Saturday, June 11, 2011

MXR: '78 Distortion

It's been a pedal-trying Friday; a quick trip to Davis after lunch time to check out the fresh shipment of MXR pedals. I am a drive/ distortion person so the '78 Distortion was virtually calling out to me. Before the CRUNCH switch was activated, this red pedal sounded very much like its Distortion + brother but with a grittier top end. Once the CRUNCH mode was engaged, the pedal manifested more distortion, akin to a crunchy Brit-voiced amp; the manufacturer is probably hinting at a certain '78 Marshall JMP which had its place in tone history (hence the name). If you have heard a (Wampler) Plextortion in use, you'd know where this one's going but it's less throaty. I would caution you against conjuring superlative images after reading that 'Badass' label because it might be the case for some of us but not for the rest.

Thank you Janet/ Chris @ Davis GMC for the extended testing...

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