Aclam recreates Pete Townshend’s “clear fuzz dirge” tone with the Windmiller Preamp

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Aclam has announced the new Windmiller Preamp pedal, designed to mimic the Grampian 636 Spring Reverb units Pete Townshend used with the Who in ‘66 and ’67 to help crank and saturate the tone from his Marshall amps.

While the Grampian was intended as a studio reverb unit, Townshend used the built-in preamp of the 636 to fatten his tone and boost the guitar signal, bypassing the reverb altogether. He claimed in a Guitar Player interview that it gave his tone a “clear fuzz dirge.”

After getting its hands on an original Grampian, Aclam set out to recreate that “dirge” – and more. Finding the combination of the Grampian, an old Marshall stack and single coils to be “magic,” the company noted that the vintage unit was less impressive when paired with other amps and pickups, specifically humbuckers.

And so Aclam has imbued the Windmiller with an extended frequency range as well as EQ controls. They’ve also refined the treble response by adding a Hi-Cut control, allowing players to add a “sweet sparkle to muddy humbuckers or tame brighter single coils,” as well as a Lo-Cut knob to control bass content.

Additionally, Aclam has eliminated the original’s ever-present “hiss,” crafting a quieter circuit with true bypass switching.

The result, the company says, is a versatile pedal that can be used as an “always on” preamp with a beautiful color, a booster for solo parts or a tool to saturate and enhance an amp's natural overdrive.

Aclam plans to launch a Kickstarter for the Windmiller, but in the meantime, head to Aclam Guitars for more information.

This isn't the first time Aclam has recreated a sought-after '60s tone – the Barcelona-based company also aped The Beatles' Vox UL 730 sounds with the Dr. Robert Overdrive.