Hagerman Reactivator brief review: more than a good sound

Small guitar pedal and hardware manufacturer Hagerman Amplification has announced the release of its new “Reactivator” overdrive pedal. A distinctive feature of the novelty is the presence of an “old-style” overdrive with two transistors and two triodes.

The name of the pedal “Reactivator” is no coincidence. The fact is that the “Hagerman Reactivator” got its name after the “reactivation” method. This method has been used by old lamp TV repair technicians to restore the brightness of faulty lamps. The “Hagerman Reactivator” overdrive guitar pedal uses the same method to amplify the guitar signal by an average of 20-30 dB.

The electronic circuit of “Hagerman Amplification” is based on two transistors and two triodes. All these components form a single 12AU7 circuit. A distinctive feature of the signal processed with this circuit is a large range of tones and a clear increase in sound gain.

The Hagerman Amplification team took care of the functional part of their new product. The “Hagerman Reactivator” guitar pedal has four controllers on the front. The “Level” controller at the top, which adjusts the output volume and the “Drive” controller. The “Treble” and “Bass” controls are a two-band equalizer. There are two footswitches at the bottom of the front side. The left footswitch turns on the effect and the right footswitch boosts the signal. There is a bright LED indicator in the center. The “Hagerman Reactivator” guitar pedal is equipped with convenient mounts for mounting on a pedalboard.