The Vick Audio Tweed Tone Distortion is a compact distortion pedal, hand-built in the US by Vick Audio, that aims to capture the sound of a small tweed-style amp pushed past its limits. As Guitar World's reviewer Billy Voight put it, "The goal is to give you a compressed, 'overworked-amp' distortion sound at any volume, in pedal form."1 It sits in the broader family of distortion pedals, but with a character aimed at that specific compressed, amp-like break-up rather than high-gain territory.
Controls and features
The pedal keeps things simple with just two knobs, Drive and Volume, covering gain and output level respectively.1 Around those controls, the hardware is aimed at pedalboard use:
- Neutrik jacks for the input and output connections1
- A Boss-style power jack, the standard center-negative arrangement most pedalboard supplies already provide1
- A 3PDT true bypass switch, so the pedal drops out of the signal path entirely when off1
- No battery compartment, so it runs off external power only1
The pedal does not take a battery. Plan on a power supply with a Boss-style jack output, which nearly every pedalboard power brick offers.1
The whole circuit fits into a box only slightly larger than 2 by 4 inches, small enough to squeeze onto a crowded board.1
How it responds to your playing
The standout trait in Guitar World's review was the pedal's dynamic response. Voight highlighted "the sensitivity of the pedal to the dynamics of my playing," describing how it compresses more the harder you dig in.1 In practice, that means backing off the pick gives you a softer, less compressed response, while attacking the strings pushes the circuit into its fuller, compressed distortion. Players who shape their sound with picking hand technique tend to look for exactly this kind of behavior in a drive pedal.
What reviewers said
Guitar World's 2013 review, by Billy Voight, was favorable, praising the pedal's dynamic sensitivity and its pedalboard-friendly hardware at a $69 street price.1 The compressed, overworked-amp character was presented as the pedal's central idea, and the reviewer's comments on dynamics suggest it delivers that character in a way that responds to touch rather than flattening everything to one level.1
Vick Audio's wider range
Vick Audio has built a line of pedals around recreating classic drive and fuzz circuits in hand-built US form, and the Vick Audio Tweed Tone Distortion sits in that range as a compressed amp-style distortion. Its control layout is simple: "The two knobs on this pedal are Drive and Volume."2 The build includes some practical touches for a pedalboard, as the maker describes: "Cool features include Neutrik jacks, a Boss-style power jack (The pedal does not take a battery) and a 3PDT True Bypass."2 Players can compare it against overdrive pedals or fuzz pedals to hear where its compressed amp-style distortion fits alongside those effects.
Videos
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Questions
Is the Vick Audio Tweed Tone Distortion true bypass?
Yes. Guitar World's review describes a 3PDT true bypass switch, the standard switching arrangement for a hand-built pedal of this type. The pedal also uses Neutrik jacks and a Boss-style power jack, so it slots into a pedalboard in the usual way, with the signal passing untouched when the effect is switched off.
Does the Vick Audio Tweed Tone Distortion take a battery?
No. The review notes plainly that the pedal does not take a battery. It is powered through a Boss-style power jack instead, so you will need a standard 9V-style center negative supply or a spot on your pedalboard power supply to run it.
Where is the Vick Audio Tweed Tone Distortion made?
It is hand-built in the US by Vick Audio, according to Guitar World's review. That places it among the small-batch American builders rather than the mass-produced import lines, which shows in the compact, neatly finished enclosure.
How much does the Vick Audio Tweed Tone Distortion cost?
At the time of Guitar World's 2013 review, the pedal carried a street price of $69. That was the figure quoted then; prices for a small-builder pedal like this can change over time, so the current figure may differ.
Does the Tweed Tone Distortion react to picking dynamics?
Yes, and the reviewer made it a highlight. Billy Voight of Guitar World singled out the pedal's sensitivity to playing dynamics, noting that it compresses more the harder you dig in. Playing lighter keeps things cleaner, while digging in pushes the compression and distortion harder.
Sources (2)
- Review: Vick Audio Tweed Tone Distortion Pedal, Guitar World, 2013-10-03
- Vick Audio Replicates Tone of Cornish G-2 with Release of V-2, Guitar Interactive Magazine
