PAUL LANDERS PL1 SIGNATURE FLY RIG | REVIEW

Paul Landers PL1 Signature Fly Rig

MSRP: (UK) £469 / (US) $475

The fire and fury of Paul Landers' virile tone are immortalized in the Tech 21 PL1 Fly Rig. Paul Landers has been a long time user of Tech 21's SansAmp guitar gear—notably the PSA and GT2—since the beginning of Rammstein's monumental career. "I've always been a no-amp guy," Landers says of his low-carry, laser-focused industrial guitar sounds heard on "Du Hast" and other hits. The Paul Landers PL1 features two distinct channels of SansAmp emulation, a host of essential FX, and 1/4" and XLR outputs, all at a size you can easily tuck under an arm in transit. Nick Jennison tells us more.

In previous editions of Guitar Interactive Magazine, we've looked at a number of Tech 21's excellent Fly Rig units. These little strips of tonal goodness offer guitar players all the tones they might need to get through a gig with minimal fuss and the smallest possible footprint.

As a rule, these pedals are crazy versatile despite their minimal control set. With the Paul Landers PL1 Signature Fly Rig, this is not the case. This hyper-specialized tonal toolkit is laser-focused on the crushing and creepy tones that define Lander's work with Rammstein.

It's a relatively simple beast, with a two-channel SansAmp amp sim, a boost for poking through a mix, a delay that doubles as a vibrato, two choices of ambience and a tuner. There's no fluff, no menus, just a highly streamlined palate of devastating industrial tones.

The SansAmp is the heart of the PL1, offering two channels that occupy the extreme ends of the gain spectrum. "Wasser" is cleaner-than-clean, with a compressor to help keep things fat and present, while "Feuer" is a murderous mid-2000s "Dual Rec" tone that sounds absolutely massive. If you're looking for tones that sit somewhere between these two sounds, you're bang-bang out of luck - but again, if you're interested in this pedal, you're probably not looking for the perfect Klon clone.

There are independent high and low controls for both channels, along with a mid control on the "Feuer" channel, and these are very powerful without ever veering into "un-musical" territory. There's also a mid-shift switch for that "Master Of Puppets" vibe and a bite switch for even more aggression.

The boost is a straightforward, clean boost that comes after the SansAmp stage - it'sthere to offer you more volume for solos, lead lines or anything that needs to pop out of the mix. The punch switch emphasizes the midrange for extra cut, which is crucial in a dense metal mix.

The effects section is pared down to the fewest possible options without being restrictive. There are two different sized "ambience" settings for adding a little airto your tone - if you're used to hearing these sounds in a stadium, these subtle reverbs will get you that vibe in a smaller room. The delay is a clean digital delay with a tap tempo that's ideal for leads, swells and song outros, and can be swapped out for a creepy sounding vibrato that's perfect for more sinister moments.

In reality, the PL1 is as sonically specialized as it gets. You get crushing riffs, sparkling cleans…and that's it. If you want spongy lead tones or edge-of-breakup purr, this isn't the pedal for you. But if you want massive slabs of metal and shivers-down-the-spine creepy cleans, the PL1 will satisfy your darkest urges.

For more information, please visit:

tech21nyc.com