Third Man Hardware MXR Double Down

The Third Man Hardware MXR Double Down is a dual boost pedal that combines two separate MXR Micro Amp circuits into a single box. Where the original Micro Amp gives you one clean preamp-style boost, the Double Down gives you two, each with its own Gain control and its own output, so one pedal can drive two amplifiers or two signal chains at once¹².

The pedal came out of a collaboration between Jack White and MXR. Premier Guitar reports the project was sparked by White's use of two Micro Amp pedals since his White Stripes days, and his Third Man Hardware company worked with MXR to build the two circuits into one compact enclosure¹³. It was announced and released on December 9, 2022, first as a Reverb-exclusive limited edition, with a standard version to follow⁴⁵.

Two Micro Amp circuits in one pedal

The core idea is simple: the Double Down's single input splits your guitar signal into two separate outputs, and each output is fed by its own Micro Amp boost circuit¹³. Gearnews describes it as containing two MXR Micro Preamps that let you drive two guitar amplifiers at once³. Each channel provides up to +26dB of signal boost, enough to hit the front end of a guitar amp and push it into breakup¹⁴.

For a player used to a single-ended boost like the Micro Amp or the true-bypass Micro Amp+, the Double Down's appeal is the second channel. MusicRadar notes that with two boost circuits and two outputs, you can use this one pedal to add gain to two separate signal chains, which is the setup White himself ran with two separate Micro Amps⁴.

The controls

The face of the pedal is minimal: two oversized yellow Gain dials, a footswitch, and two small switches on the sides of the housing²⁴³. The manual advises starting with the knobs set fully counterclockwise before operation².

The Phase switch is the stereo trick. MusicRadar explains that it gives you a stereophonic effect by inverting the phase of the second output signal; the manual says to move it to its right position, toward the output jacks, for a pronounced stereophonic effect when using both outputs²⁴. Gearnews describes the result as a pronounced stereophonic effect from the left-side switch³.

The Buffer switch is a practical touch for pedalboard builders. Move it right, away from the input jack, for true bypass switching; move it left, toward the input jack, for buffered bypass, with a yellow-orange LED showing the buffer is active². MusicRadar highlights this switchable bypass as a feature, since it lets you run the pedal buffered or true depending on where it sits in your chain⁴.

Versions and the yellow limited edition

The Double Down launched in two colorways. The early limited edition shipped in an exclusive yellow-on-black enclosure sold through Reverb, while the standard version is black⁴³. Premier Guitar reports the limited-edition yellow colorway, available exclusively on Reverb, also came with a 10-pick guitar pick tin¹; Delicious Audio's launch coverage described a 6-pick tin with the yellow variant⁵.

• Limited edition: Yellow-on-black enclosure, Reverb exclusive, bundled with a guitar pick tin¹⁴⁵
• Standard version: Black enclosure³

Both versions carry the same $169.99 list price¹³. MusicRadar's launch coverage listed the Reverb limited edition at $169, or £189 in the UK⁴.

Where it came from

The Double Down is a collaboration between Jack White's Third Man Hardware and MXR, announced on December 9, 2022³¹². Premier Guitar traces the design directly to White's rig: the custom pedal collaboration with Jack White was sparked because of his use of two Micro Amp pedals since the White Stripes¹. Rather than keep two separate pedals on the board, the partnership put both circuits in one enclosure, giving, as Delicious Audio put it, "two independent channels of classic MXR preamp gain"⁵.

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