The Harley Benton MiniStomp Sucker Punch is a compact distortion pedal aimed at metal players. Harley Benton describes it as "your go-to pedal for in-your-face metal tones. Earth-shaking chugs, screaming solos and everything in between are the domain of this rugged little tone wonder."1 It is part of the MiniStomp range, a line of small pedals in solid metal housings, and it draws 20 mA with a weight of 133 g.1 At launch it was listed at £16.80/€19.90.2
The pedal offers two modes, Classic and Extreme, selected with a mini-switch on the enclosure. Three knobs, Distortion, Contour and Volume, shape the sound, and an on/off footswitch with an LED handles bypass. It is built for electric guitar and bass, with a 6.3 mm jack input and output.12
Controls and modes
The control set is deliberately minimal: three knobs and a mode switch.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Distortion | Sets the amount of gain1 |
| Contour | Shapes the tonal character1 |
| Volume | Sets the output level1 |
| Mode mini-switch | Selects Classic or Extreme1 |
The Contour control stands in for a full tone stack, giving one knob to tilt the sound rather than separate bass, middle and treble controls. The mode switch is the pedal's main personality split. Harley Benton's own wording for the Extreme setting: "Flip the mini-switch to 'Extreme' to take your guitar sound over the edge and into the abyss..."1 RockBoard's PedalPedia describes the same switch as flipping to Extreme mode "for more aggression."3
Power and bypass
The Sucker Punch runs on a 9V DC mains adapter with a center negative plug, drawing 20 mA, and the adapter is not included with the pedal.1
No power adapter comes in the box, so you need a standard 9V center negative pedal power supply before the pedal will run. There is no battery option in the maker's specifications.
The pedal uses true bypass, which Harley Benton says eliminates signal interference when the pedal is switched off.1 For a player chaining several MiniStomp pedals, true bypass keeps the unused pedals out of the signal path, though a long chain of bypassed pedals can still benefit from a buffer.
Where it came from
Harley Benton introduced the MiniStomp range as a set of small pedals in solid metal housings covering drives, fuzzes, amp tones, delays, modulation, utility and looper effects, with the Sucker Punch among them. MusicRadar described it as a "metal distortion with Classic or Extreme modes" with Distortion and Contour controls plus an output volume control, suitable for electric guitar and bass. At launch, MusicRadar listed the Sucker Punch at £16.80/€19.90.2
The Sucker Punch sits in Harley Benton's broader distortion lineup alongside pedals such as the MiniStomp Drop Kick, the Crunch Distortion and the Extreme Metal, with the Sucker Punch being the MiniStomp range's dedicated metal entry.
Size and build
The enclosure measures 92 x 38 x 32 mm and weighs 133 g, in a solid metal housing.1 That footprint is smaller than most mini pedals on the market, which typically run longer and taller, so the Sucker Punch fits into spare corners of a pedalboard. The tradeoff of the compact format is the small knobs and mini-switch, which are harder to adjust mid-performance than full size controls.
Videos
Fretboard Diaries
Questions
Is the Harley Benton Sucker Punch true bypass?
Yes. Harley Benton specifies true bypass for the MiniStomp Sucker Punch, which the maker says eliminates signal interference when the pedal is switched off. With true bypass, your dry signal passes through the pedal largely untouched when it is disengaged.
Does the Sucker Punch come with a power adapter?
No. The pedal is powered by a 9V DC mains adapter with a center negative plug, and Harley Benton states that the adapter is not included. You will need a standard pedal power supply or a 9V center negative adapter to run it.
Is the Sucker Punch analog or digital?
It is an analog pedal. RockBoard's PedalPedia lists the MiniStomp Sucker Punch's circuit type as analog, which fits the MiniStomp line's positioning as simple, compact effects rather than digital multi-effects units.
What does the Extreme switch do?
The Extreme setting is the second of the pedal's two modes, alongside Classic. Harley Benton describes it as taking your guitar sound over the edge, and the maker positions the switch as delivering more aggression than the Classic mode.
How big is the MiniStomp Sucker Punch?
The pedal measures 92 x 38 x 32 mm and weighs 133 g. That is small even by mini pedal standards, so it fits into gaps on a crowded board where a full size distortion enclosure would not.
Sources (3)
- MiniStomp Sucker Punch, Harley Benton
- Harley Benton reveals its new MiniStomp effects pedals, MusicRadar, 2021-10-13
- MiniStomp Sucker Punch by Harley Benton, RockBoard PedalPedia, 2026
