
KMA - Guardian of the Wurm - Metal Distortion With Noise Gate
KMA - Guardian of the Wurm - Metal Distortion Pedal with easy-to-use Noise Gate and additional controls
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Metal Distortion With Noise Gate
KMA Audio Machines - 'GUARDIAN of the WURM'

inspired by classic tones of the
1990's swedish metal movementThe KMA GUARDIAN of the WURM combines the powerful evolution of KMA’s well renowned WURM Distortion with a simple, yet versatile and ultra-fast Noise Gate, making it the perfect metal monster. From chugging hard-rock, droning doom metal to grinding Swedish death metal, the WURM delivers. Using its highly tweakable control set, the pedal can be tamed to offer impeccable clarity to your riffs, making this the definitive dirt pedal for metal, prog-rock, shoegaze, indie and more.
at a glance
• An evolution of KMA’s renowned WURM, the most extensive HM-2 style unit on the market
• Highly configurable 4-band Active EQ, with variable centre-frequencies
• Easy-to-use, yet high-performance Blackmer® VCA-based Noise Gate
• 3 distinct types of HIGH MIDS frequency controls, to tailor your tone
• Handmade in Berlin, Germany
Iconic 'Chainsaw' Tone!

crushing saturated distortionKMA kept the legendary active HM-2 dual band EQ section found on the orignal WURM, but included two additional bands, giving a much wider range of tones to shape your chaotic and gritty distortion sound. Each band now has a dedicated centre-frequency control on the front of the pedal, so you can quickly and easily shape and fine-tune your tone.
The EQ-STYLE mode found on the front of the pedal, allows you to carve out even more tonal variation. Selecting HM-II mode will get you that classic ‘chainsaw’ high-mids character. In KMA mode the EQ is a slightly more tonally balanced, less peaky and a little wider in response. Selecting BOTH fattens and doubles up the tone stacking, allowing you to crank the LOWS and the HIGH MIDS and tear down walls with the most aggressive tone on the planet.
Additional Grit

Complex HarmonicsTo alter the extent of drive compression, you can select between 3 different clipping styles. Silicon (Si) delivers the original compression, for rich harmonics and singing leads. Asymmetric (A-S) increases the headroom and gives you extra grit by retaining complex harmonics, while the OFF position lifts the sound of the Diodes for a slight compression and increased clarity, ideal for baritone guitars or bass.
The Clean Blend feature also helps preserve your natural core tone. Just twist the BLEND control to mix in the original unprocessed signal, so the initial pick attack of your tone can breathe. It is also very useful when running the GUARDIAN of the WURM into an already distorted high-gain amp.
Simple Noise Gate Built In

Extra ClarityTo tame the potential noise floor, KMA designed a complex, yet easy to use Noise Gate. This is based on a high-performance Blackmer® VCA and provides lightning fast and precise performance. Just set the Threshold to taste using the GATE control and enjoy the silence, clearing up those faster palm mutes and decaying notes.
For even more tweakability, there is an internal DIP switch to change the trigger-source from pre- or post-Distortion or even pre-Noise Gate. Pre-Noise Gate comes from the added a TRS FX-Loop that works between the Distortion and the Noise Gate sections, so you can add whatever fun noise-making pedals you like to between them. You can also use this feature to place the Noise Gate section in your amplifier’s FX-Loop. You can also use the EXT TRIG jack to hook up to your source of choice.
Controlled Chaos

Terror Vs TameIn extreme settings, the WURM can start to generate feedback, which even a noise gate cant stop. To tame the higher frequencies, flip the internal dip-switch to activate the input filter to further smoothen things out. KMA also added relay-based soft switches and also two different activation modes to accommodate the needs of different players.
“Independent mode”allows both sides of the pedal can be switched on and off independently using the TERROR or TAME switches respectively. In “Synced mode” the whole pedal is switched on and off by the TERROR switch. In this mode the Noise Gate can also be switched in and out of the circuit as you wish. Changing between modes is really easy to do. Just hold down both switches while connecting the pedal to the power supply, and you’re good to go.
The Tech Spec
Features | Specification | Digital/Analogue | Analogue |
---|---|
Power Source | PSU |
Voltage | 9v |
Controls | Gain, Master, Gate, Blend, Clip Style switch, EQ Style switch, 4 x EQ knobs, 4 x EQ faders |
Connections | Input (6.3 mm jack) Output (6.3 mm jack) 9 V DC power supply connection (coaxial socket 5.5 x 2.1 mm - negative pole inside) FX Loop (6.3 mm jack) External Trigger (6.3 mm jack) |