The original white-and-black Wampler Plexi Drive was one of those boutique pedals that I tried out and loved many times, but for one reason or another, I never bought one. Part of that was the price tag, but there are also a lot of other pedals out there that offer low-to-mid gain Marshall "crunch", and I owned/own a ZVex Box of Rock and Ramble FX Marvel Drive at one point or another (both quality alternatives, by the way).

But seeing a mini-pedal version of the Plexi Drive was enough to entice me to pull the trigger. My first impression was being suprised at how physically small the pedal actually is. I've owned dozens of mini-pedals in this Hammond mini case format, but something about seeing it with the Wampler name on it was still shocking. Especially considering that Gain, Volume, and Tone knobs are quite robust, and the two additional mod switches are jammed quite close to the tone knob.

In fact, if I have one gripe with the Plexi-Drive Mini, it would probably be that the pedal just feels small for the sake of being small - at times to its detriment. Whenever the Bass or Mids switch is in the position closer to the TONE knob, I almost have to use my fingernail to move it over to the other position. Also, Wampler includes little rubber mini feet, but mini pedals usually have the more stable solid rubber back. For all the rage about cramming additional pedals onto precious pedalboard real estate, that doesn't actually happen with mini pedals unless find the right patch cables and plan very carefully.

All of that aside, the pedal sounds great, and nails the classic Plexi Drive tone I remember. My favorite thing about this boutique drive is the sense that it's very hard to make it sound bad. It will sound different into different things, but it can cover a lot of musical territory, and adapts well.

I really like what Brian did with the the MIDS switch here. No, it's not exactly a Klon/Tumnus circuit built into this tiny chassis, but a mids/treble focused boost meant to emulate the sound of a Klon-style pedal driving a Marshall amp. In addition to shifting the whole gain structure, I found the pedal a lot more expressive with the MIDS switch on, and its a neat addition that arguably gives this "mini" pedal added versatility over the original Plexi Drive that became so popular in the early 2010's.

The BASS switch is a little more divisive - some reviewers felt that it was unnecessary and too muddled. But I tried it on a smaller combo amp and actually appreciated that it was there. Think of it as a different cabinet simulation to give you a "bigger" perceived sounds with lower volumes or smaller speakers.

The Plexi-Drive Mini adapts - and arguably expands upon - a classic Wampler drive pedal. It nails one of THE classic amp sounds for blues, rock, and other genres, and is built to last.

Sounds very much like my Marshall yet it's far smaller.... and cheaper. Very very good pedal.