Distortion

Revered for its exceptional clarity and raw power, the V1 Triangle by Vick Audio is an incredibly musical distortion with plenty of sustain. The significant drawback of vintage Triangles was their extremely scooped mids. For this classic reproduction, Vick Audio incorporated a three-position toggle switch to let you select your preferred mids profile. The Triangles have slightly more sustain and brightness than most of the later variants that enables it to slice through the mix. The V1 Triangle is extremely articulate for leads while preserving enough crunch for rhythm work or power chords.

Thick, unruly, and perfect for riffs—the Iron Horse dirt box from Walrus Audio is packed full of classic distortion tones. This high gain metal stallion can go from a thick, warm overdrive to a wild, bucking distortion at the drop of a 10 gallon hat. It also comes with a three position toggle that lets you switch between three clipping diodes for maximum dirt tone versatility. Set it to the left for light compression, to the right for more compression, or to the middle for a completely non-compressed signal.

Version 2 of the Pinnacle Deluxe isn’t like your regular pedal updates; it juices up Wampler’s original modern classic with insane amounts of stompbox steroids. The Pinnacle Deluxe V2 still nails the original’s versatile “classic rock to Brown Sound” drive range while giving you even more control over its tone. First up is a new three-band EQ with bright and bass boosts. Then, there’s a new pre-gain boost based on the venerable Tube Screamer. And finally, there’s now a side-mounted SAG switch that lets you tighten up the drive response.

An overdrive pedal that goes against the grain, Xvive’s Classic Rock drive pedal scoops the bucketloads of mids that classic rock traditionalists associate with that particular musical genre. The move works in the Classic Rock’s favor, though, as it delivers everything from smooth driven tones at mid-gain settings all the way up to screaming solo sustains when cranked up, all while retaining excellent dynamic response. A Tone control knob lets you adjust the highs in your signal to dial in just the right amount of brightness.

The V2 Distortion from budget guitar effects creator Xvive is a dirt stomp that goes from “kind of loud” to “Lord have mercy, that’s loud!” This tiny distortion pedal packs quite the high gain punch but has a wide enough gain range to be pretty versatile. You can dial in everything from a light crunch to utter saturation, all while retaining excellent dynamic response. The V2 Distortion features a 100% analog design and comes with true bypass switching.

Box of Rock not heavy enough for you? The Box of Metal is what you need. The heaviest-sounding pedal in boutique guitar effects pedal company Zvex’s extensive catalog, the Box of Metal is pure, balls to the wall dirt that goes from loud to even louder. The massive gain range can be reined in with a very useful tone control knob and an extremely effective noise gate that can be engaged and disengaged via a dedicated footswitch.

The Box of Rock boutique overdrive guitar effects pedal from Zvex is a hard hitting little monster voiced to simulate the roaring sound of an overdriven 1966 Marshall JTM45 with all the knobs cranked up to 10. It dishes out classic rock tones from the mid ’60s to early ’70s like there’s no tomorrow and can also be used as a high headroom, low noise clean boost . The Box of Rock Vertical packs the same great tone as its horizontally oriented sibling, but the more “standard” pedal structure makes it easier to slot into your pedalboard.

Zvex’s Box of Rock Vexter pedal is a hard hitting little monster voiced to simulate the roaring sound of an overdriven 1966 Marshall JTM45 with all the knobs cranked up to 10. It dishes out classic rock tones from the mid ’60s to early ’70s like there’s no tomorrow and can also be used as a high headroom, low noise clean boost. Zvex’s Vexter line of silk screened pedals feature the exact same tone, feature set, and internal parts and circuits as their hand-painted counterparts. The only differences are the painting process and the price.