Rowin Plexion Distortion Pedal for Guitar & Bass with Bright and Normal Mode True Bypass

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For example, one preset could be the fuzz and overdrive, while the second preset could be all three. The label Ultra Metal is justified by this pedal's built-in sweepable mid-EQ, which lets you boost or scoop your tone to your preference. It works in conjunction with the pedal's high and low EQ controls for shaping your tone. The DS-1 has a sound and feel that I describe as "real." It has a great way of distorting your guitar signal while retaining the characteristic sound of your guitar. Being analog ensures no latency whatsoever. It's comparable to a carburetor-equipped car as opposed to a fuel injection-powered car, to use an analogy - completely connected to your tone.

Its features are far from what you'd expect from cheap distortion pedals. It's a good entry-level dirt box for those who prefer their distortion levels tweaked high.There’s a magnetic flip-down compartment so you can swap out the battery without needing a screwdriver. Quite the time saver, particularly in the studio or on stage. As much as distortion pedals affect tone, other factors like your amp and skill level have to be factored in. So when comparing, you have to consider other gear used.

The Empress Effects Multidrive is the best distortion pedal for flexibility that is designed to deliver amp-like guitar tones. From the custom mode, you’ll still get a fairly similar tone to the standard mode, but everything is dialled up. There’s more punch, gain, and aggression. Terms you’re going to hear thrown around a lot when you’re looking for a pedal are: buffered bypass, hardwired bypass, and true bypass. These three terms describe what happens to your guitar’s signal when the pedal isn’t engaged.

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Main/Top Image: By Gearank.com using photographs of the MXR M104 Distortion+, Boss DS-1 and MXR M75 Super Badass.

On bright mode, it takes on familiar tones from the 80s with tighter palm mute tones and sizzling highs. The only issue? Boss discontinued the original pedal in 1991 and pre-owned models (particularly the Japanese manufactured versions) sell for an unusually high price tag. If you're looking for a classic distortion pedal that can do it all but still sound like itself, the RAT 2 is an excellent distortion pedal to try. Specifications KHDK Dark Blood is the ideal pedal for high-gain lovers as it works with a combination of solid-state and MOSFET technology, giving it a distinctly amp-like sound. The tones you get from the pedal are quite deep and richly articulate, with greatly aggressive and uncompromising dynamics. The Normal channel is by no means average by any stretch of the imagination, just adjust the gain, tone and volume dials to get the desired output and you will be amazed by its rich, full-bodied output that sounds just as good clean as it does heavily distorted.

We then narrowed down our scope and excluded other dirt pedal types like fuzz, overdrive and multi-effects pedals. This means that popular overdrive pedals like the Ibanez Tube Screamer Mini are not included. The best option depends on what you’re looking for. If you just want to plug in and get to playing, odds are you’ll be frustrated with a pedal that requires a lot of tweaking to get a good tone. Likewise, if you prefer having as much control as possible over your tone you’re going to want a pedal that will facilitate that. Most Op amp based distortion pedals are meant for plug-and-play use. But there are some with more tone shaping controls. Note that many guitar amps, including Headphone Amps, come with basic distortion effect. Some distortion units and compressors come with THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) control for more precise distortion. True bypass is where your guitar’s signal passes straight through a pedal unaffected. It essentially bypasses the components of the pedal to pass your signal through the next cable. A lot of guitar players prefer this because they feel like it makes their tone more transparent. However, this isn’t necessarily the case. The main effect that true bypass has is that it shortens the overall distance your signal travels before it reaches your amp. This can help your signal maintain high-end response. As the distance from your guitar to your amp increases you gradually start to lose high-end frequencies. This starts at roughly 18.5 feet, according to BOSS). However, true bypass doesn’t do anything to improve your tone. The current production model retains the original straightforward design. It has an Output knob for adjusting output gain, and a Distortion knob that adjusts the level of distortion. It goes from from crunchy to fuzz-like.

Boss JB-2 Angry Driver is a highly versatile pedal from the guitar effect pedal pioneers Boss. It combines two of the iconic overdrive and distortion pedals, BOSS BD-2 Blues Driver and JHS Angry Charlie, to equip you with everything from creamy blues tones to British high-gain modern distortion effects. Although a classic distortion pedal, it's not for those who want more control over their tone. It may not please those who want a more modern and defined distortion flavor. The MXR M104 Distortion+ is a practical plug-and-play solution if you want a distortion pedal that's simple, sweet and a true classic. Specifications Interesting, your synth outputs would be line level, are you using line level or instrument level pedals, do you use an additional device?

The RAT 2 is a surprisingly versatile distortion pedal with an unmistakable sound signature. It leans more to the "fuzz" side of the spectrum than many pedals featured on this list. The pedal is still capable of everything from light overdrive to heavy levels of distortion. Sure, it does the high gain thing incredibly well and that’s one of the reasons it’s so popular. And one of the reasons I bought one. There’s also a bass boost switch which works nice with single coils like strats or teles. And it works great with a clean amp or an amp that is already distorted. The new version has a toggle switch that gives you the classic HM-2 tone or a custom mode which just adds “more”. More of what exactly? More of everything. I was enamored by its simplicity, ruggedness, and sheer ability to mangle a pristine amp tone. This is a pedal I know well.