Not willing to wait around for a Prince or King of Tone from Analogman? Check out Harby Pedals’ newest stompbox.
Earlier in the year, I compared the two pedals above (Harby Centauri and Harby Noble Tone) over on Ultimate-Guitar. They both illustrate the many different definitions of “transparent” overdrive. But with the Noble Tone being a bit more unique than the Centauri, I decided it deserved more of a solo deep dive on here.
The Noble Tone is Harby’s take on the Prince of Tone from Analogman. Popularized because it is essentially one side from their legendary King of Tone pedal, it is much easier to get your hands on than a KoT, but still not super easy overall. Checking in at $155, the Noble Tone is comparable in price to the Prince of Tone, but you can go order one right now instead of waiting for a batch to hit the market.
Feature Set Looks Familiar
It does indeed, because it is the Prince of Tone feature set essentially. You get three modes of Blues Breaker-inspired overdrive, boost, and distortion. I’m going to be honest, I don’t hear much difference in overall gain between the overdrive/distortion channels. I think there is a bit more bass in the EQ of the distortion, that buffs it up a bit. But the Noble Tone, like the Prince of Tone, isn’t going to give you a ton of high gain sounds. Of course, standard volume-tone-gain knobs round out the important features to discuss.
I Really Like This Pedal…
Check out the demo below featuring my RWM Guitars Double Cut Tele Jr and Universal Audio Dream ’65 amp sim! Then read the rest of the review below.
I haven’t always been the biggest Blues Breaker fan. I even had a Prince of Tone and sold it for lack of use/need. But recent experience with this pedal and the Browne Protein have made me a convert to the transparent overdrive world. I’ve mostly used this pedal on my studio board, and you may have noticed it has popped up in lots guitar demos so far this year. I haven’t tested it with my band but I’m really loving the way this pedal sounds through my digital rig.
This Noble Tone isn’t anything groundbreaking, it’s tried and true in many ways. That definitely limits high how it can climb the end of the year rankings, but there is no denying this is an awesome overdrive pedal. Harby deserves major credit for making an accessible and highly functional drive pedal archetype that is in demand. If you’re looking a Prince of Tone, a Blues Breaker, or just transparent overdrive, this should be at the top of your list.
Quite frankly, the new Blues Breaker reissue is far too expensive at $250, buy the Noble Tone for $155 and thank me later. There’s not too much else for me to say here, it’s a relatively simple pedal. The biggest endorsement I can give it is that this is a go-to drive for me when it comes to all my recorded music. This has beat out my favorite tube screamers, my beloved BD-2, and several other boutique pedals in recent months. Don’t overthink it, it’s a nice Blues Breaker!
Grab your own Harby Pedals Noble Tone from Reverb or Amazon!
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