of a JTM. Each position changes how the pedal's gain and treble behave1:
| Switch position | What it does |
|---|---|
| Center | Acts as the "normal" input of the JTM1 |
| Bright | Acts as the "bright" input of the JTM: the treble boost fades away at max gain1 |
| Boost | Adds extra gain, like modded Plexis with the two inputs cascaded1 |
In practice, the switch lets a player choose between a flatter, darker voice, a brighter JTM-style voice that cleans up its treble as gain rises, and a hotter cascaded mode for pushing into the pedal's higher gain range1.
What it sounds like
Delicious Audio describes the CREAM's range as spanning "a cranked Bluesbraker to a modded Plexi," that is, from a cranked Bluesbreaker to a modded Plexi, both classic Marshall-style tones1. That range comes from the three gain stages of MOSFETs, the transistors the circuit uses in place of integrated circuits1. Players looking at the CREAM alongside other Marshall-flavored circuits may also want to compare it with the site's pages on distortion pedals and boost pedals, since the CREAM sits between the two roles.
Videos
Torino Audio
Eirik Stordrange
Questions
Is the Torino Audio Organic CREAM analog?
Yes. According to Delicious Audio, the Organic name refers to the fact that these pedals have no integrated circuits, no buffers and no digital processing. The circuit is built around MOSFETs in three gain stages, all analog.
What amp is the Organic CREAM based on?
The Organic CREAM is an amp-in-a-box overdrive modeled on a Marshall JTM. Its input section is designed as a JTM In a Box, and the three-way switch reproduces the amp's normal and bright inputs, with a Boost position that cascades them like a modded Plexi.
How much boost does the Organic CREAM have?
Delicious Audio reports over 20 dB of boost available, which is enough to push an already cranked amp into natural overdrive for solos. Thanks to that high output, the pedal also works as a standalone boost.
Sources (1)
- Torino Audio Organic CREAM Mosfet Overdrive, Delicious Audio, 2020-03-12