Main.Ace.FX One Shot

The Main.Ace.FX One Shot is an overdrive and distortion pedal, described by Pedal of the Day's reviewer Mike B as "an excellent example of a simple overdrive/distortion/freak box"¹. It is one of Main.Ace.FX's TAMER pedals, and its character comes from a dual gain design plus two controls that push it into stranger territory: a Glitch knob and a Freak-Out Oscillation switch¹.

What it does

The One Shot covers a wide spread of gain sounds. Mike B's review describes "warm and a bit fuzzy overdrive" as easily achievable, alongside what he calls "hardcore distortion"¹. In that sense it sits between the territory covered on Overdrive Pedals and Distortion Pedals, with a fuzz-adjacent edge on the low-gain end that players of Fuzz Pedals may recognize.

The controls are where the pedal sets itself apart:

• Two Gain controls: the amount of gain is set by each, and where you place each one determines a whole new set of sounds, since the two gain stages interact¹
• Glitch knob: the reviewer believes it controls the voltage going to the pedal, making crazy combinations with the two gain stages and producing unexpected results¹
• Freak-Out Oscillation switch: sends the distorted tones, in the reviewer's words, "into an entirely new dimension of sound"¹

The combination of the dual gain stages, the Glitch knob and the oscillation switch means the pedal produces sounds the reviewer characterizes as wacky and unexpected, keeping the player on their toes¹. Players looking for that kind of experimental behavior alongside conventional gain will find it here; those wanting only predictable overdrive tones may find the Glitch and oscillation controls change more than they expect.

What reviewers said

Pedal of the Day reviewed the One Shot on 18 September 2015, using a loaner unit sent by the maker, and noted that more Main.Ace.FX reviews were planned¹. The reviewer's overall verdict was that it is an excellent example of a simple overdrive/distortion/freak box¹.

Videos

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