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2022 Best New Distortion Pedals of the Year

Aleks K ProductionAura AmpsBeautiful Noise EffectsBest in ClassBlackhawk AmplifiersBossBrown Sound DistortionDistortionDriveDrive WorkstationDrunk BeaverDual-DriveFrost Giant ElectronicsGear AntKMA AudioKSR AmplificationKuro Custom AudioLeyland PedalsMarshall Style DistortionMetal DistortionMidValleyFXMissing Link AudioMooerMulti-DriveOld Blood Noise EndeavorsPreAmpRainger FXSinvertekSolar GuitarsSolar PedalsSoldanoTone InkVictory AmpsWamplerWampler CollectiveWestminster EffectsWren and CuffZander Circuitry+-
2022-GPX-Best-New-Distortion-Pdeals-Annual-700.jpg

Obviously the big Distortion story of the year for me was my recent Full Metal Racket High Gain Distortion roundup - and roughly one third of this selection was in service of that feature alone. Even then I didn’t get to everything I wanted to as a couple or so builders weren’t particularly responsive. This is often quite a thankless task of revolving and closing doors - in any case case I’m proud of what I managed to accomplish regardless - and some of the candidates are quite superb.

 

The ...

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Full Metal Racket! - 32 of the Best Compact High Gain Metal Distortion Pedals - 2022 Ultimate Selection

Abasi ConceptsAbominable ElectronicsAleks K ProductionAmptweakerAMT EffectsAnarchy AudioAura AmpsBardic Audio DevicesBest in ClassBlackhawk AmplifiersBossBrown Sound DistortionDistortionDOD EffectsDriveDrive WorkstationDual-DriveFriedman EffectsHardWire EffectsKeeley EngineeringKlirrton ManufakturKMA AudioMarshall Style DistortionMetal DistortionMidValleyFXMulti-DriveRedbeard EffectsREVV AmplificationSinvertekSolar GuitarsSolar PedalsSoldanoTone InkVictory AmpsWamplerWestminster EffectsXIX Tech FX+-
2022-GPX-32-Best-Metal-Distortions-V6-700.jpg

This article has been such a long time coming - I last did a compact high gain distortion pedal roundup all the way back in 2019 - where only 24 featured. This time around I was determined to have it as comprehensive as possible, and like the recent 32 Overdrive and 32 Mini Fuzz selections - I was determined to have all in my reference collection.

 

I’ve long been a fan of heavier / metal textures and tones, and have always had certain pedal-chain slots dedicated to high gain pedals - in ...

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2022 April Pedal-Chain Update - Episode IV - Binary Emissions

Aleks K ProductionBlues Breaker Style OverdriveBoostBoost and OverdriveBossChase Bliss AudioChorus and VibratoDelayDigital DelayDistortionDrive WorkstationDual-DriveDumble Style OverdriveFunny Little BoxesFuzzGermanium FuzzGranular DelayGreuter AudioJ RockettKeeley EngineeringKlone and Transparent OverdriveMarshall Style DistortionMetal DistortionMissing Link AudioModulationMooerMulti-DriveNeunaberOddball DelayPedal ChainPreAmpRed Noise PedalsTC ElectronicThermionTone Bender Style Fuzz+-
2022GPXSKPedalChainUpdateApril700.jpg

As you can see from the flurry of activity during the last week of the month in particular - April has seen the culmination of 3 very significant projects  - which is mostly reflected by the end-of-month Pedal-Chain snapshot.

 

It was not as if I was short of an overdrive or two, having around 150+ to-date to choose from, but I always felt I was missing a few classics, and in the last couple of months in particular - I made a real concerted effort to make my reference collection fully ...

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2022GPXAleksP2MapleDistortions700.jpg

I’ve long been a fan of Father and Son / family run Guitar and Effects Boutique Aleks K Production. Where Aleks and Nazar Kovalevskyy make some of the very finest quality small batch, hand-made guitars and pedals. All original and distinct from everything else that is out there!

