What's That Dude Play? » Tortuga Effects

Tortuga offers close encounter

Blake — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 13:38:53 +0000

Matt at Tortuga Effects let us know this week that he has completely redone his website and along with the make over has a swath of new pedals joining his line. The first new stomp is Abduction – a germanium-based overdrive that is similar to his exclusive Fire Ant pedal, but is made up of completely different components. The pedal was designed to blend with a player’s tube amp to add richness and gain without sacrificing the original tone.

The Abduction boasts three completely different gain circuits, each with dual foot-switchable gain controls. The first position is the initial germanium overdrive. The second is a heavier germanium overdrive. The third moves you near fuzz territory. You can check out a demo video of the new pedal below.

Tortuga has also retired the Rain Delay echo pedal and has replaced it in the line up with the Single Malt vintage delay. The Single Malt can act like both a small room echo and a long solo delay at the push of a foot switch due to its dual rate controls. The pedal can also run at 18v for more headroom and clarity. Finally, the Wendigo name has been put out to pasture, but the pedal still lives… now is and Sasquatch Silicon. The Silicon model sports a special combination of transistors that give it a tighter more aggressive feel than the Sasquatch Germanium, which also is still available.

Tortuga Effects: Abduction Dual Germanium Overdrive from Tortuga Effects on Vimeo.

Sweet sting of the Tortuga Fire Ant

Blake — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 13:14:20 +0000

Matt from Tortuga Effects has a new overdrive pedal available exclusively through Guitar Center Platinum outlets. Dubbed Fire Ant, the stomp was designed to blend beautifully with a player’s tube amp to add color and gain without sacrificing the original tone. With three completely different gain circuits, each with dual foot-switchable gain controls, the sonic possibilities are plentiful. The Fire Ant can take you from a glassy clean boost to a blazing Texas crunch all the way to an over the top, fuzz-like sonic assault. The Fire Ant circuit utilizes a set of old stock Germanium diodes that bring a detail and richness not found in most overdrive pedals, according to the builder. The pedal sells for $299.

The Werewolf howls for Tortuga

Blake — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 14:26:37 +0000

Matt with Tortuga Effects has a new dual dirt pedal ready to go – the Werewolf Over-stortion. Capable of anything from a clean boost to a blues overdrive and even a metal crunch, the Tortuga Werewolf boasts two completely different gain circuits, each with dual foot-switchable gain controls. According to the builder, the Werewolf is designed to blend seamlessly with a tube amp to enhance its tone and to provide the versatility needed for any style or situation. One of the gain settings – Maim – has an internal trim pot allowing users to dial in dirt and drive tones to taste. The Werewolf is expected to cost around $269. Demo below!

UPDATED: Tortuga serves up a Mai Tai

Blake — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 18:09:19 +0000

Matt at Tortuga Effects is at it again… back with a new take on the classic ‘script’ era phaser in the form of the new Mai Tai Dual Classic Phaser. The new pedal will take the place of the Standard Issue Phaser in Tortuga’s catalog of stomps. The Mai Tai boasts a ‘warm and sloshy midrange sweep’ that encompasses everything the builder wanted in a great phaser… and even travels a bit into vibe territory. The Mai Tai has a dual set of depth (Mix) and rate (Rum) controls that can be set separately and switched between so it’s like having two Mai Tai’s in one. The pedal will retail for $299. New demo video added below!

Exclusive: Tortuga covers bases with the Rain Delay

Blake — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 21:14:29 +0000

Matt at Tortuga Effects has a new digital echo and delay pedal hitting the market very soon. Dubbed Rain Delay, the stomp has dual, switchable rate controls that can allows the effect to act as both a small room echo and a long solo delay at the push of a foot switch. The ‘Home’ side houses the shorter delay times – from almost nothing to around 300ms, while the ‘Away’ side gets you up to around 600ms – great for lead tones. The Rain Delay can be run at 9v with the internal battery or external power supply for more of an analog warmth or up to 18v with external power for more headroom and clarity. The pedal will run $299. Check out the demo video after the jump!

Tortuga Effects: Rain Delay Digital Echo And Delay from Tortuga Effects on Vimeo.

