Diamond Pedals is Reborn and enhanced under the tutelage of Greg Djerrahian and SolidGoldFX
Dating back to 2003 - Michael Knappe’s Diamond Pedals was founded in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada - with a mission to engineer superior sounding effects pedals that would be universally easy-to-use. The company’s seminal year was 2005 when it introduced it’s 2 most famous pedals - it’s signature yellow Compression, and the game-changing Memory Lane - the world-first all-analog tap-tempo.
As with several companies at that time - Diamond Pedals encountered some incredibly difficult trading conditions during the recent pandemic - where financial issues ensuing from that period caused the company to be shut down. Fortunately discussions were already under way with potential partners who could rescue and resuscitate the business. Talks advanced quickly, and Greg Djerrahian and his SolidGoldFX enterprise ended up acquiring Diamond Pedals in 2021.
It’s taken two years of R&D to enhance and evolve those core Diamond Pedals - imbuing them with more features - while wholly retaining the tones, textures and feel of those highly regarded classic pedals. The range needed to be modernised for sure and brought in line with current patterns of demand - which meant creating the most practical versions of those circuits - now fully in pedalboard-friendly compact enclosures.
The entirely revamped range consists of 5 pedals at launch - with brand new versions of each of those classic pedals - with entirely uniform styling and control topologies. They very much retain the absolute essence of this brand - the simple-to-use and superior tones mantra!
The new pedals as they appear in the visual are :
- Tremolo
- Memory Lane Delay
- Drive
- Comp / EQ
- Bass Comp / EQ
And here follow their individual details :
Tremolo - £249
Controls - Volume, Speed, Rhythm, Depth, Tap / Waveform : Sine / Shark-fin / Square, On / Chop Footswitch, Tap / Doubler Footswitch.
"The new Diamond TREMOLO takes what it means to be a tremolo and pushes it well beyond the limits. We started with 11 rhythm control positions, and 3 different modes, but then decided to introduce a secondary tremolo circuit based around a FET that provides a sharp edge, completely killed, tremolo effect. With the way this circuit chops your signal, we’ve coined it the CHOPPER. With all of this, the updated Diamond Tremolo will be your go-to tone warping machine."
FEATURES
- Tremolo Effects Pedal
- Smooth Optical Amp Style Tremolo plus Chopper
- Uses a Custom US made Opto-Isolator and Burr Brown ICs
- 11 position Rhythm control loaded with accents, patterns and Dicer modes.
- Tap Tempo with Sub-divisions via dedicated footswitch
- Chopper mode
- Insta-Chopper feature
- Doubler feature allows for instant doubling of the delay tempo
- 3 Tremolo Wave shapes
- Sine : smooth and even
- Shark-fin : asymmetric
- Square : hard and even
- Advanced operation modes
- Geezer Mode : mimics classic Diamond Tremolo operation without secondary footswitch functions
- Momentary/Latching Mode : offers momentary/latching switching for both Insta-Chop and Doubler Features
- Top-mounted jacks and soft touch relay switching • Hand-made in Montreal, Canada
- Powered by a regular 9V DC PSU - (centre -, 2.1 mm, ~21 mA current draw)
An initially simple looking Tremolo which conceals a treasure-trove of smart and enhanced features - an incredibly potent and versatile Tremolo for its seemingly simple looks!
Memory Lane Delay - £255
Controls - Mix, Feedback, Delay, Modulation, Tap / Mode : Modern / Warm / Vintage, On/Mod Footswitch, Tap / Doubler Footswitch.
"Blending analog companding, anti-aliasing | reconstruction filters with a bucket brigade style delay line, we have immaculately captured the ethereal essence of the original big-box Memory Lane using Diamond’s innovative digital Bucket Brigade Delay technology (dBBD). Basically what we’re saying is, you get all the goodness of the original Memory Lane in a smaller footprint, over double the delay time, extended frequency response, higher SNR, and at a fraction of the current draw. This innovative progression of the Memory Lane is defined by 3 distinct delay lines to offer modern or vintage sounds."
FEATURES
- Delay Effects Pedal
- Bucked Brigade style (dBBD) circuit using 3 distinct delay lines paired with analog
companding, anti-aliassing/reconstruction filters - Using Diamonds original digital Bucket Brigade Delay (dBBD) technology
- Up to 1200 ms delay time with lush modulated repeats
- Offers modern and vintage style sounds
- Improved Signal to Noise Ratio and frequency response
- 3 Delay Styles:
- Modern : static sampling rate, muted tempo change and 50 - 1200 ms delay time
- Warm : darkened repeats, variable sampling rate and 150 - 1200 ms delay time
- Vintage : variable sampling rate, 65 - 550 ms delay time and automatically halved tap tempo divisions
- Tap Tempo with Sub-divisions via dedicated footswitch
- Auto Div feature automatically doubles/halves tapped in delay tempo if outside of current mode’s time range
- Doubler feature allows for instant doubling of the delay tempo
- Advanced Operation Modes
- Geezer Mode : mimics classic Memory Lane operation without secondary footswitch functions
- Trails Mode : Delay signal will trail off according to Feedback knob setting when effect bypassed
- Momentary/Latching Mode : offers momentary/latching switching for both Delay Modulation and Doubler Feature
- Top-mounted jacks and soft touch relay switching
- Hand-made in Montreal, Canada
- Powered by a regular 9V DC PSU - (centre -, 2.1 mm, ~45 mA current draw)
Slightly disappointing that this is not a fully Analog BBD style delay - like the original legendary Memory Lane editions - while it does offer more flavours and special features in the smallest format to date. SolidGoldFX have introduced some really cool delays of late and this marries those advanced modelling technologies with the essence of the the classic BBD Memory Lane tone and texture.
