Best Modern Distortion Pedal (our top pick)
Empress Effects Heavy Distortion Pedal
Not only is it our top pick for modern distortion tones and metal, but the Empress Heavy is the best distortion pedal we have tested, overall, beating the competition in almost every category. It's a great choice for the modern player that wants a heavy, saturating tone that's flexible and not too biting.
Updated on October 30th, 2023
Updated some of the links and article formatting. We haven't made any product changes to these recommendations for 2023.
In many cases, vintage distortion pedals are considered more "authentic" and, as a result, are more sought after. But, as a consequence, I've found it somewhat difficult to nail down a good-quality modern distortion. And by "modern" I mean the following: Heavily saturated, high gain, not fuzz or blues, thick and percussive sound. We will cover five pedals here that fit these descriptors.
Read more: Best overall distortion pedal
Best Modern Distortion Pedals (our top 5 picks)
Pedal | Name | RATe | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empress Heavy | n/a | |
 | Amptweaker TightMetal JR | n/a | |
 | Wampler Dracarys | n/a | |
 | TC Electronic Dark Matter | 91.7 | |
 | Joyo Ultimate Drive | n/a |
1. Empress Heavy Distortion
My suspicion is that once you get used to having two different (and individually customizable) channels in a distortion pedal, you'd have a hard time going back to just one. Hence, the Empress Effects Heavy's appeal is undeniable. Each channel is completely individual, meaning every control is mirrored on both sides. Though both give you an incredibly heavy and percussive, modern distortion tone.
In that respect, the "heavy" and "heavier" labels by each button are a bit misleading. When I first looked at it, I thought that "heavier" must mean some kind of gain boost, like we've seen on other distortion pedals. But upon closer inspection you'll see that each control knob is repeated for both sides of the pedal, meaning either side can be customized to be entirely unique. Not only that, but the signal path is completely analog.
Empress Effects Heavy dual-channel distortion pedal.
IDEAL FOR: Modern metal, rhythm, and live performing
TONE
n/a
EQ/CONTROL
n/a
BUILD/STRENGTH
n/a
COST/VALUE
n/a
- Dual channels
- Tons of control
- Analog
- Tone quality is excellent
- Noise gate is one of the best in the business
- Very expensive
2. Amptweaker TightMetal JR
While there are several different versions of the TightMetal, I've bought and tested the JR because it seems to be the best balance of quality and price. Per Amptweaker's James Brown, it's also the best selling of the series. Though it should be understood that my endorsement of the TightMetal JR would also go for the TightMetal Standard and Pro versions, assuming you don't mind the additional expense. To start, here's a quick recording I did with the TightMetal JR:
The TightMetal JR gives you plenty of gain that doesn't sound too harsh or biting. It's a full-bodied, modern tone that gives you plenty of boom on low-end palm mutes and lots of sustain with open chords. I didn't feel like the high gain was too chaotic, or like I had a hard time reigning it in. With just the Tight switch, it was easy to sculpt the distortion's response to stay more focused on and narrow.
The older version of the Amptweaker Tight Metal JR hanging out on my dining room table with an old Guitar Chalk sticker.
IDEAL FOR: Modern metal, rock, and all high gain situations
TONE
n/a
EQ/CONTROL
n/a
BUILD/STRENGTH
n/a
COST/VALUE
n/a
- Tone sounds great on heavier settings
- High-gain settings are essentially noiseless
- Heavy, modern and smooth saturation
- Additional EQ and tightening options
- True bypass
- None for the price
3. TC Electronic Dark Matter Distortion Pedal
The Dark Matter distortion is billed by TC Electronic as a distortion pedal that bridges classic overdrive tones and modern distortion, while preserving the nuances of your guitar playing. While I'd say it accomplishes this, I've personally found the Dark Matter to be "at home" as a modern distortion effect. Part of that is because it's smooth and sounds more uncompressed than say, the MXR Fullbore. It doesn't just sound like a pile of gain and hiss, despite the fact it is extremely heavy and thick.
Read the full review: TC Electronic Dark Matter
The TC Electronic Dark Matter distortion pedal, also with a Guitar Chalk sticker to show that we actually bought and tested the pedal.
