gear giveaway

Distortion Pedals

Catalinbread Blood Donor Fuzz

An updated mod of the company's Katzenkonig, the Catalinbread Blood Donor is the fuzzy circuit marriage of a Tone Bender MKII and a Pro Co Rat, reimagined. Besides improving the pedal's noise floor compared to the original, the company mostly focused on making it more extreme and flexible at once:…Click on the title for more

Catalinbread Blood Donor Fuzz

Neunaber Neuron Gain Intelligence

We covered the prototype of the Neunaber Neuron extensively in this post. The Neuron is the result of a painstaking study of what makes real amplifiers and gain pedals sound good. It can dial in a variety of amp-like sounds ranging from chimey cleans to the dirtiest dirt. It is essentially a…Click on the title for more

Neunaber Neuron Gain Intelligence

Stomping Stones – Haxan Fuzztortion

The Haxan by Stompbing Stones Pedals, is a vintage-voiced distortion/fuzz with some unusual controls (and parts: its circuit uses NOS military can opamps!): on top of your regular volume and gain knobs, it features two clipping modes, an extra boost, and bright/dark voicing options selectable via toggle switches. The two…Click on the title for more

Stomping Stones – Haxan Fuzztortion

Diezel VH4-2 Two-Channel Preamp/Overdrive

The first version of the Diezel VH4 Preamp/Overdrive pedal (based on the company's high-gain VH4 tube amplifier' Mega channel) was launched in 1994 and became an instant classic for metal guitarists. Recently, the German company has unveiled a 2nd version of the pedal, called VH4-2, featuring two separate channels of that same circuit…Click on the title for more

Diezel VH4-2 Two-Channel Preamp/Overdrive

Rainger FX Minibar Liquid Analyzer Distortion

The Rainger FX Minibar is a Liquid Analyzer distortion pedal from the mad scientists at Rainger FX. As if by magic, the tone of the distortion varies its properties depending on what liquid is in the pedal’s little container placed on top of it. Which is best for your sound?…Click on the title for more

Rainger FX Minibar Liquid Analyzer Distortion

Siren Pedals Airavata Distortion

JayLeonardJ is very fond of this new distortion pedal called Airavata, the third device released by Nashville based company Siren Pedals - the other two are a compressor and a fuzz. Besides the expected Volume and Distortion knobs, the circuit features a combination of peculiar controls that give the…Click on the title for more

Siren Pedals Airavata Distortion

Seen at NAMM 2020: Frost Giant Athos Distortion

Hosted in our own Stompbox Booth, Frost Giant Electronics at NAMM 2020 showcased their latest design, the Athos. This is a distortion pedal designed with one thing in mind: pure saturated distortion, but with breath and heft you can feel in your gut. It adds a carefully fine-tuned boost circuit…Click on the title for more

Seen at NAMM 2020: Frost Giant Athos Distortion

Stone Deaf PDF-1X Limited Edition

An original design offering Parametric EQ, Clean Boost, Distortion and Fuzz, Stone Deaf FX's PDF (Parametric Distortion Filter) is the most popular pedal of this British boutique builder, which is releasing a PDF-1X Limited Edition to celebrate its 10th anniversary. The 200 units come with custom graphics and signatures from…Click on the title for more

Stone Deaf PDF-1X Limited Edition

Randale Pedale Buzztard OD/Distortion/Fuzz

Randale Pedale's Buzztard is a RAT inspired pedal with an added NPN Germanium transistor that takes it further into fuzz territory. It can also deliver overdrive and distortion dirt just like the original rodent, with and added three-way EQ section to dial in the desired or necessary tone. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFPFw7qOMuo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERyUH2wWD0k…Click on the title for more

Randale Pedale Buzztard OD/Distortion/Fuzz

Dropping Acid Pedal Etching #rip boost

Dropping Acid Pedal Etching is a small builder that, up until now, was mostly busy modding and recreating effect circuits made popular by other manufacturers. The #rip, an LM386 based Op-Amp distortion, is their first foray into creating a fully original circuit. This device can do different things but all…Click on the title for more

Dropping Acid Pedal Etching #rip boost

Handbuilt in Ontario, Canada, the pedals of Airis Effects have earned a reputation for their aggressive tone that offers as much versatility as volume. While the company's effects are flexible enough to handle a variety of styles, they are really designed for players that go for a heavier sound. Everything…Click on the title for more

Manufacturer Profile – Airis Effects

Fender MTG Tube Distortion

Designed with amp guru Bruce Egnater, the Fender MTG delivers true tube saturation and distortion from a US-made NOS 6205 preamplifier tube. Complete with a 3-band EQ and a Tight control to focus your tone, the MTG is basically a tube preamp pedal — you can run it into the…Click on the title for more

Fender MTG Tube Distortion