Tortuga traps a Wendigo

Blake — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:41:00 +0000

Matt over at Tortuga Effects has posted a new demo video of his new Wendigo stomp – a close brother to his Sasquatch fuzz, but with the addition of silicon transistors. According to Tortuga, the Wendigo has a tight, rich distortion that blends extremely well with an amp yet still has all the characteristics of an over-the-top classic 70’s fuzz. Like the Sasquatch, the Wendigo also has the ‘Make Him Mad’ freak-out mode that can be controlled and mastered with your guitar volume and tone knobs. The Wendigo works well with both guitar and bass. The Wendigo is available now for $269. Check out the video after the jump!

Exclusive: Tortuga’s new pedal pair

Blake — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 13:37:38 +0000

Matt at Tortuga Effects is launching not one, but two new pedals this month – the Martini dual analog chorus and the Wendigo silicon fuzz. The Martini sports three knob controls – Mix, Single and Double, a mini-toggle and footswitch to jump between channels. The Wendigo is basically a silicon version of Tortuga’s popular Sasquatch germanium fuzz. According to Matt it is tighter, more responsive and has more gain than the Sasquatch. The Martini should be available from Tortuga retailers next week and is priced at $299. The Wendigo is expected to be available around the end of the month and retails for $269. See a video demo of the Martini after the jump!

With two different speed controls that can be switched on the fly, The Martini acts as two completely different pedals in one. The Mix control adds effect to your dry signal while Single and Double are both rate controls for the pair of channels. The second channel has a switch for ‘Shaken’ or ‘Stirred’ to select either chorus or vibrato to add even more tonal combinations to the mix. The Martini also features a real bucket-brigade analog delay chip at its core which gives it a true, old-school chorus warmth and swirl.

The Wendigo boasts the same controls as the Sasquatch germanium fuzz with names like Howl, Growl, Feed Him and Make Him Angry. The Wendigo follows on the heels of the Yeti fuzz-stortion pedal – the initial Sasquatch offspring that straddles the tight fuzz/distortion boundary.

Check out a demo video for the Martini below and watch for more info on the Wendigo coming soon!

Tortuga Effects: Martini Analog Chorus Vibrato from Tortuga Effects on Vimeo.

Tortuga captures the Yeti fuzz-stortion

Blake — Thu, 07 May 2009 14:30:04 +0000

Matt over at Tortuga Effects has uploaded a couple of videos to You Tube related to his latest offering – the Yeti Fuzz-Stortion pedal. He describes the stomp as a massive, tight sounding fuzz that is almost a distortion. The pedal can handle anything from that sloppy 1970’s fuzz to a modern high gain ‘wall of tone’. The Yeti only exists because Chris Bristol of the band Barcelona went to Matt looking for a pedal to replace his existing fuzz. The duo worked together on the tone and eventually were so happy with it, Matt made it a part of his regular line. The hand-wired, true-bypass pedal is available now for $299. Check out the demo videos of the Yeti after the jump!

To the depths with Tortuga Effects’ Neptune

Blake — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 12:04:32 +0000

Washington-state’s Tortuga Effects has been in the pedal game for a few years now with a good selection of offerings ranging from its Sasquatch fuzz to the Standard Issue Phaser. Today, WTDP? is going to look at the company’s answer to the classic Univibe pedal – its Neptune Opto-Vibe stomp. The controls to the Neptune may look a little confusing to idle eyes as the names keep with the God of the Ocean motif – such as Slosh, Depth, Dive and Surface. Tortuga’s goal with the Neptune was to stay true to the classic vibe tone with out sucking out all the midrange.

The Neptune comes in the standard boutique plain white wrapper. Inside is the EHX XO-sized stomp (laid out horizontally) and a one-page instruction sheet that walks the user through the controls and their funny names along with pertinent warranty information. The pedal itself is a powder-coat white sporting a cool graphic of the Roman god of the sea. Our test Neptune was #023. The stomp can run on 9V battery or a DC power adapter (as tested). You do have to take a screwdriver to the backplate to get to the battery compartment.

The controls of the Neptune promise a dual mode pedal. The two channels are identical, but are controlled differently. The Obey switch turns the pedal on. Depth I and II control the signal depth for the appropriate channel. Slosh I and II control the rate on the corresponding channel. I or II switches between channels. Dive is the instrument input, while Surface is the output to your amp. Kneel is the power adapter input. One difference you will notice right away is that the Slosh controls are not the same. For Channel One it is a conventional knob control, but for Channel Two it is a light-sensitive optical sensor that allows the player to use his foot to control the rate of the effect. Since Channel Two really needs a visual to give the effect more meaning, we’re going to stick to Channel One for the clips.

