Description
The Strymon La Brea Analog Tape Drive is an all-analog drive built around the behavior of tape saturation, taking an idea first explored in Strymon's Deco and turning it into a dedicated gain pedal. Its multi-stage saturation circuit can move from subtle warmth and compression through breakup, heavier drive, and into full fuzz. There is nothing digital in the signal path, and the circuit runs internally at 24V for plenty of headroom, a broad gain range, and quiet operation. If you've used Deco primarily for its Saturation side, La Brea gives you a more focused way to explore that concept.
Tape Sat determines how hard you're driving the saturation circuit, while the Gain switch changes the available gain range. The Shift switch provides two approaches to the upper frequencies, either a dedicated high-frequency boost or a high-frequency boost with additional midrange content for a fuller response. Level sets the overall output, and the variable Dry control blends your unaffected signal back in.
That combination makes La Brea useful in more places than a conventional overdrive. You can use it lightly for some tape-style compression and warmth, blend dry signal into a saturated rhythm tone for extra definition, or push the circuit until it starts behaving more like fuzz. We like that Strymon kept the concept focused here. Three knobs and two switches give you meaningful ways to shape the saturation without turning a fundamentally analog drive into something complicated.
Specifications:
- Controls: Tape Sat, Level, Dry
- Gain Switch: Selects the Range of the Tape Saturation Control
- Shift Switch: Selects High-Frequency Boost or High-Frequency Boost with Added Midrange
- Dry Path: Fully Variable, In-Phase Dry Signal Blend
- Internal Operating Voltage: 24V
- Input: 1/4" Mono
- Output: 1/4" Mono
- Bypass: True Bypass
- Power: 9V DC, Center Negative, 2.1mm
- Minimum Current Requirement: 500mA
- Dimensions: 4.53" D x 2.83" W x 2.33" H
Sku: LABR
