The Walrus Audio Messner StageOne Overdrive is a low-gain, transparent overdrive pedal, announced in September 2015 and available from September 22nd that year. Walrus designed it to preserve the natural voice of your guitar by not coloring your tone, while giving the player the ability to dial in and out the exact amount of tone they desire1. It takes its name and artwork from the mountaineer Reinhold Messner, and it arrived as part of a growing line of Walrus Audio overdrives.
What it does to your sound
Walrus describes the Messner as "a low gain-transparent overdrive boasting a wide range of overdrive possibilities"1. The design goal, in the company's words, was to preserve the guitar's natural voice rather than color it, while still letting the player dial in as much or as little tone shaping as they want1. For a player, that places it among transparent overdrives: the kind of pedal that adds drive and a touch of character without imposing a strong midrange stamp of its own, in contrast to more voiced drives like a Tube Screamer, which you can read about in Boss SD-1 vs Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer.
Controls and the clipping toggle
The pedal's most distinctive control is a toggle switch that changes how the clipping diodes sit in the circuit. In the open position it bypasses the clipping diodes from the circuit; in the closed position it employs them1. Walrus describes the two ways to use it:
"Flip it to the open position and dial in a lower drive setting to add subtle aggression to your tone. Run it in the closed position and turn the gain knob up for more compressed and punchy tones."1
Alongside the toggle, the color control works in all modes, dialing in brighter tones as you turn it up and darker tones as you turn it down2. That gives the Messner two axes of shaping: the toggle for the character of the clipping, and the color knob for the tonal tilt.
Power, size and price
The Messner StageOne runs on 9VDC and draws 20mA minimum1. Its exact size is 4.77" x 2.9" x 2.3", a compact footprint in a white texture enclosure1. At announcement, Walrus Audio offered the Messner for a retail price of $1891, and it was available for preorder at walrusaudio.com ahead of the September 22nd, 2015 release21.
The artwork
The original artwork features a fierce portrait of Reinhold Messner wearing vintage mountaineering goggles while in the process of summiting Everest1. It is a namesake tribute rather than a technical reference: the pedal carries the climber's name on the enclosure.
Where it sits in Walrus's overdrive range
The Messner StageOne is one of several overdrives Walrus Audio has built. Others in the company's range include the Walrus Audio Messner, the Walrus Audio Messner X, the Walrus Audio Voyager, the Walrus Audio Warhorn, the Walrus Audio Mayflower, the Walrus Audio Ages and the Walrus Audio 385. Among them, the Messner StageOne is the transparent, low-gain option, designed to stay out of the way of the guitar's own voice1.
Questions
What power supply does the Walrus Audio Messner StageOne need?
The Messner StageOne runs on a 9VDC power supply. Walrus Audio's announcement specifies 9VDC as the power requirement, so use a standard center-negative supply rated to deliver at least the pedal's minimum current draw. As with any pedal with these requirements, a supply that meets both the voltage and the current figure will keep it running reliably on a pedalboard.
How much current does the Messner StageOne draw?
Walrus Audio lists the current draw as 20mA minimum. That is a modest figure by pedal standards, so the Messner StageOne sits comfortably within what most standard pedalboard power supplies can deliver on a single outlet, as long as that outlet is rated for at least 20mA.
What does the toggle switch on the Messner StageOne do?
The toggle switch selects how the clipping diodes sit in the circuit. In the open position it bypasses the clipping diodes from the circuit, which suits a lower drive setting for subtle aggression. In the closed position it employs the diodes, and with the gain turned up that gives more compressed and punchy tones.
Who is pictured on the Messner StageOne artwork?
The original artwork shows a fierce portrait of Reinhold Messner, the pedal's namesake, wearing vintage mountaineering goggles while in the process of summiting Everest. The pedal comes in a white texture enclosure with that artwork on it.
How big is the Messner StageOne pedal?
Walrus Audio gives the exact size as 4.77 inches by 2.9 inches by 2.3 inches. That is a compact, standard enclosure footprint, so it fits alongside other pedals on a board without taking up much more room than a typical compact overdrive.
Sources (2)
- Walrus Audio Unveils the Messner StageOne Overdrive, Premier Guitar, 2015-09-18
- Walrus Audio Announce Messner Stage-One Overdrive, Guitar Interactive Magazine, 2015-09-17
