The HW-2 is a collaboration between Oneder Effects and Bo Lueders of Harms Way. Bo’s guitar sound in the studio and live on stage spans from high-gain amp distortion to chainsaw-infused brutal metal tones, and we believe we’ve covered all the bases in this pedal. The left side is a distortion that is very amp-like and built for high gain, sculptable with 4 bands of powerful EQ. It’s voiced to sound and feel like a mix of the heaviest hitting amps in metal, punk, and hardcore. The right side is a boost that is flavored like an HM-2 EQ, without the distortion that can sometimes muddy up your gain structure. This channel is controlled by the SAW knob, which is equal parts an eq blend and gain control, giving you anywhere from a slightly mid-rangey gain boost to tighten up your signal and add more chug, to a full bore chainsaw slamming into the front of an amp. Both channels are independent, so players can use the boost into whatever distortion or amp they desire, or run the distortion side of the HW-2 on its own. While the HW-2 was developed with a clean amp as a platform in mind, Bo uses his HW-2 live through the dirty channel of his amp for gain on gain on gain! Harms Way. 2 channels. HW-2. Get it?
Controls:
BOOST SIDE (right, comes first in the chain)
Saw Knob: Increase both the gain and EQ blend of the boost. Fully CCW is unity with no real tonal change. The more you turn it up, the more level and chainsaw-style EQ is blended in. *Note: there is an internal trimpot inside this pedal that can be adjusted very careful with a small screwdriver. This affects the highs and high mids of the saw sound. Factory, it comes set at 3:00, which we found is the best position for a gnarly sound without adding too much high end when engaging. Turn it down if you desire a bit less of a traditional HM-2 thing and more of a standard boost, but keep in mind there is a lot of low end heft still on tap!*
DISTORTION SIDE (left, comes second in the chain)
Sliders: Volume, Gain, Bass, Mids, and Treble. Set these like you would your favorite heavy amp. Oh yeah, they light up when the left footswitch is engaged!
Presence Knob: Fine tune the top end to find that sweet spot or reduce any harsh noise. Works on the distortion side only.
Features:
-Light-up Sliders
-Heavy Duty Metal Knobs
-Clickless Relay Bypass Footswitching
-Chicago-inspired artwork by Jesse Augustine
-9V DC Center Negative Isolated Power ONLY