Is "hope metal" a thing?
The Augustine clean boost v2 by westminster effects
"The desire for fame tempts even noble minds." - Augustine of Hippo, "The City of God"
Click the photo and watch the full demo on YouTube
St. Augustine of Hippo: author, theologian and often considered to be the father of Western Christianity. So why is his name on a guitar pedal and why is there a hippopotamus in the artwork? The answer is a bit more comical than serious but the pedal itself is pretty serious business.
What's going on my friends?! Sean here. I'm so happy to get "Stompbox Saturday" back under way! And I'm also happy that the return episode features one of the latest pedals from one of my favorite small builders: Westminster Effects.
Cody (owner, President, and chief "doer-of-all-the-things" at Westminster) has become a great friend. Anytime I get a pedal from him I not only find myself looking forward to a good time but also a Wikipedia-induced rabbit hole of theology and research. Cody, like myself, is a Christian and his faith and theological nerdiness plays a large role in his branding. And this trend continues with the Augustine Clean Boost V2, his take on a "cult classic": the TC Electronic Integrated Preamp.
Look forward to spending AT LEAST $500 for one of these...
Thanks to a combination of YouTube influencers and its use by metal pioneers Meshuggah, the TC Electronic Integrated Preamp is seeing a surge in popularity. It was only a few years ago that vintage units were easy to find and reasonably affordable. Now, you'll be lucky to find one under $500...IF you can even find one at all!
As the pedal industry often does, small builders have taken it upon themselves to replicate the circuit for the modern player. Some clone the TC unit outright while some add their own "secret sauce" to the classic recipe.
The Augustine V2 follows the path of the latter...
The Augustine Clean Boost V2 is a boost pedal INSPIRED by the TC Electronic Integrated Preamp.
It is not a direct clone. It is not a replica. It is a pedal that take cues from the original and does its own thing.
It's probably a good idea now for you to take a break and WATCH the demo...
Although it has the same controls as the TC unit I cannot say with full certainty if the Augustine V2 sounds like the Integrated Preamp. What I can tell you is the ability to shape tone with the Augustine V2 is fantastic! So many sounds can be had from this box that it's sure to inspire MANY guitarists, no matter what genre of music they play. I'm particularly fond of the amount of "Sample Tones" I was able to put in this video, many of which came about through pure "dumb luck". Case in point: the "Hope Metal" setting (you can find it starting at 9:40).
Stoner & Doom Metal have very distinct guitar tones, characterized by detuned guitars and loud, saturated and fuzzy guitar tones. Though they also don't lack for clarity or punch. During one of my first rounds of exploration with this pedal, I just wanted to see how far I could push things. My favorite Les Paul was tuned down a bit lower than in the video and I just hit one LOOOOOOOOONG and droning power chords. The sustain, the saturation and the rumble was just awe-inspiring! So it begs the question: does this pedal make "Hope Metal" a thing? I mean, as a Christian you are meant to have faith and believe...which then in turn inspires Hope, not Doom. So if anyone wants to weigh in on that, leave a Comment on YouTube or hit me up on the Contact page.
So why the hippopotamus? Well, St. Augustine came from a region called Hippo. No really, that's why.
But why his name on a clean boost pedal? For that answer, I will give the floor over to Cody whose answer speaks for itself...
"...Augustine has influence(d) so much of church history, including the Reformation 1000 years after he lived...you could say he BOOSTED it a tad."
*insert slightly audible groaning*
All this is great and all but I really enjoyed making the video. This pedal works SO WELL for my style of playing and I'm very happy that I have one. I know that many other folks who love heavy riffs and hard rock or metal will bond with this pedal too.
Until next time friends...Happy Stomping!
SPJ