TC Electronic Dark Matter Distortion Pedal

A good distortion stompbox gives you at least a few distinct distortion sounds. The TC Electronic Dark Matter is a great stompbox distortion. Far from any one-trick pony, the Dark Matter gives you an enormous range of gritty and rich distortion tones, covering the spread from mild fuzz to the roar and sag of a Plexi pushed to the breaking point. What sets the Dark Matter apart from other distortion pedals is the way TC approaches tone shaping and EQ.

With all knobs set to 12 o'clock, the Dark Matter produces a run-of-the-mill smooth breakup. Crank up the gain, and (as is the case with any distortion box) the saturation becomes a little bit muddy. That's where the filter knobs come into play. Unlike standard distortion stompboxes, which feature a single tone knob, the Dark Matter lets you EQ the low and high end separately. So, when you blast the distortion, you can carve out some of those lows and end up with the kind of soaring lead tone that lets you pull off intense solos. And then there's the voicing switch, which totally recalibrates the way the Dark Matter responds to low end. Bottom line - if you're looking for an incredibly versatile distortion box, then buy the Dark Matter, clear your schedule, and let the tone tweaking begin.