Fulltone Distortion Pro

There's a lot knobs on this thing, and they interact, so its takes quite a while to figure out. I re-labelled the little knobs "low scoop" "mid bump" "high scoop" and "compression". Also the 2 internal trim pots make a heck of a difference. I call them "harmonics" and "cream".

Tweak the two internal trimpots ! They make all the difference.

You can dial-in from a reasonably farty distortion, to a resonably mild overdrive. Its musical with all dials at zero, or all dials dimed. In all settings, it has very "in your face" dynamics. So the creamy settings still have a lot of picking edge.

In all settings, you can clearly hear all the notes of the weirdest chords. On my Strato (with noiseless pu's) I can still hear all 5 pu settings distinctly. With a compressor in the loop, te note clarity is staggering.


It really keeps my guitar's dynamics intact. This can be pretty intimidating when set to high gain, and high volume. It doesn't compress the sound. Which is why I think its well suited in front of a saturated amp, or with a compressor in the circuit.


Sequence of effect is very important. These non-bufferered pedals behave very differently depending on the order. This affects noise and tone.

It really brought my Fulltone Deja Vibe to life. I also like adding compressor in the loop for some tones, especially when I'm playing with my amp at lower volume (saturation). I also like to have at least one buffered pedal in the loop to keep the signal stong and bright

From what I hear, Mr. Fulltone is a nice guy.

But the little knobs shattered with just esktop use. The little white dot markers were fit too tight. I epoxied the pieces back together.

No need yet.

Tweak the two internal trimpots ! They make all the difference.

Wish it also had a compression knob. The "in your face" sound is great some of the time, but not always.

It is not easy to use

Hamer/Kramer/Gibson57/charvel -> SparkleDrive -> Distortion Pro
-> TC Chorus/flanger -> Boss DD3 -> JTM45
I play 80's rock mostly,,

.Little bit noisy..but distortion always happen
.Four mini nobs ARE the key of this product.
-> Solos & Rhythms..excellant performance!
.I've tried many many distortions for recording reasons and..
.I'll bet this one works

You better watch out~
4 little nobs are little bit fragile..
My one of 4's is already broken..
Can fulltone members repair this one?

No comment

It matches really well with any humbuckers for bridge..
If you're fender kind(singles),,,I wouldn't recommend this one..
It especially works well with overdrives..(Mine is SparkleDrive,,
and they are the best friends..^^)

pretty easy to use. nothing facy.

i dodnt like it. i wanted to really like this product. i bought based on other eviews. it doent suit me atll. this distortion doent scream. i wanted a distortion that wansnt a metal distrotion and that it would clean up nicely when i rolled back my volumes knod. like jimmy poge. well this thing doesnt get me there the leads ounf lfta. ive tried it with everything from a les pual with duncans a fender strat, an esp with emgs another les paul with emgs, it doent sound good with anything. the marshall jackhammer or the zoom hype lead blow this thing out of the water. even the guys in my band said i was ripped of this blan distortion unit. this is overpriced junk.

dont know ill probably give it away or sell it. dont care it sucks. i wasted my money on this.

i hear the mike fuller takes great pride with his pedals but man, i really thought this thing would be killer, what a dissapointment. i dont know i havent written to mike about it nor i dont think i will.

if you want killer distortion go with the marshall jackhemmer, the boss ds-1, the zoom hyper lead or tri metal the mesa v-twin or the radial tonebone, those pedals deliver the goods. the distortion pro just seems very bland there is absolutely no tine in this thing.

I'm not very patient, but it took several practice sessions to learn how to get a decent sound out of it. Hang in there and turn every knob and you will finally dial in the sound you are looking for.

I play mostly through a Bruno Underground 30 and use a custom shop 54 strat with Rio Grande pickups. In higher distortion settings this setup seems to bottom out my celestion blues so I have to bring the distortion or saturation knobs down a bit. This pedal seems to like the combination of my Dr Z Rt 66 and PRS McCarty because it sounds much better through these two. Overall I'm not really excited about this pedal even though I own seven Fulltone pedals and like all of them more than this pedal. I just couldn't seem to get the sound that I was looking for out of this pedal.

You can definently depend on any Fulltone pedal. I've never had a problem with this pedal. I always have a backup because you never know what will happen.

I've only had one problem in three years of playing Fulltone efects. I had a switch go out on my Clyde Wah and had to call because the turn around time was getting long. Mike Fuller was very nice on the phone and apologized for the delay and got it back promptly.

