Xploration • Curation • Recommendation
Vemuram's latest Las Lunas Distortion pays homage to those Classic Rock Tones of the late 70's and early 80's
Key Points
Vemuram’s Las Lunas is a premium distortion inspired by late-1970s and early-1980s drive tones, without naming specific amps or brands. It covers classic-rock crunch through singing leads, with Level, Gain, passive three-band EQ, and A/B voicing.
A is flat, detailed and warm; B is edgy, sharp and full-bodied. Rear trimmers set saturation for each voicing.
The pedal may replace the discontinued Karen, Vemuram’s Marshall-style overdrive, while overlapping with Jose Arredondo-modified amp sounds. Demos suggest clear Marshall tones. It is entering stock and available for preorder; the article lists $415 and £415 pricing.
Vemuram deliberately avoids mentioning any amp / brand inspirations here - but the text touches on amp stacks from that legendary late 70’s / early 80’s peak Marshall era! In fact it also overlaps with those famous Jose Arredondo modified amps - which could also be a likely source of inspiration.
The official text speaks of :
"The Vemuram Las Lunas is a premium distortion pedal developed over many years to capture the unmistakable drive tones that defined the late 1970s and early 1980s. Rather than recreating a single amplifier or pedal, Las Lunas was designed to evoke the rich, expressive distortion sounds favored by many of the guitar heroes of that era."
"From articulate classic rock crunch to singing lead tones, the Las Lunas delivers a remarkably organic feel, combining dynamic response with the rich harmonic complexity that has become a hallmark of Vemuram pedals. Whether you’re chasing legendary vintage drive tones or crafting a sound that’s entirely your own, Las Lunas provides an exceptionally versatile platform built around natural, amp-like distortion."
Controls - Level, Gain, Passive 3-Band EQ : Bass, Tone, Treble, Distortion Voicing / Style : B / A.
Rear Trimmers - Saturation Level for A and B Voicings
- Distortion A - features a flat and detailed warm drive sound
- Distortion B - features an edgy, sharp and full-bodied drive sound
I own the Vemuram Karen Marshall style Overdrive - which hasn’t aged particularly well, particularly in the shadow of so many fantastic recent ones - including of course several from Sinvertek!
The Karen has been discontinued for a while - so possibly this is an improved and upgraded Marshall style pedal to in effect replace that - while the Karen was very much billed as an Overdrive, and this Las Lunas is labelled a Distortion. The Latin naming was one of the aspects that led me to guessing Jose Arredondo - it kind of lines up - while the dealers and demoers are sticking to the script - and keeping things as vague as possible.
This Las Lunas looks like it’s mostly coming into stock at the moment an up for preorders - where pricing sits @ $415, and funnily that same number for £!
I’m not about to disparage Vemuram’s output here, while I would say that the Las Lunas has some incredibly strong competition out there!
Just a handful of mostly Japanese demos so far - where there’s definite Marshall sounds emanating from that pedal! It sounds pretty decent actually! I’ve gone with the strongest demo I could find - the sound is not quite right for me on the others. The below Demo is well recorded and mixed in any case! I do love a decent Marshall pedal - so this one might just be on the cards for me - even though I’m pretty well sorted in that department already!
You can read up more on the Vemuram Website.
Demos
