An Overview of Nordvang Custom's killer 1590B3 Classic Overdrive + Boost Trifecta - Altitude, Mid Air, and Skyline
So this particular Nordvang Custom Trio / Trifecta brings to mind another recent brand revamp - in terms of the somewhat similar King Tone Curved / Recessed Series of pedals that I featured back in April. Those are also extended range versions of Blues Breaker, Tube Screamer, and Timmy, while I feel I somewhat prefer Henrik Nordvang’s take on those classic circuits.
Unlike the King Tone trio - each of what I will be referring to as the Nordvang 1590B3 Series (Hammond Enclosure Designation - 77 x 116 x 38 mm) - has an independent Boost Channel onboard, and 7 main controls versus the 5 of the King Tone pedals. Admittedly King Tone cleverly make their further voicing dip-switches 1|2|3|4 externally accessible - which is something I would quite like to see on future Nordvang iterations - indeed a policy which Xotic Effects also follows now. While I feel overall Nordvang has got the formula about right here and delivers a better set of core controls.
These are not just extended-range takes on those circuits - they also very specifically ’handle’ the weaknesses of those vintage classics - whether to do with general lack of output volume, a limited tone-stack, too much compression, or the nature of clipping and core frequency controls.
Nordvang’s build quality is legendary, as you can see in the below Outside/Inside visual. And Henrik prides himself on using only the very best Through-Hole Components throughout - including Vishay metal film resistors, WIMA audiophile capacitors, Taiway switches and Pure-Tone jacks. And NO electrolytic capacitors in the audio path!
There’s a few brands now that favour the 1590B3 format - which sits in-between 1590B and BB variants. It’s the perfect format to fit all the jacks you need at the top, and to leave plenty of room for an expansive set of controls, alongside easy-to-access dual footswitches.
In my usual way, I've tried to fit all the pertinent details you need to know about into the visuals, and especially the individual visuals below - which cover those significantly impactful internal dip-switches also , including a Buffer switch.
Henrik had done 3 very specific extended-range takes on each of those circuits - with the perfect complement of controls and most appropriate tone-stacks. Note that that the position of the Boost Footswitch varies to indicate where in the circuit that function sits. Just look to the corresponding Boost and Boost-EQ controls for guidance.
All 3 pedals featured are priced at the same level - which is - $347 | €322 | £272 | $477 CAD | DKK 2399 : all prices are exclusive of VAT / Taxes - so European and UK residents will need to add those to the totals. Judging from UK Dealer Peach Guitars - the final retail price for UK residents is £369, which is matched by Looper Paradise on the continent who price theirs at €369.
You can get your 1590B3 varieties direct from the Nordvang Customs Webstore in Denmark.
Or via the following dealers :
UK - Peach Guitars
USA - Cool Guitar Shop
Australia - Pedal Empire
Canada - Electric Mojo Guitars
France - Guitars Rebellion
Germany - Loopers Paradise
Japan - Tone Blue
Norway - Vintage Gitar
Singapore - Jmave Guitars
South Korea - Tone Kitchen
Sweden - Malmö Muski Affär
Here below I cover some of the individual specific of each of those 3 circuits.
Altitude Overdrive + Boost (BluesBreaker)
Controls - Gain, Tone, Clarity (Highs Refinement / More Brightness), Boost, EQ Boost : Full-Frequency / Low-Mids / High Mids, Clip : 6 Diodes / Open / 4 Diodes, Level, Boost Footswitch, Drive Footswitch.
Internal Dip-switches - 1|2 : 1 High Gain On | 2 Lows Boost On, Buffer : On / Off
It's actually not that long since Marshall reissued its classic 1992 BluesBreaker pedal. That has always somewhat suffered from a low output - pretty much everyone who owns one runs their Volume on Max, and it then still isn't really enough. I'm not a nostalgia freak - so I was not one of those who rushed to empty his wallet over direct replicas of those somewhat flawed originals.
Henrik has taken a somewhat more surgical approach to the circuit to help get the most out of this format. As a result, the Altitude tackles all those issues with aplomb and extends the usefulness and versatility of this well-loved circuit.
