The Dirt Hammer Distortion is a distortion pedal from Stacks Sound, a maker whose pedals are hand-built. Pedal of the Day's reviewer, Mike B, described it as "a saturation wizard, able to create big, fat, thick walls of distorted sound" while still keeping the guitar's tone intact, and noted that it can be sensitive to picking attack1. For players, that puts it among distortion pedals aimed at thick, full distorted textures rather than thin, buzzy gain. If you are comparing it with other ways to get grit, see the site's pages on Distortion Pedals, Overdrive Pedals and Fuzz Pedals.
Controls
The Dirt Hammer carries four knobs, and its tone shaping works differently from the usual treble and bass arrangement: the two cut knobs click into position as you turn them, giving stepped settings rather than a continuously variable sweep1.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Volume | Controls the pedal's volume; the reviewer found it had loads of volume on tap1 |
| Gain | Controls the amount of gain1 |
| Low Cut | Tone shaping knob that clicks into position as you turn it1 |
| High Cut | Tone shaping knob that clicks into position as you turn it1 |
What reviewers said
Pedal of the Day's review, published on 22 May 2015, was favorable on both the gain and the tone controls. Mike B called the EQ section "great as well," finding that its controls interact terrifically and produce broad, bold sounds while keeping the guitar's original sonics intact1.
"The Dirt Hammer Distortion is a saturation wizard, able to create big, fat, thick walls of distorted sound, while still keeping your guitar's tone intact, and can be sensitive to your picking attack as well."
Videos
Stacks FX
Stacks FX
Stacks FX
Sources (1)
- Stacks Sound Dirt Hammer Distortion, Pedal of the Day, 2015-05-22