The Filter section is almost
lifted straight from a RAT,
with that characteristic mid
boost and slight high-end
rolloff. Completely rolling
back both gain controls
created a shriller overdrive,
but it was still undeniably
a distortion characteristic.
This pedal has a lot of the
behavior of a RAT, and a
smidgeon of character from
the Tone Bender, but it is
mostly RAT in the way it
handles and plays.
The overall tone gives off
the illusion that it’s got
tightly controlled gain, but
that’s not the case. Turning
this pedal up to more gain
heavy settings still requires
you to “control” the
distortion, like you would
on a vintage Fuzz Face or
Big Muff, by watching your
pick attack and accuracy.
The dynamics, however, are
tightly controlled. There is
a set compression about
this pedal that irks my
ear in the very slightest,
killing some of the more
brash changes in attack.
On single coils, this strange
compression also sort of
mutes the tonal differences
between different pickups
combination, although it
really likes the “twang”
settings, or the middlebridge and middle-neck
pickup combinations. On a
high-headroom amp, you
can really hear this. It’s got a
kind of “amp-in-a-box” like
character to it that forgets
your amp and does its own
thing. The most closely
relatable pedal I can think
of is the Electro-Harmonix
Soul Food, but that pedal
has a more transparent
character and fulfills
different requirements.
WHAT WE LIKE
Fat and chewy distortion,
with unhinged gain that
can be easily controlled for
a powerful tone. High
quality feel.
CONCERNS
Dynamics sometimes
killed by overbearing
compression. Not as
articulate with different
pickup combinations.
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