1987 Distortion is a guitar distortion inspired by Rat circuits, designed to offer a wider, more exploitable gain range than traditional approaches in this family.
It delivers a structured and musical grain, with strong definition and precise high-frequency control, while remaining usable at moderate gain settings.
🎥 Video demo
A full demo will soon be available to illustrate the different gain levels and pedal response in real-life situations.
Musical intent & use cases
The 1987 features an extended and progressive gain range, allowing it to be used far beyond traditional distortion registers.
At low gain, it works like a grainy, articulate crunch, with good attack response and excellent chord legibility.
This zone remains stable and usable, allowing dynamic sounds rarely accessible on this type of circuit.
By increasing the gain, the pedal gradually evolves towards a denser, more sustained distortion, without any abrupt break or loss of definition.
The grain remains structured, with a clear separation of notes, both in rhythm and lead.
The CUT control plays a central role in shaping the pedal’s response.
It lets you fine-tune treble response, moving from a darker, more compact sound to a more open, biting distortion.
This flexibility makes it easy to adapt the pedal to different amps and guitars.
Thanks to this structure, the 1987 can function as a single gain stage, or as the main distortion combined with a lighter overdrive.
Who this pedal is for
1987 is designed for guitarists looking for a versatile, controllable distortion, a tool capable of covering multiple registers.
It is particularly suited to musicians who want a structured grain that can be exploited at different gain levels.
This pedal is for you if :
- you're looking for usable distortion from crunch to more sustained gain
- you want a structured grain with easy-to-read chords
- you're looking for a versatile pedal as your main saturation base
Positioning in the range :
Depending on the context, British Drive, Erebor and 1987 can all be used as the main saturation base.
The British Drive offers a more open and dynamic grain, close to an amp crunch.
The Erebor offers a denser, thicker saturation, with the feel of a pushed amp, even at moderate gain.
The 1987 features a more structured and progressive distortion, with precise grain control and a tighter response.
Closing note
The 1987 Distortion is a Rat circuit-inspired distortion redesigned to offer more control, progressiveness and versatility, in a simple and efficient format.
Key design points
- Analog distortion inspired by Rat circuits
- Extended gain range, from crunch to dense distortion
- Structured grain with easy-to-read chords
- Controls: Volume, Drive, Cut
- Precise treble adjustment via Cut control
- Can be used as main gain stage
- Buffered bypass for stable integration in the signal chain
- 100% analog circuit, hand-built with through-hole components
- Standard 9V DC (center negative)
- Compact