Xploration • Curation • Recommendation
David Ross announces latest Kickstarter Campaign Launch - for his innovative Summer Heat Dynamic EQ and Overdrive
Key Points
David Ross’s Summer Heat is a Kickstarter pedal combining a 2-Band EQ, boost and overdrive. Gyrator Bass and Gyrator Mids offer cut/boost, three-way frequency selectors and added clipping, while Intensity blends Dry and Saturated signals. Exposure, Morning, Midday, and selectable 1.5K/1.25K/1K mids and 180/135/90 bass frequencies provide three gain controls and expansive timbres, including fuzzy tones.
The Kickstarter is live, with early bird bonuses; MAP/RRP is $200. It follows 2024’s Submersion, plus Spellbook and Winter Storm, David Ross’s previous successful campaigns. The article has not personally played Summer Heat but includes David’s overview/demo.
David Ross is well known for his immaculate attention to detail - and his beautiful tone-on-tone colour-coordinated enclosures with refined graphics. Here in summery yellow tropical seaside fashion - with matching knobs.
The Summer Heat delivers an expansive 2-Band EQ - with Gyrator Bass and Gyrator Mids Frequency Controls with 3-way central frequency selectors that you can cut or boost. Further to that David has added clipping to each of those tone stacks - such that as you boost them - you’re gradually adding in further gain too. So they’re kind of combination semi-parametric EQ’s and saturators.
The core overdrive is of a similar blended mechanic to a Klon - with the Dry and Saturated signals in parallel, governed by a single gain knob - here labelled ’Intensity’. Much like with a Klon - from around 11 o’c onwards some clipping diodes kick in to significantly boost the saturation of the gain stage. While the core sound of the drive is entirely of David’s own design. This pedal was built in isolation and not based on or evolved from any specific circuit. It has a sound all of its own!
There’s a fair degree of high frequency sparkle to the default profile - so that at its core the Summer Heat is really well balanced and articulate.
Controls - Exposure (), Intensity (Clean Blend Overdrive Gain), Mid Frequencies : 1.5K / 1.25K / 1K, Morning (Gyrator Bass±), Bass Frequencies : 180 / 135 / 90, Midday (Gyrator Mids±).
You then essentially have 3 different gain knobs you can apply in combination - with 2 of those attached to active EQ’s.
It’s a super versatile pedal all-round with all kinds of different timbres and textures onboard - depending on how you set those core frequencies and dials. The combination of all 6 controls is really incredibly expansive - and you can get into some highly intriguing sort of fuzzy tones too - as David aptly demonstrated in his below overview / demo.
David has a very solid pedigree for his Kickstarter Campaigns as you can see from the above roster - all those gain pedals turned out brilliantly. I should really start acquiring some of these - of course starting with this Summer Heat, and then working my way back through the catalogue.
I had the privilege of supporting David for his last Submersion Kickstarter Campaign back in 2024 - per the below visual - which I'm rather proud o toof. In fact I feel I've created the perfect visuals for each of those launches!
The MAP / RRP for the Summer Heat is $200 - with early bird bonuses for early Kickstarter supporters. The Kickstarter Campaign is live as soon as you see this article!
I've personally not played this particular pedal yet, but I can totally admire the vision and concept here - and of course David's below overview. This is David's 4th significant Kickstarter Campaign - following on from the success of his Submersion Upper Octave Fuzz, Spellbook Self-Oscillating Fuzz and Distortion, and his Winter Storm 3-in-1 Boost, Overdrive and Distortion - all excellent.
You can of course read up more on the David Ross Musical Instruments Website!
Overview / Launch Demo
