12 Degrees of Saturation 2023 Compact Edition

This selection is headed by two of my all-time always-on favourites. Despite my well documented fallout with BJ I cannot find any better sounding core always-on warming boost / preamp than the Jackson Audio Prism - and boy have I tried to replace that on several occasion - but it's just unshakeable, as is the Thorpy Heavy Water - with its 3-1 prowess.

The impact of those two has meant that I've not really felt the need yet to try out the Unit67, DCX Boost or Zenith in similar roles - while I am quite aware of how great each of those 3 pedals are. At one stage the CTC Super Conductor and Source Audio Zio were in the top 5 - while alas they got iterated out of it in the end. I would also like to mention the excellent ThorpyFX Team Medic, and Chase Bliss Condor - even though those have been discontinued - at some stage those might have featured in this selection too!

I wholly stand by this selection! :

• Jackson Audio Prism Boost, Buffer, EQ, Preamp
• ThorpyFX Heavy Water Dual High Headroom Boost
• DryBell Unit67 Boost, Buffer, Compressor, EQ
• Origin Effects DCX Boost Tone Shaper & Drive, Studio Preamp
• Hamstead Soundworks Zenith Amplitude Controller Clean Boost, EQ, Compressor

DETAILS :

Jackson Audio Prism Boost, Buffer, EQ, Preamp - $259.95
Controls - Tone (Highs), Body (Lows), Boost, Pre Gain : High / Med / Low, Circuit Type : Color (Treble Booster), Amp (MOSFET), Trans (18V JFET).

ThorpyFX Heavy Water Dual High Headroom Boost - £209.99 (c.$262)
Controls - Ge Side } Boost, Lows, Footswitch, Dane Side } Boost, Lows, Footswitch.

DryBell Unit67 Boost, Buffer, Compressor, EQ - $289
Controls - Boost, EQ : 1 / 0, Input : High / Low, Range, Low, High, Sustain.

Origin Effects DCX Boost Tone Shaper & Drive, Studio Preamp - £239.99 (c.$299)
Controls - Level, Mode : EQ & Boost / OD, Drive, Low Frequencies Cut / Boost (Middle is flat), Voice (Adaptive High Frequency Cut Strength) : DRK (Max), FLAT (None), MED (Some), High Frequencies Cut / Boost (Middle is flat).

Hamstead Soundworks Zenith Amplitude Controller Clean Boost, EQ, Compressor - £320 (c.$399)
Controls - Comp, Blend, Level, Bass

For some of these selections the order of listing is more nebulous - with very fine margins between each pedal - and a sort of equivalency in many cases. While here the top dogs are really the most dynamic and versatile varieties respectively. Each of these is immense in its own way - the sparkly Highs and Resonant Lows really give the SHXC an additional depth perception, The Peacekeepers controls take it into territories far removed from the typical sound signature of this selection. The Archer Select has that incredible selection of NOS Diodes - it's so beautifully nuanced, the Halcyon Gold allows you to control the pedals Mids with your guitar volume control, and the AKC-4 is just all-round incredibly potent - while it's the only one here I believe not using Germanium Diodes somewhere in the mix.

I have a large number of Transparent Drive pedals - and this selection changed a lot since this article's origin point in January. I'm pretty satisfied with the selection as it stands - while I would have quite liked to have included the Menatone Vertical Fish Factory in here too and a couple of others! But then again - this is all part of the process, and having to draw the line at just 5 is what kind of makes this so much fan, while being incredibly tricky at the same time!

• CKK SHXC Super Overdrive
• ThorpyFX Peacekeeper Low Gain Overdrive
• J Rockett Archer Select Multi-Clipping Overdrive with DI Output
• Origin Effects Halcyon Gold Classic Overdrive
• Ohmless Pedals AKC-4 Multi-Clipping Overdrive + Boost

DETAILS :

CKK SHXC Super Overdrive - $350
Controls - Drive, Tone, Level, Buffer : On / Off.

ThorpyFX Peacekeeper Low Gain Overdrive - £214.99 (c.$269)
Controls - Gain, Treble, Volume, Presence, Bass.

J Rockett Archer Select Multi-Clipping Overdrive with DI Output - $329.99
Controls - Output, Treble, DI Ground Lift, Gain, Diode Clipping Options : 1N270 / 1N695 / 1N34A / D9B / D9E / Red LEDs, Clipping Footswitch, Bypass Footswitch (OA10 Diode).

