Twice As Nice

FENDER DUAL MARINE LAYER REVERB AND DUEL PUGILIST DISTORTION

- Paul Riario

ONCE YOU DISCOVER the bevy of stompboxes Fender has brought to the effects party since 2018, you may wonder, where was my invitation? Well, I say it’s never too late to get in on the action, because two of them — the Marine Layer Reverb and the Pugilist Distortion — seem to have noticeably struck a chord among many players in the know.

But now Fender has decided to take a “more the merrier” approach to this shindig by releasing the Dual Marine Layer Reverb and Duel Pugilist Distortion. Both duplicate the original pedals’ control sets (combined with unique options and special features) for two independent settings or voicings that you can footswitch between in a single dual-format stompbox, proving it’s much better to double your pleasure.

FEATURES Both stompboxes come in a lightweight anodized aluminum housing with Fender’s standout fitting of LEDbacklit knobs that illuminate brightly. Like the original, the Dual Marine Layer Reverb offers the same Hall, Room and Shimmer reverbs selected via a three-position “Type” mini-switch; but you can now set up separate reverb channels (Reverb A and B) using the two sets of identical controls for Damping, Time, Mod (chorus modulation) and

Level, and engaging the “Reverb” footswitch to toggle between those presets. There’s no stereo out for the DMLR, but the novel “Sustain” momentary footswitch and its knob is a thoughtful inclusion for ambient prolonging of the reverb’s decay time.