DSM & Humboldt upscale their Silver Linings format to create the Black Cloud Killer High Gains Distortion / Preamp

Readers will know that the DSM & Humboldt Silver Linings Drive / Preamp pedal was one of my very favourite pedals from last year - in fact one of my favourite ever Multi-Drives. It’s a winning formula for sure, and DSM&H in their wisdom have taken the exact same format and now loaded it with killer percussive high gain.

Near enough all the controls, topology and parameters of the Black Clouds are identical to the Silver Linings - with the exception of the second 3-way toggle switch which changes from a (Clipping) Style function to a Noise Gate (X-Gate) - that is obviously intended for delivering killer palm-muted djenty chugs. You can have it set to OFF, apply to BOTH Boost and Distortion sides, or just when the BOOST is applied.

Controls : Master Boost (Clean Boost +20dB), Level (Output), Gain (Variable Gain Bandwidth), Pre Boost (Gain Boost / Compression + 30dB), Mode : Normal (Transparent) / Preamp (Insert) / Mid Boost (+800Hz Mid-Hump Drive), X-Gate : Off / Both / Boost only, Treble [>2kHz ±15dB], Mid [300Hz > 2kHz ±12dB], Bass [<300Hz ±10dB], Pre Tone (Tilt / Balancing Input EQ). Engage Boost Footswitch (also independent), Engage Distortion Footswitch.

The workings and delightful outputs of the Silver Linings are second nature to me by now - so there was no question that I would not add the Black Clouds to my pedal-chain also.

It’s still early days - and there aren’t too many demos yet, but I’ve heard enough to know that it will make a great fit for my preferences. Everything from the input Tilt EQ, through Pre and Post Independent Boosts and all those different voicing options - with a super responsive and intuitive 3-Band EQ - mark this out as another very special pedal.

The design of these pedals is beautiful too - with glorious relief details on the facia. A really cool touch is that a lightning bolt motif below the product name glows and pulsates in time with your playing and the degree of clipping. Clipping LED’s have often been used for this kind of purpose - but never quite so elegantly as we see here.

Considering the extended feature set and the superior quality of fit and finish, not to mention the output, then the price is eminently very reasonable at $279 which translates to just £239 at Andertons - where in fact I acquired my own unit.

I’ve been really surprised that the Silver Linings hasn’t taken off quite as well as it should have done - and I will be doubly disappointed if I don’t see the Black Clouds on a tonne of pedalboards. DSM & Humboldt truly make magnificent and versatile, great sounding fully analog pedals with some super smart features.

Update! - So mine arrived the day before this article is due to go live - and this pedal is indeed everything I hoped it would be - fantastic high gain sounds - with proper thundering low-end! The X-Gate is a little odd - obviously fixed values which work well, while it would have been nice to have a touch more granularity in the cut-off! It really makes for a great pairing with the Silver Linings Multi-Drive!

I’m recommending both the Silver Linings and Black Clouds hard - is no one else onboard with these gems?