The Fortin Natas is a high-gain preamp and distortion pedal from Canadian amp maker Fortin Amps, first launched in October 2023 as the company's first dedicated dirt pedal12. It converts Fortin's NATAS high-gain tube amplifier, an amp now discontinued but very popular in the mid 2000s, into pedal format, using cascading gain stages, a 3-band active EQ, a Kill gain boost and a Mid Shape switch to bring what Fortin calls the brutal power, absolute articulation and depth of gain of the original amp to a stompbox13.
Fortin's designer Mike Fortin aimed to get as close as he could to the tone, and most importantly the feel, of the amp; the maker says the differences are extremely hard to hear when the pedal is run into a NATAS power section or the Neural DSP NTS suite IR section1. It is an analog pedal2, built in the USA, priced at $299.99 USD on Fortin's own store1.
What it does: the Natas amp in a pedal
The pedal is based on the NATAS amplifier, which Fortin describes as the "white whale" of the guitar world5. Where the amp is long out of production, the pedal carries its voicing into a pedalboard-friendly box: cascading gain stages deliver a saturated, harmonically rich distortion that Fortin says remains tight even at extreme settings, and the controls closely match the ones on the amp53. Delicious Audio's write-up describes it as bringing the authentic Fortin NATAS amp tone to a dirt pedal for the first time21.
Because it is built as a preamp as much as a distortion, it can sit at the front of a rig feeding a clean power amp or IR loader, or work as a conventional high-gain distortion pedal in front of an amp. The EQ is a 3-band active design, so it can add frequencies as well as cut them, which is what gives it the flexibility of an amp's tone stack rather than a simple pedal tone control1.
The controls
Guitar Pedal X's review lists the full control set: Active Bass, Active Mids, Active Treble, Volume, a MidShift switch with Scooped and Humped positions, Grind (sharpen), Girth (fatten), plus Kill and On/Bypass footswitches6.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Gain | One of the pedal's two gain stages, with Volume3 |
| Treble | Active circuitry, controls the high frequencies1 |
| Mid | Active circuitry, adjusts how much midrange is present or taken away5 |
| Bass | Active EQ band6 |
| Mid Shape / MidShift | Places an EQ curve across the base tone: a modern scooped tone or a classic mid hump; Hump tightens, Scoop thrashes1 |
| Girth | Tone shaping, fattens the tone by exciting specific frequencies1 |
| Grind | Tone shaping, sharpens the tone by exciting specific frequencies1 |
| Volume | Output level, one of two gain stages37 |
| Kill footswitch | Adds an extra gain stage; Fortin says "it can get pretty crazy - in the best possible way"1 |
| On footswitch | True bypass, relay-based soft footswitch; powers up in the state it was powered off1 |
Delicious Audio also notes a Mid Shift toggle that lets you pick between two different frequencies to boost or cut with the Mid knob3. For a starting point, Guitar Pedal X's reviewer's favored settings used maximum Bass and Girth, the Scooped MidShift position, Gain at noon, Grind at 10 o'clock, and moderate Mid and Treble7.
Power: 9V, 150mA
The Natas runs on a 9V DC center-pin negative, fully regulated external adapter or power supply, which is not included1. Steady draw is 150mA at 9V DC, but the pedal requires a minimum input draw of 600mA inrush current to power up1.
There is no battery clip, and Fortin says a battery would last about an hour at most1. The 600mA inrush requirement means the Natas should not be run from an underpowered supply or a shared daisy-chain output that cannot deliver that startup surge.
History and versions
What reviewers said
Guitar Pedal X reviewed the pedal in November 2023, covering the conversion of the NATAS amplifier into pedal format and noting its $299 price71. At the end of that year the same writer named it in his roundup of the best new distortion pedals:
"Probably my favourite high gain distortion of the year - really beautifully put together, with a superb precision-honed" tone.
The pedal also appears in Guitar Pedal X's Full Metal Racket selection of compact high-gain and metal distortion pedals6.
Videos
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Questions
Can the Fortin Natas run on a battery?
No. Fortin ships it without a battery clip because the circuit draws too much current, and the maker says a battery would last about an hour at most. It needs an external 9V DC power supply, and the inrush current at power-up is 600mA, so a supply rated above the 150mA running draw is a safe choice.
Is the Fortin Natas true bypass?
Yes. Both the standard Natas and the BlackOut edition use industry-standard DPDT relay-based true bypass switching, engaged by a relay-based soft footswitch. The pedal also powers up in whatever state it was in when it was switched off, engaged or bypassed.
What does the Kill switch on the Natas do?
The Kill footswitch adds an extra gain stage on top of the pedal's normal cascading gain, acting as a boost. Fortin's own description is that it can get pretty crazy, in the best possible way, so it is the control to reach for when the base tone needs even more saturation.
What is the Natas BlackOut edition?
A limited edition version of the same high-gain preamp and distortion circuit, built around the Fortin NATAS amplifier's tone. It shares the standard pedal's controls, true bypass relay switching, 9V DC power requirement, dimensions and $299.99 USD price, and like the standard model it is built in the USA.
What power supply does the Fortin Natas need?
A 9V DC center-pin negative, fully regulated external adapter or power supply, which is not included with the pedal. Running draw is 150mA at 9V DC, but it needs a minimum input draw of 600mA inrush current to power up, so it should not share a thin supply with other pedals.
Can the Fortin Natas be used as a preamp?
Yes. Fortin sells it as a Modern Hi-Gain Pre-Amp as well as a distortion pedal, with cascading gain stages and a 3-band active EQ that can boost as well as cut frequencies. Fortin says the differences from the original amp are extremely hard to hear when it is run into a NATAS power section or the Neural DSP NTS suite IR section.
Sources (8)
- NATAS® - Modern Hi-Gain | Pre-Amp - Fortin Amps, Fortin Amps
- Natas Distortion by Fortin Amplification, RockBoard (PedalPedia), 2026
- Fortin Natas Distortion, Delicious Audio, 2023-10-25
- “The most versatile modern distortion pedal available today”: Fortin debuts its first dedicated distortion pedal, the Natas, Guitar World (www.guitarworld.com), 2023-10-25
- NATAS® - Limited Edition| Modern Hi-Gain | Pre-Amp - Fortin Amps, Fortin Amps
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2024-06-19
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2023-11-15
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2023-12-17
