gear giveaway

High-Gain Distortion

Wilson Effects Angry Goat Dual Overdrive

D-Style and K-Style overdrives (for the unaware, voiced respectively after the Dumble amplifier and the Klon Centaur Professional Overdrive) are among the most sought-after dirt box devices, in part because the originals are incredibly pricey. The Wilson Effects Angry Goat combines them in a single pedal for just $200. Both…Click on the title for more

Wilson Effects Angry Goat Dual Overdrive

Blackstar Dept. 10 Dual Distortion

The Blackstar Dept. 10 Dual Distortion is a high-gain pedal driven by an ECC83 Triode Valve with noteworthy tone and tons of features. Just like its less aggressive sibling the Dept. 10 Dual Drive, it offers 2 voices per channel, for a total of 3 crunch/overdrive voices alongside the clean…Click on the title for more

Blackstar Dept. 10 Dual Distortion

New Pedals: Groff Firestorm Distortion

Based out of Lancaster, PA, Groff Amplification is a boutique builder that forges custom amps and already has four tweakable gain pedals in their roster. The Firestorm is their distortion with a distinct Plexi style (it's based on the Marshall Guv'nor). Running at 9v or 18v for big headroom lovers,…Click on the title for more

New Pedals: Groff Firestorm Distortion

°red sun fx Grantler High Gain Distortion

The °red sun fx Grantler is a two-knob, high-gain distortion pedal hailing from Germany based on a 1-watt power amp. The two controls are for volume ("pegel") and preamp gain ("grant"). An internal switch allows lowering the gain by a factor of 10 which will transform it into more of…Click on the title for more

°red sun fx Grantler High Gain Distortion

Dirty Haggard 386 Distortion

Based in Portland, Oregon, Dirty Haggard offers is a boutique builder offering an array of guitar pedals from the affordable to the mid-priced. The 386 is the company's most affordable product, a 3-knob distortion selling at $75. Based on a circuit using two LM386 power amp chips, the 386 is…Click on the title for more

Dirty Haggard 386 Distortion

Fowl Sounds Backstabber 2.0 Distortion

The Fowl Sounds Backstabber 2.0 is a RAT-style distortion pedal designed for bass but that also works well with drop-tuned and baritone guitars. It employs a more modern circuit to deliver tighter and more responsive tones and a series of filters to improve the low-end. This is basically a two-channel…Click on the title for more

Fowl Sounds Backstabber 2.0 Distortion

Dirty Haggard Beast Mountain Hi Gain Overdrive / Distortion

Beast Mountain by Portland-based Dirty Haggard is at once a band (in which the company's one-man-dude Nick plays bass) and a colorful, three-knob high-gain pedal. Built with hard rock and metal guitarists in mind, the Beast Mountain offers symmetrical and asymmetrical soft clipping with a tight low end that works…Click on the title for more

Dirty Haggard Beast Mountain Hi Gain Overdrive / Distortion

Blue Colander Tremond Distortion

Blue Colander is a one-dude Polish pedal maker that builds hand-made dirt boxes. The Tremond is the guy's take on the RAT-style distortion, expanded. The control that makes this pedal stand apart from your classic RAT clone is the Blend knob, which, doesn't do what you expect. In fact, instead of mixing…Click on the title for more

Blue Colander Tremond Distortion

Stone Deaf FX Q Boost/Distortion

Father and son British pedal builders Stone Deaf FX released some ingenious and imaginative stompboxes in the past, but today they unveiled something rather simple yet extremely intriguing. At a first look, the (Mickey Mouse-themed) Q Boost appears to be a simple boost pedal/preamp with an extra, sweepable mid-frequency boost,…Click on the title for more

Stone Deaf FX Q Boost/Distortion

BOSS HM-2w Waza Craft Heavy Metal Distortion

BOSS recently announced a Waza Craft version of their classic Heavy Metal HM-2, which has been discontinued in 1991. The pedal is now shipping The new version has a better noise floor and +3db volume, and also adds a new mode (Custom mode) which sounds slightly more polished and modern…Click on the title for more

BOSS HM-2w Waza Craft Heavy Metal Distortion

Caline Easy Driver Distortion + Graphic EQ

Tone connoisseurs know how powerful the combination of a drive followed (or preceded) by a graphic EQ is, and Chinese builder Caline had the good idea of offering a dual pedal that hosts both circuits in a single case: the Easy Driver Distortion EQ. This is a Mesa-style distortion with…Click on the title for more

Caline Easy Driver Distortion + Graphic EQ

Empress Heavy Menace Distortion

At first glance, the Empress Heavy Menace seems like a pedal that might win the contest for "most tweakable distortion pedal in a compact case." Also, it looks very cool, notwithstanding its demonic references! An evolution in compact case of the company's popular Heavy pedal, the Heavy Menace could be…Click on the title for more

Empress Heavy Menace Distortion