The Dirty Haggard 386 is a distortion pedal built on two LM386 power amp chips, the small amplifier chips best known from practice amps, pushed here into clipping to make high gain. The builder describes it as capable of "super hairy distortion with single-coil pickups, metal-sounding with humbuckers," and the gain control runs from moderate overdrive to heavy distortion1.
Controls and circuit
The gain control ranges from moderate overdrive to heavy distortion, so the pedal covers ground shared with overdrive pedals at its low end and heavier distortion pedals at the top1. The tone side is handled by a High filter that the builder borrowed from the Pro Co RAT circuit, including one quirk of that design: it works in reverse, with the brightest setting all the way counterclockwise1. Players used to a conventional tone knob will want to spend a minute with that before a gig.
Noise is addressed at the circuit level. The pedal has built-in noise suppression, which the builder describes as super quiet operation, a notable claim for a high-gain design1.
Price and availability
At $75 as of October 2021, the 386 was the company's most affordable product1. Coupon codes did not apply to it, and more color options were available through Reverb.com1.
The 386 is built around two LM386 power amp chips, and its gain control ranges from moderate overdrive to heavy distortion. Dirty Haggard also lists built-in noise suppression, which the maker describes as super quiet operation1.
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Questions
What does the LM386 chip do in a distortion pedal?
The LM386 is a small power amplifier chip, most familiar from practice amps. In the Dirty Haggard 386 it is pushed into clipping, and the pedal uses two of them to produce high-gain distortion. The builder describes the result as super hairy distortion with single-coil pickups and a metal-sounding character with humbuckers.
Is the Dirty Haggard 386 based on the Pro Co RAT?
No. The circuit uses two LM386 power amp chips rather than the RAT's design, but the builder borrowed one element from the RAT: the High filter, including its reversed operation, where the brightest setting is all the way counterclockwise.
How much is the Dirty Haggard 386?
The 386 was listed at $75 as of October 2021, which made it the company's most affordable product at the time. Coupon codes did not apply to it, and more color options were available through Reverb.com.
Is the Dirty Haggard 386 noisy?
According to the builder, no: the pedal has built-in noise suppression and is described as super quiet in operation. That matters on a high-gain distortion, where noise is usually the main complaint.
Sources (1)
- Dirty Haggard 386 Distortion, Delicious Audio, 2021-10-25