Origin Effects Halcyon Gold Classic Overdrive - £249 (c.$311)
Controls - Level, Adapt : O / II / I, Drive, Dry, Voice : KLN / MOD, Tone.

Ohmless Pedals AKC-4 Multi-Clipping Overdrive + Boost - $249
Controls - Level, Gain, Blend, Bass, Boost, Treble, Drive / Clipping Mode Options : Ge Style / Schottky / Silicon / MOSFET, Boost Footswitch : Pre / Post.

So this selection features the pedal that most significantly held up these proceedings - in fact it's still not released yet, but I've been given permission to tease it in this format.  The Forest Song's circuit was very originally based on a Tube Screamer but has been massively evolved through High Voltage power staging and a unique Dual Peak Filter Resonance Control. We also have a 6-way Clipping / Boost selector to make it end up nothing like a the original circuit that inspired it! The demo and full review should be out in the next few weeks - I've had this pedal for quite a few months now!

In any case most of the pedals here are Tube Screamer derivatives and variants - some pretty heavily evolved from source. I had a tough choice between the Origin Effects Halcyon Green and and M-EQ Driver - which is the one I felt I preferred. Again several pedals were moved in and out of this selection and were I to shake it up again I would probably have a different outcome. 

• Drunk Beaver The Forest Song High Voltage Resonant Overdrive
• Foxpedal The City Overdrive + Boost
• JHS Pedals Bonsai Multi-Screamer Overdrive
• Origin Effects M-EQ Driver Mid Booster & Drive
• Audiostorm Quad Screamer Overdrive

DETAILS :

Drunk Beaver The Forest Song High Voltage Resonant Overdrive - imminent - $175
Controls - Volume, Resonance (Dual Peak Filters), Drive, Mode : Boost / LED / MOSFET / Si / Ge / Asym Si, Volts : 18 / 27V.

Foxpedal The City Overdrive + Boost - discontinued - $239
Controls - Drive, Tone, Level, Boost, Clip : Red LEDs / MOSFET, Flat : On / Off, Presence : On / Off, Body (Lows), Boost Footswitch, Drive Footswitch.

JHS Pedals Bonsai Multi-Screamer Overdrive - $249
Controls - Volume, Drive, Tone, Mode : OD-1 / TS808 / TS-9 / MSL / TS-10 / Exar OD-1 / TS-7 / TS808 Keeley Mod / TS-9 JHS Mod.

Origin Effects M-EQ Driver Mid Booster & Drive - £259 (c.$323)
Controls - Level, Adapt : Off / On, Drive, Mids (Boost), KCS (Kilocycles) : 0.8 / 1.0 / 1.3 kHz, Cut (High-End Roll-Off).

Audiostorm Quad Screamer Overdrive - £149 (c.$186)
Controls - Bright switch, Dirty Switch, Overdrive, Level, Tone, LED Clip, MOSFET Clip, Si Clip, Ge Clip.

Harmonic Overdrives tend to have either Germanium Transistors or Germanium Diodes at their core - and 3 of this core selection have been part of the selection since day dot. This selection is also unusual and kind of contrary to the rules as it contains 2 pedals from the same brand - which really should strictly by a no-no, but I felt it was worth the exception here.

If you discount the 2nd Spaceman here, then it probably means bringing in one of the - Free The Tone Sov-2 Overdrive, Menatone Simplexity Preamp, or Vick Audio Lotus 2K Overdrive. The Aphelion is still the poster boy for this genre - not sure why it hasn't been reissued yet - while Noise Space Audio makes a really decent clone of it! 

• Spaceman Aphelion Harmonic Overdrive
• Nordland Electronics ODR-CS Custom Special Overdrive
• Bogner Wessex Overdrive
• Greer Amps Southland Harmonic Overdrive
• Spaceman Redstone Germanium Preamp

DETAILS :

Spaceman Aphelion Harmonic Overdrive - discontinued - $259
Controls - Gain, Tone, Drive.

Nordland Electronics ODR-CS Custom Special Overdrive - €200 (c.$215)
Controls - Drive, Level, Germanium Drive Control, Bass, Mid, Treble.

Bogner Wessex Overdrive - discontinued - $229.99
Controls - Level, Mode : Enhanced / Normal, Gain, Treble, Bass.

