Review Demo - Subdecay Vector Analog Preamp

Subdecay’s Liquid Sunshine overdrive pedal helped put the Newberg, Oregon, company on the stompbox map in 2004. Since then, they’ve made waves with more adventurous builds like the Noisebox harmonic frequency generator, the Prometheus filter pedal, and the unique Super Spring Theory reverb.

Their latest creation, the Vector, marks a return to the company’s overdrive origins. But as Subdecay’s recent work might suggest, it’s more than another clone in an endless sea of distortion pedals. Instead, the Vector is an 11-voice preamp featuring an analog signal path and a digital control section. In essence, you get 11 dirt boxes in one small enclosure.

One Ice Cream Cone, 11 Flavors
The Vector looks cool with its very ’80s graphics and, for as much as the pedal can do, it has a simple and intuitive control layout. Under the pedal’s three standard overdrive controls—volume, tone, and gain—is a knob that lets you choose from the Vector’s 11 distortion and drive modes: drive 1, drive 2, crunch, vintage, fuzz 1, fuzz 2, meltdown, 1980s, 1990s, modern 1, and modern 2. In some ways, each of the Vector’s 11 channels could warrant a full review. So we’ll take a quick overview of the main sounds available.

While some of the Vector’s 11 channels take inspiration from classics, they aren’t clones. For example, drives 1 and 2 are inspired by the Tube Screamer circuit, although, to my ears, they are less transparent than my TS9. If anything, these channels are closer sonically to my Boss SD-1 than my TS9.

[gngng]

MIO as we call it. Made In Oregon. Great pedals, great herb, MIO. My favorite fuzz was and this box has my attention. Thank you.

[salmonline]

"A little goose feels good." - Demo Guy
"I completely agree." - Sam Geese

[Whos-That-Guy]

I keep expecting cookie monster or elmo to pop up behind the amp... Nailed the seasame street background perfectly.

[johnsabourin]

Meltdown was the one for me. Thanks for putting it out there. #keepitsmooth

[deanallen]

Nice one Jon, I might have to get one of these. Thanks.

[jojojiles]

Damn, dude went gray quicker than Leland in Twin Peaks. I'm not even trying to be mean, he looks good; the short haircut and gray hair really becomes him, still looks young. Straight silver fox.

[wavy]

Between bong hits, those hippies from Oregon figured out how to make a great pedal. And of course John, you make it sound, shall I say, dope.

[Dubnot]

If Raylan Givens from Justified did a guitar pedal demo...

[CarolusMagnus]

11:30 We won't get fooled again 😂

[DMSProduktions]

It says 'PRE-AMP', you're doing it wrong!

[RU-HDD--HVN]

11 is one more than 10 now goes to 11. That's one more than 10. ;^)

[deanallen]

1980 Sounds more like Rocky Horror. 1990 sounds more like 1975.

[sixfoursoul]

Just being honest, I just bought this pedal on recommendation, I saw nothing exiting about it, I palyed neext to a tube screamer then a blues driver, then an ocd, hoping that his one pedal could replace them all...not even close, my $ 35 donner pedal even sounded better. this turns to straight unusable fuzz fluff when turning past 2 oclock, cant see how this pedal is selling for almost $200 with not even an option to put a batter in it, not worth it in my opinion, and tbh it is VERY ugly looking, and wouldnt mind that IF it did what I need it to do, I sent mine back to me not worth the money.

[sonidojamon]

Feel sorry to say this but... Sound gets worse with each video. Turn that REVERB DOWN!!