NPD: ZVex Distortron

ratherdashing

Kablamminator
Bought it on Thursday, took it to rehearsal today.

<3 <3 <3

My Stiletto does very good clean and excellent heavy crunch. I wanted something to get the "in between" light/medium crunch, like a cranked Deluxe or JTM 45. The Distortron does exactly that, and it does it better than any other pedal I've heard. It can do higher gain stuff too if need be, but I like it as a medium gain pedal.

The Distortron is the little brother of the legendary Box of Rock. It's basically the distortion side of the BoR with a couple of tweaks. There's a low/high gain switch. On low gain it's the same as the BoR; high gain piles on some more juice and takes this baby into hot-rodded Marshall territory.

The Subs switch solves a problem a lot of people have with the BoR: too much low end. At 3 you get the gigantic lows the BoR is known for. 2 gives a moderate low end cut that works well with modern high gain amps that already have tons of lows, and 1 cuts a lot of the lows for a nice tight crunch. I find the Stiletto likes the pedal on 2 best: 3 is a bit flubby, and 1 is not fat enough. Your amp may vary, and that's why the switch is there.

When I demo'd the pedal in the store, I played it through a Hot Rod DeVille. It sounded damn good there, but it sounds friggin' incredible through the Stiletto. Based on this and on the things I've read, I gather that the BoR and the Distortron like EL34 amps best. I've also tried a BoR through a Traynor YCV-50blue, which also sounded incredible and also has EL34's.

My only complaints relate to the enclosure layout, and I guess you could say this about any ZVex pedal really. My big clumsy feet don't do to well with the switch so close to the knobs. I also don't like the DC jack being so close to the input jack. I had to put it in a less than ideal spot on my pedal board to ensure the input plug didn't block the DC jack.

Anyway, the Distortron is my dream pedal for adding a third tone to my two channel amp. It has a "real amp" feel to it that you only get from a high quality pedal. It breathes, grunts, and sings like a cranked tube amp would. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a Marshall-in-a-box type of thing, or anyone looking to make their small clean amp sound like a big, cranked stack.
 
Re: NPD: ZVex Distortron

my Box of Rock is the only pedal i feel like i NEED.

i showed it o my friend, plugged into a DSL100...his jaw dropped and after he spent a while messing with settings and comparing / contrasting, he came up to me and said "The pedal on the clean channel sounds better than the crunch channel alone!"

Z.Vex did us a huge favor with that circuit.
 
Re: NPD: ZVex Distortron

I sooo want to have one of those, and feed it with my Blues Driver as a clean boost if more crunch is needed...
 
Re: NPD: ZVex Distortron

I sooo want to have one of those, and feed it with my Blues Driver as a clean boost if more crunch is needed...

I think you'd probably prefer a Tube Screamer type of overdrive in front of it. I use mine with the Raptor into it, and it's basically a fatter version of the standard Distortron tone.
 
Re: NPD: ZVex Distortron

^ yeah my normal rig is now Tuner - Route 808 - Big Muff (maybe) - Box of Rock - amp...the 808 thickens up the BoR nicely...the Big Muff is either a fuzzy alternative or mixes with the BoR for really thick lead tones.

I always sound amazing.
 
Re: NPD: ZVex Distortron

if i came there, and i mean, was like, i don't know, kind of like a cool old uncle or soemthing, I don't know...like a cool old geezer..I know its a stretch....could you get me laid..at all?
 
Re: NPD: ZVex Distortron

In my setup I never find the BOR to be too bassy,but the added gain switch would be a plus....Wish the BOR was the pedal that had all the options...Wasn't an inexpensive pedal.
 
Re: NPD: ZVex Distortron

I've had my eye on the Distortron for a few weeks now, you aren't helping the GAS. Off to do some online shopping ......
 
Re: NPD: ZVex Distortron

Hmmm thats a good idea to have another crunch channel, I have a engl with awesome distortion channel but having a Marshall type gain would be nice also. Thanks for fueling the gas! lol. We need vids or its a Bugera :)
 
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Re: NPD: ZVex Distortron

cool review!

[speaking of low gain stuff - I fell in love with the vox night train the other day, using the bright channel and very low gain; at empty pocket's place of work no less]
 
Re: NPD: ZVex Distortron

Box of Rock or the Distortron?

I would have no use for the extra switches on the Distortron, but I love the clean boost on the Box of Rock...when i get my Bassman cranked up, the clean boost kind of acts like a preamp gain knob the amp never had before.

This way I get 'pushed clean' Fender, 'cranked Marshall' on the Distortron side, 'cranked Fender' with just the clean boost, then use the boost and the Distortron to create a solid beam of doom.

Sometimes i tighten it all up with the 808 but i could probably get through a blues / rock gig with just my amp, my Les Paul and my Box of Rock.
 
Re: NPD: ZVex Distortron

I picked up a Distortron back in January and its basically replaced every dirt/OD box in my arsenal aside from fuzz pedals. I had used the BOR a handful of times and it almost always satisfied... after trying the Distortron against an OCD & a couple others it was the clear winner. So versatile.

Love the 'amp-like' feel and how it responds to hand dynamics, but the toggle switches open up a world of tones. I've used it as a stand-alone dirt box into clean amps and as a booster, in place of a TS9 or whatever. Never fails to satisfy.

If anything I tend to leave it in the high-gain mode a lot, even with the gain down. Not sure I'd call it "hot-rodded" marshall... sorta. Doesn't really 'up' the gain a whole lot from the lo-gain side but it has a different EQ for sure... gives the mids another voice.

Between that & the lo-cut switch its a swiss army knife. I treat that 3-way switch not as a bass cut but as a contour of sorts. In the "1" position, less bass, its got an almost "RAT-DS1" sorta vibe. Gets that cutting mids thing, like a garden variety distortion box if you want it.

My only real gripe is the noise... when the playing stops it can often be a waterfall, but its not all that different then an old-marshall or some other cranked up amp. Stop playing and it sounds like the world is about to end. So maybe its not a gripe... only kinda.
 
Re: NPD: ZVex Distortron

Box of Rock or the Distortron?

I would have no use for the extra switches on the Distortron, but I love the clean boost on the Box of Rock...when i get my Bassman cranked up, the clean boost kind of acts like a preamp gain knob the amp never had before.

This way I get 'pushed clean' Fender, 'cranked Marshall' on the Distortron side, 'cranked Fender' with just the clean boost, then use the boost and the Distortron to create a solid beam of doom.

Sometimes i tighten it all up with the 808 but i could probably get through a blues / rock gig with just my amp, my Les Paul and my Box of Rock.

See, my amp already has a clean boost built in so I would never need that feature of the BoR. And I like the extra switches, especially the subs one.
 
Re: NPD: ZVex Distortron

LOVE LOVE LOVE MINE!


DSC01684-2.jpg
 
Re: NPD: ZVex Distortron

See, my amp already has a clean boost built in so I would never need that feature of the BoR. And I like the extra switches, especially the subs one.

The boost on the BOR isn't quite the same as an amps built-in boost... those are usually post-preamp while the BOR boost kicks the amp input/preamp harder. I went with the Distortron based on the tone-shaping switches, especially since I already have a few things that do the "more" bit like the pickup booster & an ancient MXR microamp.
 
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