The Tone City Holy Aura is a high-gain distortion pedal with a built-in clean boost, made by Tone City. Tone City describes it as a pedal that "harnesses the iconic American sounding amp tone for some high gain, high sustain, distortiony goodness"1, which places it in the American-voiced camp rather than the British-voiced Model M side of the maker's range. Delicious Audio characterizes it as a distortion with clean boost whose controls cover "everything from clean boosts to heavy metal distortion"2.
It is a compact pedal. Pedal of the Day called it "a powerful, space-saving beast of a distortion with a little extra push if you need it"3, and the maker's measurements back that up: 5.2 cm high and weighing 0.35 kg1.
What it does: American high-gain amp distortion
The Holy Aura is built around an American-sounding amp voicing, aimed at high gain and high sustain1. In practice that means a distortion pedal intended for saturated tones rather than low-gain grit: Delicious Audio says its tone shaping covers "everything from clean boosts to heavy metal distortion," including bluesy crunch, hard rock drive and saturated metal tones2.
The maker gives one gain figure on its product page: 8dB of distortion with the distortion turned on only1. The same page describes the pedal's character in its own words, saying it "harnesses the iconic American sounding amp tone for some high gain, high sustain, distortiony goodness"1. Tone City also positions it as covering a wide spread of drive sounds, from clean boosts to heavy metal distortion, bluesy crunch, hard rock drive, or saturated metal tones2.
Tone City's own product page lists the boost as 10dB in one place and as a maximum of 20dB in another.
The controls
The control set is straightforward. Delicious Audio describes it as a 3-band EQ with Bass, Mid and Treble, plus Gain, Presence and Volume controls for tone shaping2. Pedal of the Day lists the same layout: three stages of EQ regulation, Gain, Presence, Volume and Boost3.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Gain | Sets the amount of distortion32 |
| Bass / Mid / Treble | Three-band EQ for shaping the distorted tone2 |
| Presence | Adjusts the upper-mid and high-frequency character32 |
| Volume | Sets the output level32 |
| Boost | Adjusts the level of the built-in clean boost3 |
Pedal of the Day's reviewer found the pedal approachable overall: "Simple and user-friendly, this unit is made to get the most out of your tone"3. The same review praised the wider range it belongs to, saying of the Tone City Deluxe Series, "We've been so impressed by the quality of both the builds and the sounds you get with this Tone City Deluxe Series of pedals"3.
Power and connections
The Holy Aura runs on a DC 9V adapter only; the maker lists no battery option1. Current draw is 25mA with both engines on, which is light by distortion pedal standards and easy on an isolated supply1. Tone City recommends its own TPS series of independent pedal power supplies1.
There is no battery compartment. You will need a 9V DC power supply, and Tone City recommends an independent, isolated supply rather than a daisy chain.
On the connections side, the maker lists an input impedance of 1MΩ and an output impedance of 10KΩ, with a normal input level of -10dB1. The 1MΩ input is the standard value for guitar pedals and preserves the high end of passive pickups.
Where it sits in the Tone City range
Within Tone City's own catalog, the Holy Aura is identified as a High Gain Distortion pedal1. Its published specifications place it alongside the maker's other compact effects: 1MΩ input impedance, 10KΩ output impedance, a DC 9V adaptor power supply, and a 25mA current draw with both engines on1. Tone City recommends powering it from its TPS series of independent pedal power supplies1.
As of the 2024 Pedal of the Day review, the Holy Aura was sold in the United States through Osiamo Music Gear3.
Videos
TONE CITY
Elmo Karjalainen
Mike Hermans
Questions
Is the Tone City Holy Aura true bypass?
Yes. Tone City lists the Holy Aura as true bypass, so with the pedal off your signal passes through without the active circuitry in the path. The maker does not state whether the switching is electronic or mechanical, only that the bypass is true bypass.
How much boost does the Holy Aura add?
Tone City's product page gives two figures for the boost: 10dB with the boost turned on only, and a separate statement that the built-in boost circuit produces a pure clean tone with a maximum of 20dB of gain.
Can the Holy Aura run on a battery?
No. The maker specifies power from a DC 9V adapter only and lists no battery option. Tone City recommends its own TPS series of independent pedal power supplies. Current draw is 25mA with both engines on, light enough for most isolated power supplies.
How big is the Tone City Holy Aura?
The maker lists the Holy Aura at 12 cm long, 10 cm wide and 5.2 cm high, with a net weight of 0.35 kg. That is a small, space-saving enclosure in the style of Tone City's mini and Deluxe Series pedals, easy to fit on a crowded pedalboard.
Sources (3)
- HOLY AURA-High Gain Distortion-TONE CITY ▏Analog Pedals & Power supplies, Tone City Audio, 2026
- Tone City Holy Aura Distortion And Boost, Delicious Audio, 2025-06-12
- Tone City Holy Aura Distortion Boost, Pedal of the Day, 2024-04-28
