The Sting Overdrive is an overdrive pedal from Wrought Iron Effects, a small builder whose pedals carry Lord of the Rings and Arthurian themed names and hand-finished metal enclosures. The Sting takes its theme from Excalibur, and Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio called it "probably one of the least bizarre inventions you can find on the company's site," which for this builder is saying something. It is a compact two-knob pedal: Gain and Tone, nothing else1.
Circuit and sound
The Sting is, in Delicious Audio's words, "a small, simple twin Jfet circuit, but it packs a major punch." It uses no clipping diodes, so what you get is all smooth crunch from the JFET transistors. That puts it apart from the many overdrives that shape their distortion with diodes, a family that includes the Boss SD-1 and Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer designs. Delicious Audio describes the voice as "a warm and crunchy voice, and a usable Tone control that progressively cuts the high fr"equencies. For more on where the Sting sits, see the site's overdrive pedals page, and for harder-edged circuits the distortion pedals and fuzz pedals pages cover the neighboring territory1.
The controls: gain and tone
There are only two knobs, and both do real work:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Gain | Allows more low frequencies into the circuit as it is turned up, fattening up the sound significantly1 |
| Tone | A typical treble cut, dialed in to a usable range that cuts high frequencies without getting piercingly bright1 |
The Gain control is unusual in that it is not purely a drive control: raising it also thickens the low end, so the pedal gets fuller as it gets dirtier. The Tone control, per Delicious Audio, stays usable throughout its travel rather than only in a narrow sweet spot1.
Build and details
The enclosure is part of the appeal. Aluminum plate is laser cut in Minneapolis, MN and folded into enclosures in the Wrought Iron shop, then acid etched, folded, and finished in the shop in Amery, WI1. The Excalibur graphic is not just decoration: the edge of the sword gives off a blue glow when the pedal is activated, doubling as the on indicator1.
Each pedal features a Japanese built DeMont Smooth-Click footswitch, which the maker fits, in Delicious Audio's words, "for years of hassle free service"1.
Wrought Iron Effects builds a family of themed overdrives. The Sting's siblings include the Orcrist Overdrive, a bipolar transistor design with Volume, Tone, Gain and Bite controls and a 9v/18v toggle, and the Aslan (Good) Overdrive, another JFET circuit with top-load jacks.
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Questions
Is the Wrought Iron Effects Sting Overdrive analog?
Yes. Delicious Audio describes the Sting as a JFET-based analog overdrive, built around a small twin JFET circuit. There is no digital processing involved, and the drive itself comes from the JFET transistors rather than from diode clipping, which the maker says keeps the crunch smooth.
Does the Sting Overdrive use clipping diodes?
No. According to Delicious Audio's profile of the pedal, the Sting uses no clipping diodes at all. The overdrive character comes entirely from its twin JFET transistors, which produce what the site calls smooth crunch rather than the harder edge diode clipping can bring.
What does the gain knob do on the Sting Overdrive?
The Gain control does more than add distortion. As you turn it up, it allows more low frequencies into the circuit, fattening up the sound significantly, according to Delicious Audio. So higher gain settings also bring a fuller low end, which shapes how the pedal sits with a band.
What kind of footswitch does the Sting Overdrive use?
Each Sting Overdrive features a Japanese built DeMont Smooth-Click footswitch, which Delicious Audio says is fitted for years of hassle free service. It is a mechanical switching footswitch rather than a soft-touch relay type.
Why does the Sting Overdrive glow blue?
The Sting's graphic is Excalibur themed, and the edge of the sword on the enclosure gives off a blue glow when the pedal is activated. The glow is a visual indicator that the effect is engaged.
Sources (1)
- Wrought Iron Effects Sting Overdrive, Delicious Audio, 2021-07-01
