The BBE 427 FD-427P is a distortion pedal made by BBE Sound, Inc. and designed by Paul Gagon. It is part of BBE's 427 line, alongside the BBE 427 Distortion, and sits in the wider field of distortion pedals. Guitar World reviewed it in June 2013, with a list price of $115 at that date1.
What it does
The 427 FD-427P is a high-gain distortion pedal. Guitar World's reviewer described its character as American high-gain: "the BBE delivers an appropriately tuned array of American high-gain flavors"1.
The circuit is built around an unusual clipping approach. Paul Gagon used LEDs, components more commonly used for light emission, to create tube-like signal clipping in the pedal's gain stage. Guitar World called Gagon "one of the first engineers to realize that LEDs, commonly used for light emission, can be used to create tube-l[ike clipping]". The pedal also uses what the reviewer called "an impressive complement of high-end audio-grade components"1.
Controls
The pedal keeps its layout simple, with three knobs1:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Gain | Sets the amount of distortion |
| Level | Sets the output volume |
| Sweep EQ | Shapes the pedal's tone |
Videos
Guitar World
Terry Smith
Eugenio Torres
Sources (1)
- Review: BBE 427 FD-427P Distortion Pedal, Guitar World, 2013-06-20
