Deputy Distortion

Name: Deputy Distortion
Price: 59 USD
Author: Impact Soundworks

by Impact Soundworks · Distortion · Guv'Nor-style drive pedal model

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Deputy Distortion is a circuit-accurate neural model of the Marshall Guv'Nor, the 1980s overdrive and distortion pedal.

It adds a Deep control, a Sizzle exciter, parallel mix and a dynamic follower, with about 1 ms of latency; it costs $59.

Best for: Guitars, Bass, Drums, Keys & Synths, Vocals. Genres: Rock & Indie, Metal.

Keywords: enhancement, parallel processing, bass, crunchy, drums, exciter, 80s, circuit-modelled, mixing, synths, built-in mix knob, A/B compare, AI/machine learning, bright, deep, dual-mono, gritty, hard clip, hardware emulation, live performance, single-band, vocals.

What it does

Deputy Distortion is Impact Soundworks' model of the Marshall Guv'Nor, the British drive pedal behind a lot of '80s hard rock crunch. The developer calls it a "circuit-accurate model" with the dynamic sag and fast attack of the original, plus studio extras the pedal never had.

Pedal controls: Gain, Deep, Low, Mid, High and Volume, laid out as on the hardware.
Tone stack: an interactive passive three-band Low, Mid and High section, where the bands affect each other as they do on the pedal.
Deep: a low-end resonance control for more weight under the drive.
Sizzle: a post-clipping exciter that adds harmonics above 2 kHz for extra brightness and bite.
Mix and Volume Link: a dry/wet knob for parallel distortion, and a link that keeps the output level steady while you change the tone.
Dynamic follower: adjustable compression with three response times, on top of the natural compression and hard clipping of the circuit.
Workflow: input and output trims, a stereo or dual-mono mode, A/B comparison and 30 presets.

Latency is about 1 ms, so it works for live playing as well as mixing. A free trial is available, and there is a 14-day money-back guarantee.

Source: Impact Soundworks product page

When to use it

Deputy Distortion is the pick when you want the heavier, more saturated Guv'Nor sound rather than a mid-boosting overdrive. Compared with Cytomic's The Scream and Brainworx bx_greenscreamer, which model Tube Screamer-type pedals, it gives more gain and a fuller British crunch, and its passive tone stack shapes the sound more than a single tone knob. Unlike FabFilter Saturn 2 or Output Thermal it is a single pedal with one character, not a multiband distortion workshop, which makes it quicker to dial in. Its Mix knob and Sizzle exciter also make it more useful than most pedal models for parallel grit on bass, drums and synths.

Best for: '80s-style crunch in front of an amp sim, and parallel grit on bass, drums or synths.
Genres: rock, hard rock and metal.
Look elsewhere if: you want a full amp and cabinet rig, or a broad sound-design distortion; Saturn 2 or Thermal cover far more styles.

Where to buy

Impact Soundworks: $59

Tutorials and reviews

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