Does the world really need another distortion pedal? According to MXR, the answer is definitely "Yes!"
The company recently introduced the horribly named Custom Badass '78 Distortion. When I think of 1978 [a little hard to remember, I admit] I think of the distorted tones I was listening to on vinyl at the time: Van Halen "I", Aerosmith "Live Bootleg", Ted Nugent "Double Live Gonzo", AC/DC "Powerage", and The Who "Who Are You". Could this little red box recapture those tones from yesteryear?
The pedal has controls for Output, Tone, and Distortion [gain] plus an extra circuit that you can engage using the Crunch button which is basically a midrange boost that moves the tonality a little closer to a classic Tube Screamer. Build quality looks to be very good.
So how does it sound? Overall, I'd say it is a decent sounding pedal that is somewhat similar to a MXR Distortion+ on steroids or the Boss DS-1, but with more tonal options and higher fidelity. My favorite settings are with the Distortion control below 2 o'clock and with the Crunch circuit engaged. The pedal has a lot of gain on tap and it sounds very full and rich at most settings. In fact, it reminds me a lot of the Danelectro Cool Cat Fuzz in that respect, but to my ears it only makes a passing attempt at capturing the tones I listened to back in '78. IMO those tones were thinner and less compressed than what the Custom Badass '78 Distortion is serving up - although the Crunch circuit does help it sound less dark.
The distortion pedal landscape is full of some really nice choices so MXR is going into a very, very crowded marketplace. However, this is a quality unit at a very competitive price point of only $80. That's a good bang for the buck and with their marketing muscle and mainstream distribution through Guitar Center and Musicians' Friend, they may well ship a lot of units.
The bottom line: This is a pedal worth checking out based on it's tonal flexibility, build quality and attractive price. But if you really wanted '78 tones I would grab a Distortion+ or any of the vintage pedals from that era.
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