Audiostorm launches Kickstarter Campaign for new Grand Classic Distortion Pedal - Essentially a Dynamically Enhanced 3rd High Gain Channel for your Amp!

There’s no shortage of High Gain Distortion pedals out there - while Audiostorm stresses that their Grand Classic is a distinct breakaway from the normal conventions of overbearing dominant distortions which typically very significantly colour an amp’s output. Where the Grand Classic’s unique topology rather preserves the core dynamics and flavour of your Amp output and simply massively extends its gain range potential as such.

The whole topology here is somewhat different to the norm - where you usually see Treble and Bass controls or 3-Band Variable EQs. While everything on the Grand Classic has been designed to accentuate a particular aspect of the amp’s output versus simply just adding its own flavour of overpowering overbearing distortion.

So the controls are quite distinct here also - and especially the central AMP knob which controls the Harmonic Character and Content of the output. The dial is marked EL84 CCW, EL34 in the middle, and 6L6 fully CW. As you sweep this knob is changes how the core frequencies are targeted and clipped in terms of harmonic onset - with EL84 targeting High-Mids, EL34 Low-Mids, and 6L6 clipping the Lower Frequencies sooner and more intensively. You’re very much defining what kind of Tube Character you’re impacting on your own amp.

Controls - Active Mids, Amp - Harmonic Clipping Character, Active Highs, Gain / Distortion, Level, Deep Low End Boost, Core Wide Spectrum Mids Boost.

Mr Audiostorm - one Sean Mandrake feels that the perfect complement to his ’Amp’ harmonic clipping character control is the smart combination of Active Mids and High Bands - which help accentuate the appropriate Amp character profile. Gain and Level are rather more conventional and yet have significant range to them. And then you have two pretty specialist boosts - the first geared more towards home-playing - ’Deep’ - Low-end accentuation, and the other more for live soloing ’Core’ - to help you cut through the band mix.

Sean very much likens the Gran Classic to a Third High Gain Channel for your Amp - as it preserves so much of its original dynamics - while really beefing up the output in the most complementary and surgical fashion.

I had the pleasure of meeting Sean at the fairly recent FX Expo - and where this Grand Classic really sets out the new format of control topology for the forthcoming next version of his Flagship Quad Screamer Overdrive (5K Edition).

The Grand Classic Kickstarter Campaign is open as of 6pm BST this evening - until 9pm on Thursday October 6th.

There are numerous ’Rewards’ / Variations of the Grand Classic on offer as follows, while only 45 pedals can be grabbed in total! - and I will be gunning for a NMB variant! :