gear giveaway

Distortion Pedals

RAT Pedals and Best RAT Clones in 2024 | A Buyer’s Guide

With its origins dating back to 1978, the RAT is one of those simple yet unique pedals that are at once legendary, widespread, and affordable. There have been many different variations of the circuit from the original builder, Pro Co, but overall, the line has remained fairly true to the…Click on the title for more

RAT Pedals and Best RAT Clones in 2024 | A Buyer’s Guide

Isolate Audio RATATATAT

Hailing from Australia, the Isolate Audio RATATATAT is a modern take on a classic distortion circuit with a similar name but fewer "A"s and "T"s, and some intriguing new features. Besides featuring a Bass and a (low-pass) Cut knob foreign to the classic Rat pedals and vaguely reminiscent of the…Click on the title for more

Isolate Audio RATATATAT

Trap Door Electronics Dot Dot Damage Distortion

Recently featured in the JHS Show, the Trap Door Electronics Dot Dot Damage is a fuzzstortion pedal built to sound - to quote the Brooklyn-based manufacturer - "grotesquely ugly and oddly beautiful." The tone reference is the massive but broken sound a fuzz pedal can produce for a few seconds…Click on the title for more

Trap Door Electronics Dot Dot Damage Distortion

Keeley Super Rodent Ovedrive/Distortion

Dropped within a release including three pedals adopting the same form factor as the Noble Screamer (a hybrid overdrive mixing the character of a TS and a Nobles ODR-1), the Keeley Super Rodent embeds in the same pedal two circuits inspired by two other classic stompboxes: the Rat and the…Click on the title for more

Keeley Super Rodent Ovedrive/Distortion

New Pedal: Keeley Angry Orange Distortion/Fuzz

Dropped within a release including three pedals adopting the same form factor as the Noble Screamer (a hybrid overdrive mixing the character of a TS and a Nobles ODR-1), the Keeley Angry Orange embeds in the same pedal two circuits inspired by two other classic dirt boxes: the Russian Civil…Click on the title for more

New Pedal: Keeley Angry Orange Distortion/Fuzz

Updated Pedal: Holy Island Tides V2 Reverb > Distortion

Built in Wales, the Holy Island Tides is an atmospheric pedal featuring a reverb followed by two gain stages, creating over-the-top fuzzy walls of sound sprinkled with interesting harmonics and sonic artifacts. Each gain stage can be activated through a toggle switch: Gain I is a low gain, opamp-based overdrive…Click on the title for more

Updated Pedal: Holy Island Tides V2 Reverb > Distortion

Non-Human Audio Unclean Distortion

An original, hand-built take on the cascading distortion circuit by an Albuquerque, NM-based boutique builder, the Non-Human Audio Unclean features two distortion circuits stacked upon each other. They are both designed to deliver a wide range of gain tones (anything from clean boost to full-on distortion) while interacting by blending…Click on the title for more

Non-Human Audio Unclean Distortion

New Pedal: CGI Brutalist Distortion

God City Instruments is the brainchild of Kurt Ballou, guitarist of yesteryear's metalcore band Converge and producer and owner of a studio in Massachusetts under the same GCI namesake. While the GCI Brutalist is not his debut pedal, it proudly stands as the first creation that has undergone over a decade…Click on the title for more

New Pedal: CGI Brutalist Distortion

New at NAMM: Third Man Hardware Donner Triple Threat

Third Man Hardware and Donner have collaborated to make The Triple Threat, an analog multi-effects pedal that features three different effects: distortion, phaser, and echo. It is designed for beginner guitar players who want to experiment with various sounds and styles. The pedal was inspired by Donner’s Alpha series pedals,…Click on the title for more

New at NAMM: Third Man Hardware Donner Triple Threat

New at NAMM: EarthQuaker Devices Blumes

The EarthQuaker Devices Blumes is an overdrive pedal that can deliver a wide range of tones, from crunchy to clean. This pedal is based on the classic screamer circuit, but with some modifications that make it more suitable for bass players. The Blumes is an all-analog pedal that uses internal…Click on the title for more

New at NAMM: EarthQuaker Devices Blumes

Electronic Audio Epxeriments The Bard Preamp

The Electronic Audio Epxeriments The Bard Preamp pays homage to the Music Man HD130, a classic guitar amp known for its unique blend of a solid-state preamp and a tube power amp, delivering a rather unique tone. Capturing the soul of these iconic amps, The Bard takes you on a…Click on the title for more

Electronic Audio Epxeriments The Bard Preamp

DOD Chthonic Fuzz

A dark and sludgy take on the early fuzz circuitry, the DOD Chthonic Fuzz is the first release by the pioneering US pedal company since it was acquired by Cortek Guitars from Samson within the sale of DigiTech. In perfect DOD style, it's a pedal that caters to alternative guitarists,…Click on the title for more

DOD Chthonic Fuzz