2023 Best New Distortion Pedals of the Year

Controls - Gain, Solo, Presence, 5-Band Graphic EQ ±15dB : 80Hz | 240 Hz | 750 Hz | 2.2 kHz | 6.6 kHz, Volume, Gain Footswitch, Solo Footswitch.

I of course had a big hand in this pedal's existance in the fist place - having suggested the name and concept to Tim at Bardic Devices - and he then properly went to town with - and really elevated my concept. Great artwork too by @a_cautionary_dale! I love most everything about how this pedal came out - while I think it definitely need a little more output volume - particular on the default mode.

Controls - Level, Tone, List, Clipping : Silicon 1N914 Sym / MOSFET / Silicon 1N4001 / Germanium D9B / '94 IN914 Asym / Red LEDs / '78 1S1588 Silicon / Boost, Mids : Stock Scooped / Less Scooped / Flat EQ, Op-amp : Vintage / Modern, Muff : Off / On.

Latest / greatest edition of the Drunk Beaver heavily modded take on the Boss DS-1 - with additional clipping selection, Mids EQ, Opamp selector, and Muff Mod.

Controls : Master Boost (Clean Boost +20dB), Level (Output), Gain (Variable Gain Bandwidth), Pre Boost (Gain Boost / Compression + 30dB), Mode : Normal (Transparent) / Preamp (Insert) / Mid Boost (+800Hz Mid-Hump Drive), X-Gate : Off / Both / Boost only, Treble [>2kHz ±15dB], Mid [300Hz > 2kHz ±12dB], Bass [<300Hz ±10dB], Pre Tone (Tilt / Balancing Input EQ). Engage Boost Footswitch (also independent), Engage Distortion Footswitch.

I totally love the DSM & Humboldt Silver Linings and Black Clouds multi-drive pedals - and am surprised they didn't become more widely pervasive - both put in a really decent stint on the board - and will be back on main duties again next year. The Black Clouds is very modern leaning - mids-forward, tight and percussive - and delivers a really satisfying deep, dense punchy high gain distortion. Does not extend that well into saggy vintage modes - but is still a fantastic high gain machine all-round.

Controls - Treble, Mids, Bass, Volume, Boost : New York (Tight Modern), Bay Area (Dark Classic), Gain (Thrasher / Shredder / Nutz).

Totally killer dedicated Thrash Metal Distortion pedal. A real delight for me this year - as it dialled in so brilliantly and easily - for two killer boost-assisted Thrash voicings. Perfectly executed pedal really - sounds amazing. Only think I would change is to convert the Boost toggle switch into a second footswitch - as I set up a universal EQ that works really well on both voicing modes - and I can then go from thicker Rhythm tones to searing lead tones as quickly and efficiently as possible. One of the best High Gain Distortion pedals out there - perfectly calibrated, and perfectly priced!

Controls - Level, Weight (amount of low end frequencies let into the circuit), Gain, Bass, Middle, Treble.

Really well priced and great sounding Transistor based distortion pedal. This one is certainly the acquisition list - meant to get it in this year - but kind of ran out of time in the end - and before I knew it the Christmas season was upon us - where the budget obviously gets allocated to other more pressing seasonal priorities!

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.

You may have noticed that I did not feature this release on the site - where I used to be a staunch supporter of Empress Effects. But they cut me off and left me out in the cold! New Marketing Director David Miner decided to cut ties with all the independent grass roots guys - so somewhat inexplicably and without warning / notice I got cut from the Empress release schedule and Press Release List. The Press Release went out solely to the big guitar magazines and such! Weird initial launch too - but a decent pedal as all Empress releases typically are. I of course got acquainted with this under my own steam as such - and yes I really like it and have it in my reference collection, but I obviously can't endorse it! Feels a little odd to be exiled from Empress! Just one of the myriad challenges I had to handle this year! Above is the visual I would have used if Empress had but held to the code of common decency and gentlemanly conduct!

Controls - Shift (Tracking Accuracy / Filter / Interference), Drive (Input Gain), Wet (Wet Level), Dry (Dry Level), R (Range) : 1 Standard / 2 Extended, F (Filter) : On (300Hz - 3kHz Voice Filter) / Off, T (Tune CV Input), Tune (Scramble / Distort).

A  really cool sort of radio-scrambled glitched out distortion - with all manner of cool artefacts in the mix. This was a strong performer on the board earlier in the year - and I probably need to bring it back into the fold. Very unusual really - and quite distinct - I really like these properly 'ugly' and discordant sounding distortions - being a self-confessed Noise-Maker of course!

Controls - Active Bass, Active Mids, Active Treble, Volume, MidShift : Scooped / Humped, Grind (Sharpen), Girth (Fatten), Kill Footswitch (Boost / Adds 1 more Gain Stage), On/Bypass Footswitch.

