Cornerstone's IMPERIUM (demo/review)

[CoolGuitarGear]

No affiliation to the company.

IMPERIUM is one of those pedals that will have you tweaking and experimenting for hours, working as a drive at the front end of a clean amp (or dirty, depending) or as a preamp. It integrates two popular pedals by Cornerstone, the Gladio (Robben Ford style Dumble) and the Antique (John Mayer Trio-Screamer). Included with this review are three short demos, the first of which is in front of a clean preamp that goes over basic settings, along with an intro number. The second video also is in front of a clean preamp and is a composition using various settings different from the first. The third is another composition with various settings, but in preamp mode (bypassing the clean preamp I typically use). You will note that when placed in front of a preamp (which has an additional gain stage), the tone is more brazen and modern sounding. As a preamp, the warm characteristics come through far better. (More review after the videos below).







The Antique (Screamer) side has a host of possible settings. There are the typical Volume (unity at 50%), Gain, and Tone knobs (which controls low mids). Typically, many Screamers have that fat mid-hump and slightly boxy/nasal sound. The Antique side of IMPERIUM has a Mid-Cut toggle (which I didn’t use much), but also a Presence knob, both of which allow you to dial into that clarity and bite. There’s also a Compression toggle, which is set low when flipped down, or more compression flipped up. Although the Antique can be added to the Gladio side of the pedal, it operates independently, so that you can combine this with another drive, distortion or preamp pedal when not using Gladio.

Gladio (Dumble) has a lot of character, from pretty darn clean to a thick crunch. At 40% rotation, the Volume knob is at unity, but the more you turn it up, the more gain achieved, even if not increasing the Gain knob. This is great for dialing in just the right amount of push. The Tone knob produces a flat signal at 12-noon, with the left half described as ‘warm and round,’ and with the right half leaning more toward ‘edgy and brilliant.’ Again, plenty of tone possibilities. The Clean knob brings in a lot of character, as it mixes the clean input back in the dirty at the output (overdrive sound does not decrease), which adds bottom end and restores dynamics on note attack. You start with the knob at ‘zero,’ then slowly increase until you feel the pick attack and to one’s taste. And because Gladio works independent from Antique, you can add other drive pedals pedal with Gladio.

Stacking these two sides then offer more possibilities. With the Stacking Switch up, there is a more subdued result, with Gladio feeding into Antique. For a more energetic outcome, and with the Stacking Switch down, Antique feeds into Gladio, producing a more ‘traditional’ outcome. For cleaner rhythms, picking, etc., I prefer the switch up, but for harder-driving rhythms and lead, I prefer the switch down.

I will state that I never tried other drive pedals stacked with both sides or with Gladio on its own, nor Antique with other preamps, etc. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been enjoying IMPERIUM on its own and while developing the included videos and compositions with this review. This is one great ‘rock’ machine, and perhaps not meant for ‘heavy’ or metal music, it certainly gets you very close to that territory. I suspect a bit of EQ will get you even closer. Furthermore, be aware that I’m reviewing version 1 of IMPERIUM, whereas v2 is available. With great sound quality, IMPERIUM comes highly recommended, requiring only 100mA power.