I'm really rather taken with this 1590B3 trio, while not necessarily the biggest Timmy fan, but certainly I enjoy a decent BluesBreaker and Tube Screamer - and have several of those variants in the reference collection.
I can see myself owning one or two of these in due time. I really love what Henrik has done with this format - and we've come a long way from those original large-format Nordvang Custom pedals. The 1590B3 Series features the highest levels of quality, which should go a long way towards justifying the somewhat high-price of admission. Owing to the complexity and nature of these builds, these pedals are actually really well priced - while I cam imagine they would be fairly steep for many.
Mid Air Overdrive + Boost (Tube Screamer)
Controls - Drive, Air (Highs Refinement / Cutoff), Tone, Level, Lows : More / Neutral / Most, EQ Boost : High-Mids / Low-Mids / Full-Frequency, Boost, Drive Footswitch, Boost Footswitch.
Internal Dip-switches - 1|2|3|4 : 1 Output Boost On | 2 Clip On | 3/4 2 x Sym Diodes | 3/4 3 x Asym Diodes Less Positive Comp | 3/4 3 x Asym Diodes Less Negative Comp | 3/4 4 Sym Diodes.
I sometimes feel that I'm done with the Tube Screamer format - so many of that type have crossed my path over the years - while this is far from you typical Screamer.
The main 4-way 1|2|3|4 internal dip switch allows you to boost the output [1], Turn on further Clipping [2], and set 4 different clipping preferences via the up/down positions of dip-switches #3 and #4.
I would have thought the Altitude was more likely to get an Output Boost - as the BluesBreaker format is one in particular that can underperform on the ouput side. The ability to ameliorate the Mid Boost and adjust the Compression Character via the clipping options - is what really makes this pedal.
I have several 'Screamer Not Screamer' pedals in my collection already - where you can take out most of the mid hump and compression - and render a much more open classic overdrive voting.
The clever control topology here really lets to you bend the Screamer profile more towards your own preferences. When you play a Screamer into a clean pedal platform rig like mine - then the character of the Drive really comes out - while if you follow Andertons formula with a lightly cooking amp - then you're simply just rendering your Tube Screamer as a headroom boost - and the outputs will tend to sound quite similar.
I love coming across Tube Screamers which can sound nothing like those original OD-1 soft-clipping derivatives - and this is surely another for that camp!
Skyline Overdrive + Boost (Timmy)
Controls - Gain, Lows, Tone, Level, Saturation : Highs±, EQ : High-Mids / Low-Mids / Full-Frequency. Boost, Drive Footswitch, Boost Footswitch.
Internal switches - 1|2|3 Dipper : 1 Clip On | 2/3 2 x Sym Diodes | 2/3 3 x Asym Diodes | 3/4 5 x Asym Diodes | 4 Sym Diodes, 1|2 Dipper : 1 Lows Boost On | 2 Mids Boost On.
I own a few Timmy Pedals - probably the fewest of the classic overdrive genres - I never really gelled with that format for whatever reason. I really did not like the inverted Tone Controls, and found that the circuit over-compressed for me with the Clipping Switch out of the natural Mid Position.
Possibly this is finally the Timmy to tame me. I know a lot of my friends love this format - and own both Vemuram and early Walrus Audio variants of said circuit - while I've gravitated much more towards Blues Driver, Dumble ODS, and Klon sounds generally.
The top dip-switch certainly offers some help with the compression side of the pedal, and there are some robust EQ elements which help raise this profile further, and make this format more versatile.
I'm always fascinated by how certain engineers target some circuits. You of course have lots of options for all 3 of these types - most obviously again as per the recent King Tone trio. Those received somewhat mixed blessings - largely to do with the changed shape of the enclosures - while most agree that the recessed knobs are pretty cool.
I would love to see the decision trees for how each of these pedals came about and evolved - and what were the musical touch-stones and reference points along the way - besides John Mayer. Every circuit engineer will tackle these circuits quite differently and target different aspects of the output profile.
It would be great to get my hands one or two of these eventually - where proabably the Altitude would be my frontrunner in this selection.
How about you dear readers - which one of these takes your fancy?
