BBE AM64 American Metal

Three knobs, one switch. Manual is not needed. This is one of the only BBE pedals which comes without a power supply (I admit that the power supply which they include is not particularly good.) Decent battery life.

Sound almost exactly like a boss DS-1, maybe a little wider range. I don't mean the comparison to a DS-1 to be a compliment...

BBE should stop putting threadlocker on their chassis screws, because their construction is second to none. When shopping for a cheap distortion pedal, one would be advised to ask the salespeople at guitar center (the only place one can purchase said unit) for a screwdriver to open the back. This unit is nine-pin hard bypass, thick metal chassis, and not only is the switch mounted to the chassis and wired to the pcb, so are the jacks (but not the knobs or the power input). Quick examination reveals that the unit is powdercoated inside and out. Absolutely blows the DS-1 (or any Boss unit) out of the water in terms of quality of construction. Even the battery access cover (usually the first thing which breaks on any pedal) is reliable- it snaps into a ring made of the same plastic, and is hinged, rather than the plastic which snaps into the chassis which is more common and less reliable.

Never dealt with the company. Apparently, they are a division of Barcus Berry (BBE= Barcus Berry Enterprises), makes of industry standard acoustic preamps and pickups.

Sound quality comparable but not quite identical to Boss DS-1. Build quality comparable to Homebrew, Catalinbread, hand-painted Zvex units. I passionately hate the boss DS-1 (because it was the first distortion box myself and half of my friends ever owned), but when my little brother expressed interest in it I steered him towards this one, which is the same price. Like a DS1, it sounds the same into a good amp or a bad amp: like a bad amp. But build quality is impressive, and price is even more impressive. Then again, anyone shopping for a distortion box in this price range isn't interested in build quality. About a year ago, guitar center had a BBE TS808 clone (the green screamer, look it up) for the same price; the green screamer made me love BBE's contruction (and also beats TS9s, TS808s, Maxon OD9, and various other TS808 versions in sound quality.). Easy choice for first pedal.

standard 3 knob affair

this has to be based on the boss ds-1; that DS-1 tone is unmistakable. This pedal has better low end, clarity and a more usable tone control than the DS-1. side by side with a long dash 1980 made in japan ds-1 this pedal won hands down and i do love the old made in japan ds-1's so that is saying something.

This pedal is a much better offering than the BBE Crusher which i also own. Highly recommended. I've tried a lot of BBE pedals and the only other ones that i liked were the stinger and sonic stomp.

It even looks cool. the name is stupid but at least it's not written on the pedal anywhere.

2009 Model - Made in China I believe. $40 Guitar Center Exclusive Pedal. 3 knobs: Volume, Tone and Gain. 1 Boss Style 9v DC Jack. 1 Nice 3DPT True Bypass Switch. 1 Bright Blue LED Status Light. Comes with a free generic battery and a sparse manual and warranty cards in the box. Unlike past BBE stomps, No AC Adapter is included.

It's a very straight forward pedal to use out of the box. I opened it up to find a TL072CP IC and some LEDs on a nice PCB. Looks like a Marshall Guv'nor clone to me. Though it could be another Marshall drive pedal?

Using a MIK Hamer Sunburst w/Duncan PGs Set into a Epiphone Galaxie 10 Combo set clean. Quiet pedal, Though the tone knob far clockwise can get some nasty treble bite. The pedal sounds like a Modded JCM800 IMO. Set the volume to unity, match the tone to your amp and set the gain just before saturation and it sounds great.

The Gain goes from clean all the may to early heavy metal. Very 1980s Hard Rock Tones to be had here. True Bypass leaves the amps clean tone intact and it works great with all my other pedals so far.

5 year warranty!

Though I have heard horror stories about the BBD based pedals like the Mind-Bender and Two-Timer. My Mind-Bender is going string after a year, so maybe I got lucky? Honestly, all my BBE pedals have been great. Although I was worried at first knowing they were MIC. But the parts all look top notch. neat PCB's, decent quality switches and pots and the enclosures can handle road duty.

Very underrated series of pedals that can all be had cheap online.

I've never dealt with them. Although I did see someone getting nothing but crackling sounds from a Mind-Bender and a BBE rep. messaged him on that forum offering to try and make it right.

Also a 5 year warranty and pretty solid build quality seems trust worthy.

Prob the best sub-$50 distortion I have seen. I really can't say enough good things. Run and grab one before Guitar Center runs out.