MGR/Brian Johnston « Quality thick distortion at an unbeatable price »
Published on 07/31/24 at 04:02
Best value:
Excellent
Audience:
Anyone
Inexpensive pedals are a hit or miss, but when I saw the Sondery Distortion on sale, on Amazon.ca, for $23.99, I couldn’t resist. I also heard a few videos on this product, and they had me sold. This distortion is bold, thick, and robust. If you’re looking for a distortion that’s of a finer grain, then this isn’t the one, as the Sondery model is meant for rock and metal. Although it can drive a dirty amp (so long as the gain on both pedal and amp are reasonable), it shines on a clean channel. My demo has it playing through the front end of a Quilter Tone Block 202, which is solid state, but it sounded equally as good (although slightly different tonal character) with my tube amps.
The functions are very straight-forward. The Volume provides plenty of boost, and I kept it around 12-noon for the demo. The Tone varies from dark and subdued (too dark for my amp), to bright and clear when turned up full – not shrill, but open and airy in the upper register – similar to adding presence in the mix. The Gain varies considerably, from a mild crunch to thick and saturated. With a guitar’s volume up full, or nearly so, rhythm sounds best if under 12-noon, as the notes jump out with superior definition to that point (although the pedal does clean up very well and higher Gain levels can be chosen while backing off on the guitar’s volume). Lead sounds best, and with good sustain, past 12-noon, with my preference around 1-2 o’clock on the dial.
In sum, I would compare this distortion to those that cost over $100 and even in the $200 range. It’s a great sounding circuit that does not sound ‘budget’ in the least. The Sondery Distortion typically retails for $39 CAD, whereas I purchased it, as stated, for $23.99 on sale. I saw it on Amazon.com for $22.99 at the time of writing this review.
The functions are very straight-forward. The Volume provides plenty of boost, and I kept it around 12-noon for the demo. The Tone varies from dark and subdued (too dark for my amp), to bright and clear when turned up full – not shrill, but open and airy in the upper register – similar to adding presence in the mix. The Gain varies considerably, from a mild crunch to thick and saturated. With a guitar’s volume up full, or nearly so, rhythm sounds best if under 12-noon, as the notes jump out with superior definition to that point (although the pedal does clean up very well and higher Gain levels can be chosen while backing off on the guitar’s volume). Lead sounds best, and with good sustain, past 12-noon, with my preference around 1-2 o’clock on the dial.
In sum, I would compare this distortion to those that cost over $100 and even in the $200 range. It’s a great sounding circuit that does not sound ‘budget’ in the least. The Sondery Distortion typically retails for $39 CAD, whereas I purchased it, as stated, for $23.99 on sale. I saw it on Amazon.com for $22.99 at the time of writing this review.