The Beast is a distortion/fuzz pedal from Bardic Audio Devices, a Michigan-based maker that focuses mostly on bass pedals. Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio describes it as a very tweakable dirt box based on an op-amp design, with a separate clean boost channel carrying a blendable octave-up that adds up to 20 dB of volume1. It sits in the overlap between distortion, fuzz and boost pedals, and De Gregorio wrote that it is bound to find a fan-base among guitarists with noisy tendencies1.
The Beast is built around an op-amp design. Bardic describes it as "a very tweakable dirt box based on an op-amp design"2.
What it does to your sound
De Gregorio's verdict on the dirt section is blunt: "The discrete op-amp distortion is a true monster." Depending on the gain setting, he writes that the dirt section can morph between an open and aggressive distortion into a tight gated fuzz. The change point is specific: the Gain knob, towards 35 to 40 percent of its rotation, transforms the dirt section from a distortion into a Muff-style gated fuzz1. Players who want that Big Muff flavor in a pedal with more shaping around it can also look at Bardic's Berzerker Fuzz, which Pedal of the Day presented as a Russian Big Muff evolution1.
On top of the dirt sits the boost channel. It is a clean boost with a blendable octave-up, adding up to 20 dB of volume, so it can work as a solo lift, a volume push into the amp, or a way to fatten the dirt with an octave layer1.
The controls
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Gain | Sets the dirt section's gain; past roughly 35 to 40 percent of rotation the distortion becomes a Muff-style gated fuzz1 |
| Dirt | Controls the output of the distorted signal1 |
| Boost | Controls boost volume1 |
| Octave | Varies the amount of octave up in the boost signal1 |
| Clean | Blends the clean tone of the boost/octave channel into the final output1 |
| Order toggle | Reverses the order of the dirt and boost sections1 |
The Order switch is the pedal's most unusual control. In the Left position, the Boost comes before the dirt section, adding saturation to it. In the Right position, the boost comes after, pushing the dirty signal at a higher volume to the amp1. That makes the same pedal work two ways: as a saturating low-gain stage feeding the dirt, or as a clean volume lift on top of it.
The octave-up lives in the boost channel rather than being a separate effect on the whole signal, so it can be blended in or out with the Clean knob while the dirt stays untouched1.
Where it came from
Bardic Audio Devices built The Beast as a tweakable dirt pedal on an op-amp design, a circuit approach the maker itself describes as the basis of the pedal1. That topology gives players the gain-staging flexibility the "very tweakable" description points to, with the circuit doing the clipping and shaping work rather than a single fixed voicing1.
What reviewers said
Delicious Audio's writeup is the main published account of The Beast. De Gregorio called the discrete op-amp distortion "a true monster" and predicted the pedal "is bound to find a fan-base among guitarists with noisy tendencies"1.
"The discrete op-amp distortion is a true monster."
Videos
Bardic Audio Devices
Noise Generator
Guy Incognito
Questions
Is The Beast a distortion or a fuzz?
Both, depending on where the Gain knob is set. Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio describes the dirt section as morphing between an open, aggressive distortion and a tight gated fuzz, with the change happening at roughly 35 to 40 percent of the Gain knob's rotation, where it becomes a Muff-style gated fuzz.
Can you change the order of the boost and dirt sections?
Yes. An Order toggle switch reverses the order of the two sections. In the Left position the boost comes before the dirt section, adding saturation to it. In the Right position the boost comes after the dirt, pushing the dirty signal at a higher volume into the amp.
How much volume does the boost section add?
According to Delicious Audio, the separate clean boost channel adds up to 20 dB of volume, with a blendable octave-up on top. The Boost knob controls the boost volume, and the Clean knob blends the clean tone of the boost/octave channel into the final output.
Does The Beast have an octave effect?
Yes, in the boost channel. The Octave knob varies the amount of octave-up in the boost signal, and that boosted signal can be blended into the final output alongside the dirt section through the Clean knob.
Is Bardic Audio Devices still in business?
No. A Guitar Pedal X roundup of high-gain pedals published in November 2025 notes that Bardic Audio Devices has ceased trading, and that the company's HM Demon is now only available second-hand.
Sources (2)
- Bardic Audio Devices The Beast Distortion/Fuzz, Delicious Audio, 2021-03-01
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X
