Description
In its short history, Victory has become one of the UK’s leading amplifier brands.Known for its portable lunchbox-style amp heads,theforward-thinking company has made its first stepinto the pedal worldwith itsV4 series of preamp pedals.
The V4 Design
Takingthesounds of its most popular amp head designs, these fully-analogue, valve-driven V4 stompboxes from Victory can convincingly emulate their full-fledged counterparts. Powered bythreeCV4014 valves and a singleEC900, thatgenuine tube amp feel and sound is captured.
Boasting two channelsand multiplecontrols for flexible tone-shaping, a Victory V4 preamp pedal can become the centrepiece of your guitar rig.Enclosedwithin compact steel chassis’, you can easily mount these potent-soundingpowerhouses to your pedalboardso that your core sounds are literally at your feet!
A Jack Of All Trades!
Victory’s’The Jack’ preamp pedal is just one of the several V4 models available, but it is arguably the mostversatile. Formerly known as ‘The Countess’, this unit’s new name more suitably signifies its tonal flexibility. With clean and overdrive modes, this stompboxfaithfully imitates the tones of Victory’s flagship amplifier (which has also been re-named) -stretchingfrom chimey cleansto high-gain British-voiceddistortion.
With a wide frequency response, the V4 ‘The Jack’ pedal has an open and dynamic feel, allowing your playing articulation to shine though beautifully. With the original Countessamp developed alongside guitar virtuoso Guthrie Govan,the V4 ‘The Jack’ preamp can cope with even the most eclectic of playing and musical styles -making it an all-encompassing unit.
Flexible Controls
Much like the amp version of ‘The Jack’, the V4 preamp pedal features a similar control-set for excellent usability. With a typical 3-band EQ section, the V4 ‘The Jack’also boasts a bright switch that allows you totailor the top-end frequencies. This means that ifyou’reusing the pedal in conjunction with a dark-sounding amplifier, you can compensate viathis thoughtful appointment.
Withthe ability to switch between two channels via a dedicated footswitch, you can set the amount of gain for each of these modes withthe Vol 1 and2 knobs. Giving you two separate voices,this means thatyou can essentially create a 3-channel setup when running the V4 into a clean amplifier – withclean, rhythm and lead sounds. You can also control the volumes of these modes via the Master 1 and 2 controls, meaning that you canset one of themlouder than the other for a solo boost.
MultipleRouting Possibilities
The most noteworthy aspect of the V4’s design is its ability to be used in two particular ways. The most simple methodis toplug ‘The Jack’directly into the front-end of your amp, much like a conventional overdrive unit. Victory refer to this as ‘Standalone Mode’.
While you can achieve great results thatway, you can take full advantage of the pedal by routing it through your existing amplifiers’s effects loop. Bypassing your amp’s preamp stage, you canconnect the unit straight to the power section via the effects loop return.Routed this way,when the pedal is disengagedyoure basically using your ampas normal, but when you turn the pedal on you bypass its preamp. This will giveyour amplifieran almost entirely new voice, character and feel -transforming the sound of your rig as a whole. This is referred to asAmp Through Mode. Here’s a more concise explanation of how this works:
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