Review: BBE 427 FD-427P Distortion Pedal

The following content is related to the August 2013 issue of Guitar World. For the full range of interviews, features, tabs and more, pick up the new issue on newsstands now, or in our online store.

BBE made its name with the Sonic Maximizer, a universally useful tool that mathematically—or magically, depending on your experience—equalizes and clarifies audio signals. Recently, the company has been applying its proven sonic formulas to excitingly unique stompboxes.

The BBE latest offering is the Paul Gagon–designed 427 Distortion. Gagon is one of the first engineers to realize that LEDs, commonly used for light emission, can be used to create tube-like signal clipping. His knowledge of distortion sculpting, along with an impressive complement of high-end audio-grade components, combine to create the 427’s powerhouse tone.

Taking its name from the legendary engine that powered muscle cars like the Cobra, Chevelle and Corvette, the BBE delivers an appropriately tuned array of American high-gain flavors, controlled by three knobs for the gain, level and sweep EQ. At lower gain settings, the 427’s clarity allows the pedal to supercharge your amp’s already overdriven sound without seriously altering your tone. At higher gain settings, through an amp’s clean channel, it delivers on the promise of massive, fat distortion, replicating both the grind of dimed preamp tubes and the roar of an American tube power section. Rotating the BBE 427’s tone knobs alters the entire EQ personality, from scooped and creamy to searing and hostile.

List Price $115

Manufacturer BBE Sound, Inc., bbesound.com