Vox Silk Drive Valvenergy Boutique Overdrive Pedal with Nutube
Where the rest of the Valvenergy range chases high gain, the Silk Drive goes the other way. Velvety, smooth overdrive in the manner of classic boutique amp makers, in a stompbox.
- Boutique-style drive: smooth leads and crunchy riffs with blooming harmonics
- Nutube foundation: a miniature tube with the characteristics of full-sized valves, without the bulk or heat
- Controls: Gain and Volume plus a 3-band EQ and a Bright switch
- Three modes: Standard as a pedal, Preamp for line-level devices, Cab-Sim for direct recording or PA
- OLED display with an oscilloscope showing how your settings affect the signal
- Switchable all-analogue cab emulation for direct recording or a PA feed
A boutique amp voice without the boutique amp purchase, and enough headroom to set exactly how much breakup you want.
Boutique amps sound remarkable, and they tend to occupy a budget for a long time afterwards. The Silk Drive is the stompbox answer. Plug it in and turn it up and you get velvety-smooth overdrive tones reminiscent of classic boutique amp builders, from singing leads to crunchy riffs with blooming harmonics.
Nutube technology
A minuscule Nutube provides the tonal foundation. Years of research went into shrinking the traditional vacuum tube without sacrificing reliability or durability, and the result gives you the punch, sag and harmonic complexity of a real amp in pedal form. Internally boosted voltage adds headroom for dialling in the right amount of breakup.
Tone shaping
Alongside the standard Gain and Volume controls, the Silk Drive carries a 3-band EQ and a Bright switch, which is enough to move it between darker, thicker drive and something with more air on top.
Use it as a pedal, preamp or amp in a box
Standard mode behaves like an overdrive pedal. Preamp mode lets the Silk Drive act as a preamp for line-level devices such as a keyboard. Cab-Sim mode engages the built-in analogue cabinet simulator for direct recording or for feeding a PA.
See your signal
A built-in OLED display carries an oscilloscope, so you can watch what each control is doing to the waveform.
At a glance
- A boutique amp voice in a stompbox
- Nutube for the performance and feel of a tube amp
- Active EQ and Bright switch
- Standard, Preamp and Cab-Sim modes
- Selectable analogue cabinet simulation