I play Christian music with a 150 voice choir and we do a variety of music. Praise and worship, Black gospel, and contemporary with other styles mixed in. I've been playing about 15 years and my setup is as follows: 54 custom shop RI strat and PRS McCarty with only Fulltone pedals. Clyde wah>SoulBender>FatBoost>DistPro>FulldriveII>ChoralFlange>Bruno Underground 30 Reverb Head with 2x12 Celestion Blues also Dr Z Rt 66. If this pedal was stolen I probably wouldn't replace it because my other pedals would get me through just fine. I bought this pedal because of the great reviews that I read. I guess we all have different taste.

6 dials, pretty straight forward. Nothing not to understand. Actually prefer the tone dials to be smaller, so that they won't get knocked around during a show.

The manual says "The Distortion Pro is designed to cover that huge gap between Overdrive and out-and-out Fuzz." Not only do I agree with this personally, but I think the subpar ratings and comments ignore that first sentence of the manual. This will not make you sound like neither Eric Johnson nor System of the Down. It will make you sound like just about any indie band in the last 20 years, depending on how you set the dials.

The tone dials are uniquely useful. Going left to right (below the volume and distortion level big dials):

Resonance: shapes bass frequencies. I leave it all the way on. I hate pedals that chop the lows- this dial fixes it. I can even use it on my baritone and bass.

Voicing: mids. Frequency dependent for distortion level.

Highs: highs. Has frequency overlap with Voicing.

Saturation: this is the most interesting dial. Has both compression and sponginess features. Although some may describe it as a power amp tube simulator (the compression part for sure), I think of it as adding extra speaker thump as well (a bit more give, a bit more air) A great cure for single-coil brittleness.

I find this to be a very versatile pedal, with very useful in-between tones, and yet it's more refined (in a good way). Doesn't have the bright harsh spikes of say a RAT or MXR Distortion +; I think this makes this pedal really great on single coils, but maybe less than ideal for humbuckers. Not a surprise since Mike is a Strat player. I think this is a great pedal for rock rhythm playing.

I haven't tried direct recording with this yet, but I'm anxious to try. Compared to my SIB Varidrive, it sounds a bit more flat (dimensionally speaking), but that may be a good thing for direct recording or smaller amps. I still think the Varidrive is the bomb for live gigs. Haven't tried both together.

The sustain is not as long as many other pedals, which I think is a great feature for controlled sounds on recording. I'm planning on using my Maxon compressor anyway for my live rig, and a boost pedal in front of it sounds great for leads.

Perfectly solid (got it used). Can't imagine problems with it.

See above for my comments. A wonderful pedal- not mind-blowing, but a very solid workhorse with just enough refinement to class up standard rock tones.

Lot's of options being made the way it is. I waited to review it until I used different guitars and amps. Manual is useful

my setup - EC strat (1989) with PUs replaced with early 60s regular old strat PUs >> Carl Martin compressor>>>distortion>>> tape echo>>>Gibson GA15RV on the triode (6 watts) setting. I am thrilled with it - finally a distortion unit that treats a strat bridge PU right. - very fat tubelike character - more tubelike than tube distortions I' ve used (Phatman, real tube, etc.) It does AC/DC great. With the distortion set all the way minimum it's a great blues breakup. My favorite settings are with the distortion and saturation set much lower than the manual which makes sense because my amp is 6 watts and already on the edge of breakup. With my 40 watt vibrolux the setting are more like the manual.

don't know yet but seems solid.

Fulltone has a good reputation - I'm not concerned

I've played 35 years and own way too much stuuf (and hope to get more) The bottom line is that I did it right. I bought a disortion unit that is made by a stratocaster guy. This is perfect with my strat and both teles I have. It is useless with my big rockabilly box with P-90s but that's ok by me. I use my TS 10 with that box. I play RnB, rockabilly, pop-rock and funk. Most distortion boxes sound too "metal " like. This one is divine. I still use my TS10 but for a different sound. I would certainly replace it.

I love the manual for this pedal. It gives you several setting to choose from pending on your style of music. It also gives you a record keeper to write down any discoveries in tweaking the pedal that you may find.

I currently use an American Thinline Tele running through a Fender '72 Vibrolux Reverb Amp. Playing rock, funk, and blues, I always used to use a Boss Overdrive pedal for the really meaty portions of the song and for a solo. Although I was pleased with it, it didn't have the kick I was looking for. I just got a Distortion Pro and from the moment I plugged it in I've loved it. I use the blues setting that the manual gives, with it tweaked ever so slightly. This pedal has real bite to it that cuts through incredibly. It has a very warm tone that does well for a single-coil Tele. Although it is the best overdrive pedal I've ever heard, I have trouble with string clarity. So for the more driving parts of a song I use the DPro, but if i need more clarity on the strings, I will use the Boss. Overall, it's a great pedal and I highly recommend it, especially for Tele players.

