Ross R-50 Distortion

The Ross distortion pedal is a convenient and simple design that is basically a mix between an overdrive and an all-out distortion pedal. Very simple pedal but not that much of a unique sound or unique quality but pretty much your basic run of the mill type of distortion box. Overall it's a cool pedal but it's not one of the pedals that I would highly recommend for anyone to use. There's a host of other distortion petals or overdrive petals out there in the market that does everything that this does with better options and overall more versatility.

UTILIZATION


This is a very easy pedal with the setup you basically have two operational knobs. You have the distortion control knob and then you have a volume our output control not. The distortion control knob is basically as it describes; it gives you more gain as you turn up the knob. The level will control your overall volume of the pedal. There's not much other features as far as this pedal goes and it's pretty self explanatory.

SOUND QUALITY


The tone of this is somewhere in between the distortion pedal and an overdrive pedal. You are not going to get this high gain thick distortion tone but you certainly are going to get a mild overdrive quite well. You can set this thing up to give you a boost and it will also give you a pretty decent but not spectacular distortion tone. If you need a boost it does it well but overall it's pretty much a run-of-the-mill type box.

OVERALL OPINION


You can find these pedals for under $100 if you're really searching. I suggest going with something like a Fulltone OCD pedal or even just a regular old Ibanez tube screamer pedal this is not something that I would recommend to anybody because there are so many pedals out there that will do what this does but do it much better than what this pedal can achieve.

The Ross Distortion pedal is a simple effect that can be used for any electronic instrument, but will be most often used for electric guitar. This is the only application that I've used the pedal for, although you could definitely use it for bass, keyboards, or another electric or electronic instrument if you wanted to. It's got 1/4" connections for your instrument input and amplifier output, as well as a jack for a power supply, although it is the mini plug type of jack for the power supply. It isn't rackable as it is a pedal that is controlled by your foot.

UTILIZATION

The Ross Distortion pedal is really simple, so there isn't too much that you need to know in order to use it. The only two parameters that it has are for distortion and level. Even if you know nothing about distortion pedals, you should be able to figure out how to use this without any help from a manual.

SOUND QUALITY

The sound quality of the Ross Distortion isn't outstanding, but it's definitely more than useful. It's fine for use either for live shows or in the studio, but there are definitely better sounding distortion pedals out there with more versatility. Having said this, it is possible to get both heavy and more subtle overdrive sounds from this pedal. I would say that it's best at getting a thicker type of sound somewhere in between a heavy distortion and an overdrive sound.

OVERALL OPINION

The Ross Distortion pedal wouldn't be the first thing that I would recommend if you're looking for a distortion pedal, but that doesn't mean that it isn't a good pedal with it's own color. I'd say that it is most useful as an extra distortion color rather than a go to, main distortion pedal. If you're able to find one, I'd definitley recommend checking it out, as it should generally be cheap enough where it might be worth adding to your rig...

This is a relatively obscure distortion pedal. It's marketed as a distortion, but it actually sort of blurs the line between overdrive and distortion. It's very simple, there is really only two knobs and the bypass switch. There are no capabilities to edit or control the pedal with computers or MIDI, as this is a true analog pedal. It has a simple 1/4" in and out, and can be powered via a supply.

UTILIZATION

The two knob system at work on this pedal is a breeze to use, but the lack of functionality means that you must clearly accept the pedal for what it is. It's really necessary to be absolutely certain that it is the sound you want, and that it's consistently good with your amp. For me, it was easy to get a good sound because I liked the pedal, but I know other people would be frustrated with the lack of options.

SOUND QUALITY

I use this pedal with my Fender Stratocaster and a Fender twin. It's a pretty great pedal, it definitely has a unique sound that could either be a distortion or an overdrive. I think that because of this, this pedal is great for blues rockers who want to push the envelope a little, garage rock that needs a little more grit out of the guitar, and other genres as well, mostly of the rock variety.

OVERALL OPINION

I won't say that it's the best distortion out there, but it's cool enough to be a worthy addition to your arsenal. It's definitely not the benchmark of distortion, so it's probably not ideal as a first distortion pedal. I do like it a lot, though, and would recommend it to people who might have a few other distortion boxes. It's not that expensive at list price, but the thing has been discontinued so it's pretty rare.