8 Favourite Multi-Gain Machines - from Clean to Scream!

Controls - BOOST } Post, Pre, Boost Footswitch; ACTIVE 3-BAND EQ } Treb, Mid, Bass; SOFT-CLIPPING OPAMP DRIVE } Fuel (Output), Gain, Drive Footswitch.

Just recently landed for me, where first featured in May on this blog, I've had the All-Pedal Slamurai Bushido Drive for a long time, and this one seemed to expand on that template with Pre and Post Boost controls. And I have to say I'm delighted with this - it has a tonne of gain onboard and a super-shapeable 3-Band Active EQ. Obviously it's not going to be quite as versatile as some of these others - while you're well covered for Boost, Overdrive, Distortion and High Gain here - I've not really tried too hard to get a Fuzz voicing out of this as yet, but note that it's a relatively smooth output profile so that if there is a fuzz-side in here somewhere it's going to be relatively subtle. The first thing I randomly dialled in on this was a supreme liquid distortion - really easy to dial in too - and sounds totally perfect for that 80's style singing lead line!

Controls - Gain A, Tone A, Master, Gain B, Tone B, A/B Mix, A Voicing : Boost / Drive / Fuzz, Stack : Parallel / A>B / B>A, B Voicing : Boost / Drive / Fuzz. Presets : 1 / Manual / 2, A Footswitch, B Footswitch, [+16 Dip-switches].

You have 2 distinct gain channel profiles here - which both have different Boost, Overdrive and Fuzz Voicings. Once channel is based on JFETs, the other uses TL072 OpAmps for a quite different and distinct core voicing. I mostly use this as a Fuzz / Multi-Fuzz pedal - combining the Fuzz Channel on one side with the Boost, Overdrive or Fuzz on the other. I typically always have a fuzz note in all my voicings - where you can route the channels either way in series or more interestingly - in parallel for more complex and less saturating textures vs series gain-staging. The single tone controls per channel can be a touch limiting compared to some of these others - but you do still end up with a vast range of tones and textures at your disposal. I always hoped that Joel might do a series of these with different core circuits on each side - but I guess this pedal never took off adequately to hold its place in the range, and it's been discontinued for many years now. Which I find really odd, as so many of my friends have and really rate this pedal. I've pretty much championed this one from the start! At one stage, and long before Spaceman released their Gemini IV - I proposed Joe might do a kinda sorta version of the Gemini III within this enclosure format. Obviously all that came to naught - and this pedal is somewhat perplexingly discontinued!

Controls - Tone, Bass, Treble, Gain, Parallel, Level, Clipping : C1 / C2 / C3, EQ : PR / EQ / PO, Gain Multiplier : x1 / x2 / x5, TheGigRig Optical Footswitch.

I was very quickly onto the Hamstead Odyssey when that first launched - one of my early favourite multi-gain pedals. Where the Subspace was a bassier evolution of that with an extra Parallel Dry Blend knob. I was a little late to that, but actually my timing was perfect as I picked up one of just 25 Limited Edition  Mullard GEX35 Germanium Clipping Diode types - with even richer harmonics. And since then - that has long been one of my favourite multi-gain pedal - which covers Boost, Overdrive, Fuzz and Distortion with ease, it doesn't go particularly high gain - but what it has sounds consistently glorious across that range. I feel very privileged to have been able to snag one of these special editions at the time. This for me is reminiscent of the Mojo Germanium Diode editions of Pettjohn pedals which I own (Chime II and Gold II) - as those use special Germanium Diodes too! In any case the Subspace sounds glorious on both Guitar and Bass. It was originally intended to be a kind of Bass version of the Odyssey, but I look upon it as a Phatter and more fuller flavoured Odyssey - with more harmonics! Great sounding pedal for sure!

Controls - Drive, Boost, Level, Tight Switch (on side), Mode : Silicon (Green) / LED (Red), Low, Mid, High, Boost Footswitch, Drive Footswitch.

I've championed this one from quite early on in its trajectory. It's an incredible multi-gain pedal which goes exponentially beyond its humble Screamer roots. It has a really smartly calibrated MOSFET boost - which when cranked and combined with a fair degree of gain - delivers some really cool fuzz voicings too. This pedal is a marvellous example of being greater than the sum of its parts. The optional LED Clipping Mode and Tight  switch are wonderful additions to have for this pedal - and there's a vast variety of gain levels and tones and textures onboard. I famously changed out the knobs on mine to make it look as slick as it sounds. Tom at Messiah is working on a Deluxe version - which I guess is currently stuck in development limbo. It was fairly advanced when I last heard from him - but he still had some key decisions to make. I have a few Drive + Boost pedals in the collection - but this one is really special on account of its incredible versatility - super easy to dial in too!

