Delicious Audio Review: Seymour Duncan Twin Tube Classic and Twin Tube Blue

By Matt Rocker for Delicious Audio...Seymour Duncan’s Twin Tube series are tube powered preamp/overdrive pedals.  They come in three flavors: “Blue,” “Classic,” and “Mayhem.”  Each of the two-channel pedals are powered by a pair of mil-spec (Military Spec), subminiature (very small), USA-made Phillips-Sylvania® dual triode tubes.

The Seymour Duncan Twin Tube Classic - "Great for country, blues, surf, classic rock."

According to Duncan, “Too often, inexpensive tube gear runs in “starved plate mode,” where the tubes are not actually helping to create the distortion. The high-plate voltage and 100% vacuum tube signal path allows the tubes to operate at their fullest potential and provide maximum dynamic range. The means you get the most gain and all the smooth tone you expect from a high-quality tube preamp.”

I will second that. These pedals have a warmth and clarity I’ve not heard from any other overdrive pedals. I A/B’d the Twin Tube Classic and Twin Tube Blue against several of my favorite overdrive pedals (one was green, one was blue) on several different amps, and the difference was stunning.

Both Twin Tubes offer a massive amount of gain, even on the rhythm channel.  With a gain and a volume for each channel, you can get anything from a nice clean boost to a super-saturated overdrive.  You could even use them as a gain cut if you wanted!

I found the differences between the Classic and the Blue to be subtle. I didn’t get a chance to try the Mayhem, which seems like quite a different animal. The Twin Tone Classic features two 6021 tubes, while The Twin Tone Blue features 6111 dual triode tubes, the same used in the high quality Neumann m149 microphone. I would make the rough analogy that they differ as much as a 12AX7 and a 12AT7 respectively in your amp.

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