Best distortion pedals: the top 11 high-gain stompboxes for guitarists By Jonathan Horsley last updated 25 October 23 Crunch, filth, mayhem! Dive into our expert round-up of the best distortion pedals available today
Best distortion pedals for bass: thicken up your low end with these aggressive bass stompboxes By Richard Blenkinsop last updated 21 October 22 Browse our choice of the gnarliest distortion pedals for bass from Darkglass, Fender, Source Audio and more
Best distortion pedals for metal: standalone and stacked gain stages, plus 'amps in a box' By Alex Lynham last updated 21 October 22 Our pick of metal-friendly distortion stompboxes from Amptweaker, Friedman, Two Notes, Ibanez and more
Fender Trapper Bass Distortion review By Joel McIver last updated 24 August 22 Why do they call it the Trapper? Who can say, but it has two distortion circuits to give options to those who need some low-end growl and thunder
Fender launches new Dual Marine Layer Reverb, Duel Pugilist Distortion pedals By Michael Astley-Brown published 26 October 21 The new triple-footswitched stompboxes offer advanced gain stacking and infinite sustain options
Boss HM-2W Heavy Metal review By Stuart Williams published 6 October 21 Boss’s best-loved metal pedal gets the Waza Craft treatment
Walrus Audio seeks to usher in whole new Eras of high gain with versatile new distortion pedal By Michael Astley-Brown published 3 September 21 Equipped with a blend knob and five-position rotary switch, the Eras promises a smorgasbord of hard-clipping options
You'll never be as metal as the sound of this harp run through a distortion pedal By Jackson Maxwell published 26 August 21 With the help of Electrofoods' Nepenthes box, Emily Hopkins brings some seriously demonic flavor to this angelic instrument
Watch the first full demos of IK Multimedia’s Amplitube-powered X-Drive distortion and X-Space reverb pedals By Matt Parker published 16 August 21 Hear some of the coolest sounds you can make with IK Multimedia's first set of hardware guitar effects units
KMA Machines aims to unleash the "perfect metal monster" with its HM-2-style Guardian of the Wurm distortion pedal By Matt Owen published 16 July 21 Three independent clipping styles, a HM-2-style EQ option, a Blackmer VCA-based noise gate and a whole array of intuitive controls head up KMA's latest offering
Darkglass Electronics ADAM review By Bob Brinkman published 30 June 21 A true tone monster, you won't ADAM and Eve just how good this bass EQ-cum-distortion-cum-compressor sounds
Echoline Germanium Distortion V2.0, Roadrunner V2.0 and Signal Driver Boost V2.0 review By Trevor Curwen published 24 May 21 Homegrown, hand-built effects in new, more compact enclosures
Boss debuts limited-edition anniversary SD-1 Super Overdrive and MT-2 Metal Zone pedals By Matt Owen published 20 May 21 Special new-look offerings, which sport sleek new colorways and commemorative styling, will only be available throughout 2021
Jackson Audio Asabi & Large Mouse review By Trevor Curwen published 29 April 21 Mateus Asato's signature drive pedal and a RAT-inspired replacement distortion module
MXR FOD Drive review By Trevor Curwen published 8 April 21 MXR rebrands the Dookie Drive with this versatile amp-blending overdrive
LunaStone's new Deep Metal distortion pedal “vaporizes poor guitar tone” By Sam Roche published 17 March 21 The Danish manufacturer's latest design promises a forgiving drive that can even polish lacklustre pickups
Boss shares first look at its highly anticipated HM-2 reissue, the Waza Craft HM-2W By Matt Owen published 4 March 21 Pedal fanatics will get a hands-on look at the prototype during a Boss livestream event on March 10
Wampler seeks to reproduce classic RAT distortion sounds with new Ratsbane mini-pedal By Matt Owen published 26 February 21 The compact pedal is based on the original ProCo Rat, and promises to deliver an equally throaty fuzz-like distortion
ProCo set to announce the Lil' Rat, a micro-sized version of the Rat 2 By Matt Owen published 25 January 21 The miniature version of the iconic distortion pedal features the same circuit and components as the flagship Rat 2 pedal
Electro-Harmonix supercharges the Metal Muff with new noise gate-equipped Nano design By Michael Astley-Brown published 4 January 21 Downsized distortion pedal boasts three-band cut/boost EQ and hum-free performance