 

I did an Aleks K range overview back in August of 2019, where I had already acquired the Maple Leaf Royal Drive Distortion and Red Scorpion 2 Mega Distortion. I later added the equally excellent Honey Moon 2 Sweet ...

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2019 Pedal-Chain Year-End Final Arrangement!

Aleks K ProductionAmbient EffectsBearfoot FXBeat MachineBeetronics FXBig Muff Style FuzzBitcrushing and Lo-FiBlues Driver Style OverdriveBoostBoost and OverdriveBossBrown Sound DistortionBufferChase Bliss AudioChorus and VibratoCompressorCooper FXDanDrive PedalDelayDelay WorkstationDemon PedalsDigital DelayDigital ReverbDistortionDouble TrackingDr ScientistDriveDual-DriveDumble Style OverdriveEchoverbEmpress EffectsEnvelope Filter and Auto WahEQEventideExpresso FXFlangerFuzzFuzz Face Style FuzzFuzz-Drive and FuzzstortionGermanium FuzzGlitchGranular DelayGuitar Synth and SequencerHarmonizerJackson AudioKeyztoneKlone and Transparent OverdriveLo-Fi DelayLooperMarshall Style DistortionMeris EffectsMetal DistortionMI EffectsModulated FuzzModulationModulation WorkstationMulti-DriveMu-TronNoise GateOCD Style OverdriveOctave FuzzOctaverOddball DelayOddball FuzzOddball ModulationOpAmp FuzzOscillating FuzzOverdrivePedal ChainPhaserPitchPitch-ShiftingPlate ReverbRack Style ReverbRat Style FuzzRedbeard EffectsReverbReverb WorkstationREVV AmplificationRing ModulationRotary SpeakerShimmer ReverbSilicon FuzzSinvertekSitek Guitar ElectronicsSlicer and StutterSource AudioSpaceman EffectsSpacey ReverbSpring ReverbStrymonTape DelayTC ElectronicThorpyFXToneQuestTremoloTubescreamer Style OverdriveUni-Vibe and VibeVox Style DistortionWah and Fixed Wah+-
2019GPXSKSignalChainYEFinal700.jpg

I’m possibly writing this just a touch prematurely as at the point of writing - one of the pictured pedals hasn’t turned up quite yet, and it will be touch and go if gets released out of customs before the end of the year. That pedal being Sinvertek’s new N5+ Drive - featuring no less than 7 beautifully milled aluminium knobs along with 5 toggle-switches - and all within a compact enclosure format - but more of that later.

 

This year has mostly sort of gone to plan - but there are really too...

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Best of High Gain and Metal Distortion Pedals Mini Focus and Final Roundup

Airis EffectsAleks K ProductionAmptweakerAMT EffectsAMT ElectronicsBlackhawk AmplifiersBogner AmplificationBossBrown Sound DistortionDecibelicsDistortionDual-DriveEmpress EffectsFriedman EffectsGoosoniqueworxHorizon DevicesIbanezKeeley EngineeringKlirrton ManufakturKMA AudioKSR AmplificationLone Wolf AudioMarshall Style DistortionMetal DistortionMI EffectsMooerMulti-DriveOneControlPushking PedalsRedbeard EffectsREVV AmplificationRock Fabrik EffectsSTL TonesSuhrTWA EffectsWamplerXvive Audio+-
2019GPXPersonalFavouriteHighGainPedals700.jpg

So I thought I would combine the Mini Pedal selection with the final overall category roundup featuring my current favourites and forthcoming/future acquisition targets. The above visual may be somewhat convoluted, but it well illustrates the trade off in footprint and practicality/utility you get across the different enclosure form factors.

 

I’ve stated before that I’ve largely moved away from the larger styles of enclosures in favour of more pedals of a more compact nature - which means ...