It has been dependable so far.

When I got the pedal,I was very disappointed in it. I couldn't get a good sound at all no matter how much I tinkered with it. I was feeling like I was cheated out of my money and was ready to agree with some of the other reviews that is was just some overated muddy sounding fuzz box with no tone merit at all.But, I looked at the manual and it said that there are 2 trim pots in the back of the pedal. Trim pot #1 says that if you have a guitar with humbuckers that it can be adjusted Clockwise no more that 1/8 turn to cut back on some of the distortion. Trim pot # 2 is supposed to be left alone and not messed with cause it's set how the factory says it should be. Well,after I adjusted both Trim pots # 1 & 2 clockwise 1/8 of a turn, it made all the difference in the world. More about this in the sound quality section.Ease of use before trim pot adjustment is a 3. Ease of use after trim post adjustment - 9

I'm using a 86' Mesa Boogie Mk III fully loaded simul-class and using it in Class A mode. I also have a Mk IIc+ Bubinga/wicker simul-class combo fully loaded. I use a Tom Anderson Hollow Drop Top Classic S/S/H . My effects chain is as follows Boss Ft-2>Boss TU-2>Boss CS-1>Boss CS-2>Boss Bd-2>Boss Od-1>Boss Od-3>Nobels Odr-1>Mxr Dist. II>Barber Direct Drive> Fulltone Dp-1>Nobels Pre-1 Booter> Boss Ns-2>Arion SCH-1 Chorus>Boss CE-5>Ibanez AD-9>Boss DD-3>BossDD-3>Boss PS-3. All patch cables are George L's and Monster Cables and this effect chane goes into one of the Boogies. I set the Boogies up for a nice clean tone with just a touch of onboard reverb.As I said up above the pedal was not happening until both trim pots were adjusted. For the record ,I tried the pedal by itself before I put it in the chain.One I did the trim pot adjustment, all the clarity,articulation and transperency that I had been looking for was there.The knobs still interactive and changing the gain or saturation may force you to make adjustments in the other knobs to get the desired tone your after,but you don't have to hunt very long to get a great tone. I was able with tweaking to get into the Van Halen,Eric Johnson,Michael Schenker and even some May,but not the exact sound they have,because there are to many other variables involved strings,guitar,amp and other effects in their chains that all make up their tones.But all these root tones as well as many others are in this pedal.One real important part of any pedal getting a fair chance at proving what it can do is starting out with a guitar in very good working and playing conditon and if you are using pedals for all your overdrives and distortions,a good clean,clear articulate tone from your amp. It must start here,in order to give a pedal a fair chance. I did this with the Dist. Pro and I never gave up on it,and it payed off.

I have not had it long enough to tell,but it looks like it built very solid and I probably would not need a back up for it.

I e-mailed Mike about my Trim pot adjustments.I told him that I've seen way too many brand new Dist. Pro's being sold for cheap on E-bay and HC.I mentioned that probably almost all of those guys never adjusted both trim pots,and therefore thought the pedal sucked. He emailed me back in a few hours and said the new Dist. Pro's have the pots cut back and players are alot happier.Mike does really care about what players think of his products and wants them to be satisfied. If you have any problems e-mail Mike. He will return your e-mail

