The MXR Distortion II is a distortion pedal from the company's original run, manufactured between 1978 and 1984 according to the maker's own product history, and discontinued in 19841. It belongs to a different family from the better-known MXR Distortion + and later MXR Distortion III, and it is remembered today chiefly for one record: Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins used it on "Siamese Dream"2.
Power and how it differs from other MXR distortions
The Distortion II's power arrangement sets it apart from modern pedals. It used a transformer and ran at 15v1, rather than the battery or DC supply arrangements players expect today. That matters for anyone encountering an original unit today: it is not a pedal to drop onto a standard daisy-chained pedalboard supply.
Guitar Pedal X, citing Stefan Karlsson, dates the pedal 1979 to 1984 and calls it "the long-since discontinued MXR Distortion II (1979-1984)"4. The maker's product history gives 1978 as the start of production1, so published sources disagree on the first year.
"Siamese Dream" and the pedal's reputation
For a player weighing it against other MXR distortions, the Distortion II is a vintage, transformer-powered design with a specific recorded legacy, distinct from the current distortion pedal lines MXR sells under the Distortion+, Super Badass and Prime names124.
Videos
daCod77
Gregory Flanagan
Gear Demo
Sources (4)
- DisDis Distortion V.1.0, lectric-fx.com
- DISTORTiiON, pastfx.com, 2026
- Reaction Distortion 2 Stomp Box, Rocktron, 2024-09-24
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2024-07-15
Billy Corgan
