Empress Effects releases Heavy Menace distortion pedal

May 10, 2023 · 2 sources

Empress Effects released the Heavy Menace, an updated version of its Heavy distortion pedal, on May 10, 2023, at a US list price of $250¹. The maker describes it as an evolution of the original Heavy with new features and a compact enclosure².

The pedal has three distortion modes, Lite(ish), Heavy and Heavier, selected with a single toggle switch; Lite(ish) is new and, per Guitar World, offers a lower gain option for a more classic crunch²¹. The controls are six larger knobs for Gain, Weight, Output, Low, Mid and High, and two smaller knobs for Gate Threshold and Mid Frequency¹. The mid frequency is sweepable from 200 Hz to 2.5 kHz². The Weight control adjusts a high-pass filter in the distortion circuit to shape low-end character². Guitar World reports the pedal has eight knobs and one toggle switch, down from 10 knobs and four switches on the original Heavy, and that the Gate Threshold and Mid Frequency knobs replace three-way toggle switches on the original¹.

The noise gate is footswitchable, with linked or independent switching of the distortion and gate; in independent bypass mode, the maker says, it works like separate distortion and gate pedals². A ⅛-inch TS or TRS gate key input lets an external signal trigger the gate². The pedal offers true bypass or buffered bypass².

Specifications from the maker²:

Guitar World reported the pedal available now for $250¹; the maker's product page lists $249.00 USD².