Wampler Phenom - short opinion

[KingsXJJ]

While nicely built and looking cool, this pedal took all of 10 seconds to evaluate. Perhaps I am just spoiled but I would not recommend this to even a beginner.

Being transparent, I use distortions in to a clean or cleanish tone which may greatly effect ny evaluation or perception. Those wanting to feed an already overdriven or distorted tone may feel completely different.

My take is that the bottom end is too loose and the high end is unexciting. Having three frequencies to tweak is certainly nice but for me it’s not enough to salvage the underlying character of the pedal. Frankly, I expected more from Wampler and was happy to see this cool design at this price point. Perhaps others disagree but that’s cool too. Just my opinion but it was strong enough that I also passed on the Triumph.

 

[KingsXJJ]

 

[Los-D]

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Haven’t tried the Phenom , but I bought the Triumph used cheap online and it’s pretty decent. Basically an SD1 and bad monkey in a pedal. Input impedance is a bit lower than I would like, but works well for specific things (like 70s Prog Rock).

Didn’t like the Phenom tones on YouTube btw

 

[KingsXJJ]

Haven’t tried the Phenom , but I bought the Triumph used cheap online and it’s pretty decent. Basically an SD1 and bad monkey in a pedal. Input impedance is a bit lower than I would like, but works well for specific things (like 70s Prog Rock).

Didn’t like the Phenom tones on YouTube btw

Nice to know, thank you. How do you feel the lower impedance affects your tone? Darker perhaps?

 

[Los-D]

Nice to know, thank you. How do you feel the lower impedance affects your tone? Darker perhaps?

While engaged, yes. At least it’s true bypass when off. It has internal dip switches that supposedly help with brightness so I haven’t played around as much yet, but even with the dip switch enable the SD1 side sounds a bit darker than a standard SD1 (still sounds good though).

 

[KingsXJJ]

While engaged, yes. At least it’s true bypass when off. It has internal dip switches that supposedly help with brightness so I haven’t played around as much yet, but even with the dip switch enable the SD1 side sounds a bit darker than a standard SD1 (still sounds good though).

Great info. I can imagine the three band EQ is quite useful for creating a flexible boost/SD-1. Do you typically use humbuckers or single coils? In either case, how to you set the EQ? My first instinct would be to boost the mids, boost the highs just a bit less while cutting the lows a tad. I’ve used one of these for that and it works pretty well. There’s no overdrive involved of course but the ability to boost and EQ is still useful and sweet. Third from the left, the Carl Martin Tone Tweaker…

 

[newholland]

i havent played one but i was kinda shocked in demos at how little throw the gain seemed to have.. seemed basically kinda on and.. on?

is it really like that IRL?

 

[Los-D]

Great info. I can imagine the three band EQ is quite useful for creating a flexible boost/SD-1. Do you typically use humbuckers or single coils? In either case, how to you set the EQ? My first instinct would be to boost the mids, boost the highs just a bit less while cutting the lows a tad. I’ve used one of these for that and it works pretty well. There’s no overdrive involved of course but the ability to boost and EQ is still useful and sweet. Third from the left, the Carl Martin Tone Tweaker…

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I usually use the SD1 side (punch) with humbuckers and the BM (Smooth) with my Strat. I dial in the Punch side exactly how you mentioned: add more treble, crank up the mids depending on the Guitar or the tone I am chasing, don’t touch the bass (or lower it slightly), add gain. I felt the Punch w/ buckers didn’t have as much gain, and it was more rounded or smoother, but still a good tone (vs SD1).

 

[KingsXJJ]

I usually use the SD1 side (punch) with humbuckers and the BM (Smooth) with my Strat. I dial in the Punch side exactly how you mentioned: add more treble, crank up the mids depending on the Guitar or the tone I am chasing, don’t touch the bass (or lower it slightly), add gain. I felt the Punch w/ buckers didn’t have as much gain, and it was more rounded or smoother, but still a good tone (vs SD1).

Very cool to know, thank you!

 

[JasonE]

Man, all I can say is different strokes for different folks. I bought the Triumph a couple of years ago and like it. That really piqued my interest for the Phenom. I ended up scoring a deal on one. I like it as well. I tend to use it with the gain set lower into a clean amp. I think both of these pedals are great value for the money. I could easily play a gig with just these two pedals for dirt. They sound great on their own and stack pretty well. I can't remember off the top of my head if the Phenom has internal switches too. I remember that I did change those in the Triumph. I think I ended up with them set opposite of how they came.

 

[KingsXJJ]

Man, all I can say is different strokes for different folks. I bought the Triumph a couple of years ago and like it. That really piqued my interest for the Phenom. I ended up scoring a deal on one. I like it as well. I tend to use it with the gain set lower into a clean amp. I think both of these pedals are great value for the money. I could easily play a gig with just these two pedals for dirt. They sound great on their own and stack pretty well. I can't remember off the top of my head if the Phenom has internal switches too. I remember that I did change those in the Triumph. I think I ended up with them set opposite of how they came.

That’s great you like it! Regarding your mention of internal switches, the Phenom has 5 internal trim pots that “tune” the distortion tone. Wampler says not to adjust under any circumstances. LOL! If I had known that I likely would have tuned it to my liking and kept it! Oh well, my bad for not diving a bit deeper with it. If you do decide to adjust these, I’d be very interested in what they do… 5 trimpots sounds like there’s a lot of tweaking available for sure!

 

[KingsXJJ]

The Tweaker in me wants to try another and go to town on those trimpots. I imagine they are some combination of pre-gain EQ (hopefully high and lo pass filters), gain sensitivity, gain structure and/or possibly post gain (resonance and presence would be lovely).

Anybody have any information on this? Could be a wild ride for sure… dang it. I guess this is why we post and share.

 

[KingsXJJ]

Here’s what I have so far:

Trimmer Adjustments Can Twist Funky Pedals Back into Shape

Aisha Loe explains how to cure mushy modulation with a screwdriver—but you need to know what you’re doing.

www.premierguitar.com

 

[JasonE]

The Tweaker in me wants to try another and go to town on those trimpots. I imagine they are some combination of pre-gain EQ (hopefully high and lo pass filters), gain sensitivity, gain structure and/or possibly post gain (resonance and presence would be lovely).

Anybody have any information on this? Could be a wild ride for sure… dang it. I guess this is why we post and share.

I remember the trim pots in there now. I wouldn't touch those unless you know exactly what they are for. I know that they are used a lot for biasing components like transistors in some drive pedals. If you get the bias out of whack it could make it sound horrible and you may need some equipment most people don't have to get it back to something like it was.

@2112 did a demo video for both of these pedals. Jay Leonard J also did a video on them. You can hear what they were able to get out of them for tones on those videos.