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Writer's pictureNate Wagner

IRON: Classic American Tone

When the Pettyjohn IRON was created it was designed to be amp-like and have it’s own character while still being able to stack and work well with other tones. The IRON was built to give life to your tone but not be in the way. Designed to inspire the likeness of your guitar and the character locked inside your fingertips. We believe the IRON is the perfect American “Black Faceplate” amp tone. When pushed it sags, getting squishy on the bottom and top of the pedals incredibly huge dynamic range, without losing that glassy “Deluxe” tonal response we all know and love.




Here are three ways that we enjoy dialing the IRON in on our boards.

1. Stack It

Set the Clipping Toggle to the middle position (LED) and place the IRON after the rest of your gain-stage pedals. The IRON will provide a full-range, warm amp-like character to your other drives and distortion units without masking their unique purpose on your board. The IRON was originally the left side of the Pettydrive, it was purposed to be a stacked-with unit in the first place. Leaving the gain somewhere around 9-12 o’clock for this setting is the best.

2. Add Some Dynamic Dirt

The other two positions on the Clipping toggle (MOSFET or Asymmetrical Silicon) saturate a lot more as the Gain knob is pushed. However, the dynamic touch response of the IRON isn’t lost as the Gain is increased. This provides a world of tonal character from just your fingertips or a lighter pick attack. When using these clipping modes place the IRON closer to the front end of your gain/saturation pedals.

3. Second Channel

Plug 18 volts of DC power into the IRON, Set the clipping mode to LED and place the IRON at the end of your pedalboard’s signal path (This works perfect with a 60’s style Fender amp) and use the IRON as a second channel for your Master volume Tube amp. Running the IRON at 18V provides 36V of internal headroom, this means you can run it like a preamp to change the character of your amps tone without an overall tone suck or loss of dynamic response. We have even heard of Pettyjohn Artist/Players using the IRON with their acoustic or bass guitars this way, too!

There are numerous other ways to dial in the IRON’s huge tonal palate. Get your hands on one today by visiting our online store. If you have any questions on the IRON or any of our Tone-Tools, reach out!

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