Joe's Pedals in the UK stocks the full range of True North Pedals - including the recently arrived Tweed Drive P.I.O. and Tweed Drive Junior
I meant to report on this a lot earlier - about how I love that two of my good friends have connected - and that those fantastic Canadian True North Pedals are available in the UK. I have two of those to-date - which I got direct from mr True North - Sheldon Ens - my Tweed Drive dates back to 2018, and I snagged the Rocky Mountain Fuzz a year later - when that came out - both fantastic pedals.
The Tweed Drive - wrapped in that signature Tweed Amp style fabric is a beautifully balanced and calibrated effect - which enhances its Amp-like profile further with a twin LED clipping switch, and a Fat Boost switch - where I mostly play with both of those engaged - for maximum harmonics and vibrancy.
Obviously the Tweed Drive is the flagship pedal - and there are several variants of that including a Tweed Deluxe edition with additional Northern Lights Boost, also a Junior version with just the 3 knobs, and a new hi-fidelity P.I.O. Edition (Paper in Oil Caps) - for even more nuanced playback.
The other two pedals stocked at Joe’s Pedals are the wonderfully raspy Rocky Mountain Fuzz, and the high-impact Lumberjack Octave Drive - which I always meant to get, but didn’t quite get around to pulling the trigger on that yet.
In any case the time is now ripe for another True North collaboration, as Sheldon is soon to reveal the fruits of a 2 year pedal project - I really look forward to reporting on that soon! True North Pedals are very well priced - with the range spanning from $199 CAD for the Tweed Junior to $359 CAD for the Tweed Deluxe. Or in UK Prices - £135 - £239.
It’s great that UK buyers have such direct and easy access to those pedals courtesy of the Joe’s Pedals Webstore.
The individual details follow as usual :
Tweed Drive - £149 / $215 CAD
Controls - Drive, Volume, Tone, Diode switch (Dual LEDs), Fat switch.
The original flagship pedal, while not the first to wrap a Tweed style pedal in that iconic fabric - it is however easily the best version of that to date - where the core vibrant amp-like profile is further enhanced by two smart toggle-switches - massively extending the range of the pedal. The True North Tweed Drive is still one of the very best takes on this format - and still really well priced!
Tweed Deluxe - £239 / $359 CAD
Controls - NORTHERN LIGHTS BOOST (Modified Treble Booster) } Volume, Range : Mid / Treb / Full, Order A>B / B>a, Boost Footswitch; TWEED DRIVE } Drive, Volume, Tone, Diode switch (Dual LEDs), Fat switch, Drive Footswitch.
Before this was the Tweed Deluxe, it was known as the Aurora Dual Drive. This very effectively combines the Tweed Drive circuit with True North's Northern Lights Germanium Treble Booster - to fantastic effect. You can switch the order of the boost - for maximum impact. That boost really complements the nature of the Tweed circuit.
Tweed Junior - £135 / $199 CAD
Controls - Volume, Tone, Drive.
Basically the same core circuit in the smallest possible enclosure - and minus the two toggle switches of the Tweed Drive. A handy format to have for sure - for when space is tight - I would still try to push the joys of the Diode and Fat switches - which are so satisfying. While if space and money are tight then the Junior version is a fantastic gateway into this circuit. Alas no demo has emerged for this pedal yet - I will update this boost as soon as it does!
Rocky Mountain Fuzz - £159 / $215 CAD
Controls - Volume, Tone, Fuzz, Select : Tone Bypass / Mid Scoop / Mid Boost / Gated.
A really distinctly textured / raspy fuzz with plenty of output shaping options. It's a kind of rough and ready fuzz in all the best ways - full of flavour! The handy Select rotary knob allows you to pretty expansively adjust the fuzz's output. And it's wrapped in a beautifully elegant Black & Grey tweed style fabric.
Tweed Drive P.I.O. Edition - £169 / $240 CAD
Controls - Drive, Volume, Tone, Diode switch (Dual LEDs), Fat switch.
A slightly more high-fidelity modification to the Tweed Circuit - making use of large military spec NOS Paper In Oil (PIO) Capacitors. These further enhanced the output of the circuit - subtly impacting on the output texture and dynamics. The only difference here is those large format vintage capacitors - everything else is the same as on the Tweed Drive.
The Lumberjack Octave Drive - £159 / $229 CAD
Controls - Drive, Volume, Gain : High / Low, Drive Footswitch, Octave Footswitch.
A really simple and elegant Octave Drive with minimal controls, but maximum impact - easily crossing into fuzz flavours on high gain. This is the only True North pedal that isn't wrapped in fabric - it should really have a red tweed style wrap - somewhat akin to the stereotypical lumberjack shirt - I would certainly be down for that!
Bonus Round
Sheldon has been working up a number of custom Tweed Drive designs recently - where I really like this fabulous greenish almost carbon fibre style finish - this is the perfect pedal to be a refresher on the Tweed Drive I acquired 6 years ago now!
