Warm Audio Unveils Two Game-Changing Overdrive Pedals: Tube Squealer and Throne of Tone
Get ready, guitar enthusiasts—Warm Audio has just dropped two overdrive pedals that promise to capture some of the most legendary gain tones in the history of guitar music: the Tube Squealer and the Throne of Tone. But here's where it gets controversial—are these pedals truly faithful to the classics, or have they modernized them beyond recognition?
Tube Squealer
The Tube Squealer faces the bold challenge of recreating not just one, but three iconic mid-gain overdrives within a single unit. With selectable voicings that cover the 808, TS9, and TS10 circuits, this pedal spans different eras of the classic Japanese designs that shaped guitar tones from the late 1970s to the late 1980s. And this is the part most people miss: these aren’t just nostalgia pieces—they’re versatile tools for modern players.
Originally, tube screamer-style pedals were designed to push tube amps already in overdrive, creating a smooth, singing sustain. They weren’t meant to serve as standalone distortions, but as boosters to enhance the natural tone of vintage amplifiers. However, players quickly discovered that with a clean amp, these pedals could produce a rich, mid-focused overdrive, making them incredibly adaptable.
Each voicing has its unique charm. The 808 offers the earliest iteration of the iconic overdrive, beloved for its warmer, slightly darker tone, often sought after by collectors. The TS9 is the most widely recognized version, appearing on countless tracks from the 1980s onward. The TS10, although less common, has earned a strong following among tone enthusiasts for its subtly different frequency response, which some argue suits modern music better.
Warm Audio hasn’t merely copied the originals; they’ve enhanced them for today’s players. A mix knob now allows blending clean and driven signals, giving precise tonal control, while a pickup-voicing selector optimizes the pedal’s response for single-coils or humbuckers. An external voltage booster can also increase headroom, letting the pedal maintain dynamic clarity before saturation kicks in.
Inside, the pedal is packed with JRC4558 op-amps, discrete transistors and diodes, and premium JFETs that preserve the signature character of the original circuits. The asymmetrical clipping design—a groundbreaking feature when first introduced—delivers the smooth, musical compression tube screamer fans love. The end result is a pedal that spans subtle amp breakup to full mid-gain saturation across three classic tones.
Throne of Tone
The Throne of Tone takes a different route, combining two of the most celebrated British amp-inspired blues circuits in a dual-sided pedal. Each side offers two classic voicings with low and high gain settings, along with three drive modes: boost, overdrive, and distortion.
Inspired by a legendary pedal, the Throne of Tone aims to replicate the sound of vintage British tube amps from the 1960s—those same amps that defined blues and rock tone. When cranked, these amps produced a harmonically rich overdrive, a sound that became a blueprint for countless guitarists. The real challenge has always been capturing that tone at practical volumes, which is where amp-in-a-box pedals shine.
The original circuit stood out for its symmetrical clipping, which closely mimics the natural distortion of tube amps. Unlike asymmetrical designs that alter the signal’s character, symmetrical clipping preserves even-order harmonics, giving the overdrive a warm, musical quality. This design inspired a wave of boutique pedals, each attempting to recreate that elusive "amp breaking up" tone.
Like its predecessors, the Throne of Tone excels in delivering British-style amp breakup, moving smoothly from subtle crunch to saturated leads without complicated menus—just straightforward external controls.
Each side includes an independent presence control (500Hz–2.3kHz) alongside the standard tone knob, allowing precise shaping of the upper-mid frequencies that define British amp character. A rear-mounted voltage doubler boosts headroom when needed, and 100% true bypass switching—including send/return jacks—lets players insert other pedals without interference.
Inside, the pedal is powered by 24 diodes and high-quality JRC4580 and TL072 op-amps, running two fully analog circuits. Every component is adjustable externally, so players can tweak their sound without opening the pedal.
"These represent two of the most iconic overdrive styles in guitar history," says Bryce Young, founder and president of Warm Audio. "We preserved the vintage-accurate tones and premium build, but went further by combining legendary circuit designs with modern, feature-rich functionality."
Both pedals undergo hand-testing and thorough inspection by trained technicians in Austin, Texas. The Tube Squealer is available exclusively at Guitar Center in the US and at authorized retailers worldwide, while the Throne of Tone can be purchased at all authorized Warm Audio dealers globally.
For more details, visit Warm Audio at https://warmaudio.com/.
