Got this pedal cos I have a solid state amp, a Vox Pathfinder (had to sell my tube amp cos it was too loud for a dorm) and wanted some warm distortion. This pedal works great. 4.5 in features because it has an emulated output which is kinda cool, but I normally mic everything anyway, basic knob layout n its a plus for having 3 knobs (Gain, Tone, Level aka Volume) instead of just 2. 4.5 in quality because its made in freakin metal chasis and nice rubber bottom. Should hold up for a long time and take abuse. Value is a definate 5. The WARMEST overdrive pedal I've ever heard. It can give you nice creamy tones, beautiful warm cleans with nice breakup when ya dig in those strings, or a nice rocking crunch. Will it squeal and scream? Eh, not really for me, but mind you, I am playing through an 8" inch solid state :P It will NOT do metal by itself. The sweep on the Gain is good except on max, it can get compressed especially on smaller amps like mine. The Tone sweep could be much better, kinda too subtle. Max tone is nice and crunchy (at least for an overdrive pedal, wont compete with a distortion pedal btw in the crunch department), but the lowest tone is too muddy and kinda useless. I know its not starve plate and that it has true bypass. Not digital either of course. So it passes on those manitory requirements haha. Great picking dynamics - love it! I keep the level and gain low so I can hear my pickups dynamics too, so its friendly in that matter if handled correctly. Harmonics are good but I've heard other pedals (solid state too) that scream better, but then again, maybe its because I'm playing through an 8" solid state amp and because... that other pedal was a Tubescreamer lol. I've yet to A/B it with thru a 12" tube amp. Hmmm, so if you like Cream, AC/DC, and Led Zeppelin, I think this pedal will do you well, especially if you're looking for a tube-ish tone thru a solid state. Also, I highly recommend the Vox Pathfinder to anyone needing a cheap, quiet, solid state (has beautiful cleans, tube-ish tone).

Awesome pedal, I was trying to find a pedal that uses a tube but had a more natural sound and feel. This one does it. Not very versatile as far as gain range goes, it gets pretty muddy at full gain, and I would have like to see some form of the isf on this as well. Other than that it is built like a small safe. One single piece of metal housing on top and really good quality knobs . It changes your sound a bit (for me its exactly what I wanted) it will compress a bit of your low-low end but will sweeten up your mids and give you a more focused attack when added to an already overdriven amp (through efx loop). Awesome pedal!!

I use this pedal to warm up my Line 6 HD147's preamp before going out to a Marshall JCM2000 clean channel. I don't use much gain (setting#1)but it gives the sterile solid state distortion a nice sizzle and easy pinch harmonics. It has very low noise (when not boosted too much) and the tone control is great as well. When set lower it gives a woody tone and when set higher it has a more class A sounding overdrive. Its built like a tank...literally....and the footswitch is responsive and very durable. I haven't tried the direct out but I have also used it with a Krank distortus maximus pedal into just the jcm 2000 through every channel configuration possible. It sounds great with a noise gate into the distortion pedal into the blackstar and into the marshall as well. Sounds like a combo between a krank revolution/5150 and a jcm 800/900. Pretty vague I know but its a great sound for recording mic'd up. By itself through the clean channel it's not as extreme as a TS9 turbo, but it has a more organic sound, and is more touch responsive. The crunch channel on the JCM2000 by itself has much different sound, notes are individually loud and distinct...with the blackstar added and the gain down on the amp it has a great spongy response with awesome harmonics and high end when using the neck pickup of a gibson custom. Overall a great pedal, I would definitley look into the 2 channel version or dist x if I had a one channel amplifier.