Tone Report Weekly Issue 67 | Page 47

clean, then kicking in the ‘Claw for an authoritative chunky grind. There is something satisfyingly sinister about playing a riff into a clean amp, then kicking in distortion to take it to another realm; the ThunderClaw will take you into whatever dark lair you seek. Maxing the Distort knob gives way to tight fuzzy-distortion territory, and raising the Output in conjunction with high gain settings adds body and sustain. The Bass and Treble knobs will vary the gain range in those frequencies, making it easy to pair with any amp. While it can certainly deliver dirty boost and overdriven tones with the Distort backed off and the Output high, trust me—you want the use the gain on this bad boy. And although it will give up the goods with single coils, I greatly preferred humbuckers to get the most out of the levels of gain on tap. make your grandmother cry. Unless, of course, she loves heavy distortion, which she may. Whether you’re going for the sounds of Sabbath, modern day tuned-down drone metal, or anything in between, the ThunderClaw is a device that is seriously worthy of your consideration. Chicken pickers and soft rockers need not apply, and you probably won’t find room for it in your golden oldies cover band. This is for players that want to shake the walls of their practice space—and their soul. WHAT WE LIKE Awesome, thunderous distortion. Ability to meld with various amps courtesy of Treble and Bass knobs. Easy to dial in great sounds. Cool graphics. CONCERNS Your parents will be worried about you. Probably better suited for higher output pickups, although as always, experiment to arrive at your own conclusions. Let’s get one thing straight: This is a heavy duty distortion machine that will ToneReport.com 47