The Big Tone Music Brewery Classic Distortion is a distortion pedal that Premier Guitar described at its unveiling as a vintage dirt circuit recreated to sound exactly like the original1. It is built around the LM308 chip, the op-amp long associated with RAT-style distortion circuits, and Guitar Pedal X's Stefan Karlsson, covering it in his 2024 roundup of compact RAT-style pedals, wrote that it has a "proper LM308 chip and sounds fantastic"2.
Controls
The pedal's control set is more involved than most RAT-style circuits, which typically offer a single tone knob. The Classic Distortion adds a three-band EQ with parametric mids, letting a player dial in the center frequency of the midrange as well as its level2.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Treble / Bass | Two-band EQ for the top and bottom of the signal2 |
| Mids / Mid Frequency | Parametric mid control: set the level and the center frequency separately2 |
| Voice | Vintage / Turbo voicing switch2 |
| Level | Output volume2 |
| Gain | Amount of distortion2 |
"more importantly 3-Band EQ with Parametric Mids"
Status and price
The Classic Distortion is discontinued. Guitar Pedal X's buying guide of 30 August 2024 lists it as such, with a list price of $199 in the United States and £150 in the United Kingdom2. Players after one today would be looking at the secondhand market rather than a dealer.
Related pedals
The Classic Distortion sits in the compact RAT-style distortion field alongside several current alternatives. Guitar Pedal X's same roundup places it among pedals such as the Audiostorm Grand Classic, a high-gain distortion with EL84, EL34 and 6L6 amp voicings3. Big Tone Music Brewery also made the Big Tone Music Brewery British Overdrive, and players comparing distortion against a lower-gain dirt option can see the Overdrive Pedals page for how the two effect types differ.
Videos
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Questions
Is the Big Tone Music Brewery Classic Distortion still available?
No. Guitar Pedal X's 2024 roundup of compact RAT-style distortion pedals lists the Classic Distortion as discontinued. It carried a list price of $199 in the United States and £150 in the United Kingdom when it was last catalogued, so players looking for one now would need to search the secondhand market.
What controls does the Classic Distortion have?
The pedal offers Treble and Bass controls, a Mids control paired with a Mid Frequency control for parametric shaping of the middle of the signal, a Voice switch with Vintage and Turbo settings, plus Level and Gain controls. Guitar Pedal X notes it is built around a proper LM308 chip.
Sources (3)
- Big Tone Music Brewery Unveils 8 New Pedals, Premier Guitar, 2015-06-10
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2024-08-30
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2024-06-17
