The TWA FB-1 Distortion is a compact distortion pedal from the company's Fly Boys line. Guitar World's review describes it as modeled after a Marshall JCM-800 amplifier, with Tone, Gain and Level knobs for shaping the sound1. For players, that puts it in amp-in-a-box territory: a pedal intended to evoke the character of a British high-gain head rather than an overdrive or a metal scoop.
What it does
The FB-1 takes a guitar signal and adds distortion voiced around the JCM-800 model, with the Gain knob setting the amount of drive, the Tone knob shaping brightness, and the Level setting output volume1. It sits among TWA's other compact Fly Boys pedals, such as the TWA FB-05 Metal, which covers heavier voicings in the same line1.
What reviewers said
Guitar World's review, by Billy Voight, made a point that matters to Strat players, who often find distortion pedals turn brittle with a bridge single-coil1:
"Unlike most distortion pedals, I was able to use this with the bridge pickup on my Strat and not lose definition in the low end."
That verdict, that the pedal held its low-end definition and avoided harshness with a bridge pickup, is the clearest published account of how the FB-1 behaves in use1.
Videos
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Sources (1)
- Review: TWA Fly Boys Effect Pedals by Godlyke, Guitar World, 2014-01-09