Greer Amps Southland Harmonic Overdrive - $229
Controls - Volume, Drive, Range.

Spaceman Redstone Germanium Preamp - $249
Controls - Volume, Gain, Low, Mid, High.

5 of my all-time favourite overdrives here - all brilliant, and all distinct. My trusty Keeley Freak Fuzz Modded BD-2 is still my all-time champ - but these others run it oh so close - each one of these is a masterpiece in its own way!

• Boss BD-2 Blues Driver Keeley Freak Fuzz Modded Edition
• Nordland Electronics ODR-C Custom Overdrive 30th Anniversary
• Snouse BlackBox Overdrive 2 Stage Pro White + Gold Edition
• Demon Pedals Kondo-Shifuku D-Style Drive
• All-Pedal Samurai Bushido Drive

DETAILS :

Boss BD-2 Blues Driver Keeley Freak Fuzz Modded Edition - discontinued - c.$400+ second hand nowadays
Controls - Level, Tone, Gain, Freak Fuzz Mode : On / Off, Phat Mode : On / Off.

Nordland Electronics ODR-C Custom Overdrive 30th Anniversary - discontinued - €249 (c.$267)
Controls - Drive, Level, Overdrive-De-Compress, Spectrum, Gain : High / Low, Mid, Lo-Cut.

Snouse BlackBox Overdrive 2 Stage Pro White + Gold Edition - discontinued - $199 when new
Controls - Gain, Volume, Tone, Preamp Boost (Standard Mode Only), Presence, Bright / Smooth Switch, Deep / Tight Switch, Overdrive / Clean Boost Mode Switch, Standard / Classic Mode Switch (Classic is only the Gain, Volume and Boost knobs active, with Presence Optional, and Boost out of the circuit).

Demon Pedals Kondo-Shifuku D-Style Drive - €299 (c.$320)
Controls - Drive, Volume, Tone, Accent, Clipping : D (Deep) / C (No-'C'lipping) / B (Bright), Voice : Jazz / Rock, Type : OD / ODS.

All-Pedal Slamurai Bushido Drive - $223
Controls - Treble, Mid, Bass, Level, Drive.

A pretty diverse selection of crunchy overdrives which took many twists and turns to end up this way.  The selection includes Evolved Tube Screamers, Expandora and more specialist circuits. This is about as eclectic as it gets - while each of these delivers its own distinct texture and timbre of 'Crunch'.

• Messiah Guitars Signature Eddie Haddad BoostDrive
• Hamstead Subspace Ge Intergalactic Driver
• Custom Tones Ethos TWE-1 Trainwreck Express
• Redbeard Angry Rhubarb Paradynamic Overdrive MKII
• Drunk Beaver Bloom V2 Expandora style Multi-Drive

DETAILS :

Messiah Guitars Signature Eddie Haddad BoostDrive - $279
Controls - Drive, Boost, Level, Tight Switch (on side), Mode : Silicon (Green) / LED (Red), Low, Mid, High, Boost Footswitch, Drive Footswitch.

Hamstead Subspace Ge Intergalactic Driver - £299 (c.$373)
Controls - Tone, Bass, Treble, Gain, Parallel, Level, Clipping : C1 / C2 / C3, EQ : PR / EQ / PO, Gain Multiplier : x1 / x2 / x5, TheGigRig Optical Footswitch.

Custom Tones Ethos TWE-1 Trainwreck Express - $225
Controls - Cab : 4x12" / Off+Flat / 2x12", Presence : Hi (Bright) / Flat / Lo (Dark), Voice : Modern / Traditional, Brite : Hi / Flat / Lo.

Redbeard Angry Rhubarb Paradynamic Overdrive MKII - £199.99
Controls - Volume, Post Drive, Pre Drive, Frequency Gain ±6dB, Frequency.

Drunk Beaver Bloom V2 Expandora style Multi-Drive - $175
Controls - Volume, Tone, Gain, Mode : Overdrive / Crunch / Distortion / Fuzz, Voice : Ge / LED / Si, Fat : Fat / Tight / Classic.

I apologise fore the preponderance of Chase Bliss Fuzzes here - while those just happen to be some of the most potent ones every created - each of those is pretty unique, as are the super rare Thorpy Boneyard, and the criminally underrated Bispeel Audio Gleam V2.

