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Seymour Duncan: Power Grid Distortion ( SFX-08 )
List: $195
You have always been deceived by the ‘distortion’ tag when you are pedal hunting; you’d expect some sonic assault from a pedal with such a label but as it always turns out, you hear a mild signal displacement despite sending the distortion knob to its maximum assignment. Seymour Duncan’s Power Grid pedal has lots of distortion on board, it’s versatile enough to pull off some blues-type crunch as well as intense displacements for convincing solos; it’s not that mild type gargle you’d like to avoid.
Build/ features
The SFX-08 isn’t the typical BOSS type pedal in dimension; it measures 14cm x 13cm & weighs quite a bit to rival the average building brick, so pedal board geeks, do take note. The controls on board are self-explanatory: Volume, 3-band EQ & a Gain dial. Do note that the EQ section here is active. On the underside of this pedal is a substantial, ribbed, rubber padding to ensure a non-slip performance but battery access is a chore as the base plate requires a complete removal. Final note- the SFX-08 is a true bypass unit.
Seymour Duncan has always been credible when it comes to labels & features in general. The only put off here is the absence of a battery access hatch as well as the pedal’s overall weight.
Rating: 90%
Tone/ In use
The thing to note here is that the Volume control is very capable of delivering some serious loudness, so do start off with minimal settings for this feature. Throughout the tone test, the 3-band EQ has a degree of responsiveness measured against the Volume as well as the Gain amounts so if you tweak the latter two features, be prepared to reconfigure the EQ settings.
For those of us in search of that immaculate mildness when it comes to ‘distortion’ because you have always favoured your BOSS DS-1, the SFX-08 is capable of doing so at its lower gain settings. The intensity of proceedings gets progressive as one passes the half-way mark but the good thing about this pedal is that it doesn’t cross into metal territory, the voicing is still markedly distortion in nature. This is perhaps the primary draw of this pedal; one which retains its distortion voicing despite being rather saturated in gain.
In use with a single coil equipped guitar, there is a need to watch the midrange performance as the SFX-08, by default, has pronounced midrange raunchiness. As the nature of a single coil pickup is one of limited bass response, collaborating this pickup with the pedal may result in excessive top end frequency.
It does fairly better in use with a humbucking guitar as the added bottom end very much complements the pedal’s midrange authority. This is especially rewarding if one employs a Les Paul type guitar (or its equivalent) & dial up lots of volume & gain.
The SFX-08 thrive being employed as a stand alone distortion unit. It does fairly well as a drive booster at its lower gain settings. The upper reaches would result in excessive top end sizzle, too ineffective in terms of note definition. It’s also quite averse to being boosted by a mild driver, say an Ibanez TS9 for instance; it looses its inherent character quite easily & would tread the fuzz territory but not being as warm or inviting as the average Muff pedal.
Tone test equipment:
• Single coil guitar: Fender ST-72
• Humbucking guitar: Gibson LP Std/ Ibanez RG321
• Amp: Epiphone Valve Jr/ Marshall JVM/ Sound Drive SG612R
• Other pedals for cascading drive employment: Ibanez TS9/ Artec Soloist Distortion/ EHX NANO Muff
Rating: 88%
Conclusion
The SFX-08 is a wonderful distortion pedal for those of us in search of a non-metal type unit but with more saturation/ intensity than the proverbial BOSS DS-1. This pedal performs better as a stand alone unit, crank up your amp’s volume & it’s a sure performer, quite free from the need to be driven by another pedal.
Final rating: 90%
Product availability: Davis GMC
Likes:
• Great saturation
• Dynamic distortion range
Dislikes:
• Rather stiff knobs
• No easy battery access
• Weight
Worthy contender:
• Visual Sound: Son of Hyde
