The Tsakalis AudioWorks Crown is a compact overdrive pedal built around what the maker calls "British School" amp tones. Announced in October 2016, it uses JFET technology, combining three calibrated stages in cascade mode, and was designed to mimic tones from a clean Plexi and AC, to a rich and full detailed JMC overdrive1. For a player, that places it among the British-voiced side of overdrive pedals, rather than the symmetric-clipping family like the Boss SD-1 vs Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer comparison.
Controls
The Crown keeps its panel small: three knobs and two toggles1.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Drive | Sets the amount of overdrive |
| Color | Tone control; Tsakalis calls it "a very powerful control offering a useful range of sounds," taking you "through a range of Brit"ish-style amp voicings to match different guitars and amps1 |
| Level | Sets the output level |
| Fat toggle | One of the two voicing switches1 |
| Hot toggle | The second voicing switch1 |
The announcement names the Fat and Hot switches but does not describe what each position changes1.
Where it sits on a board
Tsakalis describes the Crown as ideal for boosting a British amp to get a crunch tone at lower level, or for giving that British tone to every amp1. In practice that means two uses: pushing an already British-voiced amp into crunch at a manageable volume, or lending a non-British amp some of that character. Players who want a later, more specialized take on British voicings from the same maker can look at the Room #40, which offers two Marshall-style voicings, or the AC Master, which pairs an AC30 Top Boost-style overdrive with a Rangemaster-style treble booster.
Videos
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Questions
What amps does the Tsakalis Crown sound like?
According to the maker's announcement, the Crown was designed to mimic tones from a clean Plexi and AC, up to a rich and full detailed JMC overdrive. Tsakalis also describes it as ideal for boosting a British amp to get a crunch tone at lower level, or for giving that British tone to every amp, with the Color control covering a range of British-style amp voicings.
How much does the Tsakalis Crown cost?
When Tsakalis AudioWorks introduced the Crown in October 2016, the suggested street price was 175 Euros.
What do the two toggle switches on the Crown do?
The Crown carries two toggle switches labeled Fat and Hot, alongside its three knobs for Drive, Color and Level. The maker's announcement names the switches but does not describe what each position does, so players would need to hear the pedal or read a demo to judge their effect.
Sources (1)
- Tsakalis AudioWorks Launches Crown British Overdrive, Premier Guitar, 2016-10-26
