Randy Rhoads

Randy Rhoads was the guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne, touring with the band and shaping a sound that Guitar World describes as central to his revered guitar tone, built around the MXR Distortion+ and the MXR 10-band Graphic EQ on his pedalboard¹. MXR says he "revolutionized the art of the rock 'n' roll guitar player" during a career that ended when he passed away in 1982, at just 25 years old²³. His pedalboard, which he called "the chip pan," was opened for the first time in over 40 years so MXR could recreate his personal Distortion+ as a signature pedal⁴⁵.

Randy Rhoads with Ozzy Osbourne

Rhoads toured and recorded with Ozzy Osbourne, and while on tour with the band he designed a Flying V-style guitar with a white finish and a pinstripe accent⁹¹⁰. The MXR Distortion+ was a crucial component of his sound across his Ozzy Osbourne discography: Dunlop says he "harnessed its raw energy to slam his high-gain amplifier with a torrent of harmonics to create the sonic signature that would etch an indelible mark on music history"¹¹¹²⁹. Guitar World reports the Distortion+ remained one of his staples throughout his career⁶.

On That Pedal Show, Tore of TC Electronic described how Rhoads layered his recorded solos:

The discussion named Diary of a Madman as an example and compared the effect to the artificial doubling the Beatles later used¹³.

Click to load

The "chip pan" pedalboard

Rhoads' pedalboard was a custom-made unit housed in a flight case, with eight switches and nine control knobs¹. Ozzy Osbourne nicknamed it the "chip pan" because it was so noisy, and Randy himself always referred to it that way¹²¹. He used it on stage and in the studio¹.

Guitar World documents the six pedals on the board, with duplicates kept as spares¹:

The board had been on loan, and the family had patiently awaited its return from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame before the MXR project¹². In December 2022, for the first time in over 40 years, Jimmy Dunlop and his team examined, filmed and recorded the pedalboard at the Musonia School of Music, the North Hollywood, California music school and Randy Rhoads museum founded by his mother, Delores¹²⁵.

The MXR Randy Rhoads Distortion+

The MXR Randy Rhoads Distortion+ (model RR104) is a distortion pedal that Dunlop describes as painstakingly matched to the legend's own MXR Distortion+ to recreate the same raw, overdriven tones heard on his most beloved hits⁹⁷. It is a limited edition that ships with an exclusive booklet and a certificate of authenticity⁷.

The project began when the Rhoads family unveiled Randy's pedalboard for the MXR design team at the Musonia School of Music in Los Angeles, for the first time in 42 years, with the involvement of his sister, Kathy Rhoads⁹⁷. Kathy gave MXR engineers access to Randy's own touring pedal from his Ozzy Osbourne days, and the design team closely inspected everything they could from the board³¹¹. GuitarPlayer reports the inspection took place in 2022, where MXR "painstakingly spec'd Randy's vintage Distortion+" to create a replica².

The timeline of the release ran longer than first planned:

• December 2022: the signature Distortion+ is announced, with a 2023 release planned⁵
• January 2024: the release is delayed until mid-spring, and the pedal is not shown at NAMM 2024¹²
• August 20, 2024: the limited edition pedal launches⁸
• September 2025: a Special Edition returns after the first run sells out¹⁰

The Special Edition (RR104C) carries the black and white polka dot design associated with Rhoads on both the pedal's enclosure and box, with his signature on the pedal itself¹². It was developed with the direct involvement of Kathy Rhoads and has the same control layout of Output and Distortion as the previous model¹⁵.

The Rhoads family endorsed the pedal directly:

Dunlop's celebration of the pedal also included Kirk Hammett, Zakk Wylde, and Phil Demmel, each reflecting on their discovery of Rhoads' work and how it affected them as guitar players at the start of their journeys¹¹.

News