Aura Amps Diamond High Gain Distortion is about the most authentic Dual Rectifier in pedal format you can get - with 3 flavours of Rectification onboard

After some protracted delivery troubles I finally have my hands on Vitor Mendes’ Aura Amps Diamond Dual Rec style pedal - as recommended by one of my readers for being the most authentic sounding MESA/Boogie Dual Rectifier Distortion variant currently available!

In fact this is the first of two Aura Amps pedals I am reviewing / featuring - with their MIAB White Sugar Overdrive/Distortion (Plexi + JCM800) up next.

What makes the ’Diamond’ so special is the fact that it has all 3 classic flavours of Rectification onboard. A Rectifier is a type of electronic circuit / device - originally Tube-based, while solid-state Diode-based more latterly - which converts AC current to the DC current all amps need to be powered with.

You can get Half-Wave Rectification (Single Rectifier) - which only tackles one polarity of the incoming AC current, while Full-Wave (Dual Rectifier) tackles both polarities and renders those into the DC current the amps need to run on. The 3 classic types of Rectification as featured on this pedal are all ’Full-Wave’ varieties - first the original single pair ’Tube’ variety, then the enhanced and improved - and more efficient dual-pair ’Bridge’ Tube variety - which is just an improvement of the classic Tube circuit, and finally the more modern solid-state ’Diode’ variety.

Interestingly - each of these options impact the output profile slightly differently and fairly significantly - delivering more saturation and sizzle, or more heft and tightness. You can think of the 3-way Rectifier switch on this pedal as being a sort of character control also to a degree - where I typically like it best on right-side Diode mode - which is a bit more tight and chunky!

Controls - Gain, Presence, Level, Rectification : [T]ube / [B]ridge / [D]iode, Bass, Mids, Treble.

Actually I say I like it best on Diode Mode, but I also really love the first Tube Mode which is brighter, more open and more searing / sizzling, versus the Bridge Mode which sounds somewhat darker and bassier to me. All 3 Modes are great really and inspire different forms / styles of playing - it’s actually really cool to hear the differences in character and output profile for each one!

All the other controls (knobs) work pretty much as expected - with lots of sweet-spots across the 6 dials and 3 modes - where each of the 3 Rectifier / Rectification Modes has an optimal ’tuning’. At this point I’m actually struggling to decide which of the Tube or Diode Mode I prefer more - bot sound tremendous!

While the other dials I seem to have fairly consistently parked with Gain @ Max, Presence @ 2 o’c, Level @ Max, Bass @ 4 o’c, Mids @ 3 o’c, and Treble @ 2 o’c. As I mentioned - some slight tweaking is often required when flipping between modes.

The Diamond Dual Rectifier Distortion is available to order on the Aura Amps Webstore - for R$679.90 which is around $130.

It’s for sure one of the most authentic feeling and sounding Dual Rec pedal types out there - pretty unique with its 3 different Rectifier Modes. And can sound as crushing and pounding as you like!

I certainly like it a lot!