Misophenia Distortion Pedal
[Misophenia Distortion: An overwhelming sensation or strong emotional response triggered by specific aural stimuli.]
Our inaugural foray into the gritty side of the sonic spectrum. Misophenia has the capability to transport the mind between worlds: From beer-ring-stained blues bar stages to the darkest depths of a haunted Norwegian forest...and everywhere in between.
Put plainly, Misophenia was built for the player who possesses an insatiable appetite for power and a deep appreciation for versatility. To say this pedal delivers all the grind, chug and filth one could ever need is an understatement. But what good is such raging power if it can't be controlled?
Thankfully, Rorschach Devices employs only the bravest, albeit slightly unhinged, minds. And what resulted after months of testing? An analog circuit boasting a wickedly clever EQ interface with two available voicings (controlled via what we're calling the Chug Switch).
In the up position, Misophenia is a mile-long freight train chugging at bullet-train speeds. Access a thick, saturated distortion that's tight and harmonically balanced, yet capable of taking you to the furthest reaches of edge and aggression.
In the down position, you're teleported back to somewhere just outside Crunchville. It's a looser, grittier tone–our prescription when you need to mellow out your grind with some bluesier licks. A fire-breathing dragon, it turns out, can be manipulated so that it may play safely next to a box of newborn kittens.
So, whether you want to dirty it up just enough to handle a few SRV riffs... or you're ready to unleash a demonic swath of hatred upon the universe itself... the Misophenia Distortion Pedal is ready for your experimentation.
Length: 4.75"
Height (case): 1.75"
Height (case w/ knobs): 2.75"
Width: 2.5"
9V, 125mA, 2.1mm jack, center
negative (power supply NOT provided)
Bass–Controls the low frequencies
Mid – Controls the midrange frequencies
Treble – Controls the high frequencies
Volume – Controls the overall output level
Gain – Controls the amount of distortion
Chug Switch – Changes the character or voice of the distortion:
- Up position – Imparts a thick, saturated quality to the distortion
- Down position – Gives a loose, gritty quality to the distortion
- Top mount jacks – takes up less space on your board
- Tall, low-effort footswitch – no need to add barefoot buttons
- True Bypass – the pedal circuit is completely disconnected when bypassed, so it does not load down your guitar signal
- Signature LED “Glow Ring” on/off indicator light
Notes from the Doctor:
Misophenia Distortion’s 3-band EQ is fairly uncommon in other dirt box designs—and it’s what allows a user to more effectively manipulate the madness within. The controls do not interact with each other like they do on classic-style amps and stomp boxes: The bass and treble controls utilize an active, Baxandall-style circuit centered at 1kHz with approximately +/-12db sweep. The mid control is semi-parametric, centered at 1Khz with approximately +/-18db sweep.
(TL;DR: The EQ is highly adjustable and tuned specifically for guitar. And, it's more tweakable than the standard tone controls on most pedals.)