gear giveaway

Distortion Pedals

Fender Hammertone Distortion

The Fender Hammertone Distortion is one-ninth of the new affordable line of pedals released by the electric guitar giant in early 2022. The US company's 2018 Pugilist distortion was very well received (and it's currently on top of our article about the best distortion pedals) but we don't know if…Click on the title for more

Fender Hammertone Distortion

Mosky Black Rat Distortion

The Mosky Black Rat Distortion is a very affordable mini OEM RAT clone, it uses the same LM308 Op-amp as the original. It also comes with “vintage” and “turbo” distortion voicings. You'll find identical models by Eno, Mosky and Donner. We added it to our article about the best Rat…Click on the title for more

Mosky Black Rat Distortion

New Pedal: Retro Mechanical Labs 432k Rev2 Filter/Distortion/Fuzz

It's hard not to gasp at the sight of the Retro Mechanical Labs 432k Rev2 Distortion, a beast of a filter+distortion+fuzz pedal with enough controls to entertain even the most efficient knob fiddler for years! The circuit consists of two signal paths: A distortion circuit followed by an active hybrid…Click on the title for more

New Pedal: Retro Mechanical Labs 432k Rev2 Filter/Distortion/Fuzz

Overdrive vs Distortion vs Fuzz: What’s the difference?

Click on the links for our coverage of recently released Overdrive, Distortion and Fuzz pedals. For the beginner rock guitarist, a gain pedal is, in most cases, the third item on the gear-related shopping list (after a six-string and an amp). But, considering the wide choice of stompboxes out there,…Click on the title for more

Overdrive vs Distortion vs Fuzz: What’s the difference?

EarthQuaker Devices Special Cranker

The EarthQuaker Devices Special Cranker is an all-discrete, analog distortion from everyone's favorite Ohio-based pedal builder, based on the discontinued Speaker Cranker, a one-knob overdrive now selling used for about twice the amount of this new, 3-knobbed pedal. The Special Cranker is designed to give players a way to do…Click on the title for more

EarthQuaker Devices Special Cranker

DemonFX Prince of Sound

The DemonFX Prince of Sound is a super-affordable clone of the very much sought-after (and roughly 4-5 times more expensive) Analogman Prince of Tone - which is a take on the Marshall Blues Breaker. We couldn't figure out where DemonFX is based, but it's obviously laser-focused on creating clones of…Click on the title for more

DemonFX Prince of Sound

1981 Inventions DRV Drive/Distortion

Born as a mod of the RAT distortion circuit, the DRV by Nashville based 1981 Inventions slowly "found" its own sound during the three years it took to finalize it. The first batch of the pedal sold out pretty fast, but a second one, with a case slightly different in color,…Click on the title for more

1981 Inventions DRV Drive/Distortion

Karma MTN 10 Mostortion Clone

Fans of the Ibanez Mostortion, a MOSFET-based distortion that became a "cult" pedal after a not particularly successful existence that led it to be discontinued a few years after its launch - should look into the Karma MTN-10, a clone that sells for about 1/4 of the vintage unit's price.…Click on the title for more

Karma MTN 10 Mostortion Clone

Frost Giant Electronics Architect of Reality

Texas' Frost Giant Electronics is an emerging pedal builder focused on creating heavy, highly tuneable gain stompboxes, and the Architect of Reality, a dual-channel preamp that allows to blend the two channels, might be their most intriguing release to date. The pedal is modeled after the preamp section of a…Click on the title for more

Frost Giant Electronics Architect of Reality

Sinvertek N5+ Drive

A boutique Chinese manufacturer on the rise, Sinvertek offers a "more is more" approach to stompboxes by providing extremely deep functionality for each one of their product, with a price tag that is extremely competitive compared to similarly fully-featured pedals made in the US or Europe. Their latest drive, the…Click on the title for more

Sinvertek N5+ Drive

Tape Audio Co. TWO Distortion

The Tape Audio Co. TWO is the second release from this small boutique builder whose first pedal, the ONE fuzz, turned heads and ears earlier in 2022. TWO is an original distortion circuit driven by two distortion/gain circuits blending a combination Germanium (pre stage) and Silicon (gain stage) transistors. A Master…Click on the title for more

Tape Audio Co. TWO Distortion

Haunted Labs Old Ruin Distortion

North Carolina's scariest boutique pedal company Haunted Labs just unleashed their first distortion pedal, the Old Ruin, which delivers a variety of tones from low-gain overdrive to terrifying howling distortion. The ubiquitous Gain and Volume knob are joined by a Texture knob that - to quote the builder - "summons sonic…Click on the title for more

Haunted Labs Old Ruin Distortion