Wampler Sovereign Distortion Pedal

Submitted by Mason Hoberg on Jan. 29, 2020..

91

GEARANK

91 out of 100. Incorporating 150+ ratings and reviews.

Gearank High Notes

2017.12: Highest Rated Distortion Pedal Under $300

Gearank Recommendation

The Sovereign appeared on our recommended list for Distortion Pedals from December 2017 until January 2020.

Overview

The Wampler Sovereign Distortion Pedal is a tweaker’s delight, allowing musicians to dial in a ridiculous variety of different gain tones and responses. The pedal owes this to its vintage/modern and boost/gain switch.

The vintage/modern switch allows you to select either a vintage or modern gain profile, as implied by the name. However, what makes this switch so valuable is how accurately it accomplishes what it sets out to do. It’s essentially like having two different pedals in one.

Interestingly, the Sovereign also includes a clean boost setting. Basically, this lets you use the pedal as a boost without any additional distortion. When used with tube amps, this creates more tube distortion without adding in distortion from the pedal itself.

Lastly, the pedal also comes with a mid contour switch. This switch changes the mid-range response of the pedal. Though the pedal doesn’t come with a full three-band EQ, the mid contour control does offer a lot of control over your tone.

Features:

Controls: Volume, Mid Contour, Tone, Vintage/Modern, Boost/Gain, Gain
Analog
True Bypass
9-Volt Adapter/Battery
Special Features: Vintage/Modern and Boost/Gain Switch
Used By: Brad Paisley

The Wampler Sovereign was on our recommended list until we restructured the relevant guide to only include pedals under $100 in January 2020 - we are still recommending it even though it's no longer in the guide which is now called: The Best Cheap Distortion Pedals Under $50 & $100.