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GALLERY: Show Us Your Gear - Favorite Overdrive/Distortion

From classics to modded classics, boutique to budget, Premier Guitar readers submit the tools they use to get dirty.

"Aaron Enneking says about the Fat Classic, ""My go-to pedal, and absolute favorite is my Stigtronics Fat Classic. I lived in Bloomington, IN, for a long time and the amp repair guy for Roadworthy Guitars makes these pedals. Being a frequent visitor of their store while in college at IU, I tried the Fat Classic and instantly fell in love with it. After at least 15 to 20 different overdrive/distortion pedals I found a pedal that responds to your playing the way an overdriven amp does but with the increased gain you expect from a pedal! I'd never heard a pedal with this dynamic range...the guitar stays natural sounding with a Tone knob that actually doesn't make the sound more and more brittle the brighter you set it! It truly gets that pushed vintage amp sound with all of he frequency response you'd expect from an amp. The sound is huge and my band, Glass Halo, wouldn't sound the way it does without it."""

Very diverse slate of tones. Capable of great focus and power. Potentially killer studio tool.

Sculpting tones in a reliably reproducible way can be challenging. Midrange emphasis may be a deal breaker for some.

$199 street

4.5
4.5
3.5
4.5

Bold-voiced, super-tunable distortion that excels in contexts from filtered boost to total belligerence.

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Paul Reed Smith also continues to evolve as a guitarist, and delivered a compelling take on Jeff Beck’s interpretation of ā€œCause We’ve Ended As Loversā€ at the PRS 40th Anniversary Celebration during this year’s NAMM.

After 40 years at the helm of PRS Guitars, our columnist reflects on the nature of evolution in artistry—of all kinds.

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PG contributor Tom Butwin demos seven direct boxes — active and passive — showing off sound samples, features, and real-world advice. Options from Radial, Telefunken, Hosa, Grace Design, and Palmer offer solutions for any input, setting, and budget.

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Billy Strings' signature dreads are distinguished by a 25" scale and wider nut width.