52 pedals, week 33—Tortuga Effects Death Adder

I’m just going to start by saying I’m all for a guitar pedal that claims it’s like being bitten in the face by a snake. Brutal. I like that. If you’re going to build a distortion pedal it probably needs to be brutal So the name Death Adder seems fitting to me. Well played Tortuga Effects.

Luckily us Australians have been known to say that we’re fanging for something if we like it. Seems fitting here, because I like the sound of this pedal. #want

I know that the last couple of pedals in my list have been from the overdrive and fuzz families, but when it comes down to it, I really need my guitar sounds to be more broken up than that. Distortion is really my thing. I’m a Metallica, Megadeth, Black Sabbath, Trivium and the likes kind of guitar player. I’m talking about tone, not playing skill. If I was referring to skill, I’d be listing four year old children who have been playing guitar for six weeks. I’m way better than them!

Anyhow, the Death Adder is a pretty cool sounding distortion pedal. It has all the bells and whistles a great distortion needs—which is not many. It has EQ controls for the lows and highs as well as the mids—for enhancing or scooping as is often the trend—and it has volume (Venom) and gain (Attack) controls. That’s it. What else could you need?

One thing I really liked with the official video for this pedal—embedded below—is how the pedal’s effects are tested on various guitars and amplifiers. That’s incredibly helpful. Not everyone is going to plug this pedal into a Marshall stack with their Zakk Wylde bullseye Gibson Les Paul. Some distortion lovers use single coil guitars. It’s good to know that no matter your setup, the Death Adder has a setting or two that will have you rocking like nobody’s business.

Also, with the Venom control on low you can still have the Attack on high allowing you to get full distortion out of your amplifier at much lower volumes. Hey neighbours … You’re welcome.

It’s a simple pedal really and I simply want one. Watch … You may see why that is.

Disclaimer: I’ve not played this guitar pedal. I have not experienced first-hand the sound or effects of this guitar pedal. That doesn’t matter. It looks awesome, it’s obviously played by winners and I want one.

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