MXR M75 Super Badass® Distortion

Product Information

The latest to carry the name is a cool touch-sensitive MOSFET-based Dynamic Overdrive - with 3 classic controls and a Boost / Cut Mids EQ toggle. That in itself is fairly unusual for MXR as they typically prefer to use those push-button controls - as can be viewed on the Modified OD and ’78 Distortion above. ProCo’s RAT 2 could in all honestly come very close to being our top choice, but it’s such an incredibly good distortion pedal for an incredibly good price, that it has to be our great value selection. It’s really not that often that you can say this about such a famous pedal either. There’s usually a premium to pay for a name, but there isn’t here.

It’s worth bearing in mind of course that there are many, many different types of distortion that you can achieve using one of these pedals. They don’t all sound the same, so you can use them differently. On virtually all pedals, you’ll get one knob for controlling the gain or level of distortion, and it’s this you can use for going between an almost clean sound, to a very distorted noise. A distortion pedal can be used anywhere in your effects chain to really give your tone an entirely new sound, and they’re really very easy to use. Unlike some effects pedals and other guitar peripherals, there really isn’t much difficulty to using one. It is reasonably versatile too - if you really crank it up, you end up with some real fuzz that sustains well, but on the lower end, it can sound like a quality overdriven tube amp. Just a very nice sound all-round. For the price, there had to be some compromised somewhere, and they come in the form of the pedal’s construction. It’s by no means bad - everything is laid out and finished well, including the footswitch, but rather than the usual metal, the SF300 is made from high impact plastic. It feels fine, but there’s a reason touring musicians will buy only pedals with a metal chassis.So what exactly does a distortion pedal do when you hit that footswitch? How do distortion pedals work? The second MXR to make it onto our list, this one is not actually that far away from the Super Badass in terms of tone, but is absolutely deserves an entry of its own. If you want the ability to nail some soaring highs with a really hot sound, then this could well be your next distortion pedal. It’s not going to get you a heavy metal thump going on, but it is ideal for turning up the heat, with a natural feeling distortion sound that goes some way beyond mere overdrive. As with all MXR products, the Custom Badass is built well, and is nicely finished to a high standard. It’s beautifully thought out, and feels like a really premium pedal, despite not being anywhere near the price of some boutique options that aim for the same sound. One of the things people need to understand about this pedal is the sensitivity of the distortion knob. When most people describe their pedal knob settings, they think in terms of 9:00, 10:00, 11:00, etc. With the M75 distortion knob, you need to think in terms of 9:30, 10:00, 10:30, etc. because it is very easy to blow by your desired distortion sound by making too big of a distortion knob adjustment. The 3 EQ knobs are also key to this pedal's sonic versatility. Once you get in the sonic ballpark in terms of distortion, the 3 band EQ allows you to fine tune the character of your distortion. It's the combination of the distortion with the EQ that allows this pedal to do so much. This pedal even helps my retubed Peavey Valve King 112 6L6 amp sound Marshall-esque when needed! Finally, distortion pedals are often combined with other effects like chorus and reverb, or with wah-wah pedals. This is how you build a really nice distorted sound, but remember that it’s always worth fine-tuning your tone, then level of distortion, and then finally effects on top of that. It’s the easiest way of finding the right tone and ensuring that you can replicate it in the future. What does a Distortion Pedal do?

Once overdrive had become popular, however, guitarists wanted more. They wanted distortion. So they took overdrive methods and made them more aggressive. This was done by clipping the sine waves more aggressively using effects, and ultimately pedals. Overdrive pedals will clip softly, or smoothly. This is visualized as a narrowed wave that is still curved at the top. Distortion, however, will simply shear off the top of the curve into a (mostly) flat shape. So ultimately, overdrive pedals are not as harsh as distortion pedals; aiming to replicate the natural sound, whereas distortion pedals are more artificial and aggressive. There are however many overlaps and different sounds, so hard and fast rules are few in number. Among our choices, you'll find multi-channel offerings, blendable drives, and amp-inspired circuits at a variety of price points. Where does my distortion pedal go in the chain? The MXR Super Badass Distortion is a perfect choice for guitar players who want a reliable distortion pedal that's ready to go out of the box. It's also a great choice for those who want more sound-shaping capabilities in their distortion pedal. The M75 has EQ controls that most distortion stompboxes don't have, which is why it's the go-to of people who are after a specific tone. OK, so the SF300 distortion pedal is unashamedly inspired by offerings from Boss, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, and it certainly isn’t when you get this much pedal for such a tiny price. This thing is basically a catch-all for fuzzy distortion. It can do light 60s fuzz, from the time when overdrive was still seen as a bad thing by a lot of guitarists, to meaty, stoner fuzz that is super distorted.Pros: Powerful, flexible 3-band EQ. Touch-sensitive responsiveness. Can go from modern metal leads to simple lead boosts with aplomb. The EQ section is brilliantly voiced, providing an impressively vast range of tones with nary a bad sound to be found. Boosting the bass control makes the tone bigger but never flabby or farty, and when it’s turned down it never gets wimpy or too thin. The treble control covers a palette from dark (but not muddy) to razor sharp (but not piercing). The next important factor is the general shape of the distortion - and no, we don't mean the shape of the actual unit, but rather the sound of the distortion itself. If you’re after something more vintage-voiced, then Bogner and Friedman are solid options for you. If you need a more modern sound, then the Mesa/Boogie Throttle Box and Kirk Hammett's signature Dark Blood offer truly outstanding contemporary gain sounds.

