Double Dumble in a Box - Cornerstone Gladio Dual Preamp | Secret Weapons Demo & Review (2024)

it's crazy how every time I manage to be the first comment

This is by far the best demo of this pedal. No endless wanking just tones and explanations. Bravo!!

I borrowed the Gladio from a friend and had not heard of it. It absolutely blew me away and I had to have it. So now I do! I’ll never let it go.

Man… everything that I wanted to hear out of this pedal you demoed. Great video, thank you!!!

*Generic angry comment about Robin Ford and King of Tone*
Always great content!

One thing that I haven't heard anyone mention about the Gladio is the internal slider that engages clipping diodes in series with channel 2. A lot of people liked channel 1 so much that Cornerstone came out with the SC. Engaging the diodes makes channel 2 sound less harsh since you are hearing more than just op amp clipping. You still get distinctive sounds between the two or you could dial them in a similar fashion but with different volume levels etc.

Love my limelight man! All thanks to this channel !

Really great demo. First you got a lot of great tones but also I appreciate reviews/demos that take the gear in a different direction from the standard use.

Whoa, that’s something special indeed! It just seems so dynamic & responsive

Just bought this pedal and 2 others because of your demos. 👍🏽

Such a nice pedal and very useful with those two channels. Love it.
Thanks for the video!
Subscribed to the channel

There's more blues in your playing than you realise, mate.
The blues is everywhere.

Love your videos man, you're a great songwriter!

Great video as always!

Your review and demonstrations perfectly encapsulate my admiration for this pedal and some of the other dumble overdrives. I am not a blues player, I too have no knowledge of Robben Ford, Larry Carrollton, or most Dumble users outside of maybe John Mayer who I’m not a major fan of but respect.
I believe it was this demo that finally inspired me to purchase the Gladio. Every demo I had watched previously was simulating SRV, Mayer, and other blues style guitarists, yet there was something about this pedal that I found inspiring. I love overdrive pedals that feature a lot of articulation and compression without sounding muddy and the left side of the gladio excels at this. The right hand side features a unique coloration that emphasizes midrange which I seek out as a fender twin user, but I tend to not like the drive of most tube screamers save for some of the modded topologies. It adds bass and mid range while maintaining clarity.
I actually have a free the tone steel singer and an mxr shin Juku drive on the way as I’ve gone down the Dumble rabbit hole and cannot afford most amplifiers that are out to simulate the dumble sound, so pedals are really my only means of doing so unless I decide to sell a guitar or two and take the plunge which I may very well do one day.
Anyways, thank you for providing reviews that highlight the strong points of a pedal and not being afraid to highlight weak points, and many thanks for providing a modern sound that appeals to more than just classic rock/blues adjacent guitarists. I get annoyed when I can only find demoes of gear I want in the standard Hendrix/Mayer/SRV aping style or metal adjacent style. I hope to one day start my own channel, I’m good at writing but need to sharpen up my playing and make my room more presentable.

Wow. That intro song was epic!!!

Hi - the intro song sounds amazing ... also good video!

Very cool pedal

Yes, Robben Ford is a huge influence on a lot of players. But a pedal is for everyone, whomever finds it useful and great sounding. Using players as references can greatly influence a buyer or bias another to not purchase it based on these comparisons. Conundrum but, sounding like Robben Ford, SRV, or John Mayer seems important, for understandable reasons, to so many based on pedal review commentary. For Mark here, It's refreshing to see this review and hear "I don't know who Robben Ford is". Me, I've never heard a John Mayer solo and he is more often the pedal example guitarist these days. That's fine, even they are "chasing tone" like all of us and in the end it's about what the pedal offers and how much joy it could bring to our playing.

Any pedal can be a typical design for a certain sound. That being said, the more you use it you’ll find that it can do more. If the tone inspires you, it’s a keeper. I like the fact that you played your style and not trying to be a Robin Ford or SRV lol. Love both guitarist’s but other guitar players also want to do their own thing. Great job!

I love my drive pedals, but I think I could do with just my Limelight and Longsword on a board and be just fine. You are 100 percent right about it being better than the KOT, lol.

I have the Gladio SC and love it! The only thing that might kick it off the board would be the original gladio.

“Definitively not the blues” lol, well said.

Bro.....get with it and listen to Robben Ford. His early interviews and lessons are the best. But his playing is way iver the top. Sooo many top players are influenced heavily by RF. I am a drummer of 40 years here in NorCal just south if you and I watched him live at Yoshi's in Oakland in 97.....wow
You will not be disappointed.....dig deep

I absolutely LOVE the Gladio. I recently got one about a week ago and it has me rethinking my board entirely. I had some serious GAS for drive pedals for a while now, and have too many drive options on my board. just trying to find the right ones that suits my tonal needs, but after the Gladio im finally content. Between the Gladio, Toxic Twins, and RYRA The Klone I honestly dont need any other overdrives and took off most of my pedals off my board. I keep The Duelist on my board as an extra, but its unnecessary . I am bummed that Cornerstone discontinued the Gladio to make way for their SC version and the Imperium, but im so happy i was able to get one after longing for one since 2020. I highly recommend people get the Gladio before its too late (well in the new market anyway). I love using it in single channel mode with channel one as a slight breakup/edge of breakup tone then channel two a higher gain setting and hitting the Gladio with a Tubescreamer and/or Klon type of circuit is glorious for leads.

Great playing and wonderful review. Subscribing for more. Do you review and play bass as well?

Wow.

@34:22 haven't heard that riff in a LONG time....
Lip Gloss and Black
"Aren't you tired of being weak?
Such rage that you could scream
All the stars right out of the sky"

So the right side is a zen drive in the left side is a Timmy two of my favorite petals in one!

You had me at intro! Love this pedal! Hey Mark, how much of these jams are improvs ? Or are they written prior to recording?

I don’t mean to expel the idea of a “double preamp”… I’d just love to see you do a review on the Strymon Riverside, also just for the sake of doing such an incredible review as you clearly do with all pedals I’ve seen you review so far.

At first I thought you were joking when you commented on not knowing Robben Ford. I thought every guitar player regardless of age or taste at least knows him. I strongly recommend for any genre player to listen to Robben for lessons on tone and feel. That said, Robben’s work is super diverse, ranging from Joni Mitchell / Jazz to more traditional blues, rock and just great guitar music. Then again, I’m a diverse player and music listener.
Sorry, couldn’t help but comment, but thank me later. Lol.

Funny thing about “the Dumble sound” is that there isn’t such a single sound - all Dumble amps are different. BUT - when people talk about that sound, they’re really referring to Robben Ford’s Dumble.
Great demo as usual!

Where can I get that MK lll Compressor?

Assuming there are Robbin Ford fans is the same as assuming there's....I dunno, Stevie Ray Vaughn fans, because they are about the same popularity and same skill level.

Not about the Gladio, sorry, but are you having to flip the phase on one of the UA pedals? I heard the Dream and Ruby are out of phase from one another.

Shia LaBeouf doesn't like the king of tone WAAAAAAAT?

MArk, Mark, mArk. I don't know you.

Wow. That intro song was epic!!!