In good
condition
No box
Denmark’s T-Rex Engineering is best known for their high-end
pedal line that was launched internationally in 2002. Pedals like the Replica
delay and Mudhoney distortion/overdrive have earned devoted fanbases, while
high-profile tonehounds Mark Tremonti and Greg Koch gravitated to the company
for their signature pedals. In 2009, the company introduced their lower-priced
ToneBug line of pedals with Overdrive and Reverb. The company expanded the line
this year with the Distortion, Phaser, and Chorus + Flanger. T-Rex sums up the
design philosophy for the ToneBug line as, “to provide the best effects on
the market for reasonable money.” We got our hands on the new ToneBug
Distortion to see if it lives up to the tagline.
What the Bug
Unpacking the ToneBug Distortion, it’s clear this pedal is built to last with
its sturdy unpainted cast metal housing with smooth corners, metal knobs and
switch. The huge, red status light makes it easy to see if the pedal is
engaged, even during bright outdoor shows. Input, output, and power jacks are
all located at the top of the pedal, comfortably spaced apart so connecting to
your other pedals and power supply is a breeze. The pedal is powered by the
standard 9 volt DC plug-in (center pin negative, 8V min. to 12.5V max.) or
battery. The battery hatch is located on the bottom of the unit and is easy to
access–no screwdrivers needed. This is a clean, simple pedal with three knobs
to tweak your noises: Level, Tone, and Gain. One minor complaint on the pedal’s
aesthetics is that the dots on the knobs are quite small and hard to see
against the convex chrome tops, especially when maneuvering in the dark. The
overall dimensions of 4.75″L x 3″W x 2.4″H present a rather
friendly footprint for precious pedal board real estate.
Plugging In
An adequately featured distortion effect, this unit wants to scream and be
unleashed. As I plugged this into my amp and played a few riffs, I had the
uncontrollable urge to dig out my best pair of spandex, stretch my leg muscles,
and keep edging the volume up more and more as the night wears on. The ToneBug
Distortion is a fairly bright sounding pedal, and the bias towards the upper
and harmonic frequencies makes it a sheer delight to fire off false harmonics.
If you fancy hitting pinch harmonics, this pedal makes it an easy ride, and
you’ll be thinking Randy Rhoads in no time. At the full gain setting, notes can
sustain for nearly as long as you can manage to grip the fingerboard and can
seamlessly transition into some agreeable harmonic feedback.
When working this pedal in conjunction with your guitar volume knob, it takes
some effort to roll back the volume enough to clean up the saturation if you
like to do that–it wants to growl until it’s asleep. On the flip side, if you
like to do volume swells, you get a relatively smooth and consistent transition
from fully attenuated to fully open.
If you are seeking a darker sounding, low gain overdrive tone, this pedal is
not your game. While this pedal can get some tube-type sounds with tweaking, it
has a hard time trying to sound like a slightly driven tube amp and is clearly
designed for higher gain.