Paired with a wah pedal, some Hendrix classics can also be played with this MXR masterpiece. The versatility of this MXR pedal is what makes it such a great go-to for beginners who have no "ideal" tone or preference when it comes to distortion. However, this does not mean it's only for newbies - the sound quality and tone-shaping makes it just as perfect for performers and recording professionals. The M75 Super Badass Distortion from MXR is a great choice in terms of value, features, build, and sound quality for a distortion stompbox. The MXR Super Badass pedal sounds great and delivers a wide range of tones with its versatile control panel including a 3-band EQ, which will be discussed further on in this review. MXR did a great job with this pedal and is a great go-to pedal if you can't decide which stompbox to get for your rig. The manufacturer has other similar products such as Distortion+ and Distortion III - but in terms of versatility of an MXR distortion, Super Badass wins the comparison. Enough about the way it looks though - how does it sound? Loud. That’s probably the most accurate way of describing this pedal. It might be a no-nonsense one-knob pedal, but this is one impactful unit. Crank up the dial and it will deliver some seriously powerful distortion or fuzz. Think Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top cranked up to 11. It’s worth bearing in mind that the pedal’s sound is influenced considerably by the guitar output - you’ll get that beautiful not-quite-fuzz sound with the right setup. A distortion pedal is therefore set up to artificially clip the signal wave in a similar way to what would happen if the amplifier or speaker was overdriven but in a much starker and more significant way. We’ll cover the main differences between overdrive and distortion in the next section.Would be cool if anyone can explain to me the distinction between Custom and Super and whether this is actually a proper subset of MXR or simply a marketing vehicle! What is not in dispute though is that these are some truly great sounding Overdrives, Distortions and Fuzz. And I’ve seen many a player cite the Modified Overdrive especially as one of their favourites of all tine. There is a reason that the MXR Super Badass Distortion is hailed as one of the best choices out there in the market - it just sounds really good and badass. As mentioned earlier in this review, the tones you can get out of the Super Badass are very impressive due to the built-in equalizer. This MXR pedal can do anything from making your guitar produce that powerful heavy riff to making your guitar's tone scream through the mix with a smooth distorted crunch. What can we say? The DS-1 has been designed from the outset as the everyman’s distortion pedal. It’s versatile enough to be used for a very wide range of music styles, it’s not hard to get it to elicit some great sounds, and it’s priced very attractively indeed. We can easily get everything from a bit of light distortion to some serious growls from the responsive dials, which is great if you’re new to this kind of effect. In terms of specs, we’ve got optional true bypass or buffered bypass, which is very nice to see, and will be hugely useful for guitarists that need a versatile pedal. Volume, drive and treble knobs allow you to control the sound, which is designed to be as transparent as possible. We’d agree - at lower volumes there’s very little in the way of tone altering. As to which is better will depend entirely on your preferred kind of music. In general, overdrive will be used by more vintage and less aggressive styles, whereas distortion is the staple of metal and more modern music. This is by no means a rule, however - there are lots of exceptions.

If you have a favorite artist, then it may well be useful to see what they use, rather than hoping to find the holy grail of distortion. In addition, this becomes more complicated when some pedals are marketed as overdrive pedals, some are marketed as distortion pedals, and many even mention both. Hopefully, we’ll be able to clear up some of the confusion. With a name like ‘Super Badass’, you’d almost expect this to be a pedal that delivers nothing but straight-forward distortion, but you’d be wrong. Very wrong. This MXR product is one of the most versatile pedals around, being capable of giving you everything from very light overdrive, to screaming, full-bodied distortion. It is worth noting that distortion pedals are different from overdrive pedals, which are meant to push your amplifier past its headroom for a slight crunch or very subtle distortion. Distortion stompboxes offer extra grit or dirt to your signal without having to push your amplifier, giving you that signature distorted sound even at low volumes. I included it in my sizeable Brown Sound alternatives article from a couple of years ago - while it didn't end up as one of the most wanted - on account of others have more extended feature sets - including 3-Band EQ - which for me is almost essential for Marshall style pedals as the mids are so critical to the nature of that chewy crunchy output.It’s always a good idea, to begin with your pedal somewhere in the middle of the settings. This way you can easily bring things up or down a little to fine-tune and find the sound that you like or are trying to replicate. More gain isn’t always better, and you might be surprised by how much difference might be made when cranking up the volume, or adjusting some of the EQ. Design wise, this pedal clearly has its target market in mind with its vintage cream facing and funky typography - it looks great. The switches don’t feel quite as robust as some competitors, but overall build quality is superb, and there’s no reason to doubt Electro-Harmonix quality. So, let's break down what to look for when choosing the best distortion pedal for your needs. What is a distortion pedal?