Beryl EVR

*The first batch of orders placed on 4/11 will be shipped between 4/23-25. Thank you for your understanding.

This OD/DS, released as Leqtique - Beryl in 2018, was undoubtedly the most versatile effector in Leqtique's past works. It has four main roles: Clean (Preamp EQ) - Low Gain OD - Medium Gain OD - Medium Gain DS, and can be adjusted steplessly. In environments where you need to choose one unit to produce all kinds of sounds, except for environments where you need ultra-high gain such as 9/9-10/10-11/11, the Beryl EVR or RED EVR is definitely the best choice.

The RED EVR has a stronger treble than the Leqtique - RED, which makes it slightly closer to the Beryl, but I still think its greatest strength is its medium-high gain distortion sound, so although it is certainly versatile, it is also very different, including in terms of the difference in tone.

Originally, the Beryl had a two-stage gain stage that was variable and connected depending on the setting of the Gain knob, with the first stage using a vintage clipping diode to produce an extremely smooth overdrive sound reminiscent of the MAR, and the second stage using a green LED with a high threshold as a clipper, adding wild, rough-grained distortion as the gain range increases.

Although more than half of the constants in the circuit of this Beryl EVR have been changed, there is no significant difference in the target sound or variable range, but the distortion component added as the gain of the second stage is increased has been adjusted to a slightly more open and rough sound. This modification brings out the clear and high-centered sound that is inherent to the Beryl.

As time goes on, the number of transparent effects has increased, but the common usage is to push the gain slightly with Preamp/EQ/Boost(+) rather than distorting the sound by itself. The Beryl EVR, like the original Beryl, completely covers that range, but emphasizes the individuality and usefulness of distortion by itself, with a modern sound image.

Among the Leqtique products, which tend to have a dark sound, the Beryl and 11/11 are models that were designed with a strong awareness of the significance of treble/presence from the very beginning, and although they are somewhat different, if you want a single unit that can handle a variety of tasks smoothly, but also want a unique tone in each gain range, then this is the best choice among EVR products.

Shun Nokina

About the "EVR" concept

Since 2019, I have been based in Europe and have been involved in the design of several pedals, but Leqtique pedals have been essentially on hiatus without releasing any new products. However, by temporarily relocating to Iceland in 2024, I was able to get some great inspiration, and I have continued to design all of them as an update package called "EVR".

"EVR" means EVRU: Europe in Icelandic. The letters strongly express the idea of ​​feeding back and embodying the inspiration and experiences gained in various parts of Europe over the years as a base or commuter. Leqtique pedals originally embodied a strong longing for Europe, such as the color of the paint and the darkness of the sound, but now they are clearly embodied as a more realistic experience.

Leqtique pedals have not been updated for 15 years, but we have completely reconstructed the case, all components, concept, etc. from scratch. For example, the case, which was a one-piece machined aluminum case, was only designed as a general "box" with a wide tolerance, but it is a special design that can only be used with Leqtique EVR pedals. By reconsidering the advantages of being "one-piece", the material that was only aluminum has been divided and integrated into three sections: a functional aluminum base case, a cosmetic layer made of non-magnetic stainless steel, and individually machined parts, and constructed by integrating them, paradoxically making a big change to the diversity and consistency of the design of the "machined case" and the limitations of the material choice. As a result, most of the case that was painted with acrylic paint has been replaced with anodized aluminum, achieving durability that is incomparable to the past, and by making the upper layer out of stainless steel, the rigidity of the entire pedal has been significantly improved, and from a cosmetic point of view, the shine of the stainless steel gives the hand-painted parts a deep three-dimensional feel that has never been seen before. In addition, for ideas that are difficult to produce even with a multi-axis CNC machine, they solve the problem by creating parts individually and integrating them. In particular, the internal parts, which the team calls the "Slider," are deliberately made in a different color from the pedal concept, and the Gavitt cross wires that have been used since the brand's early days are individually shielded, elevating Leqtique's characteristic neat wiring from two-dimensional to three-dimensional.

On the other hand, the power section is undoubtedly the most important point in the core design of the pedal, but I have been using battery snaps from Keystone, a leading brand, for many years, but the highest quality ones were discontinued, and this was the part that I was most concerned about.... However, when rebuilding everything from scratch with the EVR concept, I wanted to mount the battery itself as a section, rather than a snap, which may break the wire over time. This ideal was embodied this time. Keystone's "Model 91" has not changed much in material or design from the vintage type, and in the sense of strongly holding a 9V square battery and outputting a strong power signal, combined with the separately designed VPTP board, it has evolved to a much higher level than the original Leqtique pedal format.

Most of these updates are related to the "inside of the pedal", and even though we've mentioned the high-quality parts, it's actually something that you don't really notice when you're playing and enjoying the pedal, but the question "why?" was one of the major themes that drove this update package. My answer is that the "poor access to the inside from the back cover" was one of the major factors, so I spent a long time thinking about and designing the back cover and fixing structure. In the end, I developed it from the traditional four-point plus screw structure to a structure that can be fixed with two small knobs made of polyamide reinforced with carbon fiber, manufactured in the UK. These small knobs have a torque that allows you to tighten and loosen them with your thumb, but if you don't have much opportunity to access the inside, the slits are sized to fit coins or picks from various countries, so I hope you can tighten them up with those.

This is the easiest design to open and close the inside of the pedal to date. This is my final answer, as I have been obsessed with the inside of the pedal. Future new Leqtique pedals and updates to previous models will include many features such as internal trimmers, so I believe this update will definitely have a big meaning. There is also a strong message: "Try opening the inside of the pedal from time to time. You will definitely love this pedal even more." Each of the custom items and secret parts collected from all over the world has a story... (more details in the blog below)

※Leqtique original Beryl instruction manual