I play in a Country variety band.I play old and new country classic and new rock,funk,rap and Tejano music. I have to be able to cover all the bases. This pedal is able is able to cover alot of ground. With pot adjustment I can go from light overdrive to singing lead tone.I've been playing live for 25 years staight with only 5 months off when I changed from rock music to country variety. I also own a 72'Fender Deluxe Tele,77'Fender Strat,77'Gibson Explorer,82'Jimmy Wallace 59'reissue quilted sunburst,91'52'reissue Tele,96'50's reissue Fender Strat,and my live giging guitar. 99' Tom Anderson Hollow Drop Top Classic.If it were stolen I would purchase it again.As a matter of fact,I'm probably going to buy a few of HC or E-bay who don't know what they're getting rid of.I love the tonal options available on this pedal. My favorite feature is the saturation knob. You can dial nice compessed tone to taste.I compared this to the Barber Direct Drive and it was more versitile than the Barber.On the light side the Barber was more transparent,although the Dist Pro was transparent on the light side,it just wasn't as much as the Barber.Now on the heavier side,the Barber couldn't get the singing saturated lead tone the Pro could. I also compared the Pro also to my Mxr Dist. II pedal.To my surprise neither the Barber or the Pro were as transparent on the light side as the Mxr.Neither the Barber or the Pro could match its almost clean boost transparncy.But on the other side of the spectrum,neither the Barber or the Mxr could keep up with the Pro's singing saturated lead tone.I bought this pedal for this reason.Thats the effect I was after.The fact that I can get so many other useable tones is just a plus. I don't consider myself a pedal snob and I don't have to have the most expensive pedals to feel like I'm getting the best tone. I use a lot of Boss pedals and also use an Arion chorus and also a Nobels overdrive along with my Mxr,Barber and Dist Pro.Some are inexpensive and some cost some good bucks,but they are "tone tools" to be used in the right mix with the guitar and an good amp. The group I play in has opened up for just about every big name country act in the country. I've had a chance to hang out and talk about equipment and tone with some of the best pickers around.The thing that I've noticed is that most of them just use good old tube amps alot of them use boss pedals with choice high end pedals mixed in. In talking to these guys they say their sound starts with a good guitar into a good sounding amp,but they say that the best guys tone comes from their fingers. The effects only help enhance the basic tone.Without the proper fundamental tonal foundation the pedals no matter what they cost mean nothing. Case in point,is when we opened for George Jones. The guitar player played an old silver faced twin and was using an old 60's or 70's strat,and only had a Boss cs-2,Boss Dm-2 and he had just about the best tone I've heard live of all the pickers we've opened up for.I've learned from this tonal enlightment that you have to know how to properly use the tools you have to get good tone. This pedal is alot like this. There is an Ambosia of tone lurking inside the pedal waiting to nourish the tone hungry explorers in all of us.

This is a follow-up to my previous post. I posted about running the DP through my blues junior and my boogie. Well, I am very hesitant about giving 10's but, I just started playing the DP through a stock '65 Twin Reverb (reissue) and this thing sounds every bit as good as anything I've heard (recorded or live).

I am learning a few lessons here, which is good.

First, the '65 Twin is an fantastic amp and the DP sounds just a great.

Overall, this pedal is very particular to the amp-guitar set-up. If you find the right combination of instrument and amp, this pedal will satisfy you for a long time.

Really, its not brain surgery, but you just need to understand which knob does what.

Guitar: Les Paul Classic - 500t bridge PU and 498T Neck PU
Amps: Mesa Rect-o-Verb thru a 2x12 Rectifier Cab, Fender Blues Junior

Using this pedal straight out of the box I was a little disappointed. My first test is always with the Blues Junior amp. It's not the greatest sounding amp, so my theory is if a pedal sounds good through that, then it usually sounds good through my Boogie.

The DP sounded very chunky (in a bad way) and rough. Not very musical to my ears. I played around with a number of different setting over a number of days. The distortion from the Blues Junior was better than the pedal! At this point, I'm getting very cynical about all of these perfect 10 reviews I've read previous to my purchase.

Anyway, I then tried the DP with my Boogie. The pedal sounded better than through the BJ, but it did not knock me off my feet. To me, this was an average pedal with a very high price tag.

A little frustrated I decided to tweak the internal trimmers. I lowered the gain of the internal trim pot approx. 1/4 turn (lowering the gain) and the pedal sounded MUCH better.

This pedal now sounds a lot smoother, BUT it has to be played at a relatively loud volume. When played loud, this pedal is a 8+. At lower volumes, I'd give it a 6, maybe a 7. When played through the BJ, the pedal still gets a 6.

I did try a number of distortion pedals. The BOSS Mega Distortion actually sounded better. I could get every sound of the Distortion Pro out of the BOSS pedal and more. Plus the BOSS was a lot smoother sounding. The big drawback to the Boss pedal was at loud volumes. It started to get a *tingy* metallic hiss type sound.

The lower notes still seem less defined, a tad muddy.

Looks like it is well constructed.

Sent one email, responded within the hour (after his normal business hours).

I once read a post somewhere in here to be weary of any review that gives all 10's and uses words like "greatest ever", etc... I agree totally with that poster. Some of the comment border on the ridiculous. There are a lot of those reviews for this pedal. I believe some of that comes from folks who spend large $$$ on a pedal trying to justify thier purchase. Others, well, it is probably true to thier ears.

Overall, the Fulltone Distortion Pro is a very good distortion pedal. In my opinion, at loud volumes, it beats the likes of Maxon DSII, MXR D+, and Boss mega Distortion.

Really, if you plan to purchase, do yourself a favor and seek a dealer with a return policy. Try it out with your own gear and judge from there. (By the way, in the music store this pedal sounded like a "10" through a Reissue '59 bassman!)

This is a subjective point of view. Each owner must judge to thier own ears. Hope this helps somebody.