This selection covers albeit not exactly - Big Muff, Tone Bender, Fuzz Face, Maestro and Trem-Fuzz varieties - with a mix of Opamps, and Silicon and Germanium Transistors. There are so many great fuzzes out there, and more than 600 in my collection - this is a pretty tough call all round and I could probably do at least 50 different versions of this selection - while I'm satisfied that these 5 here are all upper echelon and among the very best ever made!

• Chase Bliss Brothers Analog Gain Stage Dual Chanel Boost, Drive, Fuzz
• ThorpyFX The Boneyard Germanium Multi-Bender Fuzz
• Chase Bliss Bliss Factory Germanium Fuzz
• Bispell Audio Gleam V2 Silicon 4 Transistor Multi-Fuzz
• Chase Bliss Abracadabra Audio Ayahuasca Trem-Fuzz

DETAILS :

Chase Bliss Brothers Analog Gain Stage Dual Chanel Boost, Drive, Fuzz - discontinued - $349 when new
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]

ThorpyFX The Boneyard Germanium Multi-Bender Fuzz - discontinued - £299 when new (c.$373)
Controls - Level, Attack, Feed / Volts, Tone : Dark > Bright, Tone Bypass Fswitch, Engage Fuzz Fswitch.

Chase Bliss Bliss Factory Germanium Fuzz - discontinued - $399 when new
Controls - Volume, Gate (Ramp), Comp, Drive, Stab (Starve), LPF, Aux Func : Stab / LPF / Gate, Bass : Fatter / Fat / Norm, Filter : One-Pole, Two-Pole Moderate, Two-Pole Resonant, Bypass Footswitch, Aux Func Footswitch.[+16 Dip-switches]

Bispell Audio Gleam V2 Silicon 4 Transistor Multi-Fuzz - £159
Controls - Bass, Mid Cut, Treble, Volume, Bias, Gain, Impedance : MKI / FZ-1 / MKII + FF, Tone : FF / MKI + FZ-1 / MKII

Chase Bliss Abracadabra Audio Ayahuasca Trem-Fuzz - discontinued - $399 when new
Controls - Output (Ramp), Input (Fuzz), Color, Rate, Depth, Balance (Mix), Mode / Tap : Standard | Both | Harmonic + 1 / 2 / 4 or 3 / 6 / 8 Tap Divisions, Left Wave : Sine / Triangle / Square, Right Wave : Square / Triangle / Sine, Presets : 1 / Manual / 2, Bypass Footswitch, Tap Tempo Footswitch.[+16 Dip-switches]

So this is the Heavy Fuzz Brigade - sort of High Gain really to a degree and this quintet totally fits the bill - with my perennial favourite up top! Slot #5 was always tricky as I've long been after a compact edition Earthbound Audio SuperCollider - but there are just none to be found anywhere - and that brand seems to be on extended hiatus.

The new Bixonic Axentrix is superb though - with its extra range and 3-Band EQ - for a mostly digital pedal I have to say that the sound it generates is really quite superb, The Fuzz mode here really is killer and so fitting for this selection!

• Dr Scientist Frazz Dazzler Dual Channel Fuzz
• Redbeard Honey Badger Sub Octave Fuzz
• Bardic Audio 2 Stroke Beaver Opamp Muff
• MidValleFX Ignitor Octave Fuzzstortion
• Bixonic Axentrix A1 Fuzzy-Drive / FuzzStortion

DETAILS :

Dr Scientist Frazz Dazzler Dual Channel Opamp Fuzz - $219
Controls - Bass, Mid, Treble, Mix, Gain, Volts / Starve, Volume, Gain Channel I / II, Engage Fuzz.

Redbeard Honey Badger Sub Octave Fuzz - £219.99 (c.£274)
Controls - Volume, Divide : -2 > -1 Octaves / Mix, Octave (Level), Treble, Bass, Fuzz (Gain), Bypass Footswitch, Octave Footswitch.

Bardic Audio 2 Stroke Beaver Opamp Muff - $220
Controls - Level, Clipping x 8, Sustain, 5-Band Graphic EQ, Clean Blend Control, Left Engage Footswitch, Right HM-2 EQ Footswitch.

MidValleFX Ignitor Octave Fuzzstortion - $118
Controls - Volume, Fuzz, Bias, Tone.