Drive - £215
Controls - Level, Drive, Bass, Treble, Warm Switch (up).
"Soaked to the bone in legendary Diamond DNA, the new generation Diamond DRIVE is built on a foundation of signature drive and EQ soundblocks. Distilling the most desirable and functional elements from the almighty J-Drive, Blaze, and Fireburst pedals, the Diamond Drive combines a warm and wide-ranging overdrive built around a Premium Sound Burr-Brown Op-amp with a dual band, post-gain active EQ."
FEATURES
- Overdrive Effects Pedal
- Original Diamond J-Drive Style Gain Circuit with Burr Brown Integrated Circuit
- Dual Band Active Post-gain Baxandall EQ inspired by the Diamond Fireburst Fuzz
- Selectable warm switch for soft treble shelving filter
- Soft-touch, True Bypass switching and top-mounted jacks
- Hand-made in Montreal, Canada
- Powered by a regular 9-18 V DC PSU - (centre -, 2.1 mm, 17 mA current draw)
A pretty cool 2-Band Active EQ overdrive made with superior parts - but entering an incredibly saturated and already highly competitive market - will be interesting to see the uptake on this. For me the Diamond Memory Lane, then Compressors, then Tremolo are the stars of the show - hopefully there is space and some appreciation for this handy drive pedal too!
Comp / EQ - £249
Controls - Level, Compression, Mids, Tilt, Attack : Snappy / Slow.
"There isn’t a compressor that’s more sought after than the Diamond yellow box. This next-gen COMP/EQ maintains the classic circuit architecture while increasing range and functionality. The new EQ section allows you to sculpt your tone in the same box that squashes it (that’s a good thing). Furthermore, the new Attack switch allows you to go from the signature ultra-snappy Diamond comp style all the way to softer transparent compression."
FEATURES
- Compressor and Equalizer Effects Pedal
- Updated circuit with increased range and functionality that maintains the classic
- Diamond compressor architecture
- New EQ section for precision tone-sculpting
- Added Attack switch – for selecting between 2 attack settings :
- Down : original - ultra-snappy Diamond compression with quick response
- Up : slow response with a transparent, less squashed, softer transparent compression and longer sustained sound
- Naturally smooth optical compression from a custom US-made Opto-Isolator
- +/- 10 dB Mid boost and cut
- +/- 6 dB Tilt EQ section
- Wide-ranging compression with bi-colour LED indicator
- Top-mounted jacks and soft touch relay switching
- Equipped with Burr Brown Integrated circuits
- Hand-made in Montreal, Canada
- Powered by a regular 9-18V DC PSU - (centre -, 2.1 mm, ~22 mA current draw)
So famous is the Diamond Yellow Comp that Mooer's Mini Comp is modelled after It - that's all you need to know really - one of the best loved Compressors of all time!
Bss Comp / EQ - 249
Controls - Level, Compression, Mids, Tilt, Tilt Frequency : 250Hz / 500Hz / 900Hz
There’s something truly magical about finding the compression sweet-spot on bass. Enter the Diamond BASS COMP/EQ. This bad-boy will go on your board, and never come off. This next- gen compressor maintains the classic circuit architecture while increasing range and functionality. The new EQ section allows you to sculpt your tone in the same box that squashes it (that’s a good thing). Furthermore, the tilt switch allows you select the fulcrum frequency of the Tilt EQ for sculpting those all-important mids.
FEATURES
- Bass Compressor and Equalizer Effects Pedal
- Updated circuit with increased range and functionality that maintains the classic Diamond compressor architecture
- Naturally smooth optical compression from a custom US-made Opto-Isolator
- 10dB Mid boost and cut
- Tilt Freq switch for selecting the switchable Tilt EQ Fulcrum Frequency :
- Up : 250 Hz
- Center : 900 Hz
- Down : 500 Hz
- Wide-ranging compression control with bi-colour LED indicator
- Top-mounted jacks and soft touch relay switching
- Equipped with Burr Brown Integrated circuits
- Hand-made in Montreal, Canada
- Powered by a regular 9-18 V DC PSU (centre -, 2.1 mm, ~22 mA current draw)
A really smart Bass Compressor - with killer EQ functionality!
12 Degrees of Saturation 2023 Compact Edition