Probably my favourite high gain distortion of the year - really beautifully put together, with a superb precision-honed soundstage. There's real poise and extensions about this pedal - where it delivers such a refined and controlled high gain distortion in the very best way. Full on high gain - tight and percussive - and really meaty sounding all-round - never loosed its poise though - regardless of where you place the dials. Superb complement of controls though to make the whole experience even more refined. Pricey but kind of really worth it!

Controls - Gain, Tone, Volume.

Really cool Josh Homme inspired Drive / Distortion with authentic artwork by QOTSA album artist Bone Face. This one really should have been in the collection already - will try to pick one up as early as possible in the new year!

Controls - Pre, Gain, Master, Bass, Mid, Treb.

Actually a really cool take on the MESA/Boogie Mark V Amp - with some great tones onboard. For sure could do with quite a bit more output volume, and obviously somewhat supplanted in my affections by the Bardic Audio Rival - which I had a hand in. Really decent pedal all-round, albeit a touch underpowered.

Controls - Blend (Dry>Wet), Gain, Volume, Ring (Ring Mod Freq), Frequency (LFO Speed), Peak (LFO Depth), Ring Switch : LFO On/Off, Voice Switch : wider / Narrower Notch Filter, Waveforms : Random Slopes / Random Steps / Staircase / Sine / Triangle / Square / Ramp Down / Ramp Up, Bypass Footswitch, Tap Tempo Footswitch.

One of my very favourite distortion pedals of the year - a superb combination of Filter, Distortion, Oscillation and Ring Modulation - just sounds amazing when cranked. This one certainly has plenty of range onboard and excellent volume headroom in particular. Very much a 4-in-1 pedal - where you can largely separate out each of those voices / functions - but they're more fun when combined!

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

This pedal obviously straddles both Overdrive and Distortion camps. While I mostly enjoy deploying this with both Boost and Drive Footswitches engaged - and more into Drive and Distortion territory - where you get all the really cool harmonic artefacts forming. An incredible versatile pedal - really well calibrated for maximum impact. One of my favourite from the year for sure, and I believe there is a further even more impressive iteration of this pedal in the making. It's magnificent already in its current incarnation - and particularly when you swap in aluminium knobs like I've done!

Controls - POST } Hi, Lo, Volume, MODES } Clipping : LED / Si, Mode : DP / CY, Selector : 1-4, FILTER } Distortion, Depth, EQ.

Another cool filter distortion - sounds awesome with everything fully cranked. Only thing that counts a little against it is its somewhat large enclosure. But is sounds so good the I can overlook that on this occasion!

Controls - Mode : #34 Slash Mod (More Sizzle + Brightness) / JCMII (Rhythm!) / #007 More Gain Mod + Attack, Master Volume, Active Presence, Gain, Bass, Middle, Treble, Internal 'Master Tone' trim-pot.

One of the all-time great JCM800 MIAB type pedals - comes with 3 voicing modes and extensive range on each of those dials, as well as internal MasterTone trim-pot. Even though I feel I already have the ultimate in MIAB with the Sinvertek MGAT-1 and MGAT-1-GE - it's still well worth having the PAL800 in the collection - sounds superb!

Controls - Gain, Gate : On/Off, Volume

Killer distortion based to a large degree / evolved from the Marshall DriveMaster. It's somewhat low-end heavy which I really like - while I would say it probably leans a little more towards single coil pickups. I would probably ideally add an EQ or some kind of low end shelf - say HB/SC switch, and move the Gate to a second footswitch! Really cool under-the-radar pedal steeped in Basque folklore!

Controls - Distortion, Level, Tone.

A Distortion which took me a while to get the hang of as it's so much a signature pedal for Scott Henderson - that it's honed for upper fret legato playing. Play further down the fretboard and on lower strings a you will get a very bass-heavy dense output. Obviously optimised for single coil pickup guitars - but with some clever EQ'ing and low-cut you can get very decent sounds out of it - particularly higher up the fretboard - much more of a melody / lead style than a rhythm pedal.

Controls - Volume I, Volume II, Output, Cab : GB25 / GB30 / JB|GB, Options : [Alt] / Amp / Store, Model : Bass / Lead / Brown, Bass [Room], Middle [Presence], Treble [Boost], On Footswitch, Preset Footswitch.

One of the least surprising releases this year - question is really why it took this long - as it comes around more than a year after its Dream, Ruby, and Woodrow siblings. Those original 3 have come down a little in price since they launched - and I will bide my time with the Lion. I'm probably keener on getting the Ruby in first - but it will be done somewhat opportunistically - and when the time and price is right!

Controls - Gain, Tone, Volume, REAR TRIMMERS } Low-Mid, Sparkle.

Like the TWA SH9 above - based on a similar philosophy and take on the Maxon SD-9 Sonic Distortion. Based on its extra controls - this one really should have an advantage, but from what I've read online and seen on YouTube, the TWA SH9 seems to have the edge in its output. Both are obviously fairly pricey propositions for a somewhat simple circuit, but there are of course artist royalties to be covered too. The $95 premium for a brass enclosure will be touch decision for some. Both the SH9 and Butter Machine have significant advantages over the original SD-9 - with significantly more range on tap.