Bixonic Axentrix A1 Fuzzy-Drive / FuzzStortion - $200
Controls - Gain / Hold for Gain Type : Crunch [Green LEDs - as pictured above] > Overdrive [Orange LEDs] > Distortion [Red LEDs] > Fuzz [Purple LED] / Bass EQ, Tone / Hold for EQ Mode / Mid EQ, Accent : Dynamic Range / Compression / Hold for LED Brightness, Level / Hold for Low Frequency Profile Mode : Guitar [Red Footswitch LED / Bass [Blue Footswitch LED], Save Preset Button, M1 Preset, M2 Preset, M3 Preset, Bypass Switch : Buffered [White Footswitch LED] / True Bypass.

Obviously 5 flavours of Marshall / MIAB here - where the MGAT-1 could have sat in any number of these categories, but is my very favourite distortion pedal of all time. This was another selection that had a lot movement - and there are so many great MIAB types out there - could probably do several different version of this too. Some real classics here, but also some notables that didn't quite make the selection in the end - by the narrowest of margins!

• Sinvertek N5 MGAT-1 Hyper Preamp
• Pettyjohn Gold MKII Overdrive
• Menatone The King Vertical MIAB
• Bispell Audio Saxon JTM45 & Plexi
• Friedman Smallbox Overdrive / Distortion

DETAILS :

Sinvertek N5 MGAT-1 Hyper Preamp - $350
Controls - Volume, Top End : Modern / Off / Vintage, Low End : Full / Tight / Medium, Gain, Destity : Dark Clear / Power Amp / Bright Clear, Gain Structure : Low / Medium / High, Presence, Mid Range : High / Low / Mid, Gain Stage : Crunch / OD1 / OD2, Treble, Mid, OD1 Gain Saturation, OD2 Gain Saturation, Bass.

Pettyjohn Gold MKII Overdrive - $349
Controls : Level, Mid Frequency : 400Hz>2kHz, Gain, Lows, Mids -/+, Highs.

Menatone The King Vertical MIAB - $219
Controls : Level, Drive, Gain, Hi,| Mid, Lo, Modern/Vintage Switch, Mid-Focus - 60s/70s/90s.

Bispell Audio Saxon JTM45 & Plexi - £169.99 (c.$212)
Controls - Bass, Mids, Treble, Volume, Presence, Gain, Bass Cut, Bright Boost.

Friedman Smallbox Overdrive / Distortion - $199
Controls - Bass, Treble, Presence, Volume, Mids, Gain, Gain / Headroom : High / Low.

The classic Brown Sound category - of course some from the previous category could fit in here too - but I felt there was a decent dividing line in terms of the specialisation of those pedals. Each of these have been favoured as the key representative of the EVH tones in my pedal-chain. In fact I've only just recently featured the Room #40 again - each of these handles those duties beautifully!

• Tsakalis Audioworks Room #40 MIAB Overdrive / Distortion
• Boss JB-2 Angry Driver Dual Channel Blues Driver + JCM800
• MI Effect Super Crunch Box MKII Distortion
• Suhr Riot Distortion
• Bogner Burnley Distortion

DETAILS :

Tsakalis Audioworks Room #40 MIAB Overdrive / Distortion - €239.99 (c.$257)
Controls - Master, Variac, Vol II [19] / Body [22], Mode 19/22 : Plexi/JPM & JCM800, Vol I [19 & 22], Presence, Bass, Middle, Treble, and Internal Trim-Pot for Boost Level.

Boss JB-2 Angry Driver Dual Channel Blues Driver + JCM800 - $219.99
Controls : JHS : Level, Tone, Drive | Boss : Level, Tone, Drive, Mode : JHS / Boss / JHS/Boss / J>B / B>J, Parallel.

MI Effect Super Crunch Box V2 Distortion - AUS $240 (c.$155)
Controls - Volume, Clip : Standard / Open / Compressed, Mode : Low Gain / High Gain / Mid Gain. Gain, Presence, Hi, Mid, Lo.

Suhr Riot Distortion - $199
Controls - Distortion, Voice : Natural Organic / High Gain / Vintage High Gain, Level, Tone.

Bogner Burnley Distortion - discontinued - $229.99 when new
Controls - Level, Voice : Fat / Tight, Gain, Tone.

