You might recognize the name of Dirty Boy Pedals. Founded in the 1980s by Alex Saraceno, father of noted session guitarist Blues Saraceno, Dirty Boy Pedals is a boutique stompbox manufacturer. The hand-built Dirty Boy pedals promise huge, authentic vintage tones and have been used by Linkin Park, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bon Jovi, Journey, The Waterboys, and Black Eyed Peas. In 2024, the company was acquired by musician and designer Danny Gomez and manufacturing operations shifted to Spain.
Gomez partnered with Two Notes Audio to offer digital replicas of the classic analog circuits. The brand has focused on reissuing classic models while retaining the original “raw soul” and hand-built quality, alongside introducing digital versions through the Two Notes Genome platform. Originally developed in collaboration with Two Notes, the SilverBOY TSM-Ai™ virtual amp was inspired by the Dirty Boy Tube Amp Emulation Preamp design from 2018. Musician response was so strong that Dirty Boy decided to make an analog version. Dirty Boy used the behavior, response, harmonic content, and power feel of the virtual TSM-Ai™ amp to shape the tone, then rebuilt it in analog form.
New from Dirty Boys Pedals is the SilverBOY which has the unusual distinction of being the first analog preamp pedal that was inspired by a digital virtual amp. SilverBOY is a fully analog preamp and amplifier simulator and can be interfaced in three ways—for direct stereo line use as an all-in-one amp simulator, as a high-detail preamp for your amp’s FX loop, or as a tube-like drive/boost pedal for a guitar or keyboard amp. SilverBOY pedal controls feature a Variac Simulator, 2×12 Cabinet Emulation, 3-Band EQ, Preamp Out, Emulated Out, Stereo Line In with level control, and Headphone Output. It features a true bypass switch and will pass signal even in the event of power loss.
Visually enhancing the pedal’s “bad boy” image, the SilverBOY looks like it was built in someone’s garage as a custom one-off experimental piece. The rough and tumble industrial look with crooked stickers is a no-frills deliberate statement in a crowded field designed to make it stand out. Even the serial number is handwritten in Sharpie. The pedal looks intriguing, and you can’t help but wonder what it’s going to sound like.
In practice, SilverBOY is a powerful and versatile preamp with an extensive amount of sounds available. The range of gentle breakup, edge, and distortion is touch responsive and goes from subtle to severe. The interaction between the Variac and the gain control is highly interactive with the ability to dial in bite, punch, bloom, tube-like sag, and raw harmonic crunch. And the lo-mid-hi controls let you fine tune the frequency response for exactly the tone you are looking for. With the three different connection options, all this makes SilverBOY much more than just a stomp box preamp.
“SilverBOY was born as (binary) code. Now it exists as hardware. It’s the first time we’ve built an analog circuit from a virtual amp—reversing the whole industry’s direction,” said Danny Gomez, Dirty Boy owner. At $476, it’s not an entry level stompbox, but not unusual for a handmade boutique pedal. Highly recommended.
