Damn, what an amazing distortion pedal !!! This compact and new version called Heavy Menace is definitely one of the best distortion box we got and has so much to offer !!! The Heavy Menace features three distortion modes that range from crunch to crushing, plus a footswitchable gate, all in a compact enclosure. Dial in your perfect tone with the three-band EQ and sweepable mid frequency, and sculpt your low-end response with the Weight control for thick chords or tight palm muting.

The Heavy Menace is an evolution of the Heavy distortion pedal in a compact enclosure. A new Lite(ish) mode joins the original Heavy and Heavier settings to cover everything from crunch to crushing. The three-band EQ features a sweepable midrange frequency, and the Weight control sculpts low frequency response for thick, full chords or tight palm muting. The footswitchable gate adapts to your playing, decaying naturally over sustained notes and clamping down during fast stops, with a key input for additional flexibility. However you get heavy, find your perfect sound with the Heavy Menace.

Fans of the ParaEq pedals know Empress is obsessed with EQ, and the 3-band circuit on Heavy Menace is one of their best.  The Weight control adjusts a high-pass filter in the distortion circuit to shape low-end character. Turn it up for a thick, full sound, or turn counterclockwise for a tight response that’s perfect for palm muting and extended-range guitars. Midrange is a key element of a great distorted sound, so the mid frequency is sweepable from 200 Hz to 2.5 kHz to dial in the sweet spot for your guitar and amp. Scoop for a tight, aggressive sound, or push to add definition and cut through a mix.

Players loved the gate on the original Heavy. Envelope followers in the circuit respond to your playing, letting sustained notes decay naturally but clamping down quickly during fast stops. On the Heavy Menace, this gate is now footswitchable, with two available modes of operation. In normal bypass mode, the gate doesn’t affect the signal if the distortion is off, while independent bypass mode is like having separate distortion and gate pedals.

Empress has also added a key input so you can optionally trigger the gate with an external signal. This is particularly useful if you have additional pedals before the Heavy Menace in your signal chain, such as a low-gain pedal for stacking. Split a clean signal with a pedal like the Empress Buffer+ and connect it to the Gate Key Input, and the gate will behave consistently regardless of changes at the main input.