The Funny Little Boxes Dirt is an analog distortion pedal built around a single idea: the guitar sound of Alice in Chains' album of the same name. Funny Little Boxes, a UK-based operation that began as a pedal retailer, made its name on album and song-inspired pedals, and the Dirt follows the same approach. It is not a copy of any specific rig from the album's sessions; Guitar Pedal X describes it as aiming to reproduce the recorded gain tonality of the record using a TL072 op-amp at its core1.
The maker's own description promises "the crushing intensity, squalling lead tones and chugging riffs of 90's hard rock and metal"2, and Guitar World's news coverage adds that while the pedal can be violent and aggressive, its designers worked to keep a lot of clarity in the sound3. Beyond Alice in Chains, Guitar Pedal X found it covers Audioslave, Metallica, Pantera, RATM and Slipknot territory1.
Voiced on Alice in Chains' Dirt
The Dirt pedal is the third collaboration between Funny Little Boxes and Matt Webster of the Let's Play All YouTube channel, following the Pearl Jam-inspired 1991 overdrive and the Queens of the Stone Age-styled Skeleton Key1. Guitar Pedal X notes the DIRT was originally supposed to be the immediate follow-up to the 19911.
The distinction the reviewers draw is worth understanding before buying. This is an album-voiced pedal, not a circuit clone. GuitarPCB's build document for the DIY version puts it plainly: the circuit is designed to emulate the guitar tones on the Dirt album, specifically Jerry Cantrell's signature sound5. Guitar Pedal X's Stefan Karlsson called it "a fantastic take on the core sounds of Alice in Chains' album of the same name"4, and in the site's roundup of the year's best new distortion pedals he grouped it among the standout releases of 20244.
One practical quirk shapes how the pedal behaves. Guitar Pedal X found the circuit fairly needs its volume cranked, with most of the key action in the final quarter turn of the knob1. Guitar World's review explains why: the Volume pot is a logarithmic (audio) taper, so there is a smooth, subtle run-up to unity gain at around the two o'clock position6.
The controls
Five knobs give you a gain stage plus a full three-band EQ, which is more shaping than many distortion pedals in this price class offer514.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Dirt | Gain, from light breakup to high gain1 |
| Volume | Master volume, log taper, unity around 2 o'clock6 |
| Bass | Low-end cut or boost1 |
| Mids | Midrange cut or boost1 |
| Treble | High-end cut or boost1 |
Guitar World reported the pedal's "target tone" for Them Bones: Dirt around noon, Volume at two o'clock, and Bass, Treble and Mids each a little past the halfway mark3. That is a useful starting point, though the log-taper volume means anything below two o'clock will be quieter than your clean signal.
Designers and the Funny Little Boxes series
Funny Little Boxes and Matt Webster of the Let's Play All YouTube channel built the Dirt as their third collaborative pedal3. It follows the 1991 Pearl Jam-inspired pedal and the Queens of the Stone Age style Skeleton Key in the series1, and Andy Ilgunas, Matt Webster and Marc Dunn are credited as its designers1. Getting the Dirt finished required help from Marc Dunberry of Soundlad Liverpool and Simon Andrews of JSA Effects3.
The Dirt itself was a group effort, and published accounts name the collaborators differently. Guitar Pedal X credits it as a three-way collaboration between Andy Ilgunas of Funny Little Boxes, Matt Webster of Let's Play All, and Marc Dunn1. Guitar World's announcement says the pedal required help from Marc Dunberry of Soundlad Liverpool and Simon Andrews of JSA Effects in order to get over the line3. The names Marc Dunn and Marc Dunberry appear to refer to the same person, but the sources spell it differently, and Guitar World additionally names Simon Andrews.
What reviewers said
Guitar World's full review, by Deputy Reviews Editor Stuart, was positive on value and range6:
"For the price, it's excellent value, nailing the brief and delivering a wider scope than the name suggests6."
The "wider scope" point matches Guitar Pedal X's finding that the pedal reaches well beyond Alice in Chains into other 90s and 2000s heavy styles1. The main caveat from the coverage is the volume behavior: expect to run the Volume knob high, with the useful range concentrated in the last quarter turn16.
The DIY PCB version
GuitarPCB publishes a build document for a DIRT bonus PCB based on the Funny Little Boxes pedal, with the same five controls: bass, mids, treble, dirt and volume5. A few things set it apart from the commercial pedal:
- It is only available as a free bonus PCB with qualifying orders, not sold on its own5
- The PCB layout was shared publicly on PCBWay by the user "Glory to Ukraine"5
- 10% of the PCB cost is donated to the designer by the manufacturer5
For a player who solders, it is a way into the same tonal territory as a build project rather than a purchase5.
Videos
Let's Play All
Let's Play All
Let's Play All
Questions
Does the Funny Little Boxes Dirt take a battery?
No. The pedal does not come with a battery compartment, so it runs only on external power. It takes 9V DC with a center negative plug and draws about 11mA, which is light enough for most isolated supplies and even a daisy chain with headroom to spare.
How do you get the Them Bones tone on the Dirt pedal?
Guitar World reported the pedal's target tone for Them Bones with the Dirt control around noon, Volume at two o'clock, and Bass, Treble and Mids each a little past the halfway mark. Guitar Pedal X noted the circuit needs its volume cranked, with most of the key action in the final quarter turn of the knob.
Where is unity volume on the Funny Little Boxes Dirt?
The Volume pot is a logarithmic, or audio, taper control, and Guitar World's reviewer found unity gain sits at around the two o'clock position. The taper gives a smooth, subtle run-up to that point rather than a sudden jump in level.
Is there a DIY PCB for the Funny Little Boxes Dirt?
Yes. GuitarPCB publishes a build document for a DIRT bonus PCB based on the pedal, designed to emulate Jerry Cantrell's tones on the Dirt album. It is only available as a free bonus PCB with qualifying orders and is not sold on its own; the layout was shared publicly on PCBWay by the user Glory to Ukraine.
Sources (6)
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2024-10-29
- Dirt by Funny Little Boxes, RockBoard PedalPedia, 2026
- “The crushing intensity, squalling lead tones, and chugging riffs of '90s metal”: Jerry Cantrell's Alice In Chains tone in a box for $110? Funny Little Boxes promises just that with the Dirt distortion, Guitar World, 2024-10-28
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2024-12-17
- Microsoft Word, GuitarPCB, 2025-08
- Funny Little Boxes Dirt pedal review, Guitar World, 2025-01-17
