The Discomfort Designs Doomsailor Distortion is a distortion pedal built around the LM386 chip, the same small power amplifier IC that drives many practice amps and DIY builds. Pedal of the Day, reviewing it in July 2022, described it as "basically a maximum gain power amp distortion in the vein of the D.A.M. Sonic Titan or EQD Acapulco Gold", and called it "a colossus of distortion-filled rage"1. It followed the maker's The Big Mistake Fuzz1.
What it does
The Doomsailor takes the power amp distortion approach: instead of clipping diodes in a preamp stage, it drives an LM386 chip to its limits, the way pedals like the D.A.M. Sonic Titan and EarthQuaker Devices Acapulco Gold do1. Pedal of the Day summed up the sound as "Huge, ragged, and loud; though the gain knob can tame things quite a bit. Pure power."1
Controls
There are only two knobs, and they are deliberately unequal in size:
| Control | Knob | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Master volume | Giant knob | Sets the pedal's output level1 |
| Gain | Teeny-tiny knob | Sets the amount of distortion, and can tame the pedal considerably at lower settings1 |
Pedal of the Day's reviewer found that the two controls cover a lot of ground: "We always love when 2 simple knobs can produce such a wide spectrum of sound, and the Doomsailor Distortion is no except"1.
Where it sits in Discomfort Designs' range
The Doomsailor is part of a small line of hand-built pedals from the maker, following The Big Mistake Fuzz1. Discomfort Designs also makes the Black Tooth Doom Octave Distorter, an octave, distortion and boost pedal, and the Riemann's Grave, a stereo modulated filter with a distortion section1. For more on the effect type, see Distortion Pedals.
Videos
Pedal of the Day
Sources (1)
- Discomfort Designs Doomsailor Distortion, Pedal of the Day, 2022-07-16