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24 of the Best Compact High Gain and Metal Style Distortion Pedals - Updated 2019 Edition

Abasi ConceptsAiris EffectsAleks K ProductionAmptweakerAMT ElectronicsAnarchy AudioBlackhawk AmplifiersBossDistortionDOD EffectsFriedman EffectsKeeley EngineeringKHDKLone Wolf AudioMESA/BoogieMetal DistortionRedbeard EffectsREVV AmplificationThropyFXWamplerWeehboXIX Tech FX+-
2019GPX24CompactMetalDistortionsNovember700V2.jpg

This is an update to the feature I wrote back in March of this year. I now have more of this selection in my collection - 18 of these 24, and there are 3 pedals that are new to this updated roundup - the Airis Effects Nemesis PreAmp, Blackhawk Amplifiers Balrog Distortion V3, and of course the Redbeard Effects Red Mist MKIV.

 

The 6 here that I’ve yet to acquire for my collection but which are of course all on the wishlist are the aforementioned Airis Effects Nemesis PreAmp and ...

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The Addition of the Honey Moon 2 Sweet Overdrive Completes my Aleks K Production Pedal Trifecta

Aleks K ProductionBlues Driver Style OverdriveBoost and OverdriveDistortionDriveDual-DriveMetal DistortionMulti-DriveOverdrive+-
2019GPXAleksKProducitonTrifecta700.jpg

When I did my recent Aleks K Production Range Overview I had obviously had my 2 favourite Aleks K pedals in the chain for a while - the Maple Leaf Royal Drive/Distortion and Red Scorpion 2 Mega Distortion. I noted how there was a sort of shared family tonal character between the pedals - with a pervasive smooth, long-sustaining musicality with a definite hint of compression.

 

I reaffirmed my choices as to which were my favourites and why, and indicated I would like to add the Honey Moon...

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9 Cool Compact Dual Circuit / Dual Stage Stackable Boost, Overdrive and Distortion Pedals

Aleks K ProductionBlues Driver Style OverdriveBoostBoost and OverdriveBossBrown Sound DistortionChase Bliss AudioDiamond PedalsDistortionDriveDual-DriveFulltone EffectsFuzzFuzz-Drive and FuzzstortionKlone and Transparent OverdriveLoophole PedalsMagnetic EffectsOCD Style OverdriveOverdriveRat Style FuzzThorpyFXTubescreamer Style OverdriveVFE Pedals+-
2019GPX9CompactDualStackingDrives700.jpg

This post was sparked off by the recent launch of the Magnetic Effects Zig Zag Dual Stage Overdrive, my relatively recent acquisition of the Aleks K Production Maple Leaf Royal Drive and ThorpyFX Heavy Water Dual Boost pedals, and the hopefully fairly imminent arrival of my on-order Loophole Pedals Grey Matter Overdrive. They got me thinking about other pedals of this type which allow you to blend 2 separate circuits together essentially for more versatility and more complex and richer tones. ...

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Aleks K Production - Superior Quality Drive Pedal Dynasty from the West Coast of Canada

Aleks K ProductionBlues Driver Style OverdriveBoostBoost and OverdriveBuilder ProfilesDistortionDriveDual-DriveEffects Pedal MakersKlone and Transparent OverdriveMetal DistortionMulti-DriveOverdrive+-
2019GPXAlexKPrdouctionFeatureMain700.jpg

My first encounter with Aleks K Production was courtesy of a Brett Kingman demo of the Maple Leaf Royal Overdrive around a year and a half ago. I’m a fan of Brett’s and he’s one of my regular favourite resources for new pedal demos alongside many other guitar luminaries. Once I had checked out his 2 demos of the Maple Leaf, I next viewed the Red Scorpion 2 Mega Distortion, then the Hot Ice Sweet Distortion, Honey Moon 2 Sweet Overdrive and Sun Beam Magic Drive.

 

After the Brett overview I ...

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