I split the Metal pedals into two main categories - within which there are overlaps with additional sub-genres here. Some of these lean more towards the modern mids-forward side of things, while for others it's about the degree of their gain and saturation - where it's not quite at the very heaviest / extreme level. Extreme level pedals tend to have a little extra in the low-end / depth department - where the Balrog here is an exception to the other 4 listed - in being more sludgy / stoner / doomy! The first three really do that Mids forward thing pretty well - while the Red Mist is more of an all-rounder.

• KMA Machines Wurm 2 HM-2 style Distortion
• Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal Waza Craft Distortion
• REVV G3 Purple Channel 3 Modern Leaning High Gain Distortion
• Redbeard Effects Red Mist MKIV Orange Rockerverb style High Gain Distortion
• Blackhawk Amps Balrog V3 High Gain Doom Distortion

DETAILS :

KMA Machines Wurm 2 HM-2 style Distortion - €199 / $199
Controls - Volume, Voicing: HM II / Both / KMA, Terror (Distortion), Highs, Hi-Mids, Low-Mids, Lows, Internal Frequency Trimmers for Lows, Lows Mids, High Mids, and Highs.

Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal Waza Craft Distortion - $149
Controls - Level, Lows - Color Mix - Highs, Distortion, Mode : Standard / Custom.

REVV G3 Purple Channel 3 Modern Leaning High Gain Distortion - $229
Controls - Bass, Middle, Treble, Volume, Aggression : Blue (More) / Off / Red (Most), Gain.

Redbeard Effects Red Mist MKIV Orange Rockerverb style High Gain Distortion - £199.99 (c.$249)
Controls - Gain, Volume, Bass, Mids, Treble.

Blackhawk Amps Balrog V3 High Gain Doom Distortion - $200
Controls - Volume, Mids, Gain, Treble, Bass, Depth.

And the Heaviest of the Heavy! Usually with even more low-end heft - evoking the Thunder Gods of yore - with a truly earth-shaking timbre and texture. A great sounding Extreme Gain pedal is no mean feat as with high levels of clipping you can suffer a drop in volume output or end up with squealing feedback. While each of these properly goes to !! - in fact some of these go to 12!

A lot of the more modern players like things super tight and more mids- forward - which is typically the previous XI category. XII is usually fatter and juicier - you're talking about the Lords of Doom here! We have 2 Canadian pedals in this listing which is a rarity - both personal favourites - despite some shenanigans.

Top of the tree though are still the Tone Ink Raven, and Keeley Twilight Modded Metal Zone - both of those are truly stellar high gain machines! The V1 Kraken is no slouch either. All-in-all another really fine high quality - tried-and-tested roundup! There could have been a different 5th candidate here - but a certain brand didn't keep to its commitments - and I have a thing about integrity! I don't count anyone out permanently - I always leave space for people / brands to make amends!

• Tone Ink Raven Brute & High Gain Distortion
• Boss MT-2 Metal Zone Distortion - Keeley Twilight Zone Mod 
• REVV G4 Red Channel 4 Thick / Fat Vintage Leaning High Gain Distortion
• Empress Heavy Menace High Gain Distortion
• Victory Amps V1 The Kraken Rabea Massaad Signature High Gain Distortion [5150+]

DETAILS :

Tone Ink Raven Brute & High Gain Distortion - $195
Controls - Bass, Mid, Treble, Gain, Punch (Input EQ) : Red / Blue / Dark, Bite : Rectifier / Bogner Red / PV 5150, Volume.

Boss MT-2 Metal Zone Distortion - Keeley Twilight Zone Mod - discontinued - c$150 when new
Controls - Level, High / Low, Middle / Mid Frequency, Distortion, Mode : Stock / Ultra Tube (Xtreme) / Triple Diode (Molten-Amp).

REVV G4 Red Channel 4 Thick / Fat Vintage Leaning High Gain Distortion - $229
Controls - Bass, Middle, Treble, Volume, Aggression : Blue (More) / Off / Red (Most), Gain.

Empress Heavy Menace High Gain Distortion - $250
Controls - Gain, Weight, Output, Low ±15, Mid ±15, High ±15, Gate Threshold, Mid Frequency : 200Hz > 2.5kHz, Channel : Lite(ish) / Heavy / Heavier, Gate Footswitch, Bypass Footswitch.

Victory Amps V1 The Kraken Rabea Massaad Signature High Gain Distortion [5150] - £199
Controls - Volume, Gain, Bass, Mids, Treble.