First came the Philosopher's Tone and now we see the arrival of the Pigtronix Philosopher King. Now shipping, the Philosopher King is a compressor, sustainer, distortion, and polyphonic amplitude synthesizer in one.

Not only does it combine the Philosopher’s Tone circuit with a new envelope generator, the Philosopher King adds a whole lot more to the lineup with a full set of ADSR controls, including swell, fade, hold level, speed range, One-Shot mode, selectable auto reset, CV I/O, and expression pedals for swell and fade times.

With the Swell and Fade functions switched off, the Philosopher King provides transparent optical compression with endless sustain on tap, notes Pigtronix. Adjustable compression (ratio), sustain (threshold), and treble (2K cut / boost) controls allow you to customize and fine-tune your effects. Philosopher King boasts the ability to deliver clean, powerful optical compression, from a subtle dash of added punch to massive, over-the-top howling sustain. In addition, its grit control blends in a layer of harmonic distortion that complements other gain pedals and amplifier-generated tube distortion.

The unit's swell function provides a pick-triggered volume swell effect, while volume swell can be reset by muting or it can be held open by continuous playing. According to the manufacturer, this "slow gear" type of effect is smooth and controllable with variable timing from extremely fast to very slow.

The fade function can be used independently of the swell and is also pick triggered. A significant new feature of the decay cycle in this pedal is the ability to fade out from peak level only partially, bringing the audio down to a predetermined level set by the hold control. The hold level is then maintained until you release the note to close the cycle. With the auto reset turned on, the cycle will begin again immediately, creating undulating amplitude modulation and even pulsating tremolo stutter effects at faster decay settings. With the auto-reset turned off, the you can determine the exact timing for the beginning of the next cycle.

Another feature new to the Philosopher King is One-Shot mode, which causes the unit to run through the swell / fade / hold / release cycle regardless of what is played after the cycle is triggered. In this mode, the Philosopher King creates complex waves of amplitude modulation on top of the music coming from your instrument. A trigger input jack allows the swell and fade functions to be controlled by an external source.

Pigtronix Philosopher King features:

• Optical compressor with sustain
• ADSR envelope generator for guitar
• Polyphonic (works with chords)
• Grit control for F.A.T. distortion
• 2K treble cut / boost
• Expression pedals for swell and fade times
• Pick triggered volume swell
• One-Shot mode and Auto Reset
• CV in / out
• Trigger input for external rhythm source
• Pigtronix 18 VDC adapter included
• Circuit design by Howard Davis
• True bypass
• Chassis size: 7.4" x 4.6" x 1.5"

The Philosopher King is now available. For more information, please visit Pigtronix at pigtronix.com.