Z Vex Effects Vextron Series Distortron
The Distortron is a powerhouse classic rock Distortion | Overdrive effects pedal for electric guitar
The Z Vex Effects Distortron is an Overdrive | Distortion pedal designed to over the touch-sensitive, articulate drive of a vintage Marshall JTM-45 tube amplifier. It’s a classic rock powerhouse in a pedalboard friendly box. The Distortron pedal consists of only three knobs: Volume, Tone and Drive. A tiny three-way switch controls the amount of Subs (subharmonics), altering the amount of low end the pedal provides.
Just like the Marshalls of yesteryear, the ZVEX Distortron shines with lower output pickups. Pick attack is much more evident. Sustain and decay are considerably more natural and smooth, with a great punch in the mids. Backing off on the guitar’s volume control yields a terrific rhythm tone with a clean upper register and growly midrange. Running the Distortron like this is really shows off how receptive it can be to pick attack, as it becomes highly sensitive to how hard the player smacks the strings.
Another mini-switch sets the pedal to low- or high-gain modes. The “Lo” position is the standard Box of Rock level, while “Hi” gooses the gain stages for a slightly more gain. Using the Distortron in high-gain situations sounds really, really good, but it sounds fantastic in low- to mid-gain applications.
The Z Vex Effects Distortron pedals controls function as follows:
- Drive: sets the amount of distortion. Note- it may crackle when turned, which is normal.
- Tone: Adjusts for treble content
- Volume: Adjusts output volume level
- Gain switch: ‘’Lo/Hi’’ switch lets you choose the standard ‘’Box of Rocl’’ gain level or a slightly boosted level
- Subs switch: ‘’2-1-3’’ controls sub-harmonics
Try the ZVex Distortron last in your pedal chain, just before the amp. Set the amp clean, set the Distortron pedal for your favorite distortion tone, and fire away! If you’re using a booster pedal too, try it both before and after the Distortron to experience different results: before the Distortron will give you more sustain, while after it will give you more amp volume (or drive, if you use a distorted amp sound).
Don’t leave your other distortion pedals in the closet – many distortion pedals sound amazing with the ZVex Vextron Series Distortron, so you may discover a whole new appreciation for your old distortion pedal collection as well.
Features and Specifications of the Vextron Series Distortron pedal from Z Vex Effects:
- 9v Battery or DC power jack (uses standard Boss-style center negative)
- LED light indicates when unit is operational and when battery is low
- 1-year manufacturer warranty from purchase date