Controls - Gain / Gate, Comp / Speaker Sim, Level, Low / Tight, Mid / Tilt EQ, High / Presence, Preset : 1-6, Engage / Alt func. Footswitch.

A really interesting DSP gain-builder pedal - where you start off by setting the level of gain, before applying a Gate, Compression and Tightness, where you have a 3-Band EQ + Presence to shape the output to your liking. It actually works best for me at relatively low and relatively high gain voicings - and delivers some interesting textures in its own way - while most seem to agree that the mid-gain and crunchy sounds aren't quite as crisp as people would want them. Its forte seems to be mostly at either end of the scale - either full on high-gain, or softer, smoother low gain. It can deliver a variety of voices and gains up very easily - while you would probably best describe it as bi-polar in its core nature! You do need to get used to the manner of its output, but once you've figured out the essentials you can do some really cool things with this pedal - and it benefits from having footswitchable presets. In the company of these other pedals it's a little out-matched in certain areas - but it does have its own advantages - and as mentioned does certain voicings really rather well. And can relatively easily sound grungy too if you want it to - it just seems to go a little bit funny in the mid-gain section - possibly a recalibration of the algorithm is required! This pedal offers a lot though, and deserves its place in this category.

Controls - Volume, Top End : Modern / X / Vintage, Low End : Full / Tight / Medium, Gain, Destity / Core EQ : Dark / Poweramp / Bright, Gain Structure : Low / Medium / High, Gold Era Filter : 1987X / 1959SLP + High Gain / 2203 JCM800, Presence, Gain : Green / Orange / Red, Treble, Mid, Orange Saturation : ++ / 0 / +, Red Saturation : ++ / 0 / +, Bass.

My favourite out and out Distortion pedal - also my favourite MIAB overall - with its 19 levels / levers of gain - from Marshally Cleans - and all the way up the JVM style blistering high gain distortion. Incredibly shapeable - with intuitive controls and a genuine under-the-fingers amp-feel and superb dynamics - killer guitar volume gain cleanup etc. I've really heaped the superlatives on this one - where its predecessor held the title before it. Everyone that owns one agrees that it's the most wonderful gain machine. Obviously this operates mostly within the Marshall domain - but with all the controls you have at your disposal you can take it off piste quite easily and into other territories. This is the pedal to convert anyone who says that pedals can never compete with amps - this one's just all-round superb - I think it's my 6th of that N5 line - and incredibly tMr Wu still manages to make each new one sound better than its predecessor - which I'm utterly amazed at as I though for sure this format had reached its peak two iterations ago! incredible new Michael Nielsen demo too which fully does this pedal justice - as attached!

Controls - LPF Filter, Main Gain, Overtone/Fuzz Drive/Gain, Gate (Fuzz Dynamics), Overtone (Octave Up), HPF, Active Treble, Active Bass, Volume, 3-way Mid Boost, Clip : Hard / Off / Soft.

And you've seen me feature this one a whole lot over these last few days. This really is the embodiment of my '12 Degrees of Saturation' philosophy and methodology - all in one compact unit. This is such a chameleon - and you can turn it to almost any gain purpose. Note that as I've mentioned before - that you're not 100% authentically recreating all those pedal types and genres - but near as darnit! There are though other pedals - and some in this listing that can deliver some of those voicings slightly more authentically - but nothing can compete with the sheer scope of this pedal's coverage - the whole Gate / Overtone / Drive section is just genius - as is the brilliantly calibrated Mid Boost. I had a feeling this would be a killer pedal when I very first glimpsed - and now 3 weeks of experience bears testimony to that eventuality - this pedal really delivers - in terms of its ultimate versatility - this is surely the MVP in this category! If you want one gain pedal that can do everything - then this is the one you want!

Controls : Slash (EQ / Dark > Bright), Push (Boost / Rangemaster), Volume, Riff (2nd Gain Stage / Overdrive), Clipping : Symmetrical Silicon / Asymmetrical Germanium, Raff (3rd Gain Stage / Distortion).

While this really well priced format is a genuine secret weapon - combining 3 different Gain stages with smart tilt-like EQ. Push is the Rangemaster Boost, Riff is the second sort of Overdrive Gain Stage, and Raff is the 3rd Distoriton Gain Stage. And it's very much like blending a cocktail in terms of how you mix those 3 gain-stages up. This one's got incredible range too, and because of its Rangemaster roots - delivers exceptional fuzzy tones in particular. You can get all kinds of interesting tones from this in terms of how you mix up those 3 gain stages - and it definitely deserves to be in this company - it's by far the lowest cost option in this category - which should make it a shoe-in for most! It's such a clever design for a circuit and really deserves a wider audience - at this price it's a steal!