IDEAL FOR: Budgets, modern and classic rock
TONE
89
EQ/CONTROL
79
BUILD/STRENGTH
95
COST/VALUE
90
- Very affordable
- Voicing switch
- Can handle both modern and vintage distortion sounds
- True Bypass
- Not quite as heavy as the previous two options
- No noise gate
4. Joyo JF-02 Ultimate Drive Pedal
It's hard to overstate the value presented by the JF-02 to someone who is looking for a heavy, smooth and modern distortion pedal at a budget price tag. To be fair, it's certainly not going to give you the same variety and control that we see with some of the more expensive distortion pedals (see #5 on this list), but it does get the tone right. It gives you high gain and a thick low-end EQ that doesn't sound the least bit cheap. In that respects, the Joyo JF-02 delivers for an astonishingly low price tag.
IDEAL FOR: Budgets, beginners, and multiple styles
TONE
n/a
EQ/CONTROL
n/a
BUILD/STRENGTH
n/a
COST/VALUE
n/a
- Extremely budget friendly
- Great tone for the price
- Handles well on high and low gain settings
- Not a ton of control over tone
5. Wampler Dracarys Distortion Pedal
While the Wampler Dracarys doesn't have quite as much control as some of the other distortion pedals we've tested, it sounds exceptionally good at high gain levels. Particularly with bass and gain cranked, you get a warm, percussive distortion that's great for power chords and rhythmic progressions. I tested it out with a PRS CE 24 and a Mesa Rectoverb combo amp. Here's a photo I snapped of the Dracarys on my studio's computer desk.
Shot of the Wampler Dracarys distortion pedal on my studio desk.
While I didn't like the pedal quite as much on the higher, more treble-rich frequencies, it did everything I could ask from a rhythm perspective. As long as bass and mids stayed somewhat high, I was getting a great sound from the Dracarys.
IDEAL FOR: Basic rig setup, modern rock, and metal
TONE
n/a
EQ/CONTROL
n/a
BUILD/STRENGTH
n/a
COST/VALUE
n/a
- Great tone for rhythm
- Handmade in the United States
- High gain tone stays tight
- Smooth, percussive distortion
- True bypass
- Expensive
- No noise gate control
- Open and Tight modes sound similar
Questions and Comments
I know that there are a lot of pedals omitted from this list.
But, I try to limit my selection to what I have at least some level of experience with and am comfortable recommending. If you have other modern distortion pedals you'd like to share, drop them in the comments section below.
For gear-related and technical questions, do the same. I'll answer in the comments so that other readers and community members can benefit as well.
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Written by Bobby on Pedals and Roundups
Written by Bobby on Pedals and Roundups
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You are greatly misunderstanding how feedback in an amplifier circuit works. The signal does not just get sent back though the same stage “X” number of time picking up more distortion each time.
The feedback loop in an amplifier stage controls the gain of that stage. The signal is looped from the output back to the input of the stage but it is inverted which means that it will cancel with the incoming signal. When the input signal and the inverted feedback are equal the gain of the stage will be zero. As you reduce the level of feedback less signal is canceled and the overall gain increases.
The distortion comes when the circuit runs out of voltage to reproduce the the peaks in the signal, also called “clipping”.
Tim – I literally did not mention feedback once in this article. Could you tell me which section you are referring to? Thanks for the information.
You sad the signal passes more than once through the same gain stage picking up more distortion on the way. Well, output signal fed back into the input is, by definition of feedback. You may have not used the term but that is the term for what you are describing, except you do not have a grasp on how it actually works.
No, I said it can pass through the transistor multiple times, which is true. It can also do it by simply pushing more volume into the transistor the first time through. I’m fairly certain that’s correct.
Not true. The signal can not pass through the same transistor multiple times. What would happen if you connected the speaker out of your guitar amp back into the input? That is the same scenario that you are suggesting. Any output signal fed back into the input will be inverted and therefore cause cancellation. This reduces the overall gain of your circuit. That’s not going to get you any clipping. You can have components in that loop, like diodes, that add clipping to the signal. Still the signal only gets one pass as the effect of the loop is instantaneous.
You are right the second time. You need multiple transistors, each one to drive the next.
Tim – do you have documentation to back up what you’re saying, in a distortion pedal context?
Im still trying to learn all this myself now, and it seems a lot of the difference in these tones is also largely some filtering out certain harmonics.i could be wrong also
Hey there – what do you mean filtering out harmonics? The distortion pedals won’t do that. Let me know if I can be of any help or answer any questions.
Distortion or clipping adds harmonics to the signal. That is why power cords without the third work best with heavy distortion. The third of the root is added by the distortion. If you were to play the third with the cord the distortion would create the third of the third which does not fit the key.