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8 High-Gain Pedals That Breathe Fire Into Your Tone

8 High-Gain Pedals That Breathe Fire Into Your Tone

Need more firepower? Here’s a collection of high-powered stomps that pack plenty of torque.

There’s a visceral feeling that goes along with really cranking the gain. Whether you’re using a clean amp or an already dirty setup, adding more gain can inspire you to play in an entirely different way. Below are a handful of pedals that can take you from classic crunch to death metal doom—and beyond.


Universal Audio UAFX Anti 1992 High Gain Amp Pedal

Early 1990s metal tones were iconic. The Anti 1992 offers that unique mix of overdrive and distortion in a feature-packed pedal. You get a 3-band EQ, noise gate, multiple cab and speaker combos, presets, and full control through the mobile app.

uaudio.com

Universal Audio
$349.00

Revv G4 Red Channel Preamp/Overdrive/Distortion Pedal - Anniversary Edition

Based upon the red channel of the company’s Generator 120, this finely tuned circuit offers gain variation with its 3-position aggression switch.

revvamplication.com

Revv
$229.00

MXR Yngwie Malmsteen Overdrive Pedal - Red

The Viking king of shred guitar has distilled his high-octane tone into a simple, two-knob overdrive. Designed for going into an already dirty amp, this stomp offers clarity, harmonics, and more.

jimdunlop.com

MXR
$129.99

Empress Effects Heavy Menace Distortion Pedal

Arguably the company’s most versatile dirt box, this iteration is all about EQ. It’s loaded with an immensely powerful 3-band EQ with a sweepable mid control, footswitchable noise gate, a low-end sculpting control, and three different distortion modes.

empresseffects.com

Empress Effects
$249.99

JHS Hard Drive Distortion Pedal - Tan

Designed by late JHS R&D engineer Cliff Smith, the Hard Drive is a powerful and heavy ode to the post-grunge sounds of the late ’90s and early ’00s. This original circuit takes inspiration from many places by including cascading gain stages and Baxandall bass and treble controls.

jhspedals.info

JHS
$199.00

Boss HM-2W Waza Craft Heavy Metal Distortion Pedal

Few pedals captured the sound of Swedish death metal like the HM-2. The go-to setting is simple—all knobs maxed out. Flip over to the custom mode for more tonal range, higher gain, and thicker low end.

boss.info

Boss
$149.99

Electro-Harmonix Nano Metal Muff Distortion Pedal

Voiced with an aggressive, heavy tone with a tight low end, this pedal offers +/- 14 dB of bass, a powerful noise gate, and an LED to let you know when the gate is on.


ehx.com

Electro-Harmonix
$84.40

Soldano Super Lead Overdrive Plus Pedal

Aimed to capture the sound of Mike Soldano’s flagship tube amp, the SLO uses the same cascading gain stages as the 100-watt head. It also has a side-mounted deep switch to add low-end punch.

soldano.com

$269.00

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Photo by Steve Rose

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Meet Siccardi Number 28: a 5-ply, double-cut solidbody tribute to Paul Bigsby’s “Hezzy Hall” guitar.

Reader: Mark Huss
Hometown: Coatesville, PA
Guitar: Siccardi Number 28

May we all have friends like Ed Siccardi—along with a rare stash of tonewoods and inspiration to pay tribute to a legendary luthier.

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