Diving into the Neptune vibe, we grabbed the Strat and using the bridge pick-up we dialed in the stomp for a subtile vibe tone. On Channel One, the Depth was set at 2 o’clock and the Slosh at 3 o’clock. First clean, then the Neptune.

Switching to the Les Paul, we dialed things up a notch. Still on Channel One, we pegged the Depth and moved the Slosh to around noon. First dry, then wet!

Hopping back on the Strat, this time with the neck pick-up, we dial in more slosh to get the vibrato going faster. With Depth at around 11 o’clock and Slosh dimed, here’s the Neptune. Clean first, then to the depths!

The Tortuga Effects Neptune is a great sounding pedal. I’ve never been a big vibe guy, but the textures and depth you can dial into the Neptune truly won me over. That said, the pedal does have a few drawbacks. Like most vibes, the Neptune is expensive. At $300, it is a pretty stout investment. I think the pedal is competitive with the run of higher-end boutique vibes I’ve heard, such as the Sweetsound Mojo Vibe and the KR Megavibe, but it would probably be best to test drive any pedal before you lay down that kind of scratch for it. Also, while the Channel Two optical sensor works like a charm in a studio setting, it is less than practical when sitting on your pedalboard in a dark club unless – as Tortuga points out in the manual – you spring for an external light to shine onto the sensor to allow for consistent use of the effect. Having just shelled out ‘tres Benjamins’ for the pedal, some may balk at the added investment. These quibbles aside, I bought the Neptune… and am enjoying the hell out of it! That’s our take anyway… you mileage may vary!

PLEASE NOTE: All YMMV Review clips are played through a Reverend Hellhound 40/60 combo amp with 1×12 extension cab. No reverb or other effects were added to the clips. Guitars used in this review include a 1979 Gibson Les Paul Custom and a 1998 Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster.

The Five: Tortuga Effects’ Matt Johnson

Blake — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 11:34:23 +0000

Never heard of Tortuga Effects? Well, let’s fix that shall we. Tortuga is the brain-child of Renton, Washington’s Matt Johnson and is the maker of a handful of really sweet stomp boxes. Don’t believe me? Do yourself a favor and (when you’re done reading this) go over to You Tube and search out The Cab’s Ian Crawford doing demoes of the company’s two fuzzes – Sasquatch and Hazy Fuzz Experience, as well as the Neptune opto-vibe pedal. You can also learn more over at Tortuga’s spiffy new website. Matt took time out from his workbench to talk with us about all the current goings on with Tortuga. Read the details after the jump.

WTDP?: When and why did you start making effects pedals?
Matt: November 2007 is when I started tinkering around with effects. I don’t really come from an electronics background at all. I’m just a guitar player who couldn’t find what he wanted when it came to effect pedals. I worked in music retail for over a decade and I played just about everything out there but there were still some things that I wanted that no one made. When I started learning about the electronics side of things I found out that it wouldn’t be that hard to make exactly what I wanted. After looking inside of a lot of boutique pedals, I also realized it wouldn’t be that hard to build to a higher quality standard either. It turns out that there are a lot of guys out there who wanted the same things I did.

WTDP?: At what point did you realize ‘Hey, I might be able to make a little money doing this.’?
Matt: Sometime in summer 2008. I displayed at a local guitar show and everyone was blown away. I made quite a bit of money there. I actually just quit my day job to build pedals full time.

WTDP?: Is there a stomp out there you wish you had made?
Matt: The Zvex Ring Tone. That thing is too much fun.

WTDP?: What’s on your workbench right now?
Matt: I’ve been meaning to start on an idea I’ve had for a dual analog chorus/vibrato pedal. I’ve got it figured out in my head, I’ve just got to find some time to hammer it out in real life.

WTDP?: You’ve got free reign to assemble your dream trio. If you’re on guitar, who’s playing bass and drums (alive or dead)?
Matt: Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell. I’ll never be Jimi, but at least I’d have his rhythm section.

Thanks Matt!