gear giveaway

Distortion Pedals

Frost Giant Electronics The Mountain V2

We had the pleasure to host Texan pedal builder Frost Giant Electronics at our NAMM 2020 Stompbox Booth, and we are therefore excited to see it get some coverage on YouTube. The Mountain V2 is a Rat-inspired pedal that can deliver many flavors of distortion, from overdrive to fuzz, thanks…Click on the title for more

Frost Giant Electronics The Mountain V2

Gamechanger Audio Plasma Distortion

Gamechanger Audio's Plasma distortion turned a lot of heads and ears at NAMM 2018, and finally the first official video demos are arriving. The pedal uses a new method of achieving signal clipping: instead of using LED circuits, transistors or vacuum tubes to produce overdrive, the PLASMA PEDAL transforms your…Click on the title for more

Gamechanger Audio Plasma Distortion

Victory V1 The Kraken High Gain Preamp

The Victory V1 Kraken is the third pedal (and the only compact one) in a series of high-gain stompboxes by UK Victory Amplification. Its siblings are a 180w power amp and a bigger preamp "V4" model. Based on the company's VX Kraken amp, which was born out of a collaboration…Click on the title for more

Victory V1 The Kraken High Gain Preamp

BOSS DS-1w Distortion

The BOSS DS-1w Distortion was an expected update to what's in all likelihood the best-selling pedal ever, launched by the Japanese builder in 1978. Like other models in the Waza Craft, the DS-1w offers a new, Custom mode, next to the Standard one replicating the sound of the original circuit,…Click on the title for more

BOSS DS-1w Distortion

JPTR FX Warlow Fuzz

Built by German boutique pedal maker, the JPTR FX Warlow is a high-gain Op-amp Muff perfect for a low-end-heavy '90s grunge and alt-rock. Using high-grade IC chips and germanium clipping diodes, the Warlow comes in an appropriately large enclosure for its equally huge tones. We added this pedal to our article…Click on the title for more

JPTR FX Warlow Fuzz

New Pedal: Catalinbread Carbide Distortion

The Catalinbread Carbide is the Portland company's take on the "Chainsaw-style Distortion," an effect used and abused by some metal bands who downtune their guitars to add a sense of dread to their tone. Unlike other pedals going for this sound, the Carbide keeps things simple, at least on the…Click on the title for more

New Pedal: Catalinbread Carbide Distortion

Electro-Harmonix Hell Melter

The Electro-Harmonix Hell Melter, as you may have guessed, is not a pedal for the gentle electric guitarist. Catering to the metal crowd (those who use their 6-string to "melt" stuff), this stompbox is a love letter to the "chainsaw" tone made popular by a string of Swedish Death Metal…Click on the title for more

Electro-Harmonix Hell Melter

New Pedal: LiberaToe Blue Crow Overdrive & Distortion

The LiberaToe Blue Crow, a compact stompbox that can be embedded in a modular, cable-less pedalboard with other units by the same builder, is a versatile two-channel analog dirtbox delivering, at the flick of a toggle switch, classic overdrive and vintage-style distortion inspired by the hard rock tones of the…Click on the title for more

New Pedal: LiberaToe Blue Crow Overdrive & Distortion

New Pedal Kit: Korg Nu:Tekt HS-2 Harmonic Distortion

Developed by Fumio Mieda, the original designer of many legendary KORG pedals and synths like the Univibe and the MS-20 Mini, the Nu:Tekt HS-2 Harmonic Distortion is a new DIY kit pedal by the Japanese builder's subsidiary. The pedals in the kit series, which was launched a few years ago…Click on the title for more

New Pedal Kit: Korg Nu:Tekt HS-2 Harmonic Distortion

Summer School Science Fair

The Summer School Science Fair is an overdrive-distortion pedal based on a simple but innovative idea: you've got a RAT-stile distortion (black knobs) and a TS-style overdrive (green knobs) in parallel, and two extra knobs to control for master volume and bland control. Each gain channel has a knob for…Click on the title for more

Summer School Science Fair

New Pedal: Sitek Cocoa Distortion

Hailing from Poland, the Sitek Cocoa is a distortion that can be filed under the growing category of "versatile gain pedals." What's noteworthy, in this case, is that you can get a wide variety of tones out of this opamp-based circuit through a limited number of controls: three knobs and…Click on the title for more

New Pedal: Sitek Cocoa Distortion

Pigtronix Disnortion Micro

This new micro version of the Pigtronix Disnortion Micro improves on the original’s broad palette of touch-responsive dirt sounds by including the ability to switch from a parallel routing to a new, super-saturated series routing where the 6-stage CMOS overdrive circuit is cascaded into unique Pigtronix diode-clipping fuzz, and then…Click on the title for more

Pigtronix Disnortion Micro