Strymon La Brea Analog Tape Drive

La Brea is an all-analogue tape saturation drive pedal, drawing on multi-stage tape saturation techniques to cover tones from mild breakup and clean boost through to full fuzz. Its tape-inspired circuit delivers natural compression alongside saturation and gain, suited to everything from crisp open-string arpeggios to dense, heavily driven textures.

Developed over more than a decade of experimentation with tape-centric techniques originally explored in the Deco pedal, La Brea is part of Strymon’s Series A range of pure analogue pedals. There is no digital processing, MIDI, USB or firmware involved.

A fully variable clean dry path remains phase-accurate with the saturated signal, allowing clarity, articulation and transient response to be retained at higher saturation settings. This can also help drive pedals later in the signal chain respond more naturally. The pedal’s operating voltage is internally boosted to 24V via a custom power supply, providing generous headroom, a broad gain range and quiet operation.

• All-analogue tape saturation drive inspired by the Deco pedal’s Saturation voices
• Multi-stage tape saturation ranging from clean boost and mild breakup to full fuzz
• Gain switch to set the range of the Tape Saturation control
• Shift switch with high-frequency boost or high-frequency boost with added midrange for extra fullness and clarity
• Variable clean dry path, always in phase with the saturated signal
• Internally boosted to 24V for high headroom and quiet operation
• Internal jumper selects the pedal’s power-up state, including automatic activation when power is connected
• True bypass
• Mono input and output

• Fully analogue circuit
• Dimensions: 11.51 cm deep × 7.19 cm wide × 5.92 cm high
• Power requirements: 9V DC, centre-negative, minimum 500mA
• Power supply not included

• 72 mm wide 115 mm high

PreAmp Distortion

Found Sound Australia Pty Ltd.
110 Albert St
Brunswick East, VIC 3057
Australia