Strymon La Brea Analog Tape Drive

Strymon's engineering team spent over a decade refining multi-stage tape saturation circuitry originally explored in the company's Deco pedal, resulting in the La Brea Analog Tape Drive – a wholly analogue overdrive and fuzz platform that layers variable dry signal with saturated output, both paths remaining perfectly phase-coherent. The pedal employs pre-emphasis and de-emphasis filtering borrowed from magnetic tape deck topology, smoothing transients and gluing note clusters together whilst preserving the articulation needed for arpeggiated passages or lead lines. Internal voltage regulation boosts operating headroom to 24 volts, enabling everything from transparent clean boost through to heavily compressed fuzz textures depending on gain switch position and amplifier interaction.

The Tape Sat control governs saturation intensity across two gain ranges selected by a dedicated switch, with the high position pushing the circuit into fuzz territory characterised by smooth, progressive clipping rather than brittle harmonic distortion. A three-position Shift switch applies either flat response, high-frequency lift for added sparkle, or combined high-midrange emphasis to help notes cut through dense mixes. The Dry control sweeps from zero to +6dB, blending unaffected signal with the saturated path to maintain dynamic response and transient clarity even under heavy drive – particularly useful for stacking with downstream pedals that rely on strong attack information. Separate Level and Dry controls allow independent adjustment of saturated and clean outputs, with true bypass switching and a JFET buffered input handling instrument-level signals.

Part of Strymon's Series A collection of pure-analogue designs, La Brea operates without digital processing, MIDI, USB connectivity or firmware – the entire signal path remains in the analogue domain. An internal jumper configures power-up behaviour, enabling automatic bypass disengagement when voltage is applied, simplifying integration into complex multi-tier pedalboard or rack-mounted rigs. The pedal measures 11.51 cm deep by 7.19 cm wide by 5.92 cm tall and requires a 9-volt DC centre-negative supply capable of 500mA minimum current delivery.

Features

• Multi-stage tape saturation drive circuit derived from Deco pedal topology
• Dual-range gain switch selecting normal or high saturation intensities
• Three-position Shift filter: flat, high-frequency boost, or high-mid emphasis
• Variable dry path from zero to +6dB, always phase-aligned with saturation
• Internal 24-volt regulation for extended headroom and low-noise operation
• True bypass switching with JFET buffered high-impedance mono input
• Independent Level and Dry controls for parallel signal blending
• 9VDC centre-negative operation requiring minimum 500mA current supply