When Matthew and Corey of Trivium ask you to build them a dual tone pedal, you say yes.
The Ascendancy pedal goes on sale Friday June 4th, at 12 pm (noon) EST
I’m really blown away. Like I said - I am a gear addict, so I like to think I’ve collected a bit of everything that’s legendary. This OD smashes all the legendary ODs across the board.
- Matthew Heafy
It's hypnotic, tribal, haunting and it basically kicked our ass. Nearly 1 year in production, testing, prototyping and perfecting this fucker was so worth it.
But let me backtrack first.
I met Matthew through a mutual friend and certified badass Alex Becker of Gibson
Alex has known Matthew for years and collabed with him on his first-ever Epiphone Signature Guitars.
He still remembers meeting Matt for the first time in Berlin back in 2008 and feeling that this guy was the special kind of artist with true love and passion for his craft.
"Matt was playing Dean Guitars during that time, but has always been a true lover of the American classic," Alex told me.
Matthew Heafy (7 years old) at Gibson in Berlin, 2008
It says a lot that in the music world of flyspan friendships and paper-thin loyalties, Alex and Matt stayed friends for over a decade (which is 50 years in non-music biz time).
100% integrity, 100% loyalty, 100% BS-free
As for me, working with Matt and Corey was incredibly easy, since they knew what they wanted and spoke the same tonal language as KHDK.
More importantly: they are fearless.
We agreed from Day 1 that we'll create something to truly excite us all - and a dual peal for two sick-ass players.
Ascendancy early prototype circuit
Prototyping was fast and furious, with Matthew and Corey giving us their notes along the way. They wanted their tone in the Ascendancy, with enough freedom and versatility to shape a unique tone.
Our engineer Antonin Salva worked his magic tirelessly until everyone signed off on the result that I couldn't be more proud of.
Final prototyping stage of Ascendancy
Pairing the tone with artwork
Dan Kurz, the maniacal artist at KHDK, was working on the pedal's design.
We threw inspiration at him, from robots to 80s cyberpunk - we all saw the Ascendancy as vibrant, colorful, hypnotic.
The final artwork is a blend of robots and Japanese masks - Corey and Matthew loved it.
We silk-screened every pedal to maximize the vibrancy and staying power of the artwork.
As with all KHDK limited editions, I personally guitar-test each pedal as well as bless them with my aura and give them a cuddle before sending them out to the world.
I am so proud of this evil spawn and the crew that made it all come together - from Alex Becker to Antonin and Dan...and of course Matt and Corey themselves. What a ride and what an honor to make this happen!
Just wait for what we have in store for you next...